The Magical Marionette Theatre

Bodies are ready~

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:49:00 +0000

Just a quick post after so loooooooong to show you that the marionettes bodies are now waiting their heads , hands and feet. Then next ,will come the costume. I have been divided with so many things ... mold making ... miniature work..... and I had *plans* to have all the cast done before the end of the year but it will not be possible. We are schedule to perform on end of march so our rehearsal MUST start sometime on January. I will have all done by then - I promise!*grin*

Backdrops

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:14:00 +0000

Welcome to my *studio*

I love my barn ....grin... it serves us well as milking parlor but the loft also has a perfect space for painting.

The 4 backdrops are ready but I am now extending the sizes to fit the theatre properly. Here you have a good idea how big our theatre is in comparison with my size.

First scene- forest

second scene - 7 dwarfs room

Third scene - Wicked queen chamber

Fourth Scene - palace garden

New faces , hands and body progress

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:23:00 +0000

I managed to finished 2 new dwarfs. they look so much younger and different from the others and I like this look so much more ...sigh...but I will have to happy with what I got now,grin!

When I work with the costumes , I will then add hats on them.

Sorry for the bad picture.... I just want to show you the fiber glass hand , already painted with a first coat. I haven't made any others , not even the other hand 's mold because I need to finish one first to see if I like it. I *really* like fiberglass as medium, it is hard like a rock.

Kate started to carve.... she will be making all the legs and arms.... she needs to *hand- carve* 112 pieces..... yep, she will be busy for while. when ever she is not playing or composing , you can see kate with her carving knife sculpting these darling legs!

It is always a celebration!

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:20:00 +0000

*** I had some problems uploading so if you kindly would click on picture, you will see the right photo***

Today we received the program for the George Batte Jr. Fine Arts Center. Needless to say that this makes my children jump up and down. It all becomes very real to them ( and to me too,grin) when we see the program.

The Fine Arts Center offers incredible entertaining and the shows are first class. I am so proud to be part of this and a little nervous now.... I always get like that.

The program is beautiful but if you never been at the theater you don't know what you are missing. The Wingate University theatre is gorgeous and reminds me when I was in Italy and visit the cathedrals .....

Yes ! It is time to celebrate. the children and I will have punch and dress up tonight while our victrola plays some oldies..... life is good , no?*grin*

I invite you to see what else is presented at the theatre, click on link below please:

http://www.wingate.edu/Culture/series.aspx

Prince and the others....

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:41:00 +0000

It has been harder and harder to post . I am so sorry about that. I love to work with the theatre and to talk about it. I am working on the marionettes but very slow, because my time is 90% devoted to the patitadolls and I honestly wish that I could have more hours in my day.*grin*
No, there is time for many things, if I don't sleep much of course, smiles, but I am trying to manage well.
I am closing my 7kidsfarm and I will no longer make soaps. I just don't have the time. And I will probably not sculpt , only for my dolls and the marionettes. I am no longer taking commission work and computer time is limited too because I have many projects right now.
I am a mom of 7 children and with a husband that delights in my company ,grin, and visiting my friends and their blogs has been more difficult just because I don't get to come to the computer until late at night but I always manage to take a peek at your blogs, so please , if you are not hearing from me lately don't think I am not visiting you , I am , just for a shorter time.

My daughters will be working with the wood carving for the bodies. I am so excited about this because I have done most things alone but now I will have considerable help.yes!

Almost forgot... here is the prince. I didn't think to make him handsome but rather gentle looking . I think he is nice looking thought. *grin*

The Captain is here!

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:04:00 +0000

Yes! I am finally done with the captain dwarf. He has been sculpted for while and now that he is ready , I regret not have taking a picture of him prior the glasses and the hair were added.

He is much a character I must say. I truly love how he turned up.

His glasses were made from welding rod. I love to weld ( my new passion) and thanks to my dolls I had to learn about it. The lenses have 3 coats of clear resin.

It still a little wet and today the humidity was high so i got foggy pictures, sigh, sorry about that*grin*

I did not forget about the hands. They are setting now. I have been working many hours daily while we are off school. I have been working with many things at the same time so it tales me more time to get one thing done but when I do, I get several done at the same time.

All my marionette will look very different when I start the costume. They will have hats or head pieces. I can't wait!

Marionette hands...molding process.

