Chicken: wings

An important part of this project was the feathers. It was a tactical maneuver created to be endless, clean, easy work to keep a lot of campers (and the youngest campers) busy while I attended to more involved tasks. But it became more important as I got to know the Common Ground family that there be at least one feather made by every camper and staff member. I used community rallying methods and had kids recruiting their friends one by one. We began with hesitation, but the buzz grew. We finally had enough to cover the wings.

Chicken: build day #4

Wednesday was the last day we had for final egg and head painting, neck sewing, feather gluing, and prop building. All hands were on deck, the campers were dedicated and super focused on their multiple tasks, and the likes of a chicken began to emerge.

Chicken: sleep over

Giant Chicken Puppet, in need of final structural necessities, came to roost in my basement the night before our performance. I am very lucky that it just (within an inch) fit into my car, which I didn't think to measure before.

waiting in the wings

The puppeteers insisted that the giant chicken puppet be hidden so as to take the audience by surprise. I loved their sense of theatricality, totally unprompted. Here it is waiting behind the farmhouse near the chicken coop, a pile of paper and cardboard about to wake up.

Chicken: session 1 performance

With some last minute fixes and rehearsal, 4 campers became marvelous puppeteers and brought Giant Chicken Puppet to life during the end-of-camp family picnic. In a very short time they learned to operate their part (wings, head, beak) which demanded utmost seriousness, great cooperation, and physical endurance. We even incorporated some complicated moves such as laying eggs, pecking the ground, and biting campers. A herd of bubble blowing, bell shaking supporters followed. One lost beak bolt stopped the action momentarily, but was quickly found after frantic searching from the crowd. I was really proud of them all and had the best time inside, shouting directions like "Let's lay an egg!" and seeing dozens of excited faces popping in under the cardboard to discover the secrets of the Giant Chicken Puppet. LB Stein photos (and so much more).

Chicken2: the design (part 1)