Part of your puppet’s character comes from the hair. The material, color and style you choose can communicate a young, old, male female, conservative or wild puppet.
There are many materials you can use for making hair for your puppet including:
Fur
Yarn
Fleece Strips
Craft Foam
Wigs
Feathers
Felt
Wool
Mohair
Fur
Fur makes great puppet hair. Fur is available in a wide variety of colors and lengths. Fur can also be cut and shaped.
The puppet pictured above has white fur for hair and eyebrows. You can find craft fur at fabric stores and hobby stores.
I have also found fur hats and muffs at thrift stores which I cut up to create hair.
When cutting fur for your puppet, always place the fur side down on your cutting pad.
Using a sharp razor blade, you cut the backing of the fur.
DO NOT cut the topside of the fur, or you will end up with a lot of fur coming off and an uneven, unattractive edge.
DO NOT use scissors to cut fur. You will end up cutting the fur itself and end up with an uneven edge and lots of pieces of hair all over your table.
When cutting fur, determine what direction you want the fur to lie. Fur goes in one direction. If you want fur to go in a couple of different directions, to create a part, use separate pieces of fur.
If you use a long pile fur, you can style it after it is attached to the puppet. Using sharp scissors trim it to the length you want.
Another cool trick for styling the hair is to use white glue to create shape. Mix equal parts of white glue and water. With your hands, work the glue into the fur. Mix it in thoroughly.
Now shape it into position. You can create waves, spikes, or just a normal hairdo that is permanent. The glue will dry clear. If needed you can change the hair later by wetting the hair.
How you shape the hair helps to create the personality of your puppet.
The puppet above has a fur mohawk. The hairdo helps create the character of a punk rocker. I have used that same fur for a more traditional haircut on a puppet. How you shape the hair helps to create the personality of your puppet.
Yarn
Yarn is a great material for puppet hair. It is available in a variety of colors and thicknesses. It can also be found very inexpensively at thrift shops.
Loopy Yarn Makes GREAT Puppet Hair
To make yarn hair, get a piece of cardboard the same length or longer that you want the hair. Wind the yarn around the cardboard again and again and again until you have the amount of “hair” you want.
Yarn wound on cardboard, ready to be tied off for wig.
Slide a piece of yarn under the yarn on the card and tie it off at the top.
Cut away the yarn at the bottom and you will have your hairpiece. Make a smaller piece for the bangs of the puppet.
Yarn Hair on a Puppet
Fleece Stripsor Craft Foam Strips
Hair can also be made from strips of fleece or strips of craft foam.
Foam Hair For Puppet
Cut half-inch strips of foam or fleece for your puppet’s wig. Using fabric glue, attach the strips to the head of your puppet.
Simple fleece hair from fleece strips.
Foam can be curled using a pencil or dowel. Roll the foam around the dowel and remove the dowel. Voila – curly hair.
For fleece, use fabric stiffener before rolling or you can just pull both ends of the fleece apart, let go and it will curl up.
Wigs
Used wig from a thrift store.
Wigs, both with real hair and fake hair, can be found at thrift shops and costume shops. To use a wig, simply glue it to your puppet and trim to the desired style.
Feathers
Feathers make for great puppet hair. Because they are light and wispy, they move as the puppet moves, creating life in your figure.
Feather hackle pads
Feather Boa hair on a puppet.
Feather boas are nice since they can be wrapped and glued into place. A strip of boa can make sideburns or a mustache.
Feather hackle pads are little sections of feathers connected together. These can be glued on to your puppet to make a nice wig.
Feather Boas
Felt
Felt can be attached as a single layer of hair or it can be layered, to create dimension. A single layer of felt will create a crew-cut appearance.
When making a foam head puppet, similar to the Muppets, you will likewise want a foam body.
To make a foam puppet body, you will need:
1″ foam
Fleece or other cloth to cover the body
A pattern
Spray Adhesive
Contact Cement or Hot glue
Needle and Thread
Razor blades or old scissors
I have found an excellent, yet inexpensive foam on Amazon that I use.
Puppet Body Pattern ready for cutting.
