Puppet Building Information

Don't miss PuppetFest Midwest, July 10-15, 2007! If you want to learn more about puppetry and study with the best in the business, I urge you to attend PuppetFest Midwest. You must register for the entire festival to attend any of the workshops. As well as room and board, your all inclusive registration fee includes mainstage performances, assorted "open stage" events, lectures and mini-performances AND the choice of one 20 hour workshop (over a four day period) on various aspects of puppet construction and live puppet theatre performance. Puppet Building Books, Tools & Equipment These are the books and tools that I use to assist me everyday with puppet building. I have also included some of the equipment I use in my live performances as well as materials I use to construct my puppets. Foam: what and where? My most frequently asked questions are about foam: what kind to use and where to get it. There are many different types of foam available for zillions of different applications, but the two types that I use most often are soft foam and rigid foam. 1. Urethane Foam (Poly Foam) is a soft flexible foam that is off white, cream or yellow in color and sometimes found in blue. This is the same sort of foam that you might find inside a foam seat cushion. It is available in several densities. I prefer the one half inch or three quarter inch thickness and a light to medium density for most projects. Denser and thicker foam is much heavier and may collapse under its own weight when used in large projects. I use urethane foam for the bulk of foam build up on my puppets. 2. Crosslink Foam is usually found in white. I didn't forget the picture, there is an image of non-porous white foam to the left, really. It is firm and rigid and has an extremely tight pore structure. It will hold its shape better that the urethane foam. It can be used for much larger projects because it is much lighter than the urethane foam. I like using the half inch thickness. Oversize projects may require thicker foam (use you own judgment). Crosslink foam is not styrofoam! It is rigid but it will not break if you squash it. It can bend and twist and can be glued with contact cement. I mostly use crosslink foam to make the inner pallets of the mouth and wherever I need extra rigidity. 3. Reticulated Foam (Scott Foam) is usually black. This is one I don't use very often. This is the material used in air conditioner filters. It is very light and extremely porous. It is much too soft to get it to hold its shape. I prefer the one half inch or three quarter inch thickness. I usually only use this type of foam in costumes. I will remove a section of crosslink or urethane foam and replace it with a piece of reticulated foam (usually at the top inside a costume) to allow heat to escape. Many places sell foam: fabric shops, camping supply stores, military surplus stores. Most will have only urethane foam. Be careful when purchasing urethane foam. It has a life of about 5 years before it starts to dry out and turn into powder. The foam may be dark yellow or tan around the edges. That is normal. If it is dark all over or if you get a powdery residue when you rub your hand across it, it has probably been on the shelf for quite some time and whatever you make out of old foam won't last very long. The best place to get urethane foam is Bob's Foam Factory in Fremont, California, USA. You need to ask for Crosslink Foam by name when you order because they don't list it on their web site. If you're not near Fremont, California, don't worry; they'll ship foam anywhere. Gluing Foam Contact cement is the best way to glue foam. The glue I use is DAP Weldwood Gel. It is extremely toxic and vapor harmful and should not be used indoors or around children (see glue packaging for complete information). I use the gel version in the red can but the original version is great too. The low vapor glue in the green can does not work well with foam (too bad). If you are working with young children, I suggest using Peel 'n' Stick double sided tape. Puppet Building Handouts I have taught workshops on puppet design and construction since 1991. Both beginners and experts have attended my classes at National and Regional puppetry festivals. I'm sharing some of my class notes here and ask that people respect my copyrights. These notes and diagrams are intended to aid you with your own puppet building. Do not use them in workshops. Do not publish them in any books, articles or newsletters. Do not copy them to your own Web site or reproduce them in any way. Thank you for respecting my copyrights. You will need the free program Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these PDF files. Rod Puppet Diagrams  -  Steps to Constructing a Rod Puppet  -  Simple Rod Puppet  -  One-Handed Rod Control  -  Multi-Rod Control Moving Mouth Puppet Diagrams  -  Simple Moving Mouth Hand Puppet Diagram  -  Moving Mouth Head Using a Carved Foam Block  -  Moving Mouth Head Constructed From Sheet Foam Thurston James wrote the book (The Prop Builder's Molding & Casting Handbook) on molding, casting and different materials used in theater crafts. I suggest you buy his book or read his PropChem 101 paper for a discussion of different chemicals and materials used for theatre prop building. It applies to puppets, too!

	Fiskars Fabric Scissors Great for cutting fabric and easy on the hands. I don't know if spring loaded scissors help avoid carpal tunnel, but I love them. Soft handles and spring action lets you cut for hours without your hands cramping.
	Fiskars Small Snips Perfect for cutting small details. Big scissors are fine, but not always fine enough. I always have a set of snips on my worktable. Soft handles and spring action lets you cut for hours without your hands cramping.
	Fiskars Non-Stick Scissors Regular scissors will get ruined if you use them to cut fabric that has been covered with spray adhesive. But these non-stick coated scissors will cut right through without gumming up.
	3M Spray Adhesive Puppets are made of foam, then covered in fabric. Spray adhesive is the best way to attach fabric to a foam shape.
	DAP Weldwood Gel Contact cement is the best way to glue foam. The glue I use is DAP Weld Wood. It is extremely toxic and vapor harmful and should not be used indoors or around children (see glue packaging for complete information). I use the gel version in the red can but the original version is great too. The low vapor glue in the green can does not work well with foam (too bad). If you are working with children I suggest using Peel 'n' Stick double sided tape.
	Green Nerf Balls Yellow Foam Golf Balls For years, bulging eyes on puppets were made from ping-pong balls. But they are fragile and get dirty easily and some glues can melt ping-pong balls. I've been using high density foam balls for some time now, and I've been very happy with the results. Some of the practice gold balls have dimples. That might work ok for insect eyes, but the foam balls listed here are smooth. Unlike ping-pong balls, these foam balls are solid. They can be sliced in half leaving a large flat surface making gluing easier. Once sliced to the desired size, poke a hole into the foam ball and insert the stem of a plastic eye and viola: big durable eyes.