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:42:00 +0000

Okay, this is not a tutorial but an idea of how to make hands for marionettes. If you have questions I will be happy to answer it for you. Here I have my set of hands that I sculpted out of polymer clay and fired. These hands have a wire armature and I fired on the oven for one hour and at temp. 225. The tools you see are all handmade. I hardly buy tools because I am particular about my process and many times I spend MORE time preparing than the actually process. The mold is just an empty milk just that I cut on half and adjusted to the size I needed.I taped to seal it.

It is necessary to build a *body* around your prototype and find the *line* where it will meet the other part. Because I am using silicone as a mold making, I am much flexible about my lines because silicone will move for me . My shop is busy at this moment with tons of plaster molding as I have been working on my new dolls. I am making these mold inside my house so forgive me my poor lighting.

Here the clay body is almost ready. Now I need to trim a bit and fit properly inside the mold.

I also had to make a *pour hole* . that was easy... I just added clay around the wrist.

Silicone was poured. It takes about 10 hours for the setting.

Remove the mold. It looks great. No bubbles at all. I am happy about it. *grin*

Here I have the mold back inside the milk jug . I had to do some trimming. Then I placed the same hand inside . I did the pouring and now I must wait until tomorrow to see the complete mold.I will try my first resin hand tomorrow. I can't wait. This is my first time making hands this way.

Making marionettes hands and molds

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:16:00 +0000

I know it has been a while since I posted about the marionettes. I am sorry about that and thank you all of you that are interested in this art and to follow me. I know you have busy lives and to take your time to visit me and leave me comments is so precious to me. *Thank you*

Here is a picture of a hand ,that was at the time I took this picture, unbaked.

I have now a set of baked hands. This will serve me as a prototype, a test in fact.

I have, over the years, tried to improve in how the marionettes not only looks but performs. I will always admire and enjoy the *old time* wooden/plaster marionettes but now days we have a huge variety of options for mediums that dramatically improves the final results.

My idea is to make a silicone mold and use resin as medium to reproduce the hands. Why? Because it will be faster but will not compromise the looks plus it will be strong too.

Remember my puppeteers are children and believe me , back stage they *play* their own *plays* with one another and I am always telling them "be careful with the hands".*grin*

It will be more economical too. I like that. If this works, I will make a set of hands for the witch, one female, and probably one more male just to have the variety.

I don't like to use my camera when I am doing things because my hands are always so messy , but I do plan to take you to this process all the way.Perhaps you too one day will try to make a marionette for your own?grin. You will love that forever- I promise!

From large to tiny....

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:50:00 +0000

It has been a while since I posted here. My time is very limited right now as I am am spending LOTS of time with patitadolls. I have sculpted one more of the 7 dwarfs but I have not painted him yet. I plan to soon upload some of my backdrops too. They are huge.... 6 feet by 6 feet and all in oil .... the little picture that you see on the side of my template here is also one of my backdrops from last year ..... it is Cinderella's Castle and it measures the same size, so you can have an idea.... I plan to take pictures holding the canvas for you to see.*grin*
The pictures that I am showing you today is a tiny ( incomplete) dollhouse doll. It was a commission work . I have not sculpted many tiny dolls so this was a fun thing for me to do. She measured under 4" when she was standing and unbaked . The little cat is one inch long and 1/2" tall ....

First of the 7 Dwarfs

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:23:00 +0000

I don't think I have ever been as busy with my art as I am now. I have a doll show next month for my Patitadolls and it has taken all my time with the short time that I have to prepare everything on time however; I had sculpted this face few weeks ago so it was easy to paint and wig.

This is one of the seven dwarfs.... I am not sure which one yet ...perhaps Reed, I will wait until the others are ready to name each accordingly. I will add the accessories such glasses , hats ...when I have all the dwarfs ready.

I made a little audio video so you can hear the voices of the 7 dwarfs. When all 7 are ready, I will do another one with the faces and voices as they introduce themselves.

***** You may want to pause kate's music, so you can listen to the audio below****

All the audio was recorded at the Wingate University of Music, Wingate. The voices belongs to the students and faculties . I have a lot work to do with the audio . This is just at the *raw* stage, but I think you will enjoy to listen as much as I do. *grin*

Can you pictures them as you listen?

The Witch!