Table of Contents
Step One: Trace the body pattern onto the foam
Trace your pattern onto 1″ foam. You can use a sharpie or other marker.
Most body patterns come in two parts. When tracing, if you can find a common side, you can draw the pattern as one piece and save on some gluing.
In the picture above, I have two body patterns drawn out, ready for cutting. You will notice how I put the two long sides together. This line will not be cut.
For a stronger puppet and to protect the foam inside the puppet, you may want to glue cloth to the foam before cutting out.
A cotton T-shirt is perfect for lining the inside of a puppet. It will absorb perspiration and make the foam stronger and prevent tears.
Cut the T-shirt apart. Spray fabric adhesive on the foam and then place the T-shirt cloth on the foam. Make it smooth and allow to dry before cutting.
Step Two: Cut out your pieces
After you have traced the patterns, you will need to cut them out. DO NOT use good scissors on foam. Foam will dull your scissors very quickly.
Use a razor blade or old scissors. I keep a box of 100 razor blades on hand. Foam dulls the blades quickly, so you will go through quite a few.
When cutting out the foam, keep your razor blade or scissor blades perpendicular to the foam. You want a nice square cut.
Step Three: Glue the body together
It is now time to glue the foam together. You can use spray adhesive, such as Gorilla Glue’s spray adhesive. I prefer using contact cement, such a s barge or Weldwood. If you want to avoid the fumes with contact cement, you can also use hot glue.
It is possible to build an entire puppet with just one type of adhesive, but I keep a variety on hand, including hot glue, Barge contact cement, spray adhesive, fabric glue and even rubber cement. Different adhesives work better for different applications.
Glue the long sides of your foam together, as well as any darts your pattern may include.
You will notice in the picture above, one of the patterns has two ovals in the middle. These are cut out and glued closed to create a waistline on the puppet.
The pink puppet to the right has a simple tube as a body. A 12-inch foam tube was made with roughly an 8-inch diameter. The neck was hot glued to it and the entire thing was spray-painted pink.
The arms are glued to it with hot glue. This is a simple and inexpensive way to make a puppet body.
Other puppet bodies are more complex. As mentioned earlier, you can taper the sides in to create a waist for the puppet.
Step Four: Customize your puppet’s body
To make an obese puppet body, additional foam can be glued to the belly area of your puppet body and trimmed into shape with scissors.
Large sponge balls can be cut in half and attached as breasts for a female puppet.
Sometimes, I add half circle foam pieces to the top sides of the body to create broader shoulders.
For a taller puppet, you can make a longer body. However, since the puppet will be on your arm, you will need to create a hole in the back of the puppet. If the entrance to the puppet body is below the head and neck at a distance greater than the length of your forearm, it will be difficult and uncomfortable to manipulate.
For a full-body puppet, where you are attaching legs below the body, you may need to place an entry hole on the back of the puppet. Ventriloquists generally prefer to control the puppet’s head and neck from a position higher up on the puppet’s back, as opposed to entering at the bottom as you would when working behind a stage.
Step Five: Cover the body with cloth or fur
If you will be covering the puppet’s body with a costume or shirt, it will not be necessary to cover the foam body.
Little girl puppet
The little girl puppet to the right has a bare foam body. The dress comes right up to the neck and the sleeves cover the arms.
(The picture was taken before fleece covered hands were added to the arms.)
To cover the body with fur or fleece, trace your pattern onto the material you are using. Sew up the tube and it will slide right over the body. Do this before attaching arms.
Once you have slide the body fabric over the foam, you will want to use spray adhesive or hot glue to attach it around the neck hole and the entrance hole for your hand.
You may need to hand stitch the darts in the pattern.
If you have customized the pattern, adding a belly bulge or breasts, you will need to drape your fabric over the body. Just using the original pattern will crush your additions and you will not get your desired effect.
Draping the fleece over your body:
To drape the fleece (or fur) cut out a piece of material large enough to cover the entire body.
With spray adhesive, spray the front half of the body lightly.
Center the material on the center front of your body.
