# Headless costume help



## Gym Whourlfeld (Jan 22, 2003)

The first thing I would do is get an actor who already has a really small head(Is there such a thing with all those big headed egos around? hahahah!
Cut two "U"-shaped pieces out from 3/4 inch thick plywood, make a cross brace to hold them about a foot apart. These will go over the shoulders sort of like football shoulder pads. These can be padded to ease the digging in of the total costume weight.
Wooden supports can be attached to raise up a frame worked from the shoulder pieces to make the top of the shoulders of the shirt or coat he is to be wearing when completed.
Keep it simple and light weight.Sorry, my bedtime now....zzzzzzz


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## Jackielantern (Oct 31, 2005)

You may be scared of sewing, but I think it might be the easiest & most comfortable. Just think of making a fabric bucket to cover the actors head & neck. Then you can make really tall shoulder pads with foam to pin to the inside of his jacket (to shorten the length of the new "neck"). To get the fabric to hold it's form use iron on interfacing on the backside of the cloth. Really, it's only 2 seams: 1 where the bottom (or top in this case) attaches to the sides & 1 where the ends of the sides connect. The bottom "hem" can just be folded & ironed with hem tape and the mesh for the eye holes can also be attached with hem tape (sometimes called fusible webbing).

I don't know...do I make sense? Depending on your comfort level, you could attach a collar, or tie to your "neck". I can try to give more detailed instructions if your interested.


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