Talking Decapitated head-on-a-pike.

A local playwright (Freddy Bradburn) wrote a bit in a folk tale performance that included a decapitated head, placed on a pike at the edge of town as a warning to others, that comes to life, greets its former traveling companions, and joins them in a song. And it needed to look like the actor portraying the living version of the character.

We started with a life cast, and created a flexible machie mask in the shape of the actor’s face.

Paper shell made from life cast. I used cotton bond grade paper for strength.

After taking measurements from the life cast, I designed and built mechanisms for the mouth and eyes. The eyes needed to be lidded (I wanted independent movement, so the puppet could wink) and to be able to look to the left and right.

Back view of eye mechanism — Back view of the eye mechanism. The horizontal wire is actuating the eyelid, and the eye itself is mounted along the vertical axis to allow movement left-to-right. All movements use centering/home springs as a return.

Eye mech - front view — Eye mech from the front. Iris not painted yet, but the pencil dot indicates the center of the eye. Wax paper has been wrapped around the upper wood frame to prevent the eyelid material from catching as it travels back. The springs visible at top are the eyelid returns (normally closed).

After fully testing the mechanisms and getting the results we wanted, I wrapped the whole rig up in the life mask and a wig. A frame was built to hold a form for the head and tie the moving parts together.

First Assembly — The mask and wig assembled to the eye and mouth mechanism frame. At this point, the entire rig was mounted to a cast iron base microphone stand, which would later get a cover to make it appear wooden. An extra 20 lbs of weight was added to the base to increase stability, as the puppet would be remotely operated by strings.

Eyes open! — The mask and wig assembled to the eye and mouth mechanism frame. At this point, the entire rig was mounted to a cast iron base microphone stand, which would later get a cover to make it appear wooden. An extra 20 lbs of weight was added to the base to increase stability, as the puppet would be remotely operated by strings.

After giving the puppet his haircut to match the Actor’s look, I used the hair trimmings to create the mustache, goatee, and eyebrows. The face also underwent two more paint revisions, mostly in the form of dry brushing to give a better sense of the shape of the face, and to make it appear a bit more freshly dead.

Actor and puppet — The completed head with haircut, facial hair, and a right bloody mess where it left the body.

Here’s a few stills of the head going through it’s paces.

Backstage, you can see the cover added to the mic stand. I drew the wood grain on a long strip of butcher paper and made a wrap.

In the end, the puppet was very effective and generated a lot of interest. The final operational position is at the base, with the puppeteer lying on the floor behind a small scenic element where he could provide both the voice and action. All actuators are strung with waxed linen thread passed through a yoke at the base, and operated by pulling against the centering springs.

The head comes to life — The decapitated head comes to life on stage. The audience reacted viscerally every performance – the match to the actor’s appearance was a disturbing factor, even before the eyes opened and the head started singing.

This project had a tight budget. Total materials cost of the finished puppet was less than $300, and the build time was donated.

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