Strings attached

By CAROLYN R. WILSON/Correspondent

Barter Theatre actors are stringing their audiences along during the captivating production of Alice in Wonderland, which features 22 handmade puppets.
For the first time in years, members of the costume shop and props department at Barter Theatre collaborated to make brilliant, mechanical puppets of all shapes and sizes for the family-friendly production, presented on the Main Stage through April 17.
Alice in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll in 1865, tells the story of a young girl's adventures in a fantasy world and her encounters with a variety of strange characters.
The puppets, ranging in height from inches to 14 feet, provide a layer of fantasy that stimulates the imagination of audiences. Cheshire Cat, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar and others fun characters inspired Barter Theatre’s director Richard Rose to adapt the classic favorite for the Abingdon stage.
A team of two designers, Krista Guffey Poisson and Ryan Fisher, and three collaborators, Kelly Jenkins, Chase Molden and Adrienne Webber, came together to create the puppets for the show.
The puppets become actors, and their movements, color and gestures create life-like experiences in the theater.
According to Molden, props master at the theater, the puppets represent hand, body and rod styles, as well as Bunraku, a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater. Molden confessed that none of the staff felt qualified to build the elaborate puppets before spending hours browsing through books and watching videos on the craft.
After their research, the team decided that a drawing they found of the Mad Hatter would serve as the framework for the puppet creations.
“We didn’t want realism,” said Molden, “because nothing about the show is real.”
Elements, such as rigging, harnesses and control rods are not hidden from the audience to allow people to see the work of each actor.
The puppets, sometimes filling the part better than any actor could, were designed to be easy to manipulate and light enough for the actors to wear for extended periods. During the play, puppets represent the various sizes of Alice, from tiny to gigantic. When Alice grows or shrinks, a larger or smaller puppet is introduced.
The birth of each puppet is not nearly as amazing as its outcome. Molden said many common household items were used to create the puppet designs. Most of the puppets are connected to lightweight backpacks worn by the actor.
“We modified a snare drum harness to hold the puppets,” explained Molden.
Three flamingos were fashioned from PVC water pipe, towel cloth, insulation foam and slinky toys. A colorful frog required PVC pipe, hardware to allow the joints to move, and soft foam for the design of the head.
A giant puppet of Alice was made from PVC pipe, a corset-making material called rigaleen and ribbons. Molden explained that compartments behind the eyes contains a roll of ribbon attached to fishing line which cannot be seen until the ribbon is unrolled to look like a stream of tears cried by Alice.
A turtle head worn by the actor was made by covering soft foam with latex and attaching to a skateboard helmet. A stick on the lower jaw of the puppet head controls the movements of the mouth.

Cheshire Cat was created from a backpack. Four metal arms that embrace the actor’s shoulders are attached to a portion of the cat’s face. This allows the cat to appear and disappear throughout the show.
Molden said the mouse puppet best demonstrates the Bunraku style of puppetry, and its creation is similar to the character Timon in the Lion King. The actor slips his feet into special boots that attach his feet to the feet of the mouse. When the actor walks, the mouse moves in the same direction and in the same way.
To make the round shape of the crab, the artists covered a skillet with a material that when heated and cooled retained the shape of the pan.
Jenkins, puppet collaborator said, “The caterpillar has been the most fun for me. At nine feet tall, the challenging part of this puppet has been the mechanical movement of the arms. Because the actor is expected to walk, kneel, and crawl on all fours, the controls had to be adjusted to fight gravity in multiple directions.”
According to Christine Webb, communications manager, the tremendous stagecraft and special effects in the production make audiences feel part of the adventure. Cheri Prough DeVol, set designer for the show, placed related items in the lobby of the theater to transport visitors to another place as soon as they arrive.
For a complete schedule or to reserve tickets, visit www.bartertheatre.com, or call (276) 628-3991.