I need help in some ideas for our Christmas program this year.
We have two songs we are doing in blacklight.  The first song will be on the Children's choir.  We are having them put on white shirts and some kind of halos.  It will be a song of the angles singing to the shepherds.  The children's choir will be doing the singing & the puppeteers are going to be dangling glowing stars above them.  What else do we need to do with the children?  Will their faces show or not?  Blacklight is very new for us.

I want them to look like angels floating in the sky. 

The second time is when the two reporters are talking to Michael (angel) without knowing he is an angel.  The lights will go dark and he will glow with halo and wings since he will be a blacklight puppet.  I guess what would make it easiest is if I had two identical puppets and one had the wings and halo the other dressed normal.  Hmm that means I would have to make another puppet (but I do have one I was going to make into another blacklight that is identical to the one I already made) HMM This might be easier than I thought.  I answered one of my own questions. 

Well anyways help with the first idea would be great.

Thanks

Oh I also need to know what to do about the eyes & hair for the blacklight puppet?

     Fair human skin generally glows faintly, and eyes and teeth take on a somewhat goulish appearance under black light.  It's easy enough to see what I mean - take a mirror and a blacklight into a dark room, and smile!  I'd recommend make up if you want the kids faces to show.  Neon sunglasses plus glow-in-the-dark lipstick or neon goofy masks (or regular goofy masks which you've painted in neon colors) can be fun, too.  A simple halo idea is a ring of feather boa which sits directly on the child's head (many colors of feather boa will glow under blacklight, but they will be an entirely different color than they are in regular light).  A wire frame and ring of tinsel will make a floating halo - if you can find tinsel which will glow.
     It's amazing how many items are labeled neon or look like they'll glow, but don't.  A black light flashlight is really great when you're shopping for materials (that or a good return policy!)  Anything that glows in the dark will show up brightly in blacklight, and every neon paint we've tried has worked.
     Our best blacklight puppets are actually bare foam which we've painted with neon spray paint.  They glow great, and the seams don't show at all under blacklight.  Neon paints can be mixed to make different colors, but I'd recommend against it.  We made a lovely purple and green octopus out of mixed neon paints, but he doesn't show up nearly as well as our yellow, pink, and orange puppets do.

Oops - I don't know what I pushed, but I wasn't ready to post!
     Blacklight is best when you don't also have regular light.  The effect can be really magical because anything black is completely invisible.  We once made dancing pink flamingos by putting kids in neon pink tights with foam shoe covers, foam bird wings and bodies which wrapped around the kids' waists, foam flamingo heads on rods, and feather boa necks connecting the heads to the bodies.  The kids wore black clothes, gloves, and black Halloween hoods with the black mesh faces (usually for Angel of Death costumes) - and no one could tell how they did it.  Underwater and flying scenes are also great because the puppets can float through the water/air - just make sure that the room is pitch dark and nothing behind the puppeteers glows, or the effect is ruined.
     Signs really are a great effect in blacklight, too.  Our favorite method is to print our images on neon paper with thick black outlines.  We cut out the image, glue it on black foam-core board, and touch up the edges with a black sharpie.  This is very labor intensive, but makes a durable, rigid sign which glows great.

Our team prefers blacklight over any other puppet medium.

For puppets - use Boas for hair - you can get some great neon ones. Some yarns also fluoresce.  Eyes - you have to check them under blacklight, some glow and some don't.

I carry a battery operated balcklight with me to check stuff.

As for blacklights. We use the ones from Wal Mart (used to be 18" they recently changed to 24").  We hang them on the stage with hooks (you can buy them from One Way Street or make your own). They (blacklight fixtures)have holes in them for hanging. We have 48" blacklights, but they are hard to carry around when we travel.

I have the blacklight book mentioned and it is good. I also recommend doing some of the "Beyond Words" skits form OWS with blacklight.  We do simple songs too. Our signature is "This Little Light of Mine," all in blacklight. We also do "The B-I-B-L-E." 

Our curtains are velour, lined with the cheapest black Wal Mart sheets.

There are different kinds of blacklight markers, crayons, and paint. I have blacklight crayons that only show up under blacklight (as opposed to fluorescent crayons or markers).
Spencer Gifts has a great blacklight section (I just hide my eyes when I walk past all the other junk).