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:20:00 +0000

It is always fun to sculpt something out of the normal. I had an initial idea about the witch and I think I was able to make what was in my mind. In our story , the queen disguise her self to a witch appearance to hide her *beauty* . I didn't want to make a very ugly witch but my children reaction was a funny one. I am not sure if I succeed .... they all said ...ohhhh, that is ugly!*grin*

I still need to give her some eyebrows and some other details but because I am sculpting my first dwarf at this moment , I will wait until later on.

I will try to work on the hands next week. I plan to do something different this time. Although it will not be a tutorial, (nothing makes any sense from beginning to the end,grin) but I will show you how I do the hands, create a mold and cast with a medium that I don't believe anyone thought to use it. It will be fun and I hope you will follow me on my Magical world.*grin*

The Hunter!

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:18:00 +0000

The hunter's head is ready. I am very happy with him. I think he has the older look that I imagined plus the kindness in his heart.
The Snow White script is based on the original story however; it was written by Kate and I . We work wonderfully together and I can not tell you how much fun it is when we write. I have the ideas , Kate has the words, fun, fun!

I want to share with you a scene from our play, however the best scenes are definitely the dwarfs, but here you can have a glimpse of our Play! *grin*

Scene one

StoryTeller- Long, long ago, in a magical kingdom far away, there lived a King and his beautiful Queen Lyra. They were kind and generous rulers, beloved by their subjects, and their love for each other was very evident. For many years, the king and queen ruled together, but as they grew older, the began to wonder who would succeed them to the throne. Time passed, and finally the queen gave birth to a beautiful baby daughter, whom she named Darling. The kingdom rejoiced at the birth of the princess, and there was much feasting and thankfulness in the following weeks. But all too soon, the beautiful mother of Darling became ill and died, and the kingdom so proud and happy of their new princess was found in deep mourning for their kind queen. Out of necessity, the king re-married, and there was hope that there would be another ruler as kind as Queen Lyra, and also a good mother for Princess Darling. But as the years slowly passed, they were soon ti find that this was not to be...

(Queen enters and approaches mirror)

Queen(haughtily)-
Oh looking glass, of magic means,
Who,pray tell, is fairer than thy queen?

Mirror_ You, O Queen, are fairest yet.

Queen-Oh, humble, modest mirror-I agree!

StoryTeller- One day, however, the looking glass had a different answer for his queen...

Queen(haughtily)-
Oh looking glass, of magic means,
Who pray tell is fairer than thy queen.

Mirror-
You, O Queen, are merely pretty,
When compared to Darling's beauty.

Queen(angrily)- WHAT?! How DARE you defy me!! None are greater than I!NONE! You LIE!! O mirror, you lie!!

Mirror- The mirror never lies. (walks away)

Queen-(angrier still) WHERE is my hunter? I want my hunter NOW!!

Hunter(enter and bows)- Your highness.

Queen- Tell me- am I beautiful?

Hunter(unsure)-Uh..Ye-s..your highness?

Queen-Hmmm.Very well.(sweetly) O noble hunter, there has been a crime in the palace, and I am afraid that to bring the matter to the king would only upset his weak heart. You do understand, surely? I have been burdened very recently, and you are the only one capable of helping me, I'm afraid.

Hunter-Certainly, your majesty. I am a man of honor and will help the crown in any way.

Queen(feigning sadness)- Oh,I do believe my heart will go out any minute... no.. I must instruct
you. It is this: The princess must be killed. She is a danger to the throne, though I cannot disclose why. So...take this box {She points to box} and return it to me by noonday tomorrow
with her heart enclosed.

Hunter- Her h- h- heart?

Queen (maliciously)- Yes, you fool, her heart. And you will do well to remember what happened to the last employ who dared to defy me?

Hunter (frightened)- Yes, your majesty.

Queen (as she leaves)- Very well, noble hunter, very well, indeed.

The Hunter WIP!

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:18:00 +0000

I have been waiting to feel * ready* to sculpt my first male marionette for Snow White play. I consider a challenge because I will need to sculpt , the prince, the hunter, the mirror , AND the 7 dwarfs... yes! A total of TEN male characters and all of them need to be *very* different from each other.

I am particularly fond of sculpting girls . I also need to feel excited about what I am making otherwise I won't be happy, I know it! However; I must tell you that this hunter has been *hunting* my mind the past week and tonight I had the chance to start sculpting him.

I wanted him to have a old-man-kind-of-look and I think I got it!

I am looking forward to finish him , fire and ...paint! I love that!*grin*

I will post pictures very soon....

