Contact Disneyland's costume dept. A few years ago, we saw the "Mulan"
parade, which had actors in very tall motorized "mini floats" (for lack of
a
better term). The costumes were gorgeous and about 10-12 feet tall.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Kathy Hoover
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 11:37 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: [h-cost] Re: Mother Ginger
[EMAIL PROTECTED] 01/13/06 1:44 AM >>>
It seems that the person who played "Mother M" in that picture is a
guy. That would really help, because they really are larger and
stronger
(usually) and so can drag a heavy contraption more easily.
Yes, I know--and more often than not Mother Ginger *is* a guy--just for
the
comedy factor. We had wanted to use a guy-- we were trying to get a local
celebrity, like a DJ--but the Artistic Director nixed that idea, too.
(Can
you tell we had many artistic differances?) So it ended up being Clara's
mother, Mrs. Stahlbaum, who had no more to do after Act I was over (and
who, by the way, just happens to be my daughter. This production was the
20th anniversary of the first time the company did Nutcracker. Twenty
years
ago, Gretchen was Clara--now she came back to play her own mother!)
>Also, extra height on the part of the actor means extra head room
underneath.
Well, remember Gretchen was sitting on top of a 4-foot ladder--she was the
eqivalent of about a 7' person anyway! We need whatever device they use
to
drive parade floats around!
Kathy
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Kathy Hoover
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2006 10:15 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [h-cost] Re: Mother Ginger
Hi Mary, Becky, and anyone who has any ideas,
I just finished "Nutcracker" before Christmas and Mother Ginger was an
extreme problem. I had asked this list for suggestions in mid-November,
but
only got one or two replies about using plastic plumbing pipe. That is
what
we ended up doing, but the results were less than wonderful. It is first
on
my list of what to tackle the next time we do it. Our dancer sat on top
of
a 4-foot aluminum ladder that was not-too-securely attached to a platform
on
wheels (casters). The panniers were dropped over the ladder, she crawled
up
the ladder and wiggled down in. They were pinned as securely as we could
around her waist using upholstery strapping and we also had suspenders
attached. I wish we would have thought of the backbrace--good idea! Then
we dropped the skirt over her head (which was in several rather poorly
connected pieces), an apron, bodice with cape sleeves, collar, and she
wore
an outlandish yellow wig. The panniers were approximately 4' by 7'. The
size was based o! n the very cramped back stage space we had in our
theater. We had to be able to fit in 14 six to nine-year-old 'Bon-Bons'
and
also another teenage girl who literally pushed the whole contraption on
stage from underneath! Much of this was leftover technology from what had
been done in previous years when I was not with them. Two of us had to
dress Mother in the wings in only the ambient light coming from the stage.
It was very, very shaky to say the least and I am so glad that we got
through a Tech, a Dress, and 3 performances without a major mishap.
You have already given me some new ideas. I like the idea of the bottom
row
being a C-shape to let the dancers out--but then how did the pipe keep its
shape and not collapse on itself? We used plumbing connectors and put
crosswise braces of pipe at the long ends of the ovals. It kept the ovals
from twisting, but it was not enough to keep the panniers from sagging
under
the weight of the skirt. You mentioned having put upright pipe every 2
feet. I can see that this would give good support, but then how did you
get
it to bend into an oval? We only used the upholstery strapping to connect
the 3 horizontal rows of pipe. I knew this was a problem, but we couldn't
come up with a better answer in the time we had left.
You mentioned that you thought San Francisco had completely built a
stationary frame onto a platform. I'm going to contemplate this
one--because this may be the sturdiest idea in the long run. Our greatest
problem there would be storing it in the off season--costume and prop
space
in the back of the ballet studio is very limited. Is this link below the
Mother Ginger costume you saw?
http://www.voiceofdance.com/Insights/features.test.cfm?LinkID=31500000000000
174
I just love this! In my research on the 'Net for ideas, this was my
absolute favorite! A house for all the children!
One last question--what kind of movement did Mother make on stage? Did
she
just roll out on stage in a straight line and then back out? Did she
completely cross and go off on the other side? Did she turn or make any
other movements? Our director insisted that Mother turn in a circle
once--after the children were out. I'd like to figure out a different
method of locomotion than a person hidden in the skirts and pushing on all
fours!
Hope you all have your creative thinking hats on today,
Thanks,
Kathy
[EMAIL PROTECTED] 01/11/06 10:55 AM >>>
Hi Becky,
My daughter's ballet school does Nutcracker every year. They have a M
Ginger dress that is large enough to hide about a dozen kids under it.
You
said your's is for a play, but it seems like the construction could be
similar. They used the white plastic PVC pipe used for plumbing to
create
the structure, so that it would be rigid enough to hold its shape and
hold
the weight of the skirts. It has a top piece that is oval shape and a
bottom piece that is a "C" shape (to allow the children a "door" to come
out of), and then a few upright pieces, about every 2 ft?, to hold the
two
together. Then they used one of those back braces for workers who lift
heavy stuff that has suspenders attached. The skirt frame is attached to
that somehow (I never checked it out close up). Then the M Ginger dress
goes over the whole kit-n-kaboodle.
We went to see Nutcracker in San Francisco last month and I noticed that
their M Ginger dress frame seems to be on wheels. The nice thing about
that is that it probably takes a lot of weight off of the person wearing
the costume and it "glides" across the stage.
I have some pictures, but they don't show the framework. Let me know if
you'd like to see them.
HTH,
~mary
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 09:08:23 -0500
From: "Becky"
Subject: Re: [h-cost] robe a la francaise
I have to design a "Mother Ginger" costume for this Christmas play of the
Nutcracker. I have many ideas from various sites. I see how to make the
hoops atand out at different angles. I've thought about this since the
first
of December!!!! I work on it in my sleep. I've looked everywhere for a
pattern to use but so far nothing is as large as I need. BUT some of the
pictures I've found have been very helpful.
Yours has helped me to see how to put it together. Any suggestions on how
to
make the underpinning hoops or farthingale that is 2-3 yards across? It
has
to be large for that character.
«:*´`´`*:»§«.»§«:*´`´`*:».«:*´`´`*:»§«.»§«:*´`´`*:»
"Pictures of perfection, as you know, make me sick & wicked."
~ Jane Austen
"Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've
forgotten this before." ~ Steven Wright
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