The Demise of the Blue Tarantula

So, it started out like any other, normal Max & Ruby performance: I set the tarantula puppet for the show and, as of late, attempted to make the google-eyes stay in place. You see, the Blue Tarantula has three eyes that spring off his head and bounce when I shake the puppet. And two of them have managed to become disconnected from the puppet, which is essentially a giant, decorated hat base on a styrofoam head with a long dowel stuck inside for better height. Thus causing them NOT to bounce, but more to fall. It's very confusing, and a little past what I can fix with thread, hot glue, rubber bands, twist ties and safety pins (all of which, by the way, I have used to repair my own props and costumes during this run). While this eye issue is problematic, to an extent, it still makes the puppet usable.

The Blue Tarantula number is performed in two segments, with a substantial dialogue section between the two song bits. After finishing the first chunk, I took down the puppet (which is on a long pole), placed it on the ground and tapped the top of the head, to try to secure it to the pole. At which point I heard a large cracking sound. The neck, it appeared, had snapped, and now, all I was left with was a styrofoam skull with a giant hat base on it. And a puppet too short to fit over the door frame. And half a song to go.

We managed through the song OK (the Blue Tarantula went from scary to a wimpy, but the kids still played along), and finished out the show with a bang. However, then came the more terrifying issue: how do we do the second show? With no real way to repair the neck (gaff tape is a little too weak for this thing), Emileena and I decided that the best option would be for me to wear the tarantula puppet on my head and pray that all 5'11" of me would be seen over the door frame (standing on a stool, of course). I tried on the puppet, which is really too small for my head, we checked my mic, we attempted bits of the song and settled on our solution. More or less.

And it worked OK. Not ideal (I elbowed my fellow puppeteers like crazy in my attempt to retain my balance while shaking my head like crazy), but we managed. And Theatreworks/USA's props department got a frantic phone call, so hopefully we'll have a new puppet soon. However, as one cast member quipped to me, "That's using your head."

Kid quote of the day: During the Blue Tarantula, one munchkin became so excited/scared that he peed his pants. Enough said.

Call time tomorrow: Still unknown. No text message received yet.