hi.  i am so happy to have found this place!  looks like a wonderful board.  my questions is: i want to do puppet shows for kid's birthday parties and i am looking in to building a portable puppet theatre.  does anyone have any advice or experience building something like this?  i found these two examples on the interenet which i was sort of going to copy and build on my own.  what do you think?  thoughts?  advice?  thanks!

first example


second example

I would first of all like to Welcome you to Puppets and Stuff. Is this a stage you will be using just once or often. Some people just put drapes on a curtain spring rod and place in a doorway at the top and the bottom. pulling the top curtains back with tie back and performing from the second rod at the bottom.

There are all types of stages as you see in the pictures you posted. Are you wanting the plans to build the ones in the pictures? How much are you wanting to spend?  I will post some links I have ( be right back  )

Billy D.

You may try looking at this post
http://puppetsandstuff.com/community/index.php/topic,4327.0.html

i'd love to see some links.  i probably would not be going the doorway theatre route just because i'd like something that looks professional. i plan on using this stage at birthday parties.  so it will have to be portable enough to take down, put in the car, and set up again.  i figure most birthday parties would be in someone's home, or backyard, or perhaps even a play centre.  i'd also like to do shows in libraries just to promote myself.  i'd be willing to spend a few hundred but not the $1,300 i've seen some of these going for.  that's why i'd like to build it myself or buy the plans, if they are available. thanks for all your help so far!

Here is one stage built from PVC. http://kids4god.tripod.com/id122.htm. I used a similar one for several years, and then started using one that uses four light stands and two telescoping cross bars. This had the advantages of few parts with easy assembly and disassembly, and because the crossbars could range from 47" to 100" I could fit the stage into a variety of spaces.

The light stands and crossbars I got from companies that sell photographic lighting equipment.

Also, I want to welcome you to Puppets and Stuff. It's a great place, and there are lots of really smart and talented people here. I hope you'll be able to share some of your puppet work with us.

Here is the direct link to a list of websites
http://puppetsandstuff.com/community/index.php/topic,4327.msg39375.html#msg39375

You may want to look at One Way Street...... I have the stage book and it has a bunch of stage plans in it. They also sell stage supplies.

http://www.onewaystreet.com/category/s

Billy D.

   To P&S

thanks for all the help everyone.  this is a great forum!  i found everything i need from one of the links above at puppets4u.com  a perfect stage plus starter kit with 5 puppets. 

Welcome!  We look forward to hearing all about your puppet programs!!

Welcome to P&S. Glad you were able to find what you were looking for. I was going to ask about the kind and size of puppets you were going to be using as well as the number of performers you would need to accomodate. These are all questions you need to consider when choosing or building a stage.

Blessings and have fun