Information, Education and Communication: Puppet Educate


Puppet Educate:

The persons who make the puppets and act out the plays are called puppeteers. They become more expert in acting writing the plays, the more plays they produce.

By various means they get a keen insight into human nature and a deeper understanding of human emotions, Not only the puppeteer is being educated but the listeners are being educated as well and that quite painlessly.

The audience is learning as it books and 1istern, becomes a true audio-visual aid to teaching.

Down through the years religious teachers have used puppets to make the stories from the sacred scriptures real to the people.

Through this method and through the skill of story telling the sacred scriptures are now well known even to illiterates. However, today, in this era of science, teachers are using puppets as a medium for many scientific subjects.

Health, agriculture, literacy, sanitation are dramatized on the puppet stage with startling effect. There is almost nothing that cannot be taught by the amazing little creatures called puppets. They dance, they sing, they turn a handspring but always in the interest of social action and inner change.

Age-old traditions are being at critically as the puppets move about the stage, looking backward at the old and locking forward to the new.

THE ILLITERATE STOPS, LOOKS AND LISTENS:

Since villagers are mostly illiterate the audience viewing the puppets are mostly so. Sometimes they are familiar with the play and sometimes not. If it is religious play they know it but if it is a new scientific idea, they do not.

The audience comes for entertainment but usually goes away with a new idea. Both the literate and the illiterate see hope for a more wholesome community. The illiterate decides during the play that like the hero he will learn to read and write. The literate decides during the same play to begin teaching his illiterate neighbours. Both are being educated.

PUPPETS HELP SELF-EXPRESSION.:

You will notice that even shy people manipulate puppets and learn their parts. This is because the puppeteer is hidden from sight and he has no self-consciousness whatsoever. He lets himself go and finds his first chance at self-expression.

In the development of personality this is an important step, so use your shy villagers in the plays. You will help to make new leaders. He changes his voice, so that each puppet sounds different from the other puppet.

Types of Puppets:

  1. THE MARIONETTE OR STRING PUPPET: The marionette or string puppet has a joined body and limbs. It can be made of wood, wire, paper, string, cloth stuffed with paper, rag or sawdust. It is suspended by strings which are attached to different places on the body and limbs and to a control in the puppeteer's hands. Movement of the puppet is produced by moving the control and by pulling or loosening the strings. This requires considerable practice.
  2. THE ROD PUPPET is controlled by rods or stiff wires from beneath. Its body consists of vertical rods. The middle rod is jointed, and on its upper end the head is fixed. The vertical rods are combined together by a. horizontal rod or crossbar, where the shoulders should be and from this hand arms. It has no legs.
  3. CLOSE OR SIMPLE HAND PUPPETS.
  4. SHADOW PUPPETS.


Preparation:

The Hand Puppet can be made in a short time and the materials used in making them can be easily obtained. The following are the materials required. Thin card board or used post card, old news paper, paper, glue two pieces of string, Indian Ink, both black and red colour box pens, brushes, coloured cloth, a pair of scissors, needle and thread. When the materials are ready for use the following procedure is to be followed step by step.

  1. A piece of card board or an used post card is rolled around the first finger and a tube is made to fit it. Glue is applied to make the tube firm. This tube will be neck of the puppet.
  2. A ball is prepared by crumpling a large sheet of old news paper of rags and is pressed over and around the tube. The ball is shaped to form the stuffing of the head of the puppet.
  3. The head made of crumpled news paper is covered with a sheet of plain paper 0r cloth. Care should be taken to see that one side of the ball is free from folds and creases. The paper or cloth is tied in place round the neck with a piece of string. The author has used cream coloured cloth and has got good results.
  4. The smooth side of the ball is painted with colours to be the face of the puppet. To look Impressive the face should have only a few broad features, for example, large black eyes and long sweeping eyebrows a distinct mouth and a few lines for the hair etc.
  5. A narrow tube of bright coloured cloth is made, long enough to cover the hand and fore arm of the puppeteer.
  6. The head of the puppet is put upside down inside the c1oth tube so that the seam is kept towards the back of the head.
  7. The cloth is tied on to the neck of the puppet firmly with a piece of string in such a way that the opening of the card board tube is not blocks.
  8. The cloth is turned right side out the puppet.
  9. Slits are cut for the thumb and the middle finger. Two small arms for the puppet can be made, so that the thumb and the middle finger can be inserted into them. By adopting this device the puppet can be made to clap or fold hands.
  10. The puppet is now ready. A name is given to it. If the puppet is to play the role of a man, a turban or cap is placed on his head and a moustache is painted on his face. If the puppet is a lady, well, a nice saree or gaghra could be made for her.


