Lost Puppet Designs Final

Last, but not Least is a design that remained close to my heart for decades. I had tried to introduce the TRAPEZE MONKEY into the last season of SANTA'S MAGIC CIRCUS..it seemed a  natural, since it was supposed to be a Circus Show.

We had Pony Riding Clowns and a Tightrope Walking Clown along with a variety of other interesting acts ( see my post on the OPERA SINGER and the ICE SKATERS  and  CHRISTMAS BALLET FINALE ) but we were a bit short on actual Circus Themed Numbers.

Anyway, in order to perform this trick in the large scale required for a  Full- Stage Show we would have had to add a second platform rig to the tour, and there was no additional money in that years budget...so...no TRAPEZE MONKEY. The platform to elevate the puppeteer was needed because the rotating controller was HUGE and the Puppet had to completely drop down to twice it's size during the trapeze act.

All was not lost. In the 1990's I finally built this puppet, in a slightly different style and costume, for BOB ABDOU...MR PUPPET as he is nationally known...for his travelling show.

 The photos below show that puppet...smaller and with a much closer controller to be performed cabarat style.

The Hands and Feet as strung in a continuous thread so that the puppet can swing by it's Hands & and then drop and swing from it's Feet from the trapeze. It is an act as old as the hills, but it thrills audiences every time. I added a separate set of head strings so that the grinning monkey could turn to the audience after each trick and seem to say, ' Hey! Look What I Done!".

Bob is still performing with this puppet today. Every now and then he sends me an EMail to let me know how well it's act goes over. I'll soon post some pics of  other marionettes I've built for Bob...but up next will be the very fruitful enterprise of Character Costume Work I did during my last years in Wichita, Kansas.....just before I returned to Fort Worth and my stint with the HIP POCKET THEATRE in the late 1980's.

Lost Puppet Designs 3

Here is another sketch for the Country Western Review we produced at TROTTER BROTHERS PRODUCTIONS back in the 1970's.

This was an all  PIG  Can-Can number, if you can imagine such a thing. I should state here that I rarely had much imput into the content of these shows. I designed what the Producers ( and ultimately, the Clients ) wanted to see. There were 6 of these beauties, strung three to a long controller so that they could perform in tandem...I don't remember the music they danced to now...but I do remember that their "Butt Wiggle" was very popular with the audiences back in those simpler times!

Lost Puppet Designs 2

MARCO MARS was a Character Costume we were commisioned to create for STORYTOWN USA in Allentown, New York. We were trying to branch out from pure marionette reviews to include Magic Shows in the offerings as well, but with the magic being performed by a fully costumed character rather than a traditional magician ( this meant that as many as four teenagers could be trained to do the show, just like the puppet reviews, without the need to costume each individually).

I drew the initial sketch and rendererd it in color as part of the proposal package...which was eventually rejected because the cost of the actual illusions ( about $1000 a piece) was prohibitive.

Any resemblence to the MAGICMAKER Character from my show JACK AND THE BEANSTALK the year before was purely intensional...it was a good design and i saw a way to expand on it.

Lost Puppet Designs 1970's

As I have mentioned before, most of my professional work as a Puppet Designer remained with the companies I worked for ( contractually "owned" by them in fact ) and so is lost to me forever.

However...I have found a file ( not a digital file mind you...and actual file folder! ) with some original sketches and renderings I did back in the 1970's which I had forgotten about completely.

Here is a sketch for a marionette of  DOLLY PARTON I created for a Country Western Review that was ordered for one of our amusement park clients back then. Dolly was 36 " tall and carved from wood with Celastic Head ( Celastic is no longer on the market due to the various illnesses it has spawned... and I used the stuff for YEARS! ).

Anyway, I remember we had a hard time getting Dolly's Breasts just right until I hit on the idea of filling two plastic LEGGS pantyhose containers ( Remember THOSE? ) with plaster of paris about a third of the way and then attaching them to Her upper torso with heavy duty springs! She started out singing her number normally( to a real tape of DOLLY of course ) ...but when the song got Hot she started to bounce and all the dad's who had accompanied their kids into the show suddenly sat up and took notice!

Good Clean Family Fun!

I wish I had a decent photo of this marionette as her costume was gold lame with over a hundred
hand-set rhinestones ( DOLLY herself would have worn it!).

The  MINNIE PEARL  and  GRANDPA JONES  marionettes in the picture with DOLLY were created by RAY MOORE of Atlanta, whose praises I've sung before here. Really a Master PuppetMaker!

