CHAPTER VII
Making Your Properties
Puppets usually require a few well-chosen properties. These should be in scale with the puppets, and serve some practical need. Properties should be similar to the things used in the time of your play, in the country of your play, and by the class or classes of people represented in your play.
It is well to be familiar with the life, customs, and manners of the people who lived at the time of your play. The library, historical museum, and art museum are sources of information. First, there is the library in which there are always books and pictures and a wealth of information for your use. Take several pieces of tracing paper with you when you go there, also several well-sharpened pencils, and your colored crayons. When you find a suitable illustration, make a sketch or a tracing of it and careful color notes.
Let us suppose that you are about to make the properties for _Men of Iron._ Take the story and from it make a list of the properties that you will need. You will probably make a list somewhat like this:
Act I—Courtyard. Properties required:
1. Bench for the squires to sit upon and later for Myles to stand upon.
2. An upright post, or pell, to be used by Myles when he practises with his sword.
3. An anvil to be placed in the armorer’s shop.
4. A ball for Myles.
Act II—Garden. Properties required:
1. Garden seat for Lady Anne to sit upon when she plays her lute.
2. A lute for Lady Anne.
3. A ball for Myles.
Act III—Great Hall. Properties required:
1. Throne for the king to sit upon.
2. A dais for the throne to rest upon.
3. A seat for the minstrel.
4. A carved oak chest, such as was usually seen in the great halls.
5. Royal carpet.
6. Hangings for the ladies’ gallery.
7. A lute for the minstrel.
Act IV—The tournament. Properties required:
1. A royal box.
2. A fence.
The bench in Scene I was made of wood and was a copy of a picture of an English XVth Century bench.
Sometimes there are properties and effects that take special ingenuity and skill. Many boys have unusual ability in solving these problems. In the first scene of _Men of Iron_ an anvil was needed. One boy asked to be responsible for the anvil. There was a miniature anvil in the classroom that had been used the year before by the class that had given _Sigurd, the Volsung_. Now, what did he do? First, he drilled two holes into the top of the anvil and placed a strip of mica on the iron between the holes. Then he attached a thin coil of wire, about the size of that in an electric toaster, screwed it down into the holes, where it met the charged wires which came up through the holes in the anvil. When the current was turned on, the coil glowed red. This boy also made a hammer, which he fastened in the hand of the puppet armorer. From the hammer a long wire stretched upward to the controller, and then down behind the scenes to the socket. When the armorer struck the anvil with his hammer, brilliant sparks flew in every direction. Care was taken to strike the broad surface of the anvil top and to avoid striking the coil of wire. You will notice that he placed the mica and coil close to the edge, in order to give the armorer plenty of room for the strokes of his hammer.
[Illustration: [Anvil]]
The garden bench in Act II was made by a pupil who had made a special study of gardens. When one of the boys found that a lute was needed for this scene, he went to the art museum where he had the good fortune to find two lutes, a large one and a small one, both of Italian make. He then went to the historical museum where he found pictures of similar lutes used in England, in the time of his play. He now decided to use the large lute in the museum as a model for the lute of his minstrel, and the smaller one for Lady Alice. He then made careful drawings to scale, proceeded to carve the instruments from wood, and to stain them, and enrich them with gold. When they were finished, with the little detail of strings, they were such an exquisite note of perfection that they added much to the beauty of the scene, and gave a thrill of delight to all who saw them.
In Act III, a Gothic throne and a Gothic chest were needed. The boy who was responsible for these went to the art museum to look for Gothic furniture. He found a Gothic chest, and adapted its proportions and design to both the throne and the chest. He copied a XVth Century stool for the minstrel to sit upon. The carpet and hangings for this scene were made from large scraps of rich crimson velvet given by a generous upholsterer.
In Act IV, the royal box was historically true, as it was made from drawings of a royal box found in an old illuminated manuscript. It was constructed from wood and beaver board. Tapestries hung from the front of the box and pennants from tall poles at the corners.
Sometimes, when scenery has been especially well designed, it makes properties almost unnecessary. For instance, in the throne room of King Elf in _Sigurd, the Volsung_ the background is a dark, richly colored tapestry. Against this was placed the throne on a raised dais. With this single property the scene was a satisfying picture. When the three fair-haired maidens, dressed in white and gold, with flowing veils of pale rose, came to present the baby Sigurd to King Elf, it was a lovely picture.
The materials used for making properties are usually wood, cardboard, tacks, glue, ½-inch linen or cotton tape, papier-mâché, gesso, and paints. The tools needed are hammer, coping saw, scissors, and a sharp knife. Drawings should be kept before the worker for constant reference. They are his guide for proportion, design, and scale.
Accidents are as likely to happen in puppet families and at puppet parties as they are to happen in our homes and at our own parties. If the chairs are unsteady and the tables too light, they may cause trouble and embarrassment. Think what might have happened at Bob Kratchet’s Christmas party in Charles Dickens’ _Christmas Carol_, when all the puppets sat down to the well-laden table, if some thought had not been given to making it secure. How do you imagine this was done? The table and all the chairs were glued to a large piece of cardboard. When the scene was set, this was placed on the stage. In the time of Bob Kratchet, just as in our own time, houses contained many pieces of furniture and other things of daily use. Imagine what would happen, if we made all the properties that are mentioned in the story and then tried to crowd them on to the stage. There would be no room for the puppets to move about in. Our eyes would be confused with details and the picture would be ruined. Here is a list of the properties that were chosen by the group of children who gave _The Childhood of David Copperfield_:
Act I. Sitting room in the Copperfield house
An armchair for Peggoty
A table for Peggoty and work basket
Stool for little David
Curtains for the windows
Act II. In the boathouse
A chair for Peggoty
A chair for Mrs. Gummage
A table for Peggoty’s work basket and balls of bright-colored wool.
