Puppet is an artificial figure whose movements are controlled by a person. Puppets can be moved by hand or by strings, wires, or rods. A figure may represent a person, an animal, a plant, or an object. Puppets usually appear as characters in plays called puppet shows. A person who operates a puppet is called a puppeteer.
People have enjoyed puppets for thousands of years. Puppetlike figures have been found in tombs and ruins in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The first puppets were probably used in religious ceremonies. Priests secretly moved the eyes or arms of an idol or religious carving to impress the people watching.
Groups of puppeteers, often called troupes, perform puppet shows to both entertain and educate their audiences. They produce shows and operate the puppets, varying their voices for each character. A puppet show stage can be as simple as a tabletop or a sheet tacked across a doorway, or as complicated as the stage used in a technically complex professional production. For most puppet shows, the puppeteers are concealed so the audience sees only the puppet. In some styles of puppetry, the puppeteers are exposed but dressed in black so they can blend into the background.
Some teachers use puppets to make education more interesting. Schoolchildren can make puppets out of such common materials as paper bags, milk cartons, and socks. Children often use these puppets to create shows that reinforce their teachers’ lesson plans. Educational puppet shows can help teach children about safety, health care, and even how to read.
There are four main kinds of puppets: (1) hand puppets, (2) marionettes, (3) rod puppets, and (4) shadow puppets. Many puppets have features of more than one type.
Hand puppets
are the most common type of puppets. One variety, the glove or fist puppet, consists of a hollow head attached to a glove or a piece of cloth that serves as the puppet’s body. The body fits over the hand of the puppeteer, who puts a thumb into one of the puppet’s arms. One or two fingers go into the other arm, and the remaining fingers are placed in the head. These puppets can pick up things and can gesture with their head and arms. Most glove puppets have no legs or feet.
Perhaps the most famous glove puppet character is Punch, the star of English puppet shows called Punch and Judy shows. Punch and his wife, Judy, were introduced into England in 1662 (see Punch and Judy ). Puppet characters that resemble Punch are popular in several countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.
The simplest kind of hand puppet is probably the finger puppet. Some finger puppets fit over the upraised finger with the face over the fingernail. In others, two fingers serve as the puppet’s legs. The face may be painted on the back of the hand, or a paper head can be fastened with a rubber band.
Another popular variety of hand puppet is the “mouth puppet.” The puppeteer’s hand fits into the puppet’s head while the thumb controls its lower jaw. This gives the puppet the ability to move its mouth and “talk” and change expression. Mouth puppets have become a feature of many children’s television shows, such as “Sesame Street.” The American puppeteer Jim Henson created a famous group of mouth puppet characters called Muppets. These small puppets are usually made of foam rubber or other soft material with rods attached to their arms. See Henson, Jim .
Marionettes
are puppets controlled by strings. A marionette has a complete body, with head, trunk, arms, hands, legs, and feet. Strips of cloth, leather, or other flexible material connect the various parts of the marionette’s body. Most marionettes have strings that run from the head, shoulders, hands, and knees to the control bar, a small wooden frame. One or more puppeteers, who are hidden above the stage, operate the marionettes by moving the strings where they are fastened to the control bar.
The word marionette comes from Little Mary, a type of puppet of the Middle Ages. During this period, many people could not read or write. Priests used Little Marys to teach stories from the Bible. Marionette shows gradually became comic plays that were intended to entertain rather than teach religious lessons. But the plays grew so coarse and worldly that religious authorities refused to let them be performed in churches. Marionette shows then became street entertainments that were performed in parks and at fairs.
Rod puppets
are operated by rods or sticks, usually from below the stage. Some rod puppets have additional rods attached to movable arms and hands. Rod puppets are often used to represent figures other than people and animals. For example, they may portray clouds, flowers, hats, trees, or just simple shapes.
Japan has a well-known form of puppet show called bunraku (doll theater). The puppets stand about 4 feet (120 centimeters) tall. They look realistic, with flexible joints and movable eyes, mouth, and eyebrows. As many as three puppeteers operate them with rods from behind, in full view of the audience. Many important Japanese dramatists of the late 1600’s and 1700’s wrote plays especially for the doll theater. See Drama (Asian drama) (Japan) .
Shadow puppets
are usually flat cutouts of shapes or images attached to rods. These cutouts, often made of paper or stiff leather, may have movable parts attached to additional rods. The puppeteer operates the puppet against a thin screen made of white silk or cotton. A strong light shines on the screen from behind or above the puppets. The audience, which sits on the other side of the screen, sees only the shadows of the puppets.
Shadow puppets are very popular in Asia. The Chinese and Turks create colored shadows on the screen by dyeing their leather figures. In Indonesia, a popular form of shadow puppet theater called wayang kulit presents plays based on Hindu religious stories. The performances begin in the evening and last for several hours. See Indonesia (The arts) .
Dummies
are rod puppets that play an important part in ventriloquism. The ventriloquist pretends to talk to the dummy, which is held on the knee or on a chair. The ventriloquist “throws” his or her voice so that the dummy seems to be speaking. Rods and strings inside the puppet enable the ventriloquist to move the puppet’s head and parts of its face from the back.
Organizations for puppeteers
help people improve their technique with puppets. The Puppeteers of America has members in the United States, Canada, and other countries. The Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA) is another international organization of puppeteers. The headquarters of UNIMA are in Charleville-Mézières, France, and the organization has national chapters in many countries. Numerous puppet centers, museums, theaters, and touring companies have been established. Their puppet exhibitions and performances by leading puppeteers provide exposure to the art of puppetry.