The right side of the photo ( from a brochure we used to get clients back then) shows the Raggedy Ann & Andy Polkla Puppets from SANTA'S MAGIC CIRCUS, our Christmas Touring Show. These puppets were strung on a tandem controller so that they could dance together with only one operator ( there were 4 sets of these filling the stage). Raggedy Andy could actually be made to "Lift" Raggedy Ann up in the air in a spin which the audiences loved.

NOVA'S SHADY GROVE Review

Most of the original cast recreated their roles for this revival production.  If you would like to see NOVA'S SHADY GROVE I will be uploading a video of the show this weekend to the Hip Pocket Memories YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/HipPocketMemories.

NOVA'S SHADY GROVE Inspiration

I've been asked how I come up with the concept for my set designs. They are  driven primarily by the action required in the play first, followed by any creative impulse I might feel is appropriate.

This was a no brainer really...the actual bar on Lake Worth was dripping with the kind of Texas Roadhouse atmosphere that people of a certain lifestyle are all too familiar with. Since it was the inspiration for the play I felt that I should do what I could to recreate the space as accurately as possible, with the aforementioned side murals to add a touch of surreality against the hyperreality of the setting and it's fixtures.

The photos I took on our visit out there that day in february 1987 will give you an idea of what I was working from in designing NOVA'S SHADY GROVE.

NOVA'S SHADY GROVE Elevations

Here are the Elevation Drawings of the set for NOVA'S SHADY GROVE.
At top is the stage right side of the barroom set and at bottom the stage left side. The curtained doorway was one of the actual doors into the room, expanding the setting out into the hallway beyond.
The murals extended off the stage on either side and into the audience, enveloping them within the space. The empty white areas in each mural served as slide screens during the performance, and the suspended TV set was used to show films which had been made for the original production in 1977.

Some sets I've done fall more into the realm of "Environments" or "Installations" rather than fully built from scratch settings. This was no exception as it required a number of existing elements in order to make the space seem authentic.

I borrowed heavily from  JOE DULLE, whose own bar the WHITE ELEPHANT SALOON was just one floor below us. He had a vast storeroom of old fixtures ( including the really vintage jukebox we used in this production) which I took full advantage of.

I also borrowed the neon advertising signs and price board from  JAMES QUAVE, who owned and ran the property and Barbeque Restaurant at OAK ACKES AMPHITHEATRE. I won high praise for this set and it was one of the best I ever did, but those two kind gentlemen deserve just as much credit for their generosity in helping me make it as realistic as possible.

NOVA'S SHADY GROVE Groundplan

This is the same newly constucted platform stage UPSTAIRS AT THE WHITE ELEPHANT in North Fort Worth, Texas. Since NOVA'S SHADY GROVE required a small live band on stage and featured dance and actors...and since no entrances or exits were required behind the set as had been for LUCY & DESI, I was able to push the "walls" of the set all the way back to the actual walls of the room. This allowed us to utilize every inch of the stage, which was still a pretty tight fit.

The band,  DOUGLAS & SYLVIA BALENTINE  and  PRESTON DUNLAP  had their own space in the far upstage corner on an elevated platform which also served as the "Bar" area and had room for the Vocal Singers PEGGY BOTT and SUSAN NEELY ( but not quite enough for poor DICK HARRIS, who drifted around in the background and only came to the mike to sing when his voice was required).

The "Pier" in the foreground was actually left over from ADVENTURES WITH JUNE & SCOTTY in 1985, and re-purposed for this production. The ramp led up into the center aisle of the audience and served as GOATMAN ROY'S pathway to Heaven at the end of Act One.

[ my groundplans were always done in large scale ( this one is 24" square on paper) so this is a scanned 'mosaic" from the original drawing ]

NOVA'S SHADY GROVE Mural Art

NOVA'S SHADY GROVE takes place in a bar just off shore on LAKE WORTH in Fort Worth, Texas.
 JOHNNY SIMON'S actually wrote most of THE LAKE WORTH MONSTER while frequenting this very establishment, OPAL'S SHADY GROVE and one day in February 1987 He took some of us on a little road trip back there.

 I took a number of photos of the outside and interior as research for my set design. Here you can see some the results of that trip,which would be rendered as large murals on either side of the set, serving both to provide atmosphere and a space for slide projections during the performance.

