Now and Then : Welcome to Cardiff
Puppet Designer and Maker
Now & Then takes the audience to a world where Cardiff’s past and present collide with fantastical puppetry, movement and music made, composed and performed by RWCMD students. A show made for grown-ups but suitable for all.
Devising an original piece collaboratively
Promenade Puppet Show - Old Library - RWCMD (2022)
Directors: Lucy Hall and Emily LeQuesne
Welcome to Cardiff team: Anna Averof, Siyi Qian, Nico Venables, Kalyssa Speth, Amy Marsden and Robyn Smart
Photographs: Kirsten McTernan
Process
The show was developed by 6 groups each working from a prompt about life in and around Cardiff. The group I was in developed ‘Welcome to Cardiff’, telling the history of Cardiff through the eyes of the castle. Shadow puppetry, Tom Jones and a talking peacock told the story, ending in the castle turning into a dragon and flying away!
My main design for this show was the Peacock who would represent the 5th Marquis of Bute, as well as being part of the devising process and making and rendering puppets for other groups.
During the show we all puppeteered multiple puppets and interacted with the audience, guiding them through the space in this promenade puppetry performance.
Working out the mechanisms inside the peacock
Initial wing mechanism - was not needed in the end as the peacock no-longer needed to fly
Peacock design
Initial maquette with large static wings
Experimenting with folding wing
First version of the tail
Experimenting with fans for tail mech - inspired by sandalwood fans
Tail fan maquette - made out of bamboo and calico
Final maquette - ready to make the real puppet!
Body form to take a pattern from
Cutting pattern out of 15mm plastazode
Glued form of body and neck
Inner structure to attach tail mechanism onto
Tail mechanism made using fiberglass rods and plywood
Pattern for tail and worbla head attached - body ready for rendering
Crushed velvet attached and beginnings of painting on peacock's head
Free-machine embroidered wings
Silk painting using watered down dyes - designed to look like a stained glass window
Marquis of bute's faces painted by Amy Marsden
Finished puppet!
Winston the Cat - idea for tour guide puppet cat who would lead the aduiience through the space
Maquette for Winston's head mechanism
Maquette for Winston
Flour bag movement experimentation
Flour bag final maquette
Tin of lard maquette - lid 'magically' opened
Tin of lard hand puppet
Maquette of polaroid camera which would drop photos
Playing with shadow puppetry as a group
Duck leg mechanism made for swimming duck. Challenge was that the mechanism needed to be operated from 3 m above the puppet
Duck head sculpt
Worbla cast of duck headsculpt
Making a pattern for the body of the duck