Be sure any stretch in the material is running across the body, not up and down.
Shape your material around the belly or breasts, smoothing it out.
Once you have covered the odd shapes, smooth the fabric over the rest of the front of the body. You may need to pin it in place until the adhesive sets.
Wrap the fabric around the body and center it along the back of the body. Trim a straight line up the center back where the two edges of the material will meet.
With hot glue or spray adhesive, glue the material in place. You may also want to pin the material in place and hand sew the back centerline.
Glue the fabric around the neck and hand entry holes, smoothing and darting as necessary. You may find you need to cut a couple darts and hand sew them to get a smooth edge.
Simple tube body covered with Antron fleece
Step Six: Attach the arms
Your puppet arms should be about the length of the body. Once the hands are attached, that will bring the total length to the right proportions.
Arms should be covered with fabric or fleece before attaching. You can attach them with hot glue, contact cement or hand sewing. Hand sewing will give you the most strength and durability.
Step Seven: Attach the neck to the body.
The neck should already be attached to the puppet’s head. When attaching the neck to the body, most puppet builders like to make the neck long enough to go through the body and be attached at the hand entrance on the bottom or back.
Attaching the neck tube at the base of the puppet body gives more movement to the puppet’s head. If movement is not necessary, the neck can be attached at the top of the body. This will still allow the head to be turned, look about and such, but it will not be nearly as fluid as attaching to the base.
If the neck is attached at the top of the body, the body should be lined with fabric before assembly. This will protect the inside foam for perspiration and feel more comfortable on the arm.
Be sure to check our other articles for more tips on building your puppet.
When puppeteers arms start to get tired, their puppets start to drop lower and lower behind the stage. Or, the puppeteer will lean his arm against the stage front. I have been guilty of both, and both will hurt the quality of your performance.
The secret to preventing arm fatigue when puppeteering is preparation before the show. By using short segments in your show that allow your puppeteers chances to rest their arms and by exercising and strengthening the arms before performance dates.
The following exercises will help the puppeteer become more skilled, as well as gain hand, arm and shoulder strength.
Table of Contents
Exercise One
Use the word “drop” in this exercise. Actions are dropping movements.
Start by saying the word “drop.” The puppeteer drops his head toward his chest each time he repeats the word. Then add the arm dropping with the head each time the word is said. Finally, Add dropping the thumb with the head and arm as the word is repeated.
This movement helps the Puppeteer understand the rhythm needed for lip sync. To vary the exercise, do the same thing in reverse.
Begin by dropping the thumb as the word “drop” is repeated. Then add the arm and finally the head. To conclude the exercise, gradually stopped moving the head, then stop the arm, and finally stop the thumb movement.
Remember all movement takes place as the word “drop” is repeated. During this exercise, the puppeteer needs to watch the thumb as it is dropped. Lip-sync is improved as the puppeteers learn to express themselves through their hand.
Exercise Two
To build strength in the hand, have puppeteers take Flex balls or tennis balls in the palms of their hands. Squeeze and release the balls for several minutes.
Exercise Three
The puppeteers take a stick of modeling clay in their hand in a squeeze it is hard as possible. Then passed the clay to the other hand and squeeze. Repeat this process for several minutes
Exercise Four
The puppeteers cross their arms as if sitting quietly and listening. Then with one hand under the arm and against the body of the puppet, they lip-sync a speaker with the thumb only. They can do this while listening to television, watching a movie, or listening to a speaker. The exercise keeps the top four fingers stationary while building the muscle and coordination of the thumb.
Exercise Five
To help the puppeteers learn to speak through their hands, have them talk to each other using their hand without a puppet. They lip-sync their normal conversation. This exercise also helps begin the process of learning to react with their hand. Another variation of this is for the puppeteer to lip-sync telephone conversations.
Exercise Six
The puppeteers practice lip sync by placing one hand under a table the four fingers are against the table so they cannot move. Only the thumb moves up and down. A variation is to move the thumb up and down without attempting to lip-sync to dialogue.