NOVA'S SHADY GROVE HPT 1987

Right after the run of LUCY & DESI we staged a revival of one of the original HIP POCKET THEATRE shows from 1977, NOVA'S SHADY GROVE. This was a semi-sequel to the LAKE WORTH MONSTER which was first staged in the Solarium of the MUSEUM OF MODERN ART in Fort Worth, Texas in 1974 and is considered to be the Genesis of HIP POCKET as many of the original members of the company ( including your's truly...) were a part of the cast and musicians involved in that production, JOHNNY SIMON'S master's thesus at TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY.

Above is the Poster and Program art I created for this revival production, utilizing an original sketch ( at the bottom) done by JOHNNY SIMON'S himself for the original program.

LUCY & DESI Show That's A Wrap!

I have to admit that although I really enjoyed designing and building the set and effects for this show...and despite the fact that the cast was Superb...the play itself wasn't up to my usual standards.  I will always wish that I had not commited to such an early start date... had more time to work on the script... and more time to work with the actors to make it a better show.

As it turned out, however we really lucked out with this one because all the local papers were begging for Valentine's Day material...and what better than  LUCY & DESI  for the holiday?

We got an obscene amount of press beforehand, so although the reviews were only passable, the audience was assured for the entire run and those that saw it loved it...

...Especially the moment in Act Two when the Late, Great  RIC SWAIN met his demise at the hands ( tails?)  of the SHREWS  as they sucked him down the Kitchen Sink! His pudgy little legs quivering all the way down produced the longest sustained laughter from an audience in Hip Pocket History!

( The Secret was a white rubber sink surround with a ramp built in that RIC could just slide right down with a bit of help off-stage. It was Hysterical and all everyone talked about afterward.)

God Bless You Ric. We All Miss You.

LUCY & DESI SHOW Props

Since this was supposed to be a Live TV broadcast in the 1950's I came up with a couple of props to set the mood.

At the top is my design for the Dancing Cigarette Pack which LAKE SIMONS wore so effectively during the mid-point "Commercial" in Act Two. This was based on an actual commercial, done not on the I LOVE LUCY SHOW but on other shows during that era. It looked Great, got a Big laugh and LAKE really tapped her little heart out.

She had to be lead on and off the set as she could'nt see a thing!

At the botton is the design for the TV Set in which LUCY & DESI first appear to open the "Broadcast". They simply carried the foamcore TV on, did their bit to the Theme Song and dropped it as they went into the "Show". it was hysterical to watch.

LUCY & DESI Show The Secret of the SHREWS

The effects in this show were critical both for the plot ( such as it was...) and for the comedy timing. The SHREWS were supposed to be rubber props delivered from the warehouse late, so they weren't aavilable for the run-through before the live broadcast later that evening.

At the end of the first Act the long awaited crate arrives, is signed for and casually plopped on the set's couch center-stage. as the stage lights dim, the crate bigins to glow and vibrate. The lid pops off and several slimy red, furry, glittery tails emerge and wiggle out of the crate just before all goes black. The audience was amazed, since they had seen the crate being carried by hand into the space and it seemed as if all this was happening for real.

The sketches at the top from my notebook reveal the magic "secret" of the Shrews:

The sofa on set was specially built for the show with a small trap door in it, hidden by the tufts of the upholstery. C. LEE GIBSON, who assisted me in the constuction of the set and the direction of the show was hidden under the sofa for the entire first act! Poor Kid...but she did want to learn theatre!

The Shrew's Crate had a hole in it's bottom that wasn't visible to the audience as it was brought on set. Inside the crate was a small red spotlight and the rod puppet Shrew Tails. When the crate was set on the sofa, C. LEE quickly opened the small trap door and plugged the spotlight into an extension cord hidden inside the sofa. She gripped the rod that controlled the Shrews and along with the light cues from the booth above made the Shrews do their stuff. HA! So simple and yet so effective.

I should mention here that I NEVER built furniture for any show unless it had a secret purpose such as this. The other pieces that dressed this set were scrounged from trash piles on the front lawns of Fort Worth, then repaired, re-purposed and re-painted. I did this countless times when no budget was available.

I particularly loved the coffee table which was in perfect condition and just the right look and period for this show...all I did was spray paint it white!

The lower photo shows one of the Shrew hand puppets ( there were four of these which could pop up anywhere on the set to wreak their havoc. Here DENA BRINKLEY is menaced ( without noticing!) in the Kitchen set. More about that later.....

