Puppetry
Most of us have been entertained by a puppet show. I can remember the puppets on Mr. Rogers when I was a child. The animation of the puppets made them seem like they were real. Children of all ages enjoy attending puppet shows as well as making their own puppets to put on a performance for others. Puppetry became very well known in the area of children’s programming with Sesame Street and The Muppets. Older children and adults have enjoyed seeing puppetry with the character of Yoda in the Star Wars series.
There are many different types of puppets that you can create or use to create the illusion that the puppets are real. A marionette is a puppet that is controlled by strings that are attached to rods at the top of the puppet. The puppeteer manipulates the strings to move the puppet in a variety of ways. This type of puppetry is one of the most realistic but it is also difficult to learn.
Hand puppets and finger puppets are very common. Hand puppets are easy to control because the hand is inserted through the bottom of the puppet and the fingers control the movement of the hands and the head. Finger puppets are fun, but they can be distracting too as the puppeteer is visually seen instead of being behind the scenes as is the case with most other types of puppetry.
The most common are hand puppets because they are very easy to make and also very easy to control. To keep the audience engaged in the story and the character of the puppets, you have to keep them moving. Once you allows the puppets to be idol for a period of time they lose their appeal and it is evident that they aren’t real. You can give each puppet a unique personality by adding repetitive actions they perform such as scratching their head or crossing their arms.
While the styles of the puppets vary as do the performances, puppetry is something that is found in most all cultures around the world. Puppets are used to entertain children and adults. They also serve many educational purposes including teaching children to count and about safety in reference to strangers.
