We’ve recently posted a new album on Facebook documenting the building of the dragon puppet for Cory Godbey. If you’re on Facebook and haven’t “Liked” Thistledown Puppets yet, what are you waiting for?

Tags: Projects, Thistledown Stuff by Philip
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With the official opening of Give: A Christmas Musical just a couple weeks away (go buy tickets now!), I thought I’d introduce you to the talented people I’ve had the honor of spending a bunch of time with. So here is the cast in alphabetical order:

Philip Hatter (“Alley Cat,” Puppet Performer and Voice) is a seasoned puppet builder and performer and is the founder of Thistledown Puppets. He most recently was seen performing as “Pig” in Bull: A Puppet Musical and is excited to offer his craft and expertise to GIVE.

Jessie Hatter (“Mommy”) is a new Mommy in real life. She is fairly new to Roanoke theater and most recently performed as “Ewe” in Bull: A Puppet Musical. She is excited to be on stage again with the cast of GIVE.

Elizabeth Jones (“Allie Mouse,” Puppet Performer and Voice) Elizabeth Matthews Jones is a graduate student at Hollins University studying Creative Writing and Theatre, and is extremely honored to be a part of the world premier of GIVE.

Aimee Perkins (“DeeDee,” Puppet Performer and Voice) Aimee Perkins is so thrilled to be working on a project with the wonderful and talented A.D. Lucas. She has been in several shows in Roanoke, and is so happy to be working with such a wonderfully talented bunch.

Aaron Sifford (“Bobby,” Puppet Performer and Voice) Aaron is a local actor who is extremely excited to be a part of this production. Aaron has appeared in several shows here in the valley, the most recent being as “The Padre” in Man of La Mancha at Showtimers.

Josh Taylor (“Daddy”) Josh is so excited to be a part of this incredible show … even though he doesn’t get to be a puppet … this time! Josh has appeared in several local productions since moving to Roanoke, most recently performed roles in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Violet. Other credits include “George” in Our Town, “Sky Masterson” in Guys and Dolls, and the “Teen Angel” in Grease.

Alex Lucas (Playwright, Director) Alex D. Lucas is a playwright, lyricist, and composer living and working in Roanoke, VA. His most recent musical play Bull: A Puppet Musical premiered right here at the Dumas Center as a part of the Roanoke Arts Festival in 2008. That play has been produced and performed over the past two years in Greece. GIVE, Lucas’s second musical, represents a two-and-a-half year process of development that started as an idea to raise money for those in need during the holidays.

Tags: General Stuff, Projects, Thistledown Stuff by Philip
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Tickets for Give: A Christmas Musical are on sale now! You can buy them online here. The dates are December 10th, 11th, 17th, and 18th. We will be performing at the Barlow Auditorium at the Dumas Center–the venue for Bull: A Puppet Musical two years ago.

The show is really coming together. Alex has put a lot of work into this show–over two years to be exact. It’s so fun, and different from anything I’ve worked on before. It combines live actors and puppets, and the cast is so talented and amazing. I really think this show could become a local holiday tradition. So if you’re going to be in the Roanoke area next month, do yourself a favor and come out an see it. If you’d like, you can follow the progress on the show’s blog, or on Twitter. Below are some images of the four puppets that will appearing in the show:

Tags: Projects, Thistledown Stuff by Philip
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I recently worked with Rondal Scott over at Strange Kids Club to bring his blog’s namesake to life. To quote the blog: Strange Kids Club is a horror infused blog of pop culture retro geekdom hosted by graphic designer and copywriter Rondal Scott III – a daily dose of adolescent enthusiasm for B-movie monsters, movie trailers, classic wrestling match-ups, comics, exclusive interviews and unbelievably cool toys.

The Strange Kid–a quirky, comical, and slightly creepy kid–was a super fun character to bring to life. Rondal has plans to use him in a series on the site in the near future, and I can’t wait to see him in action. Until then, you can see some pics of the puppet below:

Tags: Projects by Philip
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This Christmas season, Thistledown Puppets will be designing, building, and performing four puppets for a new musical entitled “Give!” written and directed by our good friend Alex (A.D.) Lucas. The show will be performed here locally in Roanoke–in the same venue where Bull: A Puppet Musical (also written by Mr. Lucas) was staged a couple of years ago. Give! is currently in pre-production, and after a couple of readings of the play, I can tell you that I am really excited to be a part of it.

If you have plans to be in southwest Virginia this Christmas season, you won’t want to miss it. For more information on the show, visit the website or the blog.

Stay tuned for puppet designs and images…

Tags: General Stuff, Projects by Philip
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Here is a photographic trip through the building process of the Chummy and Champ puppet for Big Beak Pictures:

You can also find Chummy and Champ on Facebook.

Tags: Projects, Puppet People, Thistledown Stuff by Philip
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Last year I had the privilege of working with Big Beak Pictures in Malaysia to build four puppets for their children’s pilot called Chummy and Champ. You can watch a behind the scenes video of the show here.

Below are the characters from the show:

First is Champ the energetic orangutan.

Next is Chummy the happy Sun Bear.

Here is wise old Captain the sea turtle.

And this is the laughing and protective Big Beak.

Big Beak Pictures has just wrapped up filming the pilot for the show and will soon begin shopping it around internationally. You can follow their blog for more information.

I really hope Chummy and Champ will be aired here in the U.S. I’d love to see the characters in action.

In another post, I’ll show a bit of the building process for the puppet characters.

Tags: Projects, Puppet People, Thistledown Stuff by Philip
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Thistledown was recently contacted by Australian children’s author R.A. Spratt. She has written a series of books about Nanny Piggins (”the world’s most glamorous flying pig”) a daredevil circus performer-turned nanny. She wanted a puppet version of Nanny to use in promotional videos for the U.S. release of her first book “The Adventures of Nanny Piggins” this August.

The puppet is based on the illustrations that Rachel did for the Australian editions of the book. This was a delightful puppet to create because of her simplicity and her sweetness.

I can’t wait to get my own copy of The Adventures of Nanny Piggins when it becomes available, and I would encourage you to get one as well. Below are some more images of Nanny:

Be sure to keep an eye on Rachel’s website for videos featuring the puppet version of Nanny Piggins.

Tags: Projects by Philip
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Lately, the workshop has been hopping. Foam is being patterned and glued, fleece is being dyed and dryed, and every once in a while, I have a little overseer keeping careful watch over his Daddy.

I can’t wait to show some of the puppets I’ve been working on. In my humble opinion, they are some of my best. Stay tuned…

Tags: Projects, Thistledown Stuff by Philip
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The guys over at The Kids Music Underground have put up a video of the intro for their new pilot, and it includes some glimpses of the puppets in action. Check it out:
Kids Music Underground–Pilot Intro
They also now have a page dedicated to the puppet characters

Tags: Projects, Puppet People, Thistledown Stuff by Philip
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