Exercise Seven
This exercise is similar to exercise 6. The puppeteers place their lip sync hand in front of their bodies. Then place the free hand over the lip sync hand and hold firmly. Exercise the thumb in a lip sync motion with the four fingers of that hand firmly against the freehand.
Exercise Eight
The puppeteers vigorously shake their lip sync hands, keeping the arms as still as possible. Gradually slow down the shaking motion until it is stopped. If executed properly, the hand should be tingling. Then gently pull the top four fingers together and move thumb to the lip sync position. This is a good exercise to use during a performance after a long script or song. It relaxes the muscles and helps the puppeteers get ready for the next part of the program.
Exercise Nine
The puppeteers raised their lip sync hands into the air, spreading the fingers and thumb. Then move each finger and the thumb as the leader instructs. Move one finger at a time. Suggestion number the Fingers 1 through 5. The leader calls a number and the puppeteers respond. The purpose is to build coordination and independent movement of each finger and thumb.
Exercise Ten
The puppeteers sit or kneel in the positions they will assume behind the puppet stage. They raised the lip sync hands, keeping the elbow in the bent position, to the side of their bodies.
Move the arms back several inches if possible. Then on a count of five, move the arms forward and up into normal position. The arms will then be fully extended with the elbow locked. On each number of the five count, use an up-down motion is if the walk puppet is walking.
Building strong arms and hands is important for puppeteers. It will take time and dedication but the rewards of being able to perform with professionalism make the effort worth it.
Human puppets usually have arms that can be maneuvered by an attached rod. The puppeteer must first master lip sync and how to control the puppet’s body. Then he can begin to work with the arm Rod to add another dimension to the character.
Professionally constructed puppets usually come with Rod in some means of attaching the ride to the puppet. However if your puppet does not have an arm Rod you can easily make one.
When the puppets are standing at the correct height on stage, maintaining eye contact with the audience and even moving their mouths in sync with the tape, the learning has just begun. Puppeteers must still learn to make all the puppet movement believable.
Use the following techniques in handling the rod arm:
Work across the body of the puppet. Work the right hand of the puppet with the left hand of the puppeteer.
Use the rod only when the puppet has a specific action. The puppeteer may need to release the rod to do something backstage. The arm will appear limp if the audience is used to seeing continual arm movement.
Make moves smooth and easy. Avoid quick jerky movements unless for a specific reason.
Perform common actions, such as yawning, scratching, waving, pointing, etc. The moves should be as natural as possible and fit the script.
Attach props to the hand and move as required in the script. Velcro can be used to attach light props. Magnets sewed into the hand and on the prop also work well. Some props may need to be tied onto the hand, if they are heavy.
Use two puppeteers with the puppet for special actions. One handles the puppet mouth and the other works the arms.
Rod arm puppet movements
Attaching a rod to one of the arms of the puppet greatly increases the range of movement possible for that puppet. Attach the rod to the puppets left wrist is the Puppeteer is right-handed, or vice versa. Then practice using the puppet’s arm to express the following actions
Scratch its head
Throw kisses
Take a bow
Cough
Express sadness
Show excitement
Rub its tummy
Do a double-take
Yawn
Sneeze
Express fear
Rub its eyes
Look into the distance
Show concentration
Pretend to be hard of hearing
Once you have mastered lip sync with one rod attached, try two handed movement with rods attached to both arms. But keep in mind that not all movement require both arms.
When using two rods together, cross them in an “X”, holding the top of the two rods between your thumb and index finger while clipping your little finger between the rods at the bottom of the “X.”
Now experiment with the following to rod:
Clap hands
Fly like an airplane
Blow nose
Pray
Sneeze
Do jumping jacks
Play peek-a-boo
Run in place
Remove detachable rods after each performance to protect the puppet when stored. Rods left on the puppet can cause pressure and place extra strain on the arm if not carefully packed. Also, the rod could tear the puppet or punch a hole in the puppet.
Lash all rods together with a shoelace or cord. Then wrap the rods in a towel or cloth.
Most arm and rod puppets are built on a base of open-cell foam, such as upholstery foam. However, most puppets will use different types of foams for different effects.
