The Making of Milky-White Kevin A. Wilson
Into the Woods
Last year, I was cast in the role of Milky-White in the Spotlight Playhouse production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods.
There are two routes you can take with Milky-White. She can either be a costume or a prop. The director and I discussed the role at length. His vision was for Milky-White to be a believable character, and he asked me to take on the task of constructing her as a puppet. And above all, he said, she must not end up on the tumblr dedicated to low-budget Milky-Whites.
He was so dedicated to Milky-White not being a farce that he said he would pay for all materials involved in her construction, which came to around $200.
Creating her became a labor of love. She occupied most of my free time for the better part of three months. I had never undertaken a project like this before, and the construction involved a great deal of trial and error. I kept a visual record of the process, and I offer it here for those interested in reliving the journey with me and for those who might be tasked with creating their own versions of Milky-White.
Substructure
Milky-White's inner frame was made of half-inch PVC pipe. This material was chosen for its versatility and light weight. Pieces were cut and joined together with couplings. The first stage created the main form. I later added a set of pipes at the mid-point to give her additional structural strength.
The use of 90 degree angles in the body made her finished form rather boxy. If I were creating her again, I would use several 45 degree couplings to give her a more rounded body.
Head
Milky-White's head was shaped with a frame of stiff but malleable wire. This frame was then overlaid with Wonderflex, a thermoplastic that can be molded when heated with a high-temperature heat gun. Once it cools, the plastic retains its shape. Her jaw was spring loaded and could be opened by pulling on a small rope.
Neck
Her neck was created with simple hardware: nuts and bolts, washers, eye screws, and L-braces. Her head needed to move up and down and side to side, so both horizontal and vertical axes were created. Long rods controlled the lateral movement, while the up-and-down motion was handled by a small rope.
Once assembled, the frame and head could be operated by with one hand. A cross piece controlled the rods that governed lateral movement of the head. The ropes that made her head tilt up and down and made her mouth open and close were controlled by the index finger and middle finger respectively. (The mouth rope had not been added when the video below was created.)
Body
Once her frame was complete, Wonderflex was molded to create her skin. It was attached to her frame by screws.
Wonderflex bonds to itself when heated, which made attaching different sections easier.
Udder
Milky's udder and teats were formed from Wonderflex. As in all stages of her creation, I spent a lot of time studying pictures of cows on the Internet.
The finished udder was painted and attached to the frame. One teat had a hole drilled in the bottom, and a bulb and tubing allowed her to actually give milk. This feature ended up not being used in the show. We didn't want to accidentally spill liquid on the stage, as this could pose a hazard to the non-bovine actors.
Eyes
Milky-White's eyes were molded from polymer clay that I fired in my toaster oven. After being painted, several coats of glaze were added.
Finishing Touches
Milky's hide was made of white polar fleece that was glued to the Wonderflex. The section between her head and her body was sewn on with no underlying skin, which gave her the flexibility she needed.
I attached a strap to the frame so I could wear her on stage. When fully assembled, she weighed about 15 pounds. Access to the controls was through an opening on her back. A crossbar added at her center of gravity gave me extra control with my free hand when needed.
At a pivotal moment in the show, Milky-White needed to eat Little Red Riding Hood's cloak, Rapunzel's hair, and Cinderella's slipper. Although her mouth opened, these items were too large for her to swallow quickly. To speed up the process (which had to fit within a certain section of music), I added a flap in the right side of her neck. The opening was held closed with Velcro but was opened during this scene. The opening could not be seen by the audience because it was on her up-stage side. The actor playing Jack was able to feed the items past her mouth and place them inside her body, which created the illusion that she was eating them. Later in the scene, she had to eat the silk from an ear of corn. This was small enough that it could be placed directly in her mouth.
On Stage
Although she straddled the categories of prop and costume, the finished Milky-White was a character in her own right. While most of her mannerisms were that of a cow, I wanted her to be a cow that responded like a pet. I also added some anthropomorphic characteristics, including her being afraid when she thought a butcher was near.
But the thing that ultimately brought Milky-White to life was the way the other actors treated her. Jack, in particular, had some wonderful interactions that made their relationship real and made her seem like more than an inanimate object.
My primary desire in portraying Milky-White (whom we lovingly referred to as Em-dubs) was that the audience would quickly learn to ignore the fact that I was there and concentrate on her. Comments that people made on Facebook (see below) lead me to believe I achieved that. Audience members laughed at her reactions and were sad when she died. Don't worry ... the witch brought her back to life.
One thing that surprised me, however, was the extent to which this carried over after the performance had ended. When we went into the lobby to greet people after the show, they would come up and talk to Milky-White, often without acknowledging that I was there. Kids loved meeting her, and everyone wanted to pet her.
Spotlight Playhouse
Many thanks to Spotlight Playhouse, our wonderful cast and crew, and especially our director, Lance Arnold, for giving me this unique opportunity to bring Milky-White to life ... and for putting up with all the cow puns along the way.