I miss going to the movies with my friends. The event of experiencing a good movie together is something that we haven't had in a long time, and so I thought if I couldn't go to the movies with friends, I would just make my own theater and fill it with tiny versions of my friends.

So we could all watch and enjoy a movie together... sort of

Here's how I made a Mini Muppet Movie Theater for your phone:

Supplies

Materials: (with affiliate links)

Plywood - https://amzn.to/2QBjr6J

Glue - https://amzn.to/3wmY5Jm

Tools:

Laser Cutter - https://amzn.to/3ovTORi

Clamps - https://amzn.to/3wmY5Jm

Step 1: Designing the Theater

This project started as an idea to make a cellphone holder that looked like curtains in a theater. That idea blossomed into a full theater. Inspired by the Popcorn Song by the Swedish Chef, I wanted to make the theater Muppets themed. There were certain elements I knew I wanted in the theater (theater front from the show, Statler and Waldorf, Swedish Chef).

Finding a reference shot of the front of the theater from the show and movie, I took them into Inkscape and traced the shape and designs out. I also went and found reference pictures for the columns, Statler and Waldorf, and Swedish Chef.

Aaron from @aaronmakingstuff took the theater tracing and brought it into SketchUp, then worked on turning the outline of the theater front into a full theater. Wanting to have a sense of depth in the mini-theater, the walls and ceiling were angled in such a way to force the perspective and make it look deeper than it really was.

Step 2: Test and Adjust

Getting the first design of the theater, I cut it out of cardboard to test it out.

SIDE NOTE: Cardboard is a great material to test designs out with. It is roughly the same thickness as 1/8" plywood, and everyone has a spare box or two from Amazon that could be easily cutup.

We went back and forth through a few different design ideas, tweaking the size, chairs, the front, all before landing on a final design.

Step 3: Cut It Out

Taking the files, I cut the theater pieces out of 1/8" (3mm) thick plywood on my laser cutter.

SIDE NOTE: Laser cutters are all different, but with my particular K40 style laser, I used 5 power and 300 speed to engrave the designs into the wood, then used 5 power and 10 speed to cut the pieces out.

Step 4: Make Like the Avengers and Assemble

With all the pieces cut out, I started to assemble the theater. I started with the chairs, making sure to match each chair back with it's base, then glued all the arm rests into place. Using clamps to hold one piece together, I would move onto another piece and assemble it while the first one dried.

SIDE NOTE: for the sake of time, I used super glue to assemble everything together. Wood glue would work just as well, and allow for adjustments if there needs to be any, but I chose to use superglue.

Once all assemble, I glued all the chairs to the base, glued the layered curtains together then adhered them to the sides, then fit the sides and stage to the base.

The last part was to assemble the roof and glue it to the top of the sides.

I left the back piece off, in order to get a phone inside the theater.

Step 5: Add Some Friends

I took some pictures of friends that they sent me, and brought them into Inkscape. Using the Trace Bitmap function, I created a vector of each friends profile, added an outline to cutout, and then sent it to the laser.

With each friend cut out, I placed them in the theater (socially distanced of course) in slots in the seats that were designed for this very purpose.

Step 6: Enjoy the Show

With the theater complete, I placed a phone in the back of the theater, turned on a movie, and enjoyed the show - with friends, with Statler and Waldorf, and, of course, Swedish Chef with his popcorn.