A chest for David and Emily to sit upon
A small box for Ham
A chest of drawers, on top of the drawers a tray, teapot, two cups, and saucers
Curtains for the windows
Act III. The seashore
A log for David to sit upon
A large rock for Emily to sit upon
Two or three small rocks to complete the picture
Act IV. The schoolroom
Six benches for the schoolboys
Two desks, one for the master, one for his assistant
Two chairs
Books for the desks
Act V. Betsy Trotwood’s garden
A long bench where David rested
A large kite for old Master Dick
Three or four flower pots to complete the picture
Nearly all properties need some decoration. Some need color, others need merely stain. Occasionally it is necessary to give the effect of carved wood. This is necessary in plays of the Middle Ages like _Sigurd, the Volsung_, and _Men of Iron_, where your properties represent old wood carving. Gesso may be used to suggest this carving. Gesso was used by the craftsmen of the Middle Ages, especially in Italy, for enriching surfaces. This is the formula for making it: 2 tablespoons of varnish, 12 tablespoons of glue (best quality), 8 tablespoons of linseed oil. Mix these three ingredients together and allow to stand. In a separate dish put 20 rounded tablespoons full of whiting and then mix with water until it is the consistency of thick cream. Pour this into your first mixture and cook in a double boiler for ten minutes, stirring constantly. Then pour into a bottle and cork tightly. The gesso is now ready for use.
Work out your design and then draw it carefully upon the chair, chest, or throne which you mean to decorate. Apply the gesso with a small brush. Be very careful to keep well within the line of your design. The gesso will give you a pattern in relief. You must keep each surface flat for at least 12 hours, or until dry. If the design is not high enough when it is dry, a second coat may be applied. When you have covered all the parts which are to be painted and the gesso is dry, rub it over with a bit of oil paint mixed in these proportions: ¾ of ivory black, ¼ of burnt sienna thinned with a little turpentine. After the oil paint has dried, add a coat of dull finishing wax and rub down.
[Illustration: [Fountain]]
A fountain is a most effective and beautiful device. When placed in a garden, surrounded by miniature ferns and flowers, with birds singing, and soft colored lights playing upon its jetting water, it makes a scene of enchantment. Fountains are very simply made as you can see in this illustration. A low cake tin, with a hollow tin centerpiece, a funnel, and a piece of ¾-inch rubber tubing about six feet long, are the only materials necessary.
Occasionally there is a need for smoke. In the play of _Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp_, the genii appear out of a cloud of smoke. In _Sigurd, the Volsung_, the dragon may be made to breathe forth smoke. In the _Adventures of Alice_, you may remember the old caterpillar who sits on a toadstool and smokes his pipe. Smoke can be made from ammonia and hydrochloric acid. The illustration shows how this is done. In order to make the dragon breathe forth smoke, a rubber tube was run through its body from mouth to tail. The end that extended from the tail was connected with the tube that came from the bottles. When a boy blew through the tube, smoke came from the dragon’s mouth. In the marionette play of _Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp_, a hole was bored through the stage floor at the spot where the genie was to appear. At the clap of thunder that announced the genie’s appearance, a cloud of smoke poured forth.
[Illustration: [Lamp]]
In the _Adventures of Alice_, when the caterpillar was made, a tube was run through his body from tail to mouth. When this tube was attached to the bottle tube, and the lazy old fellow took his pipe in his mouth, he appeared to blow out great puffs of smoke to the surprise and delight of everyone.
The toadstool was such a nice property that you may wish to know how it was constructed. The girl who made it found some beautiful pictures of toadstools in an old number of the _National Geographic_. She chose one of interesting shape and color as her model, and reproduced it with papier-mâché. When it was quite dry, she colored it to represent the illustration. It was winter time when this play was given. Had it been any other season, she could have gone to the woods and fields and searched out a beautiful specimen which would have served her purpose much better than the illustration.
Fireplaces and stoves are comparatively modern inventions. Braziers were used in earlier times. They consisted of a metal tripod and a basin to hold the coals. A brazier could be used appropriately in a Greek or Roman play, or in a play of the Middle Ages. The tripod could be made of wire or of tin. The basin could be made of tin, wood, or papier-mâché. Both the tripod and the basin should be painted to imitate bronze or iron. A tiny red bulb can be fastened into the center of the basin, and attached to a wire leading down from the tripod, through the stage floor. Slightly conceal the bulb with small bits of wood. The warm light from this brazier will throw a glow on the face of a marionette, who is warming his hands over it.
A marionette may carry a lantern. This marionette lantern may be made from any small tin or cardboard box. Find some pictures of old lanterns suitable for your play, and then make a lantern as much like the illustration as you can. A pattern of holes should be punched in the sides. A tiny electric bulb may be fastened inside the lantern and its wire carried up to the controller and from there to the battery.
Properties should be made in a craftsmanlike way. A craftsman respects his materials and his tools. He cleans his brushes and palette as soon as he finishes the work of the day, and puts his materials in order for the next day’s work. He never hurries. His reward is his satisfaction in the excellence of his work.
[Illustration: [Marionettes]]