Need ideas on new puppet design

[biblebetty]

Hi Guys
I perform a show called the wordless book, it's just a book with color pages and Bible Betty & St Bernard tell the story of what each color page means. well instead of them telling the story I'd like to make each color pages (there are 5 pages gold, black, red, white, green) tell the story themselves (I think they would be more visually interesting. I want them to have eyes and a mouth. I thought of a thin foam and cover the back with a black cloth or maybe use a thin foamies with sticky backs. But I want them to look like pages. what do you think, any ideas.

[biblebetty]

Well usually me & St Bernard talk about the drifferent colors and what they mean, but I thought if my small axtell book comes out and called himself a wordless book and talks about the drifferent color pages that tell a story then he disappears and and each pages comes out and explains his color and what it means. I thought it would be much more vsual and entertaining.

[John Parisi]

It sounds to me like this a vent performance? That makes it complicated because you have to change pages and so it becomes a time thing and your performance loses its smooth transition.
What if you used an Axtell drawing board and built a book around it then to "turn" the pages you have gel sheets, in the colors you want, on rollers at the opposite end or side of the book. Each time you close the book you advance it one page then open it again and the color will have changed.
Mean John Dean
You know I get paid to build things like this so I am giving from the heart here.

[Puppets by Cher]

I've always heard nice things about you Mean John Dean and appreciate your post in helping.
I know that many misunderstand when I say one shouldn't charge for puppet info, that it's an art that should be continued on no matter what your income is.
I always try to give it away for free when I can.
Ehh.. wait.. that didn't sound right.

Well.. you know what I mean.
I'm very grateful for this forum and all the contributions that so many have given for their time and information.
For all the years I've been in this field & art, that even when we give suggestions or show a technique.
That no 2 art creations are ever the same.
Everyone has their own style.
Unless using the same pattern of course.
Which I never have had the interest in doing.
Trying to keep the puppets more of an art form & custom made, then a duplicate copy.
I suppose its the ADD in me which I would probably go crazy if I had to sit and create the same puppet over and over again to make a living.
But some do and do very well at it.
I'm grateful that I'm in the position that I don't have to do this and I can just allow my creativeness go free.
No matter how some may like my art or not.
To each their own, right?

So why do they call you Mean John Dean?

Mind me asking?

Cher
Puppets by Cher

[John Parisi]

Many years ago, I used to do a Jerry Lewis imitation to annoy the guy I worked for and a co-worker loved that it got under his skin, it was loud since we installed carpet in empty houses, so he would yell out "Oh Dean!" and I would yell back in Jerry's voice "OH DEAN!" and then add some relevant comment to what we had been talking about. Soon he would just call out “Dean” and then it became a nickname. Johnny Dean. Better than the guy we worked for whose nickname was “Johnny Poop” cause his wife said in front of us he was such a cute “poopy-face.”
Then one day the authorities captured a particularly vile pedophile (is there any other kind?) and I described in detail what I would like to do to this sicko and another friend turned to me and said “Boy, you’re mean Dean!” and it stuck, Mean Dean. So when I moved to Florida and got a computer and needed an anonymous screen name I chose Mean John Dean.

MJD

[biblebetty]

You have a great idea, but my shows are puppets behind a curtain. What my plans are; to bring out the small Axtell talking book, he will intro himself as the wordless book and his book is filled with color pages (no words or pics) then he will intro the gold color page. the book leaves and the first color page come up and speaks to the kids about the story of his color. Then he intro the Senior Saints & they sing a song which reflexs what the page talks about, then the book intros the next color and so on. my problem is to make a talking page

[Floandson]

I have seen those books and they work very well.


Flo

[biblebetty]

in a sunday school setting they work great but in puppetry there is to much talking and not enough visional. I'm not trying to take away from the message, just want to give the kids something to look at and focus on.

[John Parisi]

I still think my idea would work.
MJD

[Glendora's Puppets]

If you made a book and then a face on each page. You could make a trigger mechanism to control the mouth. The rod would come out of the bottom of each page. That way you could easily turn each page from behind the curtain and then grab the next rod to make the next page talk.

Glennie