LUCY & DESI Show Color vs Black & White

LUCY & DESI vs THE KILLER SHREWS was a play in two acts. Act One comprised a run-through of what was supposed to be that evenings live TV broadcast. The audience is introduced to the characters and the plot ( such as it was...) and the individual character tics for each of the four; LUCY, DESI, ETHEL and FRED were revealed as they would be magnified in Act Two.

For this Act the set was seen as unfinished ( notice the turned around flat behind DENA BRINKLEY as LUCY in the top photo. Also the cast were costumed in full color fashions of the 1950's here as thier everyday strret attire.

PEGGY BOTT as ETHEL in the lower photo shows how the second act looked. Presented as the actual Black & White TV broadcast, the actors were dressed all in B&W and used a lighter makeup. As the "Show" begins everything is running normally for TVLand, but as the real Killer Shrews take over, the broadcast falls apart and the actors are picked off in spectacular fashion.

Incidentally, the "Shrews" were represented only by their Tails...long red, furry and glittery glove puppets which could snake in and out of the doors, windows, fireplace...and most hysterically...the Kitchen Sink!

 Effectively the only bits of color in the all B&W world of the TV Show.

LUCY & DESI Show Fireplace Wall detail

I did this sketch before the blueprints as a way of determining the cut-back of the all brick fireplace wall and the dimensions for the scaled down fireplace. I "stepped-down" the wall so that the set would be balanced with the partial wall of the Kitchen on the other side of the set. I should mention that this was designed to "look" like a television set from the 1950's, partially dimensional and partially painted detail ( the "bricks" for example) and was rendered entirely in tones of black, grey and white to appear "Black & White" during the second act which was supposed to show an actual telecast of the LUCY & DESI SHOW.

LUCY & DESI Show Blueprints

This was the first  HIP POCKET THEATRE show for which I designed and built actual theatrical "Flats" which are commonly used in other theatres for scenery, but didn't usually fit this company's free form style.

This bluprint sheet, shown here in two parts, details the position and construction of the set for LUCY & DESI vs THE KILLER SHREWS. I lucked out here since DENA, PETE, RIC and PEGGY were all around 5 1/2 feet tall. I was able to fit the walls in at 7 1/2 feet high, which looked in scale with the actors but could squeeze into the tight space.  Another example of a scaled-down design that worked.

The big  Xs  were maked by me on the plan as each wall unit was completed, since they were built off set and not put together until just before the first tech rehearsal. I always work this way; the process is designed down to the fraction of the inch and painted in shop, then transported into the theatre space and assembled like a big puzzle with the blueprints and groundplan as a guide. It always works great...until something does'nt fit!

LUCY & DESI Show Groundplan

I knew some things about the  I LOVE LUCY SHOW,  and God knows I grew up on the re-runs as a kid, but to pull this off I knew I'd have to do a lot of research and quick!

I found  THE I LOVE LUCY BOOK by BART ANDREWS  to be the most helpful. It had true Behind-The-Scenes stories, a complete Episode Guide and  most importantly some really good Photos of the actual studio and sets during production. This gave me a base for the play and the design.

That 1987 Season  UPSTAIRS AT THE WHITE ELEPHANT was our 4th and in an effort to fit as many audience members into that 50 X 50 foot room as we could I had created removable risers that could be fitted into the space. This allowed seating for 101, rather snugly...and I had determined to build a proper stage platform at a level that would allow for better sight lines.

This groundplan for  LUCY & DESI vs THE KILLER SHREWS shows that platform ( or set of platforms, as it too was removable). The whole playing area was 20 feet wide and 20 feet deep to the corner in back. Pretty tight as a whole, but for this show I had to construct a viable replica of the set of  I LOVE LUCY  as well, with working doors and backing space for entrances and exits. Even then the Kitchen, where the most important part of the show is set, could only be suggested at stage left by a door frame, and sink cabinet with window above.

LUCY & DESI vs THE KILLER SHREWS 1987

This little farce was the result of some after rehearsal drinking and gabbing. It was our custom after an evening's rehearsal at the  KIMBELL MUSEUM  to move over to  J&J'S HIDEAWAY, a watering hole on 7th Street in Fort Worth which is now sadly no more, to have a few beers and talk about whatever entered our heads. OLD TARZAN  happened this way as did  LUCY & DESI vs THE KILLER SHREWS. Much in the same way that  JOHN MURPHY and RIC SWAIN  had made the perfect  ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN in 1984, we all thought that DENA BRINKLEY and PETE TAMEZ (last seen in MIRANDOLINA '84) would be the perfect LUCY & DESI.

