Walruses

In the performance program, the following is written: "On the beaches of Novastoshnah, far away in the Bering Sea, a white seal was born some time long ago. The white seal was named Kotick. Kotick grew up on the warm beaches and lived like most seal children.

When Kotick was one year old, his life was to change. Humans came to the beach, killed his friends, skinned them, and took away the fur. From this moment on, the white seal knew that he had to find islands for his family, where humans would not come."

(Program for The White Seal, 1983).

Sceneweb refers to the other puppets registered from this production, Kotick and the seahorses.

The three walruses were played by Stein Kiran, Anne Tidemand, Ragnhild Wang and Anne-Lise Ruud. 

SOURCES:

Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre).

Performance program. 

Donated by: Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre). Knut Wiulsrød.  

Imported 06.05.2020.

The walruses were like mounds of meat. There was much padding involved, to give the bodies volume, using plastic foam and other light material, easily formed. The outer and visible material used for the three walruses was a type of velvet.

The heads of the walruses were shaped from a firm material. It may have been plastic foam or Styrofoam. They were clad in velvet, with bulging eyes and heavy eye lids, placed high on the faces. The mouths were formed from fringes, giving them a comical effect. All of them had long side teeth, likely made from plastic foam.

The description is based on a photo.

Inside of the walruses' heads, there must have been some kind of horizontal handles/grips, for the puppeteer to hold. The puppets had mobility in their necks. The bodies were large, and they may have had a form of skeleton of thin plastic rods, giving them shape and volume. There was also a handle (or possibly several handles) fastened to the back of the puppets, to make it possible to hold them in a horizontal position, and to play with their bodies. The stomachs were open, so that the puppeteers could easily grab hold of the steering mechanisms (at least two rods). Several puppeteers were needed to perform with the three walruses. In the program, four puppeteers are named.

The description is based on a photo.