Epico: New pictures.

With Jamie on holiday and Michael freelancing life in the shop has been quiet of late. So we thought we would post a few more pictures of our current work in progress. From a puppeteers perspective its nice to begin to see how Epico plays to the camera and how his movements suggest a psychology.

Introducing Epico.

Epico, first Look:

This photo shows the initial mock-up of Epico the Dragon and points to some of the challenges of realising a character on this scale. With the head extended 2 meters in front of the lead performer weight will be a critical issue. There is already a lovely movement quality within the head, neck, tail and spine. The challenge will be to retain these as the bulk of the beast increases.

Dragons Be Here!

In late March we conceived and began our most ambitious project to date, Epico the Dragon. Five meters of rippling foam, cable controlled, animatronic puppetry, the largest character we have ever constructed. Often as the scale of a character increases movement is reduced as the performers have to fight the bulk and weight of the materials. But inspired by the fluidity of movement we attained with the Penguins, Epico is being built from the movements out, we want him to move with all the playful bounce of a puppy and the feline grace of a cat.

Epico will be available to book from July. Accompanied by an errant knight or princess character he will perform a twenty minute mini-arena show, as well as being available for walkabout or parades.

Restoration:

Jamie was commissioned to restore a set of historic puppets from the former Cannon Hill Puppet Theatres production of The Magic Lamp. Having been stored in the basement of the Midland Arts Centre for 40 years they where all in need of some TLC. Missing limbs and hands were lovingly carved from lime, costume elements were reconstructed and all recieved a generous lick of paint. The finished characters were shipped off to Dreamscape Theatre in Croatia to begin a new life.

2010: New workshop, new era.

Following the successful launch of the Penguin Family, January saw us moving premises to a cleaner, brighter and warmer space. This new start brought a fresh impetus and energy to the company. In the first quarter we have refreshed our online presence, begun a promotional drive and set the direction for the coming year. We are building some amazing characters this season- truly our best work- so stay tuned.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!

We'll be online very soon!!! ....count down starting....