Among the various foams used for puppet building are:
Open-cell upholstery foam aka Urethane Foam
Super soft foam
Reticulated foam
EVA or closed-cell foam L-200
1/2″ Cloth Backed Sew Foam
Cross-linked polyethylene foam
Latex Foam
Foam Blocks
Craft Foam
There are lots of different foams to choose from, each with their own properties, characteristics and uses.
Table of Contents
Open-cell Upholstery Foam
The most basic and common foam in puppet building is polyfoam or open-cell upholstery foam. When people say, “foam,” this is what they think of. It’s sometimes called mattress foam.
You can find it at your craft store or fabric store. It is sometimes blue, sometimes green and sometimes in natural colors. Because it’s lightweight and inexpensive, it is ideal for puppet mockups, but it’s not really great for a final product.
POLY FOAM FOR PUPPET BUILDING
1/2″ Foam This is the foam I use most often for heads, arms and hands. 1/2″ PUPPET FOAM
1″ Foam – perfect for bodies and larger puppets. 1″ PUPPET FOAM
Super Soft Foam
The next foam is commonly referred to as super soft. The reason why is because it’s very, very soft, very spongy, very supple, and because of that, it’s not great for your heads or your bodies or that type of construction, but it’s really great for small detail items.
You may want to carve your puppet’s tongue out of this. If you want a very flexible mouth, you can use it around the mouth.
You can carve a nose or eyelids and other detail items out of super soft. Anything where the soft quality is beneficial.
Reticulated Foam aka Muppet Foam
Reticulated foam is sometimes called Muppet foam. It is also known as Scott Foam. In the real world, this foam is used for outdoor furniture and the qualities that it has actually makes it perfect for puppet construction.
It is flexible, it’s durable, and it wicks away moisture. Reticulated foam has some open cells. It is spongy foams like polyfoams. This foam is best for your puppet heads.
You can also use it for your puppet body, if you’re going to add some boning. It can be used for hands and arms.
EVA or closed-cell foam L-200
The closed cell foam that I use is commonly referred to as L-200. The reason it is called a closed cell foam is unlike the other foams, it is not like a sponge at all. It looks more like a marshmallow.
This can come in blocks and sheets and this is great for puppet bodies because it is very light. It is very sturdy. It is used in cosplay costumes, because it is lightweight and sturdy.
EVA foam is firm, but will give when pressed down on. It quickly returns to its shape. Used in kneepads and gym mats, I like it for carving noses and making ears.
EVA foam is soft enough that it can be shaped a little by hand. You can work in a curve for your ears, yet have a solid shape.
Also for larger things that you might be making, I would consider using L-200 especially if you don’t want to get into a whole lot of structure and boning and things to support a softer foam.
It’s not great for puppet heads or things that you want to be very flexible. So if your puppet body needs to be very flexible, you might consider using a softer foam. But if you want that strength and the rigidity, L 200 might be the way to go.
Crosslinked Polyethylene Foam
EVA is a closed cell foam, but it is a little softer than Cross-linked polyethylene foam. Crosslinked Polyethylene is very rigid foam with no give to it. It is used in motorcyle helmets.
Crosslinked Polyethylene can be used for puppet parts where strength and rigidity are important. You can use it for noses, teeth and claws. Crosslinked Polyethylene can be carved and then be shaped with a Dremel tool or sandpaper.
1/2″ Cloth Backed Sew Foam
Cloth backed foam can be used the same as Polyfoam. It has the advantage of a cloth backing which gives it additional strength. When using it for puppets, you can put the cloth on the inside or the outside of the puppet.
Using the cloth on the outside, it can be dyed and covering the puppet with fleece or other material will not be necessary. You can stitch your pieces together, but unlike when using fleece, you will not be able to hide the seams.
I prefer to put the cloth side inside the puppet. This provides a protective lining and gives more strength to the foam. As an alternative, I cover the inside of my puppets heads with T-Shirt cotton.
T-shirts can be purchased inexpensively at thrift stores and attached to the foam with a spray adhesive. I do this on my top-of-the-line puppets, but for most puppets, I use bare foam.
