Making Puppets Come Alive

Book excerpt: Unlike other performing arts, puppetry is perhaps the only art form in which directing, acting, writing, designing, sculpture, and choreography are combined. In effect, the performer is creating an artistic entertainment that will appeal to audiences of all ages — in homes, in theaters, and in classrooms. This lucid, easy-to-follow book was specifically conceived to teach beginners how to bring a hand puppet to life and how, with practice, to develop the skills needed to mount an amateur puppet show — complete with staging, costumes, and special effects. Award-winning puppeteers Larry Engler and Carol Fijan provide ingenious finger, wrist, and arm exercises that are crucial for creating a full working range of puppet motions and emotions. They also cover the elements of good puppet theatrical technique: speech, voice use, and synchronization; stage deportment and interactions; improvisation, dramatic conflict, role characterization, and more. Every detail is clearly explained and beautifully illustrated with photographs, specific chapters being devoted to the use of props, puppet voices and movements, the construction of simple stages and lighting effects, and much more. A splendid addition to the literature on this subject, Making Puppets Come Alive is "the best book on hand puppetry we've seen." — The Whole Kids Catalog.