Updates :-)

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:17:00 +0000

Just few ....
We are now officially scheduled for our grand opening performance of Snow White!*grin*
It will be at the George A. Batte Jr. Fine Arts Center, Wingate ,NC on March 26 and 27 of 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Puppeteers of America will be reviewing our work . There is a possibility that we will be performing for them at the 2011 gathering in Atlanta , Georgia. This is a major organization and I cannot tell you what it will mean to us , if we are invited!*grin*
I just found out about them recently and they were already booked for the the 2009 gathering. The shows are biannual.
Sculpting new heads:
I am *kneading* 5 lbs of clay at once and believe me this is NOT an easy job! I should start my next marionette this weekend.
My daughterwent to the Library yesterday and got 3 wonderful books on historical costumes for me. I want to share the books and some pictures with you . I will post again this week!

Snow White is here...

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:56:00 +0000

Snow White is here...

I believe this will be the only time that Snow White will ever peaceably lie next to the Evil Queen. Literally. We have fourteen characters altogether, and at the pace that I make them, it seems like Princess Darling and the queen will have to endure each other awhile longer.>grin<>

Wicked Queen's Head is ready!

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:51:00 +0000

This will be my last post about the queen for while. I will probably add a little shine to her hat but I will wait until I have her outfit ready .I plan to make all the heads then start on the marionette's bodies .... Snow White is baked and painted. She will be next to appear here.

Hennin Hat

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Thu, 14 May 2009 21:02:00 +0000

I want to tell you about my progress. After thinking, thinking and thinking I decided not to give a wig to the queen. I like the head covered and because I want her to be beautiful but no more than Snow white, I am saving to indulge my self when I work with her.... I can tell you that I have sculpted SW's head already and my daughter , Gabby , has allow me to cut her own hair so I can use on SW. Gabby has a gorgeous black hair..... I will be posting soon , but first , i must finish adding all the glimmer details to the Hennin hat!

Costumes choices!

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Sun, 10 May 2009 13:47:00 +0000

When I finished sculpting this head I was not pleased! I have been sending pictures of my WIP to another artist and dear friend who has been so wonderful to me, but even with her encouragements and did not like the final sculpt. I placed the head aside of my sight for 2 days after I painted her and when I got her back in my hands, my heart changed about her and now I love her!*grin* .... I know, I know sounds very silly but because I do like her a lot I am able to enjoy what I am doing.
Well, the wicked queen's head is ready and patiently waiting for her costuming . This is a very exciting part and everyone one here gets to give an opinion about it.I also would love to hear from you . I plan to wig her this week . I have to choices of mohair... I dyed one in red and the other is just natural white. Because I do want to mature her looks a bit, I am considering using the white mohair first. If I don't like it , I can always remove it. The picture above shows her with a necklace that I bought at an auction...I know my costumes will have lots of beads to enhance the fabrics so for fun, I loosely wrapped the necklace around her face .... she looks pretty, no?

Wicked Queen!

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:08:00 +0000

This week I started to sculpt the wicked queen . I am now closing her head , adding the neck , and ears next.

I have decided that our Snow White Play will take place in the Medieval Era so now I am searching for possible costumes ideas.

The queen will have a hennin hat for sure and I know that I will use lots of silk and beads. Any suggestions?

Snow White - The Fairest of the Land!

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:15:00 +0000

This is another recording , although one can't hear the singers very well because I was too close to the piano. The singers were practicing the recording for Snow White Play and of course, they are the queen and the mirror.
The audio recording is wonderful . I added the lyrics so you can follow it... here at home , I have all my children singing it at all time -

****Don't forget to pause kate's music on the Reverbnation tab on the right ( below)***

The Dwarf's Lament- from Snow White, our upcoming play

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:30:00 +0000

Yesterday was our "recording day" for our play Snow White. I have to tell you, I think this is the most exciting part aside from the actual performance. Once again, Kate and I wrote the play, but I must give credit mostly to Kate because she is the one who gives the classical elegance to the characters. Also, she wrote all the music and the lyrics. This clip above is one of those pieces and is titled "The Dwarf's Lament" , and if you pay attention to the lyrics, you can have an idea of what the play is about. This clip is only the rehearsal for the song. I will try to post more update soon.Enjoy!

By the way, to watch the video, you'll have to push pause on Kate's other music.(reverbnation)

New Play in progress....