Latex Foam
Latex foam is poured into a mold. Chemicals are mixed together in a blender and then poured into a plaster mold.
A clay mock-up of your puppet design is made and a plaster mold is made from that. The latex foam is mixed in a blender and poured into the mold. The mold is then placed in a low-temperature oven or left at room temperature for the foam to set.
Measurements need to be exact. The foam takes a while to dry, but the end result can be extraordinary details in your puppet.
Latex Foam can be dyed to get the color you want and then the details can be painted with acrylic paints.
Any foam that you can get in a sheet, you can also get in a block.
In fact, all foam starts as a block and they cut those into the sheets that you want, half-inch, quarter inch, three-quarter inch, but sometimes you want to use a block.
A super-soft foam is really great for sculpting a puppet head if you want the final head to be made out of foam. Think of it as a really flexible, spongy, expressive puppet head material.
Foam balls can also be carved to make puppet heads.
Craft Foam
One foam that’s very common is craft foam. You can find it at any craft or art supply store. Craft foam is essentially sheets of a colored L-200.
Craft foam is great for puppet tongues, for eyelids, fingernails, scales. Any little detail that you want to add to your puppet. It comes in a variety of colors and can be purchased plain or with an adhesive back.
That’s your introduction to puppet foam.
By the way, if there’s something I didn’t cover, you can leave a question in the comments below.
Be sure to check out my Tools & Materials Page to see what foams I buy. I have discovered Amazon has some great prices on polyfoam and L-200. CLICK here.
Writing puppet scripts is a lot of fun. You can do it. Your students can do it. Some things to keep in mind if you are going to have your students write a puppet script us to just below.
How To Write A Puppet Script
Keep the script short
Less Talk More Action
Keep it simple
To narrate or not to narrate
Make the ending clear
Audience participation can be fun and engaging
Puppets tell stories. Stories don’t tell puppets.
Table of Contents
Keep The Script Short.
Most successful scripts lean towards the short side. I have seen some great to two-hour shows, but even those or usually consist of a series of short scenes that kept things moving. You always want the audience saying more not less. And remember, every line you write is a line you have to learn.
My wife and I do puppet skits as part of our ministry programs. I write all of our scripts. They are for two puppets. I print the scripts out in 16 pt Roman Font. I always fit the scripts to two printed pages. This seems to give us the perfect length scripts. About 3 minutes.
Less Talk, More Action.
Puppetry is a physical art. Puppetry is movement, the art of bringing inanimate objects to life.
Some of my favorite shows had no dialogue whatsoever. It is fascinating to watch puppets move. Don’t get so carried away thinking about what the puppet says. Give them plenty to do.
Puppets can hold things, puppets can do things. Although I am the voice of our puppet Elmer, my wife often has him pop up to have interaction with me.
With no talking, she has Elmer gesture, laugh, look embarrassed and display other emotions and meaning. I actually enjoy these impromptu skits more than our “talking skits.”
Puppets on stage
Keep It Simple
If a show can be done well without a scene change that’s the way to go. Changing scenes takes time. It will slow down your show and that will lessen your audience’s enjoyment. When writing a script, keep the pot simple. It’s not with twists and turns maybe fun to write but it makes it harder for the audience to follow along. Keep things clear and easy to follow.
To Narrate Or Not To Narrate
My personal preference is a script without too much narration. I see a lot of shows that lean heavily on a narrator to tell us what happened, what is happening, or what will happen.
Once again, have the puppets show all these things, rather than having and narrator tell them. Dialogue between the puppets can tell everything the audience needs to know.
Elmer: Pizza, I need pizza!
Becky: If you are hungry Elmer, go to the food court.
Elmer: But this mall is soooo big! What if I get lost?
With just a little dialogue, we have now told the audience that the scene takes place inside a mall. This is so much better than having a narrator tell us that it is in a mall.
There are sometimes where a little narration can be useful. For example, at the beginning, the narrator can introduce a show and help at the scene, but then he or she should get out of the way.
