Neoprene Puppet Heads

These are neoprene puppet heads under construction. They are being made by Seattle Children's Theater head puppeteer Doug Paasch.

Neoprene casting compound is a great puppet building material. It's nontoxic and it comes ready to pour into plaster molds. Once it is removed from the mold it cures and the resulting product is both light weight and sturdy. Cured neoprene can be sanded, drilled, primed and painted. Neoprene is the preferred building material for puppeteers that make ventriloquist dummies and marionettes.

At Swazzle we use neoprene for special touches like horns or teeth. Neoprene can also be brushed onto foam with a chip brush. I used that technique to create the "bone heads" of Sid and Ed the Pachycepholauruses from Harry and the Tyrannosaurs Rex.

I get my Neoprene from Chicago Latex. They offer various compounds that range from rigid to flexible.