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Behind the Scenes with Paul Vincett

Tuesday 8th March 2016

Co-Director and Co-Writer of The Broke ‘N’ Beat Collective Keith Saha, recently spoke to Paul Vincett from Stitches and Glue,  the maker and creator of BOOM-BOX BOY one of the stars from the latest show. Here’s what he had to say.

KS: Can you tell us a bit about what you do?
PV: In a nutshell, we make stuff! Specialising in character creation for theatre and film. Whether it be a puppet, creature suit or costume prop.
KS: How and where did you start making things, and what was your journey?
PV: I’ve always been a maker, from a young age my grandparents would spend many school holidays and weekends encouraging me to create. I studied Art and Design and product design at collage and then decided to do a degree in Illustration, where I specialised in puppets and model making.
KS: Was there a defining moment that made you realise what you wanted to do?
PV: ‘Just have fun and enjoy it’, This is something that has stuck with me since I was a kid and it was only when I was at university that I had the opportunity to find out what I really enjoyed.
KS: Who and what were you inspired by when you were younger and starting out?
PV: Of course I can’t deny that the Henson movement was a huge inspiration, especially Labyrinth but I was also a keen toy player and had a number of puppets in my collection. I was always fascinated by how things were made and worked. I remember me and a group of friends performing at school with our teenage mutant hero turtle puppets.
KS: What made you want to set up your own company?
PV: Whilst on my degree self-promotion was a huge deal and as a creative freelancer means that you are essentially a company.  I felt that developing a brand would help reflect my diverse skillset. When I left University, I continued to make puppets and designer toys and wanted an alias that would reflect my practice, Stitches and Glue was born.
KS: When we first met to talk about BOOMBOX BOY you talked about your interest in art toys can you tell us more?
PV: I have been making designer Art toys for 9 or so years. We’ve had a number of these nominated for awards at Clutter magazines DTA awards ceremony. Iam also a keen collector and have been for a while. There is a huge community of Artists in the scene, some of the nicest people that I’ve met, it’s all about the Art! Its not a big money earner but our collectors make it all worth it, they appreciate the craftsmanship and that every piece is a real labour of love.
KS: Are there differences between making puppets for theatre, film and TV?
PV: I must confess we approach every build with the same attention to detail. The budgets are vastly different, but once you get accustomed to creating your makes to a high standard it is impossible to change that. Puppets on film can often be deconstructed allowing the puppeteer to achieve certain shots, it quite fun when you can be inventive on set. Puppets for theatre have to be built to take a hit.
KS: Are you a Puppeteer as well as a maker?
PV: It’s an important part of the process to keep using the puppet all the way through its creation. Ive been lucky enough to work with some talented puppeteers in theatre and film and learnt a great deal from them.
KS: What has been your proudest moment?
PV: Lots of proud moments. Press nights for shows, seeing my name on movie credits, sell out Art shows.
KS: What advice would you give to anyone starting out as a maker?
PV: Be prepared to work hard for long hours, without great financial gain and remain upbeat whatever the job, big or small. Its takes allot of patience and willingness to keep at it, lots of people don’t make it as a profession. It takes allot of determination.
KS: If you could make a dream theatre piece/film/TV show with puppetry what would it be about?
PV: We’ve actually been working on a project for quite some time that hopefully will come to fruition very soon. Its top secret so watch this space.
See more of Paul’s work by visiting: stitchesandglue.com.
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