Concept of moose stilts and costume

The show ‘Ziibi’ we are creating with Grand Rapids Showboat, Inc. is going to be a spectacular performance celebrating life on the river with a lot of treats for the eyes and the ears. Among other elements, we’ll be exploring with stilt walking and puppetry. One element will be crossing the two. Here’s a peek at a life-size moose we plan to build for a performer to wear/manipulate. It seems to work on paper. We’ll see how it stands the test of a physical reality.

Stilt schematics

Thankfully cosplayers who like to dress up as werewolves, satyrs, and other creatures have figured out how to turn human legs into animal legs. With a few adaptations and the addition of crutch-like forelegs this still seems feasible on paper.

Antler sketch

The moose head will be suspended out beyond the actual head of the actor and so the puppet head and antlers will need to be light weight. I’m looking at a 1/2″ or 3/4″ PVC skeleton and fabric with stiff interfacing for the mass of the antlers. The head will likely be a similar construction. In the end it must be light so that the actor can easily move the moose head by moving his own head.