![]() Our director wanted to have the nose growing and shrinking visibly on stage without anyone touching it. A lot of theatres do this part of the play in a way that the actor has an extra nose he puts on in this moment, or he pulls the point of his nose to make it longer or they just do nothing at all. As probably most of you now, it's the story of a little wooden puppet becoming a real boy, and while still in his wooden stage, his nose is growing longer and longer, when he's telling a lie. In autumn 2015 it was the nose for Pinocchio. Roll it up and you’ve got a nose, pull the end out and watch it grow!Ĭheck out these and all the other imaginative uses of construction site objects to tell the magical story of Pinocchio onstage at the Arden through June 23rd.In my line of work as a propsmaster, from time to time I meet a very special challenge. ![]() Get a long roll of paper (wrapping paper or butcher paper) and cut to 10” wide. This is a fun project kids can make at home too. After the third lie, it gets extended again until it is sticking out a good 5 feet! Pinocchio finally tells the truth and the actor tilts his head back allowing the extended wallpaper to fall back into the roll as if the nose were shrinking. When Pinocchio tells a second lie, another actor pulls the end of the roll extending the paper out. After Pinocchio tells a lie, the border roll is held in front of the actor’s face making it look like his nose has grown 12 inches. This is the strip of wallpaper that goes around the top of a room or above a chair rail. To create Pinocchio’s growing nose as he tells lies, we used a roll of wallpaper border. Pinocchio’s Growing Nose – manipulated by actor David Raphaely This allowed most of the fine particles to sift out leaving us with nice snow-sized sawdust I’ve termed “snowdust”. After some R&D, the scenic department shaved some pine wood in nice size pieces that the prop department then sifted over a trash can in a regular kitchen strainer. The hard part was making sawdust that had small enough pieces to look like snow but not so fine that it would get caught in the actors’ noses or mouths as they spoke. We figured out that sawdust in some form would do the trick. In keeping with the construction zone concept, we needed to create a version of snow that would be readily available on a job site. By simply rubbing the two pieces together he creates the sound and motion of a cricket’s legs rubbing together. We cut out a notch for Doug’s fingers and he uses his pointer fingers as antenna. These are known as sand blocks and are used for smoothing drywall or other rough surfaces. To create the cricket, we cut two 10” long blocks of wood and wrapped them in sandpaper. ![]() As they developed each character and moment in the play, these items found new life and became all manner of imaginative props.Ĭricket – voiced and manipulated by actor Doug Hara These common tools and work place materials transform into magical objects transporting our audience into the world of the play by tapping into their imaginations.Īt the beginning of the rehearsal process, director Matt Decker and his cast were given a room full of tools, building materials, ladders, drop cloths and scaffolding. Throughout the Arden’s production of Pinocchio, everyday objects found around a construction site are used by the actors to tell the story. Props Master at the Arden Theatre Company INVEST in local theatre professionals, EMPOWER new voices on our stages, and ENABLE access to the arts for Children of Greater Philadelphia by donating before December 31.
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