Behind the Magic — Creation of the Winnie the Pooh Puppets!

Goodman & Tanner’s Winnie the Pooh the Musical is our second mainstage production performed ON THE BOULEVARD. It is a delightful blend of music, puppetry, dance, and imaginative play! Brought to life by our incredibly talented cast & crew, Winnie the Pooh is a MUST-SEE performance! We are excited to share a closer look at the creation of each puppet, hand-designed and crafted by Savannah Clay and Samantha Soliz!

Photos by Jeff White Photographer

Meet Samantha Clay!

• What was the inspiration behind the puppets?

  I based my puppets off of Savannah’s original Pooh Bear design. This way the characters would remain cohesive and look like they were from the same Hundred Acre Wood! Aside from the book and Disney adaptions, researching upreexisting stuffed animals helped with color and pattern decisions.

• What was the most challenging part about making them?

  This was also my first time using a sewing machine and I can confirm the long fur put up quite a fight! I also felt planning out our unique, custom patterns proved to be difficult at times, but the results were worth every challenge we faced! 

• Have you participated in a Fantasy show before?

  I have not, but Amy, the cast, and the crew have been incredible! Their passion for the show is infectious and I couldn’t have asked for a better first time Fantasy experience!

• What do you want people to take away from seeing your puppets on stage?

  I’m hoping audiences will remember and appreciate how much joy our imaginations can bring. After seeing the cast bring our puppets to life, my wish is for everyone to leave the show a little bit happier! 

• What piece of advice would you give to someone looking to get into puppet making?

  Be patient and give yourself plenty of time! Even when you are comfortable with sewing and feel like you have the pattern down, the process of compiling and assembling can be very time consuming. Which is OKAY! Like all art, bringing your creation to life will always be worth every second of your time! 

  Oh, and if you’re using joints, make sure you have a very handy father to help you lock them in!

Meet Savannah Soliz

• What was the inspiration behind the puppets?

  I was inspired by the artwork in the original Winnie the Pooh books, as well as the stuffed animals themselves. Rabbit, for example, has the grey-brown fur color of his book counterpart, a departure from his color scheme in Disney’s adaptions. I wanted the characters to be recognizable, but unique in their styles! I ended up sketching a mockup of Pooh to serve as our style inspiration.

• What was the most challenging part about making them?

  I had zero sewing experience before embarking on this project, so the most challenging part by far was learning to sew! Faux fur can be hard to work with, especially when there are several layers of it that you have to sew through. My machine probably hates me now, but I’m so grateful to have gotten to opportunity to learn on the job!

• Have you participated in a Fantasy show before?

  I have not, so this was such an honor to be a part of! I’ve always loved theater for all the artistry that goes into it, and I was incredibly flattered that Amy entrusted me with such an important task!

• What do you want people to take away from seeing your puppets on stage?

  I would love for our puppets to bring people joy! My favorite part of creating artwork is seeing the reactions of others when they get to see it. I hope that the audience finds them as adorable as I do :)

• What piece of advice would you give to someone looking to get into puppet making?

  Give yourself time or practice before making the real things! I made several iterations of heads, arms, etc before I made the actual ones for the puppets. Also, if using a sewing machine, make sure to adjust your tension when working with faux fur! And, possibly most importantly, make sure you have plenty of time to dedicate to it. It is a time-consuming but very rewarding process!