Christopher,
Hello! I did Shrek last year. We contracted with a local puppetmaker, an alum, to make Gingy; I would be willing to sell you that puppet for $350. We can negotiate that further via email if you would like;
erin.mclaughlin@gocruisers.org.
For Pinocchio's nose, I found a functional DIY process through Pinterest. You will need a foam upper-face mask (like around the eyes only), a cheap plastic telescope that collapses into itself, thin steel cable, and plastic tubing like they use in refrigerators that let you get water out of the door; two thicknesses of the steel cable should fit through your plastic tubing, and the tubing should fit inside the telescope. Also a hot glue gun and someone who can make the finished nose match Pinocchio's face.
1. Modify the telescope by cutting off the flared piece that goes against the user's eye (but leaving the glass bit in; this end of the telescope should remain closed) and knocking out the fake glass at the big end.
2. Working with the steel cable: your cable will need to reach from the tip of the telescope, fully extended, under the face mask and down the side of your actor's neck and all the way down his sleeve on the side that will be upstage when his nose grows. Cut a piece that is double this length and fold it in half; it is easier for your actor to work with a loop.
3. The steel cable will chafe your actor if left uncovered. Slide a piece of the plastic tubing over the steel cable. You should have about four inches of the loop end, plus the difference between having your telescope all the way compressed and all the way extended, uncovered.
4. Attach the two ends of the steel cable (and, possibly, that end of the plastic tubing) to the inside of the small end of the telescope. I believe I used a combination of gaffe tape and hot glue to do this.
5. Once the glue is dry, pushing your loop of steel cable into the plastic tubing should cause the telescope to extend, and pulling it back out should cause the telescope to retract. The mechanical part is done; the rest is cosmetic.
6. You will need to attach the big end of the telescope to the face mask such that the actor's nose can fit into it and the tubing can be concealed under the mask on one side of the actor's face. I think I used a combination of hot glue and white gaffe tape. I definitely added additional elastic strings to the mask and the nose to help keep the nose upright, so that elastic went over the top of the actor's head as well as around the sides. I also cut parts of the mask off, so that it fit under the actor's eyes but not over them.
7. I made a small paper cone to go on the small end of the telescope and make it pointy. This was hot glued on.
8. I had an artistic student paint the mask and the nose to look like wood. It's very important to do this while the telescope is fully extended and not to paint straight over the joints, or it will be stuck fully extended.
I wish I had taken pictures through this process, and I hope these instructions make sense. I don't have the nose anymore; the actor kept it as a souvenir. However, it did work, and we made it less than a week before the show. The actor had time to learn it during dress rehearsals.
We had an exploding bird that we bought from another school that was supposed to work using an air compressor. We couldn't get it to work. Instead, we had the bird precariously perched on its tree branch (the bird itself was made from a plastic gallon Hawaiian punch jug or something, covered in feathers and cut in half) and stuffed with feathers. A stage hand would bump the tree when the bird was supposed to explode and it fell apart, scattering feathers everywhere. If you have an engineering class or something at your school that you can partner with, they might be able to create something more sophisticated and reliable for you.
I also rented a projection for "The Travel Song", which was significantly cheaper than costumes and set pieces would have been for that scene. Highly recommend.
If you want more details on any of this or other information about our production of Shrek, I'm happy to help however I can.
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Erin McLaughlin
Theatre Teacher
Dublin OH
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-18-2020 17:18
From: Christopher Piner
Subject: Shrek Resources (Props, set pieces, etc.)
Hi All,
We have Shrek around the corner and I am searching for current available resources (I have costumes) that may be out there. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I'd be very grateful. I am especially interested in:
A good Pinocchio nose effect
The exploding bird
Gingy puppet and dragons
Soft foam ogre appliances (cowl, nose and such)
Backdropsrops
I also open to advices, tips and suggestions from anyone who has done the show. Best wishes to you all on your current productions and projects.
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Christopher Piner
Drama Teacher/director
Vernal UT
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