But in what vehicle? We hashed this around for awhile...more beer!  Somehow a discussion of
 THE KILLER SHREWS, an obscure Drive-In flick made by legendary broadcaster GORDON MCCLENDON in Dallas in 1959 caught our fancy....More BEER!

Finally I came up with the great idea of combining the two. It was stupid and simple...Somehow Lucy  accepts the delivery of a crate that turns out to contain the aforementioned SHREWS and all hell breaks loose as the cast is taken out one by one. I said that I would write it and we agreed to put it first on our schedule of shows UPSTAIRS AT THE WHITE ELEPHANT the next February, 1987.

I had TWO MONTHS to deliver...No Problem!.....MORE BEER!!!!!!

JACK & THE BEANSTALK Program & Article

It was a Good Show and very well received on it's premiere engagement at Century 21 in Wichita, Kansas...our home base.

Here is the original program and the article which highlighted how one of the TROTTER BROTHERS productions came to the stage back in 1977.

JACK & THE BEANSTALK Sketches

Unfortunately, and rather typically...my renderings for JACK & THE BEANSTALK's puppets and sets remained with the TROTTER BROTHERS after I left the company and I have no idea where they are today or if they still even exist.

I did find these two rough sketches which actually were more important as they detail the touring stage set-up and materials.

At the left is a breakdown of the TROTTER's touring stage, used for all the full stage productions. This was constructed of aluminium tubing joined together with couplings and allen wrenches. Each tube section was 6' long. The entire stage was 12' high and 30' wide with the proscenium opening for the Hand and Rod puppets being6' tall and 15' wide in the center. The entire framing was covered with black velvet attached quickly with velcro fastenings. The stage could be set up and ready to perform within 2 hours of unloading and could be struck and packed up in less than an hour. On tour this was crucial, as we often played only one evening and had to be in the next town by afternoon on the following day. If you have never done this sort of thing I can't begin to describe how it feels, except that you learn to covet two things: a decent place to eat, and even more importantly, a good place to wash your cloths!

Along with the main stage setup were several rolling stands ( a castored base with an aluminium pole attached). These supported both scenery and puppets as needed and could be interchanged.

In the second photo are sketches for the show opening banner. Two huge butterflies flit in Black-Light around the stage before opening this fluorescent banner proclaiming the name of the show. This led into the opening scene between the MAGICMAKER and the MAN IN THE MOON following the MAGICMAKER's expulsion from his castle in the clouds by the GIANT which starts the play. All this opening was in Black-Light prior to the first scene of the play. The Sets were two-sided flats on castored stands which floated in from the wings and formed the scene before the audience's eyes; first the house of JACK and his MOTHER between the trees of the forest, abd then in Act 2 they swiveled in place to form the castle of the GIANT among the clouds. Pretty nifty.

The most important effect was the Beanstalk which had to appear to "grow" in real time on stage. The second photo shows how this was accomplished. Like the MAGICMAKER puppet, the Beanstalk was constructed with a covering and leaves made of fluorescent materials. It was mounted on a frame which stood behind the Act 1 setting. A black velvet cloth 7.5' wide and 13' long was draped over this, with a batton affixed at it's back. First, a gloved hand depicting the sprouting stalk was shown writhing up from the proscenium, then the drape was slowly pulled back, and the jagged edge of the bottom reveiled the black-Lit stalk as it was drawn up and over. After this the stage lights were brought up and JACK was able to climb the stalk aided by his "Legs" which were sewn to his black sleeve. Clever, huh?

JACK & THE BEANSTALK Puppets 3

In the second act of the show the GIANT appears on stage just in front of the puppet proscenium as an 8 foot tall costumed human actor. After watching the show in puppet scale this was a shock to the audience as well at to JACK. Here is the GIANT'S Head next to the Jack puppet. It was built of foam rubber over a wire armature attached to an actual football helmet. One hand of the performer operated the GIANT's mouth and wires that could close and open  his eyelids for either wide-eyed rage, or the sleepy-eyed look needed when the HARP played it's lullaby. The other hand went into a glove to move the GIANT'S right hand ( the Left Hand was stuffed and attached to a wire that raised and lowered it in conjuction with the Right hand's movement when needed.

