You Thought You Learned It All? You are probably asking why this is popping up now and why I didn’t add it to the earlier post on Puppetry Basics or; the reason is because if you master the basics, you have the foundation for starting a good puppet team. Plus, if you haven’t mastered the basics, this portion will only confuse the puppeteer. Start with cooking Raman and then move up to General Tso’s. Back to Basics Not really, this is going to show you some advanced modificati

Now that you have the basics of your team on paper and you have your team in place, we need to discuss a few things that will make or break this newly birthed team. Practice It is vital that you have a weekly practice time. This is the only way to effectively work on programs, keep well trained on the fundamentals, work out the muscles that will be used on a regular basis, and develop that team mentality. How and when you run your practices is also important. It will be easy

"One of the benefits of puppetry is that a shy person can perform to the utmost of their ability..."

Now that we have discussed all of the basics and got those out of the way, there is a chance that some of you are wanting to move to the next level and develop a team. If not, that’s alright. Keep reading to ge an idea of what is involved anyway, because, if you are going to look into getting into an independent act, this will still help you. The only difference is that you will be wearing all the hats.This is where the fun begins. In this post, I will cover and lightly discu

What are conversion puppets. Conversion puppets are puppets that are generally converted from stuffed animals. Sometimes the quality is better than purchased puppets. If you are on a budget, don’t mind putting in the extra work it takes to convert these stuffed animals, and you want something that is unique without the pricetag of a totally unique creation from one of the big end puppet designers, this may be a great option for you. In the very least, it gives you a physical

Believable Actions and Interactions Again, I stress, if it is intentional and fits into the script as a viable action, then it is not wrong, but if done out of character or unintentionally, it is not professional and needs to be worked on. This is the last of the five basics, but ties all of the others into one cohesive professional performance. Actions need to look real. If they seem out of place for the situation or it looks as if the puppeteer is just trying to move for th

Keeping Steady Keeping your puppet at a steady height while on stage is important to the believability that the puppet is real and there is a floor under him/her/it. It is totally unnatural for a puppet to move up and down while on stage; unless he or she is doing squats or playing on a remote lift. It is, however, acceptable to move from side to side on occasion. This is another technique that will give a realistic feel while helping the arm to get circulation in it. When ar

Getting On Stage The second most important basic to get under your belt in order to look professional and create that suspension of disbelief that your audience wants to give to your performance in how your puppet enters and exits the stage/scene. The Entrance There are some really bad ways to bring a puppet on stage, trust me I have seen them all and been guilty of quite a few over the years. The bad thing is they are all common mistakes made all of the time. Note: Before go

A Quick History Lesson You will find that the general definition of a puppet is that of: “An inanimate object being manipulated in order to create the illusion of life.” The history of puppetry is long and somewhat obscure. While today they are widely considered to be entertainment for children, more and more people have found that puppets have always held a place in history as a form of entertainment and education for all ages. By looking at the history of puppets, you can s

“If you would thoroughly know anything, teach it to others...” -Tryon Edwards So Why Puppets? Puppets are magical for everyone, every age. They are magic because a puppet can literally be anything we want them to be. The puppet’s life comes from us; from our imagination is where the puppet’s life begins before we even have the puppet on our hand. George Bernard Shaw once wrote that the influence puppets had played in his development as a child was greater than that of live ac