Lonesome George Sculpture



Lonesome George - a life size sculpture of the Giant Galapagos Tortoise
Made during my prop making studies at RADA
Carved polystyrene with a central steel framework
Shell made from plasterzote foam, eyes; clear cast resin
Dimensions - 1.5 metres high / 1.5 metres long

Lonesome George was the last known individual of the Pinta Island Tortoise and was labeled the rarest creature in the world
He sadly died in June 2012

            Masks for 'The Rover' by Aphra Behn






Masks made from leather, paper mache and wonderflex for The Rover (RADA Productions), directed by Jessica Swale
I had the role of properties supervisor/ maker 
Photo credit - Linda Carter

HMS Bestival Carnival Parade



Lost at sea- performing in the HMS Bestival Carnival Parade, 2013! Crazy sea horses and neon fish made by the amazing Mandinga Arts
This year I am really excited to be designing, making and performing with my own puppets at the Carnival! Watch this space for updates... 

Photo courtesy of Mandinga Arts.

Shylyla




This is Shylyla, a puppet that I designed and built for a production of Feathers In The Snow by Philip Ridley.

London Under





Premiering in the FIRSTS Festival at the Little Angel Theatre.
London Under - by Lama Creative, for which I was part of the devising cast. A two week rehearsal period of making, creating and devising followed by two scratch performances. Photos by Louise Alexander.

T'was the Night Before Christmas...







Reindeer puppets made for 'The Night Before Christmas', at the Little Angel Theatre. Designed by Michael Fowkes.
Top photograph courtesy of the Little Angel Theatre, with puppeteers Ruth Calkin, Clare Pointing and Mikey Brett.

Wild



Marionette I made during a week long carving course with John Roberts of Puppetcraft in Devon. 
Video coming soon.

hail all hallows





When confronted with the task to make two giant puppets for Stoke Newington's Halloween March of the Dead based on the theme of East-end Pagan Mashup... we sort inspiration from THIS SONG

Demonic Pat Butcher and Peggy Mitchell made with Siรขn Kidd of Mirth and Mysery, in an epic 48 hours of puppet making.

Boris and Sergey

boris and sergey
boris and sergey flabbergast
cane charon's ferry

Charon's ferry boat on backpack I designed and made for Flabbergast Theatre's Boris & Sergey's Perilous Escapade using cane and foam.

La Tempesta







Shoal of fish I made with Sue Dacre and Beatrice Pentey for La Tempesta, a collaborative production between Scarabeus Aerial Theatre and the Little Angel Theatre. For information on the show and the summer tour please look HERE

Top images my own, bottom photograph by Belinda Aackermann showing puppeteer Lori Hopkins.



s/he


Illustration commission for .cent magazine for the theme he/she. I'd not attempted a fashion illustration before, its quite an alien zone for me! 
In other news I have just entered the twitter world. I know I'm a little late on that train but come follow me @_amberdonovan
 for all the haps and the 'haps not.

swishy swashy, stumble trip!





Grass scenery made for 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. 
4 metres long; 90 cms tall; foldable; swishy; swoshy. 
Bottom production image by Lynette Shanbury, with puppeteers Lowri James and Gilbert Taylor

We're Going On A BEAR Hunt!








Here are some behind the scenes pictures of what we've been making in the workshop.

'We're Going On A Bear Hunt' is the new show at the Little Angel Theatre in Islington. Based on the old campfire song, which was written down by Michael Rosen. Its been directed by Peter Glanville with fabulous songs by Barb Jungr. The puppet designs by Lyndie Wright take inspiration from Helen Oxenbury's magical illustrations.


And Larry is asleep with Bertie and Bear 

infamous grouse



Performing in the St. Patrick's Day Parade, March 2013. With Mandinga Arts puppet.
Photo - Mayor of London Presents

Circus Kathmandu




Pani Serpa (Water Snake) Goddess; a large scale puppet that I designed and made in Nepal for Circus Kathmandu. 

The puppet is 4.5 metres long and very light weight, ideally operated by 4 performers. With invaluable help from Samantha Zsargo and Fiona Jenner. 

Top 2 photographs by Ingrid Chiron, the rest my own.

It was incredible to work with such a unique and interesting project. Circus Kathmandu was born from a troubled and painful history but is cooperatively working to redefine the status of contemporary circus performance in Nepal. It has its roots with the British charity The Esther Benjamins Trust which aims to eliminate human trafficking. They have a refuge in Kathmandu for rescued children and young people who had been trafficked or displaced into India and sold into forced labour institutions such as circuses. Kept as performers they are effectively imprisoned, denied an education and often beaten and abused.






It was in the refuge that the social circus project Sapana began. It aims to give these disempowered members of society the opportunity to develop the skills they have and to promote self confidence and expression. In previous years the notion of circus carried a very negative stigma. Traditionally it was seen as a low status and 'dirty' profession in Nepal, but thanks to this project it is increasingly being recognised as a highly skilled and exciting art form as well as a viable career. These young pople are being given vocational training and the tools that can lead them to real work opportunities in performance.


Circus Kathmandu evolved from Sapana as the first and so far only professional circus company in Nepal, and is currently made up of 13 young Nepali performers. Excitingly the company will be bringing their show 'Dakini' to London in their international debut and first step towards transglobal world domination. They will be performing Dakini at the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane on March 27th 2013. The circus now comes under the umbrella of the anti trafficking charity Freedom Matters. 
More information and details on how to get tickets can be found on their website. 



This video explains more of the history of Sapana and Circus Kathmandu.


Thames Festival 2012




Dancing to the beat of zebra with the fantastic Manding Arts in the Thames Festival Night Carnival procession along London's southbank. The most fun ever. 
Puppets made by Charles Beauchamp, Miguel Hernado Torres Umba and the Mandinga Arts volunteers.
Photographs by Brighitta Moser-Clark.