At the right in the photo is me with the JACK Puppet just after it was finished and tested. This test convinced the TROTTER BROTHERS that the technique would work so that we could proceed with the production. In case any of you feel that my brilliant ideas and designs spoke for themselves over the years...dream on...I've had to "Audition" my work countless times, and have been rejected even more. Such is the theatre...the Bottom Line will always rule and must be FED!

JACK & THE BEANSTALK Puppets 2

I styled the JACK & THE BEANSTALK puppets with vaguely Russian costumes. I'm not remembering why exactly, except that I may have wished to separate this shows look from the previous one somehow.

The MAGICMAKER character, seen here with JACK was both the Narrator of the play and the chief instigator of the plot. It was HIS castle in the clouds which the GIANT had stolen. HE sells JACK the magic beans which grow the Beanstalk, etc. This was not only a colorful character, but he was fashioned entirely from Fluorescent materials. During key scenes he would be shown flying with the aide of a Magic Umbrella, and tho sequences were lit entirely by Black-Light.

In the second photo is BETTY LEHNUS, who built this show with me for the TROTTER BROTHERS. Betty is an accomplished puppet builder in her own right, claiming that she learned from us at the studio, but her talent comes from within. Some have it and some don't. I was grateful for her assistance and ideas and encouragement.

Some years later She and I started our own costuming business building Mascot costumes for schools and businesses, and costuming childrens theatre productions... and the PUNCH & JUDY puppets I've posted about earlier.

More about that business in later posts...

JACK & THE BEANSTALK Puppets

As I've said before, RAY MOORE is a genius as both a designer and puppet builder. I will never aspire to his talent, although we have worked together and he is a gracious and generous man.

The top two photos show the puppets he created for the TROTTER BROTHER'S production of HANSEL & GRETEL. These were beautifully sculpted and finished with very technical controls which allowed intricate head and hand movements. The FATHER, MOTHER andf WITCH puppets were 36" tall with hand and rod manipulation. The puppeteer had a touch-sensitive controller which allowed the head to be nodded and swiveled from side to side, while the hands were controlled by black rods, so attached as to allow for very human-like movement and gestures. HANSEL and GRETEL and the other characters where slightly smaller hand puppets ( three fingers controlling Head and Hands) and an array of forest creatures and Angels, some hand puppets and some on simple single rod controls. All really fine workmanship and all....

....really EXPENSIVE!

At least a quarter of the cost of this show lay in the puppets. My first task to bring in a more affordable production for JACK & THE BEANSTALK was to find a way to produce puppets which were full-stage worthy but not so expensive.

The bottom photo shows the solution. Instead of sculpted styrofoam and heavy felt covering, the JACK puppets were all made to the same design: Simple foam rubber Head and Body construction with cheaper flesh colored velveteen coverings. The hands were wire armature with velveteen, stuffed with polyester and a simple black cotton sleeve. Once the bodies were constructed as seen in the lower photo at the left, we finished and costumed them to create JACK and his MOTHER as seen in the right hand photo.

These puppets were not as heavy and were only capable of fairly broad movements ( No Head movement accept side to side turns, and simple hand gestures) but they performed acceptably and...
... Cost VERY LITTLE to create.

JACK & THE BEANSTALK Trotter Brothers 1977

I've posted before about my years with the TROTTER BROTHERS PRODUCTIONS and the Holiday and Amusement park shows I designed and mounted for them in the mid 1970's.

They also toured full stage productions utilizing 36" tall hand and rod puppets. They were doing  a musical version of HANSEL & GRETEL designed by RAY MOORE of Atlanta when I joined the company and they wanted a second show to tour seasonally. After several pitches were rejected, my idea for JACK & THE BEANSTALK was accepted, mainly because I had figured out a way to incorporate a human-sized GIANT into the show and because I promised to bring the production in well under the cost of HANSEL & GRETEL.

 I delivered on that promise by writing the show myself,  book, music and lyrics...and designing modular rod puppets and scenery which could be shipped in  a 15 foot U Haul truck, instead of the 30 foot rig needed for HANSEL & GRETEL and SANTA'S MAGIC CIRCUS. Just in case you're interested, the difference in cost per production was about $50K for HANSEL & GRETEL to around  $10K for JACK. Even in 1977 that was a big number to recoup.

Above is a publicity picture of BOB and DAVE TROTTER with the GIANT character costume and some of the puppets from JACK & THE BEANSTALK, and a pic of me and the JACK puppet taken for a newspaper article profiling the making of the show.