Dinosaur World Live! The puppet takes on an enormous dimension | Vermont Arts
Miranda, the daughter of paleontologists, grew up surrounded by dinosaurs on a remote island. But today, she brings them to a theater near you. The remarkably realistic dinosaurs of Dinosaur World Live! include every kid’s favorite like Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops, built in realistic proportions and made into real puppets.
“It’s an inspiring 50-minute interactive show with giant dinosaurs,” director Derek Bond said in a press Q&A. “Our largest is almost 10 meters (33 feet) long and it takes four people to get it married.”
Dinosaur World Live! has toured the UK three times and is currently touring the US, stopping at the Paramount Theater in Rutland at 2pm on Saturday January 15th.
At different points in the show, Miranda asks for volunteers on stage, and when a particular dinosaur appears, audiences are known to jump out of their seats or hide under them.
“We always start with a physical warm-up,” Bond said of the rehearsals for the show. “The dinosaur puppet is hard physical work, and the team should warm up like dancers or athletes.”
“Then we’ll watch a ‘no-frills’ scene – this is where the puppeteers move through space without the puppet,” he added, “but using their hands and legs in the same way. that they do when they operate the puppet. We do this because dinosaurs are heavy and you can’t stop and think about what to do when someone is holding 25 kilograms (55 pounds) on his shoulders.
“When we have a shape for the stage that we are satisfied with, the puppeteers will go inside the dinosaur and we will test the shape,” he explained. “Laura Cubitt, our brilliant puppet maker, will spot details that will help puppeteers really bring the dinosaur ‘to life’ – it could be a breath, a look, or a wink.”
To play the character of Miranda, Bond was looking for someone with strong storytelling skills who could improvise, and for puppeteers, “strong hands and the ability to focus completely on the puppet they’re working with – they have to get done. disappear, and allow you to totally forget that they are there.
With Cubitt bringing puppets to life and helping puppeteers (who might not be able to see each other) communicate and work together, Bond keeps an eye on things like rhythm, dinosaur relationships, Miranda, the guests, and what story is told in each episode.
“Laura will translate this into movements or thoughts that are useful for the puppeteers and come up with ideas when she finds something the puppeteers can do with the puppet,” said Bond.
“It’s an inspiring show,” he concluded. “It fires the imagination and teaches you things you might not know about dinosaurs like the T-rex and the triceratops, but also introduces you to dinosaurs you might not have heard of like the microraptor and the Segnosaurus. I hope the public will come out with their imaginations working on all the cylinders. “