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:40:00 +0000

Kate and I finished writting our new marionette play " Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". kate wrote all the scores and lyrics . On April 27th, we will be doing the recording at Wingate University of Music.
This is our second play. We are very excited about it because it is much different than Cinderella ( our 1st play) . We learned a lot and now we were able to develop a better play .
I will upload the recording pictures after the recording and maybe a small video too.*grin*

Cinderella DVD

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:07:00 +0000

I am proud to present a DVD recording of the premier performance of The Magical Marionette Theatre’s production of Cinderella!
We are a family theatre, and almost everything in our production was hand-made. From our beautifully hand-crafted stage that was built with 100 year old barn wood, to the marionettes, each handsculpted and uniquely designed from wood and clay. Our back drops were all hand-painted with oils, and most of our props were hand made as well.
The play itself is our own rendition of the beloved classic, Cinderella, which takes place in 19th century Spain. It was written by Patricia and Kate Cabrera. The music was also entirely composed by Kate Cabrera, between the ages of thirteen and fifteen.
There are five puppeteers, a curtain master, and a lighting/stage operator. They are all my children, their names and ages as follows:
Kate (15)
Kevin (14) stage/lighting
Gabriela (12)
Joshua (10)
Rebecca (9)
Benjamin (6) curtain master
I am also a puppeteer.*grin*
Our first performance was held November 19,2008 in the Batte Fine Arts Center at Wingate University. This was the night we professionally recorded our play.

Our DVD price: $9.99 per copy plus $2.00 shipping.Email me at sevenkidsfarm@msn.com and I will send you a money request via paypal.

Recording the Voices

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:22:00 +0000

We were very blessed to have the support of Wingate University. All the voices belong to several of the University's students and faculty. Our first play is Cinderella, whose setting takes place in Victorian Spain. The play was written by me and my daughter,Kate, who also wrote the scores for this production.
I am sharing below pictures of our recording day, and following those I am adding some pictures of our "master" puppeteers in the early stages of our practice.>grin<
Please chech this blog often since I plan to add updates about us and the progress of the play.
If you like to see a preview video of our play please click to visit myspace .( link on the side)

The Magical Marionette Theatre

noreply@blogger.com (Patricia Cabrera) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:01:00 +0000

Hi! My name is Patricia Cabrera. Since childhood, I have dreamed of marionettes and having a theatre of my own. Fascinated with this idea, I used to transform y paper dolls into characters. Now, thirty years later, after marriage and having seven children, I have finally been able to accomplish this dream with their help. Four of my children are now well-trained puppeteers, and the others work behind the scene.

I designed our theatre, fashioning it after the old-time opera houses. We were very blessed to have a professional carpenter, Gary Downs, be able to make the stage faithful to my design. An artist himself, his many suggestions and ideas greatly enhanced and benefited our theatre. The theatre was also designed to be easily portable. It’s measurements are approximately: 9’ in height, 9’ in length, and 7’ in depth. It is equipped with its own lighting system, including old fashioned footlights, red velvet curtain, and its outside edges were made from 100 year old barn wood. The magical Marionette Theatre will certainly bring delight and enchantment to all ages.
Each of our productions runs approximately 45 minutes, which may include a lively puppetry demonstration after the show and an optional question-and-answer period following the performance. The program is presented with the Puppeteers in full view, so that the audience can witness firsthand the mechanics of puppet manipulation.
The Magical Marionette Theatre is a fully self-contained theater. We are able to travel with a complete marionette stage, which has its own integrated lighting and sound systems. The only things required from our sponsors are unobstructed performance space,(stage is preferable) and two electrical outlets close to the playing area.
Due to the size and weight of our equipment special arrangements must be made if there are any stairs in the load-in route.
Time needed to load-in to and set-up our stage: 2 hours before audience arrives.
Time to Load-out: 1 hour after audience has left.
Space Requirements:
Our Goal:
Our goal is to bring faerie tales to life through this uncommon and wonderful form of entertainment. We believe that this almost forgotten art is one that should be reintroduced to society.
Schedules:
Grand opening performance: Sept 19-20th ,2008 at Wingate University
For futher contact please email us at sevenkidsfarm@msn.com

The magical Marionnete Theatre ~ Woolytales.com~ Patricia Cabrera
945 Horne Road , Peachland, NC 28133. Sevenkidsfarm@msn.com