Puppetry has played an important role in disseminating knowledge in most parts of the world. Puppetry imbibes elements of all art forms such as literature, painting, sculpture, music, dance, drama, and enables students to develop their creative abilities. Puppetry has been used traditionally in India as a popular and an inexpensive medium to transmit knowledge about Indian myths and legends. Since puppetry is a dynamic art form that appeals to all age groups, this medium of communication has been selected to serve as an aid for imparting education in schools.
The most commonly used puppets are (1) Hand puppets, (2) glove-and-finger puppets, (3) Rod puppets, (4) Marionettes, and (5) Shadow puppets.
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| Hand Puppet |
° Hand Puppets- A hand puppet (not to be confused with a glove puppet) is a type of puppet that is controlled by the leg or face that occupies the interior of the puppet. The simplest hand puppets are those with few or no moving parts. They can be stiff, made from e.g. a hard plastic, but are more often flexible, made from fabric, possibly with some stuffing and attached decorations for eyes, nose, and so on. The mouth may be a mere decoration that does not open and close, or the thumb may enter a separate pocket from the rest of the fabric and so simulate a mandible, allowing the puppet to talk.
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| Glove-and-Finger Puppet |
Glove-and-Finger Puppets – make use of gloves which small costumed figures are attached. To make them, cut off the first and second glove finger. The operator uses the index and middle finger as puppet legs. Puppet bodies can be either flat cutouts or doll-like fingers. These puppets are operated from the back of the stage.
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| Rod Puppet |
° Rod Puppet- A rod puppet can include a range of things, but generally speaking, it is inclusive of any puppet that uses rods as the sole mechanism for operation. Rod puppets can include other puppet types, like muppet-type puppets, marottes, and the Japanese art of bunraku, or the more bastardised Western version of bunraku, known as table-top puppetry. However, rod puppets can be made out of anything and everything - household items, clothes, toys… The list goes on. Additionally, more complicated rod puppets use ‘cable-control’, a wire or string which, when pulled by a trigger, moves the puppet in a certain way. Rod puppets are most frequently used in productions using blacklight theatre and productions that use a light curtain. This is a special lighting effect, where the puppet is visible, but the puppeteer is not. Rods are particularly used in this situation because the puppeteer is required to perform from behind the puppet at all times, making rods an easy, efficient and precise method of manipulation.
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| Marionettes |
° Marionettes- A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms of theatres or entertainment venues. They have also been used in films and on television.
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| Shadow Puppets |
° Shadow Puppets- Shadow play (Chinese: 皮影戏, pí yĭng xì) or shadow puppetry is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment using opaque, often articulated figures in front of an illuminated backdrop to create the illusion of moving images. It is popular in various cultures. At present, more than 20 countries are known to have shadow show troupes.
How to create a puppet character
Feelings
Begin by 'feeling' my way through the story. What is the range of feelings the character holds in the story? Sad to happy? Afraid to triumphant? Eager to cynical? In only the simplest stories does a character have only one feeling associated with them. Usually there is a transformation from one set of feelings to another.ÊÊThe big secret is to give the puppet character an ability to move between the feelings necessary to make the transformation.
Line
Once you know the set of feelings you need, you can start to create. Begin by imagining a line that expresses the feelings of the character. It might be a wiggly line for a sly character, a very rigid line for a strict character, or a bent line to show some sadness. Ideally, you'll need two lines for the character to move between to show the transformation. Sketch them out, bend them into wire, anything that lets you experiment quickly and easily, without the material getting in the way.
Space
From a line, the next step to give the character a shape. In other words, how much space does the character take up. What kind of space is it? Working from the line, fill out the character. Some take up lots of space, some very little. Some characters carry their weight high, some low. Some characters have a round space, some flat, some square, some jagged. There are no hard and fast rules. Try out several until you end up with something that works. My favorite tools are a piece of thick, bendable wire and a couple of pounds of plasticine. I'm not trying to make a finished puppet, even an armature, just a bent wire and big lumps of clay. It's something that lets me play with lines and space until the character emerges.