Narration between scenes can give the puppeteers time to change out the set or puppets. But again, remember to keep it short. The puppet action is the main attraction.
Make The Ending Clear
It is a little uncomfortable to finish a show and have the audience that just sit there, wondering if they should clap yet. A gesture, a tagline, a musical finale, a curtain coming down can all do something to let the audience know that it is the end of the show.
Audience Participation
Audience participation can be fun and engaging. The audience can be invited to do a simple call and response, make a sound effect, or even sing along to a simple song. Getting the audience involved create greater interest.
One of our favorite things to do with Elmer is to have him pop up unexpectedly. My wife operates him, and I am “unaware” that he is there. Elmer pops up and all the kids yell, “Elmer!”
I will look, but he is always gone when I turn. I will tell the children Elmer is not there, and he will pop up again. Again the children yell his name.
We will do this several times before I catch him. Then we go into our conversation. We go to several churches over and over again, so the kids look forward to this.
If we are in a new church, my daughters always get things started. I have 9-year-old twins and they will yell Elmer’s name when he shows up. It does not take long for the other children to catch on to the game and join in.
Another favorite bit we have brought into our programs is the flying frog. At the end of our skit each night, after the puppets have descended below stage, my wife throws a stuffed frog into the air. The kids yell frog. To them it is great fun.
Puppets Tell Stories. Stories Don’t Tell Puppets.
Base your puppet script on a good idea, not just on what puppets you have. It is important to factor in the kinds of puppets you have when it’s time to write the script, but starting with an idea is always best.
Think of it this way, most songwriters will tell you that they start with the words first, then find the right music. Otherwise, you end up squeezing words into a tune and can have accents on the wrong syllable.
If you have a variety of puppets, you can write your script, then choose the puppets that best fit the storyline. If however you have made special puppets and are wondering what to do with them, here is something you can try.
Divide your puppeteers into small groups and have them improvise dialogue and actions with their puppets.
During the puppet building process, most puppeteers develop a clear idea for the physical and emotional characteristics of their puppets. When these puppets are placed in arbitrary combinations, the students must figure out how they would all interact.
The improvised interactions are fertile ground for many excellent puppet script ideas. In this way, puppets are helpful but the script itself is still based on an idea.
Elmer and Becky – two of the Possum Woods Puppets theatrical troupe.
Two of the puppets my wife and I used the most are named Elmer and Becky. Elmer is a mischievous little boy and Becky is his friend Becky is almost always the calm and rational one. These personalities are built into every script I write for Elmer and Becky.
Sometimes as a twist, Becky will have the problem and Elmer will solve her problem in the strange and unusual way which keeps with his mischievous character.
Because my audience is used to seeing Elmer and Becky, to change their names or personalities would be confusing. Elmer is always Elmer Becky is always Becky.
When writing your script, keep in mind the personality and character of your puppet. Do not have a young boy puppet play the heart of an adult. Do not have an old man puppet play the part of a 10-year-old child. Your scripts must match your puppet and your puppets must match your script.
Where To Get Ideas For Scripts.
Ideas for puppet scripts can come from many different places. Because so many of my puppet shows vacation bible school programs and in churches, my scripts often start with the message I want to send to the children and adult and the audience.
I may start with a Bible verse and build off the Bible verse. Because I am looking for an application of the verse or idea, I first create a problem for the puppets to solve which will illustrate that idea.
Sometimes I think of a funny situation or a joke something that is funny to me and hopefully to an audience, and I will build my script around that idea.
It is always good to work a little humor into your script. I wrote a script a few years ago about honesty. In the script, my puppet boy had found a wallet. He was excited to be able to buy ice cream for himself and for his friends. My girl puppet, his friend, explained that he should return the wallet.
To personalize the story involve the audience, wallet turned out to belong to the pastor of the church we were in. So each time we did the script, we inserted the pastor’s name.. This created audience involvement and added a bit of humor as the students thought it was funny that Elmer had the pastor’s wallet.
Puppet scriptwriting can be intimidating at first but if you relax and just create a story that is interesting, the rest should come naturally. You will not know how easy it is until you try.
