Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – Courtesy of The Cat. Used with permission.
Recently, I had the singular honor of being the first person, outside of the production team and cast to see the automobile that plays a central role in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang The Musical, ” presented by The Carmel Apprentice Theatre. The production opens Friday, Nov. 4 and plays through the 19th, at The Cat, in Carmel. I was invited to get a sneak peek of the car by Audry Larkin, managing director and Scott Osborn, the sculptor who designed and built the car. Afterwards, we sat down in the house at The Cat to discuss the genesis of its design and execution and receive a demonstration of the vehicle on stage.
Larkin said that Will Wood, The Cat’s owner operator and director of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” decided to present the musical, a favorite of his and his grandkids, a few years ago. After he and Larkin researched rentals of cars used in other productions of the show, they determined it was prohibitive, so they decided to have one built. Through mutual associations, they commissioned Osborne, owner of Brown Hound Studios, to design and execute the production of a car for their production.
Scott Osborne – Courtesy of Brown Hound Studios. Used with permission.
“It has been a fantastic opportunity. It has been one of the first big projects in my new studio space. It presented a whole bunch of challenges to overcome, and I loved that. I normally don’t do anything twice. I am not much of a production artist. I like to find a new style based on every project. According to Osborne it was his first time building a car. “It was a great collaboration between The Cat and my studio. My job was to bring all our ideas into fruition and figure out how to execute the build. Most of the materials can be purchased at Menards. That’s a cool element of it. We have a 1924 steering wheel a bunch of original instruments on the dashboard.” he said, adding. Working with Gary Coburn from The Cat, he and I started last April. I did research online and found four images that appealed to us, including one on Pinterest that was ideal. he said.
When I inquired to Osborne if he had an engineering background he said “I went to Herron School of Art and Design. I have always been arithmetic oriented. In art school. lots of literature backgrounds, making me kind of a black sheep in the program. I started out as an illustrator, used grids and did realism. That skill comes into use here to create this realistic car. Wheelchair idea was Gary. The way the wheelchair is mounted to the frame is central to the car. Unlike cars that are powered in the front, this wheelchair causes it to turn in a complete 360 rotation. It’s a true electric car.” exclaimed Osborne.
When asked how the car flies, Larkin said that a LED wall contributed by a donor will help create that illusion. “The car is a character in of itself. You can’t do this show without it. It has a personality and the only way to do that was to make it as real as possible. After the show it will become a rental and it makes it more accessible for smaller stages like ours.” she noted
As far as what the project meant to him as its creator Osborne said “When we did a recent photo shoot with the car and actors in costumes riding in it, I couldn’t stop smiling. I thought ‘Holy cow! I can’t believe how is came together. It was a blast to build and a blast to work with The Cat. I feel very blessed that The Cat gave me the opportunity to build it.”
For tickets and information about “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” visit thecat.biz.