Rhythm
Once you have a line and some space, you are on your way to a character. But something is missing. A puppet with only line and space is still a dead puppet. Life is rhythm. Stops and starts, changes of direction, quickness and slowness. (I've learned to be careful about what music I'm playing when I'm designing a puppet. Somehow the rhythm of the music gets into my design. I can't explain it, but it's true.) The puppet I'm designing will move one day and it's good to match it's movements to the feelings it will need to express. Begin by tapping out the character's rhythms. There are usually at least two of them. Since I do hand puppets, I very quickly go on to move my hand in the rhythm. I'm not trying to make the puppet run, walk, or anything specific. I just move my hand in space and try to get the feeling I'm looking for. This is the time to try and catch the character in the act of transforming from one feeling to another. Perhaps it's a quick jagged rhythm followed by a slow, heavy beat. The puppet has to be able to show both rhythms well and make the transition between the two seem natural.
Putting it together
Coming up with characters is more about play than work. It's trying a hundred things and only using the best one or two. When you're done, the separate concepts of line, space, and rhythm have joined together into a whole character that has a range of feelings. You have the look of the puppet and know what movements it will need/ It may be nothing more than some wire with lumps of plasticine doing a silly little dance, but it's on its way to creating a living, feeling character. Now it's time to transform it into a puppet.
Mask
A form of disguise. It is an object that is frequently worn over or in front of the face to hide the identity of a person and by its own features to establish another being. This essential characteristic of hiding and revealing personalities or moods is common to all masks. As cultural objects they have been used throughout the world in all periods since the Stone Age and have been as varied in appearance as in their use and symbolism.
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise,performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonialand practical purposes. They are usually worn on the face, although they may also be positioned for effect elsewhere on the wearer's body, so in parts of Australia giant totemmasks cover the body, whilst Inuit women use finger masks during storytelling and dancing.
The History of Mask Making
Although the origin of the mask is not known, evidence of its presence as covering, disguise, and adornment of the human face has been found in artifacts, literature, and folklore of primitive, as well as, sophisticated societies, thereby revealing the important role it has played in human life.
The earliest known allusion to mask use is found in a cave in Southern France. It is believed to have been painted around 20,000 BC and depicts a person masked in the skin and antlers of a deer.Believing the world to be ruled by spirits or supernatural beings, many cultures devised masks to be worn ceremonially for the purpose of appeasing and communicating with these forces. Among the Pueblo Indians of the Southwestern United States, the Hopi Kachina masks, made of leather, gouds, evergreen boughs, feathers, earthen pigments and today, tempera paints, allow the Hopi to participate with the spirits of their ancestors and to facilitate the rising of the sun and the control of rain for which the Hopi believe they are responsible.
Types of Masks
There are many different types of masks with their own meanings and interpretations. The traditional Bauta was the most common mask worn. Originating around 1600, the Bauta mask was worn by both men and women of different social status. The main purpose of wearing this mask was for the person to stay concealed; the mask’s form enables the wearer to eat and drink while still being hidden. The Bauta was not usually worn alone, but with a typical wardrobe. The outfit included a cloak and a tri-corn hat.
Figure 6 Bauta Mask
Bauta- the most common mask worn.
Figure 7 Moretta Mask
Moretta- a mask exclusively worn by patrician women.
-The petite oval shape of the mask although has no opening for the wearer’s mouth.
Figure 8 Gnaga Mask
Gnaga Mask- was usually reserved for patrician men who enjoyed indulging in homosexual rendezvous.
Through masks and puppet theater activities, students may become more creative and free to communicate, either as themselves or as other personalities whose identities they temporarily assume. These activities must be pleasant and rewarding. In addition, they should be conducted in an atmosphere of freedom and self-imposed responsibility.
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