- "Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer."
Introduction to the world of puppetry, covering topics such as history, types of puppets, and elements of a puppet performance.
Puppetry history and culture: This topic covers the roots and evolution of puppetry, including cultural influences and traditional puppetry techniques.
Types of puppets: You’ll learn the characteristics and differences of various types of puppets such as hand, rod, marionette, ventriloquist, shadow and more.
Construction materials and tools: This topic includes the materials and tools you will need to create puppets such as how to choose fabric or what type of glue or thread to use, etc.
Puppet anatomy and movements: Understanding the anatomy of a puppet and the techniques for making it move is important for creating convincing and expressive puppets.
Puppetry performance techniques: This topic covers the techniques involved in bringing a puppet to life on stage including character development, voice, and timing, and storytelling.
Staging and set design: You’ll learn about puppet theater sets, how to create various theatrical effects, and the importance of staging on a performance.
Script writing: This includes the process of creating a puppet show script; including story development, character concepts and dialogue, and more.
Performance and rehearsal practices: This topic covers the importance of rehearsals, how to give feedback and the ways of polishing a performance for an audience.
Puppetry organizations and resources: These are resources that provide a community of puppeteers, schools or institutions, and organizations where one can get all the help they need.
Career pathways: This topic includes the possible career options within the puppetry world, including how to create a business performing for children's parties, for example.
Marionette Puppetry: This form of puppetry involves manipulating strings to operate and control puppets. The strings are attached to various parts of the puppet, including its limbs, allowing the puppeteer to make them move in a realistic manner.
Rod Puppetry: In this form of puppetry, a rod or a stick is attached to the puppet’s body, which the puppeteer uses to move the puppet around. The puppet typically has rods attached to its arms, legs, and head to allow for more complex movement.
Shadow Puppetry: This is a kind of puppetry that involves the manipulation of flat puppets made of leather or paper. The puppets are typically held behind a screen or a cloth, with a light source beamed on them from the opposite side. As the puppeteer moves the puppets, their shadows are projected onto the screen, creating a shadow play.
Hand Puppetry: In this form of puppetry, the puppeteer uses their hand to animate the puppet. The puppet typically has a movable mouth that the puppeteer synchronizes with their own words to create the illusion of talking.
Ventriloquism: This is a form of puppetry that involves the use of a dummy or a puppet, which the ventriloquist makes appear to be speaking. The ventriloquist manipulates the puppet’s mouth and speaks for it, making it seem as though the dummy is talking.
Object Puppetry: In object puppetry, everyday objects are used as puppets, and the puppeteer animates them using his or her imagination. A stick can become a bird, a broomstick a horse or a fire poker a sword.
Water Puppetry: This type of puppetry is an ancient form of Vietnamese theatre that originated in the northern regions of the country. The puppets are made of wood and lacquered and are operated using strings or bamboo rods in a pool of water. The puppeteers stand waist-deep in water and manipulate the puppets using long bamboo rods concealed beneath the water.
Finger Puppetry: In this form of puppetry, the puppeteer's fingers control the puppet's movements, and a hand puppet can be considered a finger puppet when fingers move the arms making the movements appear more human-like.
Blacklight Puppetry: This type of puppetry utilizes black light which makes certain colors and materials glow in the dark. This way, the puppet can look as though it is moving and levitating without any strings being visible.
Object Animation: This is a kind of puppetry in which inanimate objects come to life and become the puppet. This type of puppetry is popular in stop-motion animation, claymation, and animated movies such as Wallace and Gromit.
- "The script for a puppet production is called a puppet play."
- "Puppeteers use movements from hands and arms to control devices such as rods or strings to move the body, head, limbs, and in some cases the mouth and eyes of the puppet."
- "The puppeteer sometimes speaks in the voice of the character of the puppet, while at other times they perform to a recorded soundtrack."
- "There are many different varieties of puppets, and they are made of a wide range of materials, depending on their form and intended use."
- "The simplest puppets are finger puppets, which are tiny puppets that fit onto a single finger."
- "Sock puppets... operated by inserting one's hand inside the sock, with the opening and closing of the hand simulating the movement of the puppet's 'mouth'."
- "A hand puppet or glove puppet is controlled by one hand which occupies the interior of the puppet and moves the puppet around."
- "Punch and Judy puppets are familiar examples."
- "Japanese Bunraku puppets... require two puppeteers for each puppet."
- "Marionettes are suspended and controlled by a number of strings, plus sometimes a central rod attached to a control bar held from above by the puppeteer."
- "Rod puppets... have more movement possibilities as a consequence than a simple hand or glove puppet."
- "Puppetry is a very ancient form of theatre which was first recorded in the 5th century BC in Ancient Greece."
- "Some forms of puppetry may have originated as long ago as 3000 years BC."
- "Puppetry takes many forms, but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects to tell a story."
- "Puppetry occurs in almost all human societies..."
- "Puppets are used... as sacred objects in rituals."
- "Puppets are used... as symbolic effigies in celebrations such as carnivals."
- "Puppets are used... as a catalyst for social and psychological change in transformative arts."
- "Puppets are used... for the purpose of entertainment through performance, as sacred objects in rituals, as symbolic effigies in celebrations such as carnivals, and as a catalyst for social and psychological change in transformative arts."