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Any lighting, even 'black light' lighting should usually come from above. Puppets look best under natural lighting conditions. Casting lights from below, while easier to set up, is not visually the best method. It is also a little bit dangerous to have fluorescent tube lights hanging inside the front of your stage. It hurts the puppeteers eyes, its bulky and in the way, and a mishandled prop could break the bulbs.

If you are on a budget, and want a simple, cost-effective means to professionally light your puppet stage area from above, we suggest this simple set up. (A)

Materials needed:
3 18" Black Light fixtures
1 Extension cord with a 3 plug-in end
1 can of black spray paint
1 6 foot long 3/4" x 5 1/4" board
2 6'5" galvanized pipes 1 3/4" diameter (fence pipe)
2 18" galvanized pipes 1 3/4" diameter
2 6" galvanized pipes 1 1/2" diameter

6 3 1/2" threaded bolts
4 matching wing nuts
2 matching washers
2 matching nuts
4'x2' piece of 3/4" thick hardwood (or equivalent)
16 1" L-brackets
38 1" woodscrews

(A)

1. Make the fence pole stands. (B) You will need at least one 4 foot by 2 foot sheet of 3/4ths inch plywood (or the equivalent amount of lumber) plus 16 1 inch "L" brackets and 32 1 inch wood screws.

(B)

Notice how the 2 "L" brackets are holding each piece to the next. (D) Use the woodscrews with the "L" brackets.

2. Make the poles using galvanized fencing material that is commonly used with chain link fences.

(E)

For travel purposes and portability, the next portion is cut into parts for easy stowage and transport.

Someone at Home Depot or Lowes (or whatever hardware store you purchase from) should be able to cut the pieces you need. Cut 2 6'5" pipes for the main portion of the poles. (E)

Then cut two 18" pieces from the same size pipe as the 6'5" pipes. The ones pictured are 1 3/4" diameter. Three holes will need to be drilled through these. Take a look at (F) to see where the holes should go.

3. Add connection pieces.

Purchase two 6 inch fence connectors. They are 1 1/2 diameter, so they can easily fit inside the fence poles. One hole will need to be drilled through each of these. Take a look at (F) to see where the holes should go. You may notice that the bolt on the far left of the connector poles are simply to secure the inner pole with the outer pole.

(F)

4. Acquire one 6 foot long 3/4th inch by 5 1/4 inch board. (G) Drill two holes in each end. Make sure they are the same distance apart as the two holes on the right side of the connector poles above. (F)

5. Attach this board to the connector poles using the bolts and wing nuts. (H)

6. Add 6 woodscrews to the "backboard". They should stick out about 1/8th of an inch from the the surface. (I) The spacing of the screws should match the holes in the back of the black light fixtures. (J) (Every 13 1/8th inches.) They should be evenly spaced.

7. Slide the black lights onto the screws in the back board. Make sure they are secure. You may choose to wrap electrical tape around the ends of the fixtures and the back board for added security. Neatly pull the power cords to one end and plug them into a simple extension cord. (K)

8. Finally, paint the poles, back board and the stands, black. (It simply looks nicer.)

Be sure to adjust the instructions for the width of your own stage. This provides a LOT of light, is easily portable, and will make for more professional looking lighting at your puppet shows. Enjoy!

Purchase black lights, black light puppets, balloons, gloves, puppets and bubbles from Puppet Productions.
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