Bionic Lobster!

Now that the website has officially launched, I guess I can tell you all about Leatherman’s Bionic Lobster. Just about everyone in our industry is walking around with a Leatherman Tool in his/her back pocket, so the opportunity to do something with the company was irresistible. We had a great time working with Stick and Move (the ad agency), Transistor Studios (production company), and Pete Rosch (director.)
To the right is the famous Jim Kroupa who performed the lobster and assisted with the build.

Due to time and budget constraints we basically built this puppet by cannibalizing and mechanizing a whole bunch of those cheap plastic display lobsters. We also altered a bunch of Leatherman tools to snap open and fan out. That’s Louay Assaf (above,) lead lobster builder and a great puppet-man.

Two Bionic Lobsters were made--one a performable puppet, and the other a posable stunt version.

Did I mention we performed with real live lobsters?

The whole thing was shot at Maracuja Bar in Brooklyn, owned by Charlie, the most patient bar tender in the world. They dressed the place up to look like a seafood restaurant. Since it was a bar, we had to start the shoot at 3 am to avoid interfering with business hours. We were all very tired.

A PUPPET OPERA

Renowned artist Pierre Huyghe has chosen Puppet Heap to realize his next vision. Huyghe’s twenty-minute puppet opera, a fanciful recounting of the story of the Carpenter Center’s conception and construction, will be performed on November 18.
More info: click here

The Heap Hits iTunes

As of today, Puppet Heap Puppet Shows are officially available on iTunes. Just Click the link below to check it out:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=282012732

Thanks!

Veggie Tales

At long last the Veggies have finally shipped! We’ve had a wonderful time helping the good folks at Big Idea realize their next big show at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri featuring the characters of the Veggie Tales.

We have long been an admirers of the fantastic design work of Big Idea, so naturally we jumped at the opportunity to work with them when they called looking for puppet makers.

Check out the show if you are in the area--looks like it will be a pretty neat experience!

The Puppet Heap Podcast

A new addition to the website is the Puppet Heap Video Podcast. Now you can subscribe to original Puppet Heap content and download right into iTunes. We’ll try to keep new stuff coming--just click on PODCAST.

The Little Mermaid on Broadway

Well, another Puppet Heap creation hits the planks on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontaine Theater for Disney’s stage production of “The Little Mermaid” opening November 4th. It’s a brief appearance, but we think audiences will get a kick out of it. We had to make a little puppet version of the Sebastian character which pops out of a covered dish during a chase scene with the chef. It’s one of those ideas that’s borderline creepy, so it was a real challenge to keep it light. In the end, the project is another great example of a talented team coming together to make something great.

Ye Ballade of Ivan Petrofsky Skevar

The Heap commences production of “Ye Ballade of Ivan Petrofsky Skevar,” a shadow puppet show based on the popular song of the same title.