Sven Charms on Stage, but It’s Hard Work
Sven almost didn’t make Broadway.
When Disney decided to adapt its megahit animated film “Frozen” for the stage, the creative team seriously considered killing off the reticent reindeer (a fate that did befall the marauding ice monster Marshmallow as well as the menacing pack of wolves).
“We were going to not have Sven in the show,” said Thomas Schumacher of Disney Theatrical Productions, “because we were afraid it would just occupy space onstage and be distracting.”
But the company invited its longtime puppetry collaborator, Michael Curry (“The Lion King”), to experiment with ways the shaggy creature it to might be represented onstage. He tested two- performer pantomime before deciding to fashion a full-scale figure that could wordlessly engage with the unfolding plot — that could act — when brought to life by a single actor within.
The resulting reindeer has become one of the most popular characters in the show, getting entrance applause.
Sven’s head is molded out of carbon- fiber composite, his body is shaped foam covered with braided raw silk, and his hooves are rubber- coated foam sculpture mounted around aluminum and stainless- steel orthopedic braces. Underneath, the performer wears a full- body wicking suit, a carbon- fiber head mount held in place by a soft urethane skin, knee and elbow pads, biking gloves, and a mouth guard.
Sven is slightly larger than life, at two and a half meters long, and his frame weighs about six kilos. There is a screen hidden in the neck, allowing the actor to see.
The role was originated by Andrew Pirozzi, an actor who has been dancing since he was 4, and who had learned tumbling and hand balancing by studying at a circus school and performing with an acrobatic team. Sven is onstage for about 40 minutes of the show, and the role is physically taxing — the performer inside is on all fours, with 28- centimeter stilts attached to his hands, and 12- centimeter metal shanks on his feet.
Sven’s head pivots by a linkage system connected to the performer’s head and body; the weight of his head is cantilevered away from the performer’s neck by a custom back brace. A cable connects the performer’s right hand to Sven’s eyes, to make the animal blink; another connects his left hand to Sven’s ears, which swing freely but can be rotated or pulled back to express emotions. The mouth moves only when another character rubs his throat.
Mr. Curry, who has studied animal anatomy, and Mr. Pirozzi, who simply loves animals, each spent hours watching YouTube videos of migrating reindeer, trying to understand how they move. “It turns out they’re really gangly, just like our guy — they’re not graceful,” Mr. Curry said.
Mr. Pirozzi said, “Being Sven is really, really difficult, and I knew that it would be from the beginning.” But, he added, “I love playing Sven, because for those two hours each night, I may be able to soften the hearts of 1,700 people.”