Step right up! Step right up! Be the first to see this themed display base for a one of a kind 7 Faces of Dr. Lao prop!
The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao is a 1964 film which tells the story of mysterious circus which arrives in a small town. The circus is filled with a large crew of one of a kind characters most of which are played by the incomparable Tony Randall. This Dr. Lao prop, which was a potion of the body of the serpent, was such a unique prop from such a fun film, a themed base seemed like a no brainer!
We discussed theming options with the client, but one thing that unanimous right off the bat, was that it had to capture the feel of the side show. Lead artist for this project Steven Richter started off with a simple, rectangular wooden base. We wanted it to have a very patchwork tent feel. He created the fabric swatches in several different colors of a canvas fabric, with some some shorter pieces and some longer. Each was aged and distressed. The colors we chose were bold, mostly earthy tones to reflect the color palette of the side show setting in the film. The entire base was covered in a mossy colored canvas and then Steven took those swatches and strung them together using a twine, which were attached to the sides of the base.
We created a sign for the front of the display which mimicked the look of the serpent's in the film. The bright colors of the sign help it to stand out from the rest of the base. As a finishing touch we added faux straw around the prop like the serpent's cage in the movie.
A tour-de-force performance by Tony Randall in multiple roles!