Rehearsals for Panther and the Crane went on all day long. It was rather windy at first which caused some problems with the screen that was tied up between some trees. A hard gust caused the screen to collapse and it had to be re-tied up. You can still see the ladder leaning up against the tree. Besides the inflatable gator there were also several bronze gators and a statue of a gator wrestler which are permanent fixtures in the park. By the time I sketched this the puppeteers had already run through the performance at least twice and they were getting ready to get some supper. This sketch gives a good overall view of the staging area they had to work with.
Heather Henson introduced herself to me while I was sketching. Actually she didn’t mention her name at first and was just talking about my blog. She was wearing shorts and a blue tee shirt, she had bright green tape hanging off her shorts for some reason and I assumed at first that she must be a stage hand running around taping together anything that needed taping. She was unassuming in every way. When she did mention her name I did double take but was very pleased to finally meet her. She once again stressed that I could sketch at will and I couldn’t have been happier. I knew this was a very busy day for her so I got to work and let her run.
For the performance that night, I put my sketchbook down and just watched the show for the first time. It was a beautiful performance. At one point I spotted the mother crane sitting on the nest I had seen Tamara fixing that morning. Two puppeteers were needed to perform her graceful motions. I then saw the egg she was sitting on and I was shocked to tears when it cracked open and she lovingly preened the chick. There is magic in puppetry.
Gator Devours IBEX Rehearsal
As I approached Orlando Regional History Center, I heard music which I assumed to be for the rehearsal and then I was surprised to see his huge inflatable gator throwing his head back like Godzilla on a rampage. This is not a regular feature in downtown Orlando and was in place just for tonight’s performance of Panther and the Crane. You can see several members of the IBEX Puppetry cast in the small outdoor amphitheater behind the Gator. I noticed one woman manipulating a catfish puppet, she and the other performers I noticed moved with the grace of dancers. It was fairly windy and several times I feared that the gator might get blown on top of the cast. He held his ground however while constantly threatening to move. Tourists leaving the History Center were surprised to see the huge gator, so I assume he was inflated while they were inside. While doing this sketch I probably got to see half of the performance being rehearsed. There was a constant crowd of people watching the rehearsals so I felt I should be able to blend in. I wanted to move in closer…
Tamara Marke – Lares
After pouring herself a cup of coffee, Tamara got started on all the last minute fixes that were needed for tonight’s performance of Panther and the Crane. While she replaced some Velcro on several costumes I started laying in the sketch for the room. Quite honestly I was a bit overwhelmed, every square inch of space was crammed full of interesting visual details. I took a deep breath and got started. I had to assume she would later be working on the contraption sitting on the high stool.
The device she was working on was to be worn over the shoulders by a puppeteer sort of like a base drum in a marching band. Tamara started hot gun gluing leaves to the shoulder supports. She burnt her fingers a couple of times and said ” This is why I usually don’t use a hot gun.” I couldn’t really tell what it was I was sketching, but she explained that it was a nest and sticking out of the nest was a shell with a young chick inside. In the sketch you can only see the chicks wing and a small stick which I presume controls the chicks head movements. Tamara actually took a moment out of her hectic day to show me some of her own sketches. They were amazing! The sketches had twisted organic ink line work and vibrant color, they had a touch of the macabre and yet were very playful. After everything was glued and set, Craig came back with the car from an errand and it was time for them to load the repaired items back into the car and head down to the History Center where rehearsals were going on all day right up until moments before the show at 7:30PM…
Henson Studio
While sketching at the Florida Film Festival wrap party, Margaret Nolan introduced herself to me. This was the first time I had met her in person. I requested to become a facebook friend with her when I saw that she had tagged some colorful photos of a production of Panther and the Cane. Margaret’s tag lead me to research the Ibex Puppetry Company and I discovered a whole series of wonderful development drawings produced by Heather Henson, for the show. I immediately e-mailed Heather and asked if I could tag along for rehearsals and any last minute creative work being done. I was thrilled when she e-mailed me back. She explained that she had obsessively kept sketch journals at different periods of her life and so she fully understood my mission.
Heather suggested I go to the Henson studio and watch Tamara Marke Lares who is an amazing artist, working on the costumes for the show. The studio is located in this colorful old building downtown. I knocked on the door but there was no answer. I looked in the doors glass panes through some light lace curtains and saw a fantastic explosion of shapes and colors. Blue gossamer birds hung from the ceiling, a mannequin head was on the mantle piece with pins sticking out of its head and assorted bits and pieces of colorful fabric were everywhere. There was no chance I could walk away from that door. I assumed Tamara wasn’t in yet so I did what any artist-journalist would do, I camped out in front of the house and began to sketch. Before the sketch was complete Tamara and Craig, her husband drove up. Since we had met previously, the introductions were short and sweet and Tamara quickly got to work…