Behind the Scenes Contest

Behind the Scenes Contest

The winning entry in our Behind the Scenes Contest was submitted by Eddie Nutt of Henderson, North Carolina. His team, "Characters for Christ," has found the use of backdrop scenes to be one of the greatest additions for their ministry. Learn their secrets to creating, storing and changing scenes.

As Eddie puts it, "Imagine if you watched your favorite television show, and the actors only stood in front of a black screen." Backdrops are a creative and inexpensive way to set the scene and add a new dimension to your performance.

Contest

Eddie's team uses backdrop kits to trace and paint the scenes onto canvas. You could also create scenes on your computer, draw them on paper, or use clip art. Project them onto the canvas, trace them, and paint them. A lightweight rod is used to hang the canvas backdrop from the puppet stage, just like hanging a curtain.They purchased two extra crossbar connectors from One Way Street to hang the backdrops.

Characters for Christ came up with their own method to store scenes and change backdrops quickly, without being seen by the audience. When not in use, the scenes are hung onto a bracket that they made with PVC pipe and metal hooks. This keeps the scenes off the floor and ready to be used. They also created a special tool to use during scene changes. They took 48" dowel rods, screwed "U" screws into the end, and painted them all black (see photo at right). These tools allow the puppeteers to change the backdrops quickly and without showing themselves above the curtain.

Eddie and his team win an orange Fluorescent Fish Puppet for submitting the winning entry. Congratulations!

Honorable Mentions

We received many other contest entries and were amazed at the creativity and diversity of ideas and methods for backstage organization, tips, and tricks. We would like to share a few more ideas with you.

God's Mighty Handful Puppet Ministry of Dickinson, ND sent us their system for backstage organization and efficiency. One of their innovations is to use small sections of peg boards with hooks attached, to hang scripts behind the curtains. Each pegboard is labeled with a specific stage position, and the scripts are also coded using the same system. Scripts are hole-punched at top and bottom. A ring is placed through the bottom hole to hold the script pages together. The top hole is used to hang the script from the pegboard. Tabs are placed on the script pages so that they can easily be turned with one gloved hand. When each page is finished, it can be "dropped" off the hook, where it will remain attached to the bottom ring.

Dave and Kim Fox created a wooden prop stand to organize their large, flat props and keep them in order. The props lean against the stand, and the width of the posts can be adjusted according to the number of signs per song or skit.

Burt Streicher of Burke, VA developed a solution to easily attach and view scripts backstage. He purchased clear rope lights on sale after Christmas, and clips them along the length of the stage, inside the curtains. This makes it easy to read the scripts in the often dim backstage conditions. They also found a useful product, cubicle clips, to attach scripts to the curtains. These are plastic clips with a metal pin prong that easily attaches to cubicle walls (or puppet stage curtains). They are inexpensive, and easily found at office supply stores.

Frank Hammitt of PRC Squared puppet team in Colorado Springs, CO takes digital photos of all the team's puppets. They use this for a "name tag" that clips to the puppet. When the puppet is taken from the storage area for practice or a performance, the name tag is left clipped to the bin so that all the puppets are returned to the proper location.

Lindsey Rich tells us that they use a security camera behind the stage so that during their teaching time, the puppet can actually call out the child's name or encourage a specific child to sing, dance, etc. It really helps to make the story/puppet time personal!

Thanks for everyone who sent us their great ideas. We hope to share more entries in future issues of this newsletter.