Props - we use black Sentra (we prefer this), foam core or posterboard. Cut letters from neon posterboard or paper and laminate. One Jonah song we do has waves and we found blue neon paint at Hobby Lobby. We made a whale from builders foam, painted it with neon paints (not spray, it ate it - although water based spray will not), and cut a hole in the center of the whale. At the right time the puppeteer pushes on the "hole" and it falls out, revealing Jonah.

We have the most awesome lightening bolts (black sentra - long and narrow - with bolts cut form neon posterboard). If you flip them aound fast enough it looks like lightening.

hope this helps.

Hi all,
I have been absent from the site for so long. I miss you guys. Lots of changes in my life have caused my blacklight business to kind of dwindle. They are good changes and also just changes that as a grandmother I need to be there to address. Tessa, my grandaughter will of course come first so I've decided to put my blacklight puppetry to rest. I won't quit for good, but boy I have so much stuff that I don't ever see using anymore. My elbow also has caused me to not be able to perform the strenuous routines I did once. So, I guess I will be putting up lots of blacklight puppets and fabrics and stuff for sale. Not sure I can put them here but if you are interested in seeing what I have you can email me. I will also bring the listings from ebay or craigslist too here. Here's my email if you wish to know about the stuff. I am still going thru lots so there will be more.
puppetpatti@usa.net

Hi:

I've never done black light puppetry, but here are a few tips from related production areas.
1.  Rosco makes a paint that is extensively used in the theatre.  It's known as black velour paint.  It's highly concentrated is really absorbs the light well.  It's not cheap, but can be diluted quite a bit and comes in various sized buckets.  Check out Rosco's web site for deetails.  Any good theatrical supply house should be able to sell you some.
2.  As I recall, Rosco also sells a line of UV sensitive paints.  Again, not cheap, but very high quality.
3.  Laundry bluing is UV sensitive and can be used for a light blue effect.  Very popular with haunted houses.
4.  If you need a black out curtain, black velour is the industry standard.  It needs to be hung with the nap in the correct orientation.  Try hanging it in different orientations with fullness to see what works best with your lighting rig.
5.  The various UV spray paints can give good results.

^.  There are a lot of plastics that are UV sensitive, but you don't necessarily know until you test them.  Get a small UV light to take shopping.

If anything else comes to mind I'll post it.

Marty

You can also try Etsy.  The fees are a lot less than ebay.  Plus, the time frame is longer.  It is not an auction so you can have a listing in your Etsy shop for only 20 cents and I think it remains active for like 3 months unless someone buys it of course.  Just thought I would throw that option there to you.

Sorry that you have to let go of some of your "friends."  Glad that the reason is because of the wonderful addition to the family.  I know that I have been relaxing on puppetry as well because of my son turning three in June.  The only thing I am busy with is making puppets for his birthday party.  Once that is done, I too will be taking a break from puppetry to just be a mom.....my full time job.  I am still interested in seeing what you have available as I have always been interested in black light puppetry.  But I would be a total beginner so it would be cool to see a professional's puppets and such.

I hope that you will still be posting videos of your wonderful music, too.  I love listening to you play your FABULOUS instrument and am still saving up for one.

Squeeze a hug to your grand-daughter for me! 

Aloha,
Nikole

Thank you Nikole,
I think I'll start a new thread on this subject so not to highjack the original topic. Yes, I am trying so very hard to keep up with my music. With Tessa in my care almost full time now, it's harder but the difference is I'm on my own deadline, not a customers deadline. So off I go to start a new thread. Takecare.
Patti

Here's another black light tip. 

1.  Hobby Lobby and other art supplies stores carry an excellent line of paint called Createx.  Although it's intended for airbrushes (which makes it a little pricey) it is excellent and the line includes several fluorescent colors.
2.  Prolonged exposure to UV can cause eye fatigue and other problems.  Turn the light offs except for the immediate needs of performance.

Marty

HELP! My pool noodle puppet doesn't glow under the black light. Suggestions?

HELP! My pool noodle puppet doesn't glow under the black light. Suggestions?

Yep. Flo. Spray paint. First you will need to spray it with a coat of spray glue, let dry, then spray with flo. spray paint. The spray glue helps the paint stick to the foam, as well as helping it to stay flexible. If you have eyes etc. you will need to cover them with painters tape to keep the glue and paint off of them.

Sue

Are they supposed to?  You may have to cover them with a fabric that glows under black light or get a florescent paint like Marty suggested.  It has been suggested that when shopping for fabrics that you carry a small battery operated black light to test and see if the material is florescent. Just because a color looks florescent under normal light does not always mean that it is activated by UV light.