Demian created the puppet characters for the opening song in the musical Once Upon a Mattress. He also was puppeteer, operating the Moon character from within. The Moon, in turn, operates the characters of the Prince, the Queen and the Princess.
Demian inside the Moon figure. The moon provides
the other characters with hands and arms.
photo: Demian
|
Queen Aggravain,
explains how to recognize a true princess,
someone just like she was — when she was younger.
photo: Demian
|
 
Sad Prince Dauntless becomes overjoyed to find a
Princess who passes his mother’s impossible tests.
photo: Demian
|
Princes Winifred swims the
castle moat to find a husband.
photo: Demian
|
Puppet creation took about 30 hours for each figure, including the Moon. The faces are constructed from wire and wire mesh armatures, using a pulp-based sculpting material reinforced with cloth.
The Moon, lit from inside, enacts the story to the Minstrel’s song — “A Princess is a delicate thing; Delicate and dainty as a dragonfly’s wings.” The Moon (seen below) by enacting the tale, becomes a dragonfly at the song’s end.
The Moon struts it’s winged stuff.
photo: Demian
|
Once Upon a Mattress is a light-hearted retelling of the old Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale of the Princes and the Pea Music by Mary Rodgers. Lyrics by Marshall Barer. Book by Barer, Dean Fuller and Jay Thompson. It was directed by Karen Kinch and presented in the brand new ArtsWest Playhouse during November and December, 1999.
|
