Alice In Wonderland
Greenbrier Valley Theatre
Education Department, Touring School Production
Head of Education/Producer:Dorothy Jo Oberfoell
Director/Teaching Artist: Emilie Baartman
Props: Lewis Bethune
Brief/Context:
These props were made education department’s touring kids production of Alice in Wonderland. A basic list of items was handed over from the education director, with the direction to build things as sturdy as possible from whatever materials the education/props already had, as a lower priority between other projects. Everything needed to fit in one tote bin and last for a few months with no repairs or replacements.
Hand-stitched felt tarts on tin plate. Approximately 2.5" in diameter each, made 10. Hearts glued on separately.
Small sheet tray of tarts. All tarts are stuffed with scrap felt so they appear more three dimensional.
Velcro added to secure these to the tray. Stitched to the tart and glued to the tray.
Attempted to pull baby pig doll/stuffed animal, but didn't have one in stock. Built from scratch, since there was no show budget. Felt pig head, with painted facial features, pinned to a chunk of upholstery foam and wrapped in a baby blanket.
Hedgehog croquet balls. Hand-stitched felt with drawn on features. Essentially a felt ball with triangles added around the outside to look like spikes, then stuffed with Polyfil so they rolled nicely. Made 5.
Missing Images:
Since this project was done in at the end of the year/contract, between other projects and strike, there are several items I neglected to photograph.
Invitation (1): Three pieces of cardboard, secured with gaff tape to securely fold and unfold in an envelope shape. Painted, wrapped with packing tape for stability, and cardboard “seal” added to front. Inside left empty so that the script could be taped in.
Tweedles Bats (2): 2” cardboard tubes, ends capped, and painted in primary colors.
Tea Pot and Mugs (4): Pulled plastic kettle and various plastic mugs from stock, for durability. Spray painted two of the same mugs to mismatched patterns. Painted flowers/patterns on the kettle and coated with Elmer’s Glue so that it could be peeled off and returned to stock when the tour was over.
Hand Baskets (3): Pulled three similar looking baskets and added the same decorative ribbon/fabric so it appeared to change sizes.
Flamingo Croquet Mallets (4): Researched options and discussed with education director, before deciding to order yard decor flamingos and replace the wire legs with painted dowels. Found the best deal online, prepped new legs, and left instructions for the teaching artist to assemble when they arrived.