Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2011 - 48

but it complicates the manipulation of the already heavy horse puppets.
Joey and Topthorn weigh about eighty pounds each (without a rider), and
the additional weight of a rider was a concern for the designers. The puppeteers work hard in any role of this show, but the burden is particularly
heavy on those inside the horses. These actors wear individually sized
backpack harnesses to help them control the puppets and bear the load.

t takes about nine months to make a Joey or Topthorn puppet.
Once complete, they are shipped to New York. The puppets
that arrive at the Vivian Beaumont are finished and ready to appear on
stage; however, they are also in a state of constant development. "It's definitely an evolving puppet," says puppet engineer Kyle Barrineau.
Paul Smithyman describes the horse puppets as "very Darwinian."
"An important thing has transpired," he continues. "Handspring Puppet
Company is really collaborating with the technicians. The crew is completely invested in the horses. They fix everything that breaks. They do constant maintenance on the horses, trying to be as proactive as possible. They
virtually work every day to keep up with the horses (Smithyman 2011)."
Specifically, a team of IATSE stagehands works forty hours a week,
Tuesday through Saturday, maintaining the War Horse puppets at the theatre. These experts not only make all the necessary repairs to the puppets
(a full-time job in itself as the puppets take quite a beating doing eight
shows a week) but also constantly identify, get approval for, and implement design improvements.
The work on the harness systems worn by the internal operators of
the horses is a good example. One of the stagehands, puppet engineer
Kyle Barrineau, showed me a number of repairs in progress backstage.
He also shared the working draft of his updated puppeteer harness with
improved lumbar support for use inside Joey and Topthorn. Barrineau's
design is not exactly as he wants it yet, but if he can translate his theory
into the design, the puppeteers working inside the horses will be more

comfortable, more effective, and, probably, very happy.
Another example of Barrineau's creative work is the ear mechanism
for Joey and Topthorn. The rubber bands in the original design wore out
quickly and required frequent replacements. Barrineau's improved mechanism uses a small metal spring that lasts longer and works just as well.
Clearly, Barrineau enjoys his work and says the puppets "really keep
me on my game. There is something broken nearly every day, and, more
often than not, it's something that hasn't broken before (because there
are so many parts)." But Barrineau is not complaining, on the contrary,
this is what he and the rest of the War Horse team do. "It comes in, we
find out what's wrong, we fix it, we make it better if we can, and, we send
it back out."
Furthermore, the work is never dull. "The puppets are really interesting. They are very handmade. The people who designed them, Basil
and Andre, they do puppet engineering. But it's a different mindset from
a stagehand. The materials they use are really entropic. It's really cool
to take this rustic, hand-crafted piece of art and then, by using technology, to make them durable. It's really cool and really different (Barrineau
2011)."

How the Puppets are Manipulated
The most complex puppets in War Horse are the adult versions of the Joey
and Topthorn because of their manipulation requirements. The baby, or
foal, Joey puppet, however, is nearly as complex. Each of these three puppets is brought to life onstage by a team of three puppeteers. These are not
career puppeteers, but performers who have trained intensively for these
specific roles.1
Four teams of three puppeteers rotate the job of performing as Joey
or Topthorn. Two of the teams specialize in one horse, and the other two
teams can play both Joey and Topthorn. The teams rotate because the
work is so taxing. Each three-person team remains together as a unit for
an extended period of time because of the close nature of work inside the

Kyle Barrineau demonstrates the spring mechanism for the ear.

theatre design

& technology

2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2011