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Puppeteer/Actress Joni Tham holds up hand made puppets
made from foam balls and material scraps.
Why not try making your own? |
Third session:
Puppets, A Natural Tool |
What is it that children love most about puppets? Have you ever asked yourself this question?
Puppets are small miracles. Pick up a simple hand puppet, fit your fingers into all the right places, open your mouth, and create an entirely new life. A life with a voice, a name, a birthday, a place of origin, a career, a mother, a father, a scenario.
And from that voice and name, from that small history you invent, a story is born. It really is that simple.
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Why are children so intrigued by Puppets?
Because they believe in the magic of transformation. Children are able to take themselves immediately into another space imaginatively through lending their minds completely to the abstract world of puppets and story.
As adults, we sometimes have difficulty giving ourselves over to this world, because the rational mind (which we have been taught to value highly), says, "that's not possible... a person cannot jump all the way from the earth to the moon". However, a child's mind doesn't question whether or not there are limitations. Once you say..."and Jessica closed her eyes, and took one enormous leap, and found herself face to face with the man on the moon... he was eating sweet moon-floss, and offered some to her..." the child is already there, on the moon, having a taste of yummy moon-floss.
The child not only transports himself to that other world immediately, he enters into it, becoming not only one, but all characters. That child is Jessica, taking that enormous leap, he is the man on the moon, nibbling moonfloss. |
So How Can We Re-Train Ourselves to Believe, Too?
The adult, in order to open themselves to both puppets and story needs to first un-train the mind from questioning whether or not something is possible, and just going with the moment of the story... lending themselves to the endless possibilities of creation.
Have you ever heard a friend or colleague say "I'm still a kid at heart"? One would hope that what they mean by this comment is that they haven't given up on their imaginations, their minds have remained open, spontaneous, and joyful.
No matter how creative you are, this openness is something each of us has to remind ourselves of each day. It is too easy to take ourselves and the world very seriously. Pick up a puppet the next time you see one in a shop, fit it onto your hand, open your mouth, and give voice to a new life. |
Is it really this simple?
It is. The key to both puppetry and storytelling is keeping your mind accessible and accepting of whatever arrives in the moment.
We can be so critical of ourselves, thinking (always the biggest problem!) that we will sound silly. To who? BELIEVE that whatever you come up with, whatever story your puppet reveals, whatever life you give him or her, is just the right one in that moment! It really is this simple. |
Some Useful Tips
When searching for a puppet, if you are going to buy one rather than make your own, look for: |
| 1. |
A puppet you feel connected to
Sometimes people get all caught up in what looks nice, or something they think other people will like. Go with your gut feeling. That means, go with what feels good and right for you. You'll know if there is a connection the moment you put a puppet on your hand, wiggle it around a bit, make it move, and give it voice. |
| 2. |
A puppet that is comfortable to operate, and gives your hand movement
Sometimes, as mentioned above, we go for what "looks pretty" and nice. But is it easy to manipulate with your hand? Can you express emotion with it, either through manipulating the mouth or tilting it's head and/or body in different directions? |
| 3. |
A puppet that is easy to name
It's good to give a puppet a name, one that comes fairly easily. Once you have a name, the rest seems to fall into place rather quickly. |
| 4. |
A puppet that you keep going back to
Once in the shop, is there a puppet you keep putting down and then picking up again? That's probably a good indication that there are stories in that puppet for you! |
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Now I've got my puppet, what do I do?
Where do I start?
There are four easy steps, beginning with, as already mentioned, the name.
1. "Hello, my name is... " (name)
2. "I am from... " (place)
3. "A long time ago, when I was just young, I... " (history)
4. "There was a knocking at my door last night. I wondered if I should open up or just try and go back to sleep. I ended up going to the door, and do you know what I saw?... " (scenario and/or drama)
Allow your thoughts to flow freely, give your puppet a name, give it a place, give it a history, and create a scenario. By scenario, we mean create a situation, a drama. And most of all, have fun. It well and truly is that simple! |
Coming up next month: Bringing true stories to life |
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