Using puppets to tell stories

EDITOR’S NOTE

Have you ever been to a puppet show? For those of you who may not know what a puppet is, it’s a figure that is operated or manipulated by a person, usually for a theatre performance or show. The puppet can be a figure of a person, an animal, an object or even a made-up creature.

Puppets range in size from very big to tiny. Some, such as finger or sock puppets, are very simple to operate. Others, such as string puppets or marionettes, are more complicated and need a fair amount of skill to use.

The person who operates and brings the puppet to life by making it move is called a puppeteer. Puppeteers are often not seen by the audience but some, such as a ventriloquist who operates a dummy, are in full view of the audience.

In this edition of MavericKIDS, we will learn about puppets – the various types, the art of puppetry and of puppeteering.

I hope you enjoy it and learn something new.

More than entertainment

Puppetry as a form of theatre is practised in many cultures and is a method of entertainment, as well as being used in religious rituals and celebrations. Storytelling is an essential part of puppetry.

In history

It is unclear exactly when it was that people began making and using puppets, but historians think it was before other forms of theatre developed. The writings from ancient Greece, dating back to the 5th century BCE, mention puppet shows. There is also evidence that puppets existed in ancient China, India and other parts of

Asia. Excavated clay dolls from Indus Valley, an ancient civilization that existed in the northwestern regions of South Asia, indicate that puppetry was practised in India as early as the 2nd century BCE.