4. Camille the camel.
One of my more ambitious projects was to design and build a full size camel with driver for a scene in a Flint, MI theatrical production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This is one of my prouder accomplishments, as it involved using new techniques to make shapes I had never attempted before. The original design was done over drinks at a bar and was drawn on a paper napkin. I wish I would have kept it because the final result turned out almost exactly as I had imagined it.
The first thing was to make the head of the driver, which would be operated from underneath the hump via a long pole, involving a string for the mouth, and the ability to turn the head.
Then the hard part, creating the camel herself. I wanted all the inner workings to be self-contained, so it involved a lot of eyehooks with strings running through them to the operators. Quite a labor-intensive operation.
The head of Bob the camel driver, unfinished. This is a perfect example of the 'Grey Seal Puppets' Nip and Tuck method.'
Bob the camel driver with a fresh coat of floral spray and beard (a maribou feather boa.) Eye pupils were added later, once he was on top of the camel.
I had to bend a lot of PVC pipe to make the infrastructure. Very hot operation. Hence the gloves.
The HUMP of the camel. This was a two person operation, with the operators supporting the hump on their shoulders, allowing their arms freedom to operate the camel's and driver's heads.
A sneak peek at the infrastructure of the hump, made of bent PVC and foam.
The two operators (Andrea and Elsa,) with the shoulder apparatus (minus the hump,) and the two head puppets.
Working on the camel's head. This involved a lot of trial and error, but the early results were encouraging.
Camille the camel with her floral paint job.
Camille with her 'skin' of felt fabric, draped over the hump and loosely attached to the head.
A nearly completed Camel out for her first trial run.
Camille and Bob completed and in performance.
Click here to read about the puppetry for the TV series Come On Over.