Only by constant practices the puppeteer can make the puppet come to life. Before he gives any performance with the puppets it is advisable that he should practise moving them in front of a mirror until they look as if they are in life and blood. The puppeteer can work a puppet on each hand and can make each one to express by its gestures. He should change his voice as far as possible so that the left hand puppet and the right hand puppet will be able to speak in different voices. If one of them is a woman, the puppeteer is to produce a matching female voice which often is difficult. The author has used the tape recorder in puppet shows and has got excellent results. In this case not only it is easier to match the quality of the voice with the role of the puppet but it is possible to produce background effect when occasions arise. The problem of synchronisation arises in such cases and so the puppeteer must try his best to move only the puppet who talks through the tape. The author has experienced no difficulty in maintaining perfect synchronisation between the gestures of the puppet and the dialogue of the puppet recorded on the tape. When a tape recorder is easily available this is worth experimenting.

PUPPET STAGE:

A miniature stage with curtains and back drops can be made to produce dramatic effect. The professional puppeteers in India use few pieces of bamboo or wooden planks to construct the structure of the stage and then cover it with bright coloured curtains and drops. The back screen is usually of a light colour. The structure of the stage depends upon the type of puppets to be used. A stage for Marionettes has an altogether different structure. A shadow Puppet requires a simple stage as it is demonstrated behind an illuminated screen to produce silhouette effect. Rod Puppets and Hand Puppets are demonstrated in stages of simple structure. Very often hand Puppets are demonstrated in improvised stages. The space between the two pillars can be utilised as a stage for the hand puppets, if a saree or bed-sheet is stretched across the same. A saree or bed-sheet can be stretched across the space between two chairs placed face to face and a stage can be prepared in no time. The simplest method of improvising a stage is by using a charpoy which is readily available in villages. The frame of the charpoy serves as the frame of the screen. A saree or a blanket or a bed-sheet can be draped over this frame and fastened tightly to form a screen. The three types of improved stages are shown earlier.

The puppeteers sit behind the screen and hold their arms up so that the audience can only see the puppets which appear above the screen. They can not be seen by the audience. It is not necessary to use a dark background in such stages. This can be done by having a black screen behind the improvised. stage. A portable and adjustable stage can be constructed at a low cost by any carpenter. Such a stage can be elaborately decorated with curtains, wings and drops.

HINTS TO WRITERS OF PUPPET PLAYS:

The puppet plays dramas and should, therefore, conform to the rules for writing drama. A drama is a play written to be acted on a stage. It must be full of action. A play is sometimes written to present a story for entertainment; sometimes a story that presents a problem and its solution.

Interest is aroused at the beginning of the play and must be held throughout. How is this done? One scene follows another in sequence so that the audience follows every detail clearly. The situation on the stage is continually changing. Periods of suspense during which emotions are aroused are followed by periods of emotional release. Laughter is one way of emotional release, and it is always good to introduce humour and wit into the play. Songs and dancing can even be given by puppets. They add lightness.

Early in the play the dramatic question should be introduced. This can be subtle but the audience must be aware of it and kept in suspense until the climax. Soon after the dramatic question is answered the play must end.

Although the bizarre and fantastic have their appeal, the play should not be too far removed from the experience of the audience. Otherwise they will fail to apply it to themselves. When teaching a lesson through a play teach only one thing. This lesson revolves around the dramatic question and the idea must be clear when the play ends.

The characters in the play must be distinctive and may caricatured. They should introduce themselves or be introduced by the other characters as they make their appearance . The characters should express in the dialogue their most outstanding characteristic. Speeches should be short. Remember that a puppet can not change its facial expression nor can it perform too many gestures. It is extremely limited in action. Quick dialogue and short speeches are easy to present.

If necessary, each puppeteer can work two hand puppets at a time. Since the stage frequently permits space for only two puppeteers, this imposes a restriction on the number of characters that can appear together on the stage.

Time must be given to change the puppet on ones hand and yet there must be no long pauses. The plot should run on smoothly until the curtain drops at the end of a scene. If there are pauses the attention of the audience may wander and never be recaptured, changing of characters can take place between scenes or during the music. The writer must arrange for this when writing the play.

It is very confusing to the audience to have two puppets action one part, for the tendency is to think of each puppet as a person. Some people find it difficu1t to speak in two different voices. But change of voice must be attempted so the different puppets are not only different to look at but sound different. One person can present a man on one hand ,and a woman or child on the other. He deepens his voice for the man and raises it for the woman or the child.

Repetition emphasizes a point and helps the listeners to remember the main idea. But repetition must not be dull. The same idea can be expressed in many different ways, particularly if the dialogue is amusing or the lesson music.

As you write your play keep your eye on production". A play is written to be acted on the stage. Ask yourself questions as you review your play. Remember that each word should serve a purpose in the play. No phrase, however clever should be introduced, unless it contributes to building up the intended picture. Every world, gesture, action, in the play must contribute something to the whole production. Study the audience. Note its reactions. Never bore it. The audience wants to be entertained, to laugh and share in the fun. But the audience is willing to catch a new idea and if your story moves a listener deeply he may begin to better his own life and the life of his neighbours.