The Seattle Times: Eight times a week, at The Paramount Theatre, a man becomes a reindeer.
For the musical “Frozen,” based on the hit Disney animated movie and currently in residence at the Paramount until March 1, an everyday miracle happens backstage, before every show. An actor, by means of a nearly 50-pound design so elaborate that it’s called a puppet rather than a costume, is transformed into a four-legged, hoofed and antlered scene-stealer named Sven.
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This article was so interesting to read. I kind of knew how the puppet of Sven worked before but not the exact details of it. Like I had no idea that the actor playing Sven needed to have nearly all of his weight and the weight of the puppet on just his hands for sometimes 8-9 minutes at a time. I cannot imagine how physically demanding this role is. In the video, he talked about how he was sore after every performance and goes to physical therapy 3 times a week, and this just makes me think why would anyone want to do this. But he seems to really enjoy it so I guess to each their own. I am not surprised that at first, they thought they were not going to be able to have Sven onstage, but I am so glad they did because this really is a magical moment in the show. I am always amazed by how creative people are and what they come up with these kinds of things.
I recall from a couple months ago an article about the velociraptor costumes from the Jurassic World Live production. It is interesting to compare and contrast these ridiculous, over-the-top costume puppets these actors must contend with. For instance, the velociraptor costume, if I recall correctly, weighs over one hundred pounds. That being said, the actors wearing them walk bipedally on flat feet. The Sven costume, on the other hand, weighs much less, clocking in at only fifty pounds. However, the actors who don this costume are basically walking en pointe on their hands and feet the entire time they are on stage. If they are trying to recreate the bouncy, bubbly character of Sven as he is portrayed in the film, that is going to take some serious elegance to pull off smoothly. All while en pointe and wearing a fifty-pound costume. Both of these costumes are very bold pieces for the designer to make, seeing as they are so physically demanding for the actor. Also, looking at the image of the costume, the eyes are honestly a bit off-putting. It may have just been the lighting or the photo, but the eyes appeared to be all black, with no whites. This is honestly a little bit scary if anything.
Woah. The rise of extremely technical special effects in live theatre has been pretty spectacular. In the last few years, musicals like Frozen, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Spiderman have implimented increasingly spectacular effects and solutions that would be avoided altogether and handled with CGI in a film setting. The assumption is that that kind of effect is somewhat off limits with the limited control over the audience viewpoint and without editing, but several pioneering shows have, undaunted, really taken these problems head on and brought that magic to a live audience. Honestly, my first thought with something like Sven is that it would be fully animatronic. Animatronics are no small feat, of course, but I am even more stunned that an actual actor is in that suit for minutes at a time. It's incredible considering how much work has to be put in just to get safe and comfortable with moving around in the suit, and that all has to happen before the actor can really even start to flesh out their character and do their main job: acting.
Wait… The last photo of the actor horsing around as Sven left a strong impact on my mind… Anyway, I still cannot imagine how much work the production must have gone through. First of all, technical and artistic quality of the puppet is amazing. Many people would imagine The Lion King, when thinking of puppets used in the musical. I think the realistic but friendly figure of Sven added a whole other possibility of puppets on stage. Furthermore, I am interested in the directing process of deciding how long and where in the show can Sven be on stage. Given that the actor can only stay as Sven “up to eight or nine minutes at a time” I wonder how much the production can trust and push harder on actors’ physicality. As a matter of fact, I do believe Sven is “the most magical parts of the show” over all the magic done by Elsa.
This costume/puppet thing is so visually awesome, but sounds absolutely terrible to wear. The article goes into great depth about the physical demands of wearing and acting in this costume. It even mentions how the actors need to attend physical therapy and conditioning to be able to properly operate it. Not only do the actors need to be at 8 shows a week and their regular rehearsals, but there is also this added component of being able to physically operate the puppet. I love that they put this much effort into this piece because it truly is a staple part of the movie and I am assuming the show, even though I have not actually seen it yet. I am always impressed by the level that Disney will go to to have authenticity in their stories. Everything is so detailed and it is what keeps the audience coming back to literally every Disney production. I hope to see Frozen soon.
This role as puppeteer/actor for Sven actually feels more like the work of a technician than that of an actor. Yes, Collin Baja has to be extremely fit and he does go on stage and he has to interact creatively with the rest of the cast, but for some reason, the nuances and precision of the job feel so much more technical than that of a stage actor. I cannot even begin to imagine the strength and stamina required to plank for minutes at a time with fifty pounds on your back. My neck gets sore just looking at Sven's head mounted onto Baja's. The construction of this puppet must have been an absolute beast. All the fur, the hooves, customizing the puppet for each actor uniquely, the eyelid and ear controls inside the front legs, you name it. I wonder how much the Sven puppet costs to produce.
As an audience favorite, Sven brings light to the frozen story. He acts as comedic relief and his love of carrots was adorable. I am glad the team went through the effort of creating this puppet for Sven. I am surprised at the level of technical expertise that went into his creation. Even though this actor did not use the air conditioning hose it brings in a good point about including actor comfort and safety into the design process instead of after the fact. Often the designers can be so focused on getting something that looks good on stage they can forget how much it weighs, how much space it takes up, or how itchy or abrasive a material could be. I definitely saw this within the mask project. For instance, my project had very low visibility because I wanted the eyes to be a very distinct look and shape. The air conditioning hose is a great example of designs being well thought out.
Seeing modern practical effects being used today is so interesting because we’re so used to CGI at this point, and we forget that puppetry and other effects have been evolving and improving as well. Theatre is really the perfect venue to display this evolution because of the real nature of the performers - I loved the actor’s description of the audience reaction to seeing him for the first time, and I think that wowed reaction is partially because audiences weren’t expecting something so high quality or realistic. Hearing about the physical demands of the role was so interesting and something that I’m sure was deeply kept in mind by the designers of the costume. It can be easy to fall into the trap of forgetting how physically demanding actors’ roles can be, but looking at an extreme example and the required accommodations, such as the extended warmup and cooldown, is definitely a reminder.
It's incredible to see an actor create magic like that not only because it's so beautiful and flawless but because it is so physically taxing. Being super claustrophobic it astounds me that they're willing to not only exist but act and move in such an uncomfortable position so many days a week. I can't imagine having a job that's so dependent on even the smallest of your movements to look realistic. I've never been particularly interested in seeing Frozen so the question of how it pulls off its furry friends hadn't crossed my mind but it's interesting to see what goes into it. The part about essentially pumping AC into the suit while the actor is offstage was particularly intriguing for me because it really demonstrates how uncomfortable and confined the space is within the puppet. I give my utmost respect to ballet dancers for dancing on point but what these people are doing as Sven is truly incredible because it takes one of the most widely known to be difficult parts of ballet and combines it with a sweltering environment and the need to create a magical character through movement.
I love how theater can just create transformations that are so breathtaking. Theater doesn't have the ability of creating computerized visual effects like film does and that's what I enjoy so much about theater. Everything on stage needs to be concrete, there can always be an "imaginary" Sven but that requires the show to ask the audience to imagine that. When you are Disney and have the big budget shows, people expect wonders and to be immersed in a show without much work on their part. With this, they really managed to transform one actor into a mystical reindeer. Truly, it is incredible how one person can sit under a suit that millions of people can instantly recognize as a animal from a movie. One aspect of this I am concerned about, is if it is healthy for the actor to perform in this manner. I know the article explained how there are two actors who switch off this job but it still seems extremely taxing for using your body in a way it is not designed for. But with all this hard work and awesome design, I am sure the wonder on people's faces when they see the whole Sven suit is incredible.
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