The Cast | About The Production | Credits
Designing And Lighting Muppets |
MTI Costume Design
Fencing And Stunts |
The Music
"I have to say this was a first for me - I have never taught a puppet to fence!" says Nick Powell. "When you see puppets fighting they usually bash swords together like knitting needles, because puppeteers don't know how to fence. On this production they wanted the Muppets to be like people and to behave like people, so I had to try to transpose what they would do in a fight. I choreographed the fights for real people, with real people, and then transferred it to the Muppets. Bearing in mind the restrictions on the puppeteers, having to have their hands above their bodies and not really seeing what they are doing or where the targets are, it worked out extremely well!"
Powell had a utility fencing puppeteer, an assistant stunt guy, and two fencing puppeteers to help. He decided to choreograph all of Kermit's swordfighting himself, as that was the trickiest.
"For me, the swordplay was the most exciting stuff to shoot" says Kermit. "All that swashbuckling stuff was a lot of fun, but I did have my share of embarrassing moments on the set. A few times, right in the middle of a swordfight, my swash came unbuckled. Boy, was I embarrassed!"
With only about six hours total to rehearse and the problems of having puppeteers and stunt fencers vying for space in a very small area, Nick found that he had choreographed Kermit's fight for the wrong hand! "I had choreographed the whole of Kermit's fight right handed and had to change to the left. I then rehearsed with Kermit as much as possible to try and get the fight up to speed, working on his reactions and making it look like a real fight. Luckily, I can fence with both hands!"
All the fights were meticulously choreographed. "For the fight that Kermit and Mr. Arrow have with three pirates there were 26 blows, and then we started again in repetition. So all five people are counting in their heads one, two, three, etc."
Fourteen-year-old Kevin Bishop did all his own fighting and picked it up very quickly. "He had done some sword work in the theatre but he was very good. Fred Warder, the pirate, was also good. It's quite tricky having a human and a puppet fighting a human, and trying to make it all look real! The swords were all made of lightweight aluminum, so they had to be careful not to hit the puppeteers on the head! It has been a real challenge, far more so than teaching people. The puppeteers were incredible -- you actually believe that the frog can fence!"
"Miss Piggy, of course, beats up three pirates, and I brought my martial arts experience into play there. She doesn't fight with any weapons. She has a natural aggression and just goes in and whacks 'em as hard as she can with a lot of style, and down they go. I wouldn't like to get on the wrong side of her, I must say. She's lethal!"
Designing And Lighting Muppets |
MTI Costume Design
Fencing And Stunts |
The Music
The Cast |
About The Production |
Credits
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