I've been working with a group from the Tricycle Theatre making puppets ready for their performance in April. I thought I would share some notes about simple ways to bring puppetry to life.
The
best way to make fantastic character expressions is to believe your puppet is
real. By doing this, it will react to any situation like a person or animal
would.
Make
the expressions bigger than they would be in real life for the best results.
Every
puppet has its own personality. Will your one be silly, happy, sad, curious or
a mix of these? What is its name? Where does it come from? What does it like to
eat? All this information will help make it more real.
Puppet
eye contact is important. It makes the puppet seem more alive.
Not
using eye contact is also very useful. If you ask the puppet something using
its name and it looks at the ceiling or away, it is obviously trying to ignore
you.
If
the puppet turns its head in towards your body, this can express concern.
Bob
the puppet up, down and side to side to show excitement and happiness.
Dropping
the head expresses sadness.
If
you want your puppet to have a voice, open the mouth when you speak. Generally,
people do the opposite and it does not look so effective. Getting the mouth
movements right will sustain belief in the puppet’s character.
When
the focus is off your puppet, make it fidget a little and gently move your hand
up and down to make it look as if it is breathing - a puppet should never be
completely still.
Puppets
are special and can bring magic to your performance. Try and keep your puppet
in character throughout the show.
The
most important thing to remember about working a puppet is, if you believe it
can be real, everyone else will believe. All the other hints work brilliantly
if you try this first.
Feel
comfortable with working your puppet. Relax and enjoy!
