Choosing and staging puppet plays
What kinds of stories make good puppet plays? Well, it all depends on
the people who will see the play, the puppeteers, and the story itself.
When you choose a puppet play, ask yourself these three questions.
Who is going to watch the play and what will they like? No matter
how young or old the audience is, people like puppets to be very happy
or very sad. If a puppet is happy, he should be very, very happy. If a
puppet is sad, the audience will like him better if he is very, very
sad. And whenever a puppet speaks, he should move about so the audience
can tell which puppet is talking.
Different kinds of people like different kinds of stories. But the best
puppet plays have only a few characters and tell a very simple story.
And the younger the audience, the shorter the play should be.
How many puppets will be on stage at one time? Remember, each
puppeteer has only two hands. If you are the only puppeteer, find a play
that has no more than two characters on stage at any one time. If you
are giving a play with a friend, you can have up to four characters on
stage at one time.
Are there enough actions for the puppets to do while they are telling
the story? Puppets that just stand still and talk, talk, talk are
boring. You’ll want to choose a story in which the puppets move about
and do things while they’re on stage. Any story that has the puppets
dance, build houses, sweep floors, sing songs, and act happy, sad,
surprised, or frightened makes a good puppet play.
You can turn many of the stories and poems in volumes 1 and 2 of
Childcraft into puppet plays. Or, you can make up your own puppet
plays. Just be sure to have lots of action.
Make a copy of the play for each puppeteer. Underline each person’s part
with a colored pen or crayon. Then paint the scenery, gather the props,
and make the puppets. When everything is ready, call everyone together
to practice giving the play. Then when the curtain goes up, you will all
know what you’re to do and when you are supposed to do it.
