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  • 1.  Violet blowing up into a Blueberry/Squirrel Puppets

    Posted 09-30-2014 15:04
    Good Morning,

    I am currently directing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I was hoping that others could provide some suggestions in regard to "Violet" blowing up to a blueberry.  Did any of you use an inflatable costume?  I have found one on Amazon - a blue, inflatable full-body costume - but I don't want to buy it if others have better ideas.

    Also, did any of you have good look with using Squirrel puppets?

    Thanks,
    Ginny

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    Virginia Schreiber
    Middle School Drama Teacher
    Bellevue WA
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  • 2.  RE: Violet blowing up into a Blueberry/Squirrel Puppets

    Posted 10-01-2014 06:41
    I directed this show in the spring and found that the inflatable suit from buycostumes.com was my best bet. http://www.buycostumes.com/p/805453/blue-inflatable-adult-suit Violet quickly suited up offstage during the number and returned onstage fully inflated. It was the highlight of the show. Some have suggested placing a loose maxidress over the suit, but my student was far too small and petit for that not to be awkward. Instead I used a blue unitared as the base of her costume, which I feel enhanced the illusion that she expanded rather than put on a suit. As for the squirrels, I felt that I got more bang for my buck costuming my ensemble as squirrels, whom I was able to incorporate in the choreography and staging of the number. It was cheaper than buying puppets, it read better in our large auditorium, and it was relatively simple to execute. It's a great show, and was one of our best productions. Have a great time producing it. ------------------------------------------- Hugh Fletcher Performing Arts Coordinator IS 229 Dr. Roland Patterson Middle School Bronx NY -------------------------------------------
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  • 3.  RE: Violet blowing up into a Blueberry/Squirrel Puppets

    Posted 10-01-2014 09:06
    At my previous school...
    Violet: We used the inflatable costume you are probably referring to. Blue Velcro belted dress. The young, savvy actress underdressed the inflatable for a few scenes prior with sleeves/legs pulled up. Adjusted the legs & sleeves prior to the scene and was able to pop the belt and turn on the motor (in her sleeve) during the scene. Everyone loved it. My only suggestions would be to really rehearse the timing and use fresh batteries for each performance. :)
    Squirrels: I had an amazing costumer who built full-sized squirrel costumes for a handful of students. Hilarious.

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    Suzanne Livesay
    Theatre Department Chair
    Patel Conservatory
    Tampa FL
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  • 4.  RE: Violet blowing up into a Blueberry/Squirrel Puppets

    Posted 10-01-2014 09:30
    We did this show a number of years ago. I can't quite recall what we did with Violet - I think the others surrounded her and we had a suit made with boning that went on over her costume somehow. However, I do clearly remember how amazing the squirrel puppets were! I would definitely recommend using them. I think we had Oompa Loompas controlling them. LH ------------------------------------------- Lisa Houston Pennington NJ -------------------------------------------
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  • 5.  RE: Violet blowing up into a Blueberry/Squirrel Puppets

    Posted 10-02-2014 08:25
    We had our costume designer create a costume that had a slit in the back so we could attach a vacuum to it. We hit reverse and she inflated. The trick is illusion so make sure something else is going on to avert the eye elsewhere while she's being hooked up. 

    With the squirrels, we had 3 girls instead of puppets. Black leggings and black turtlenecks with fur tails and vest that were attached to each other so the tails stood up. Headpieces were made of fur as well. ADC Theatrical Costume Rentals is a local group here that made all of our costumes.
    Main thing is to be creative! Willy Wonka is suppose to be a little quirky! Good luck

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    Sara Danke
    Wisconsin Rapids WI
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  • 6.  RE: Violet blowing up into a Blueberry/Squirrel Puppets

    Posted 10-03-2014 15:06

    I made a purple jumper and used an umbrella with the handle shortened, The umbrella was the kind that opened at the push of a button. The jumoer was gathered from the uolk down so that there was room to "grow."
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    Susan Davis
    Teacher
    Napa Valley Unified School District
    Napa CA
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  • 7.  RE: Violet blowing up into a Blueberry/Squirrel Puppets

    Posted 10-06-2014 12:28
    I had someone make our Violet blueberry costume.  We used lighting to turn the stage blue and then she ran off stage where two people through it on over her blue track outfit.  The costume was made from a pumpkin costume that had staves in it and they covered it with blue fabric and put a draw string at the bottom.

    We made our squirrels.  I found squirrel-sized stuffed animals from thrift stores.  They were various animals, but all were brown in color.  If they had long ears, I cut them down to look like a squirrel's ears.  Then I took what I cut off from the ears and glued it to their backsides to look like bushier squirrel tails.  I bought plastic trash grabbers, opened up the back of the stuffed animal, and put the grabber claws in each of the front paws of the animal.  I sewed up the their backs to secure them with the grabber inside.  The Oompa Loompas worked the grabbers, attacking Veruca's legs, arms, torso, and head as she went down a child's slide, sliding off stage.  I had a blast making them!

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    Gail Bartell
    Altamonte Springs FL
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  • 8.  RE: Violet blowing up into a Blueberry/Squirrel Puppets

    Posted 10-08-2014 07:58
    We did this show using a white screen for some of the effects needed.
    violet got closer and closer to the light source which made her bigger and bigger (as she used her arms under her dress to make herself larger. the effect was cool as her shadow got bigger. (using some translucent fabric added a bit of a purple/blue glow to her behind the white screen, too.)
    Just used an overhead projector and a white sheet screen. Our school is very small with no money, and this was an awesome no cost solution!
    for the squirrels, we used the white screen as well, with shadow puppets. again, they were able to make them big and small and dozens of them with use of the shadow effect!
    good luck!

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    Meegan Turet
    Hyde Park MA
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