Book review: Let There Be Blacklight

The book offers a small explanation of what blacklight puppetry is, the benefits of using it, plus some info on lighting, choosing puppets, materials and tools, and includes a pattern and instructions on making a blacklight puppet sun (pictured on the front of the book).

Let There Be… Blacklight! by Dave Privett, Todd Liebenowis a short book on how to create blacklight puppetry. Its main aim is to educate those working in puppet ministry (puppetry performed by and for religious groups, mainly churches) how to use blacklight to entertain children and adults, while still offering stories, songs and themes appropriate to a ministry audience.

I had bought this book in the hopes of learning about blacklight, for which I have very limited knowledge about. Let There Be… Blacklight! came highly recommended from a number of people and places, and seems to be the only currently-published book on the topic. So I was disappointed to discover it was so focused on ministry puppetry, as well as so lightweight on the actual concepts behind blacklight. Reading it, I really felt like I needed another resource to have read first, before continuing with this text. Not being interested in puppets for church (not being religious or Christian), it was slightly off-putting. However, it wasn’t enough to make me stop reading the text…

There are a number of criticisms that I’d like to make - keeping in mind that I’m not the author’s target audience - and then I’ll move on to the good points of the text.

Inside the book. Note the example photo of the puppet under blacklight conditions; and how the black & white photo doesn’t really help. Click on the image for a larger view.

My first criticism comes on the very first page of the book. Skipping down past all of the stuff about Jesus, we come to this: "However, blacklight is an effect that should be used in moderation. In a way, devoting an entire performance to blacklight puppetry takes away from its effectiveness". I take issue with this comment. Granted, blacklight puppetry is difficult for first-timers to do, and to do it on a professional level, I think you have to have some previous puppetry experience. But that isn’t to say you can’t make a full-length show out of it. Puppetry shows are generally an hour long, some longer. I have seen excellent performances that were at least that, using only blacklight puppets, and it did not get tiring on the eyes or the imagination. While I realise that the above advice from One Way Street (the authors of the book) is aimed at newbies, I don’t agree with the judgement, nor of advising groups to limit their ideas. Maybe they want to create a full-length show out of blacklight puppets, but are warned away by this… Anyway, it’s probably more of a personal choice, but to me, this grates.

My second issue is that the book assumes that groups will be performing from within a puppet booth. The only times I have ever seen blacklight, it has been in a small space with no puppet booths. In fact, it was just a blacked out room with the puppeteers working in the empty space. The blacklights themselves were mounted in special boxes which had stands attached, allowing the blacklights to be set in front of the performance area (just before the seating, downstage) less than a metre off the ground. There were no problems seeing the blacklight puppets, nor hiding the black-dressed puppeteers. Let There Be… Blacklight! suggests that the blacklights are most effective hanging from above: that may be true, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t be done without the use of a booth, even if you’re in a church.

Another misconception in this book is the idea that "wearing the black sleeves is something that should be done even when doing puppetry in regular light". The authors make the claim that the flesh of the puppeteer’s arms should never be seen. While in blacklight puppetry, this is true, as otherwise the effect of floating puppets is ruined, in other forms of puppetry it is perfectly acceptable to see the puppeteer’s hands and arms. Some directors and audience members prefer not to see the arms and hands; others do. I personally find it fascinating: my friends don’t like it. It’s also a misconception to suggest that it can’t be done well. Ronnie Burkett performs with marionettes, and his costume always reflects the style of the particular performance. But generally speaking, he doesn’t cover his arms, and certainly never covers his hands. Another performance I’ve seen, Caravan, used small rod puppets, and the puppeteer’s hands and arms were visible. It didn’t detract from the show at all. What One Way Street should be saying is that unless it’s done well, and isn’t overly distracting, bare arms are an option (unless it’s for blacklight or light curtain puppetry of course).

Lastly, I quibble with the black and white photos. This may seem trifling, nit picking even, but on the last page of the book there are two pictures of the blacklight sun (as an example of the finished product of the pattern offered in the book), both B&W. One is of the sun under normal light, the other is when it’s seen in blacklight. In black and white photos, the only real difference is that the blacklight version has more contrast (it appears ‘brighter’). Since the pattern tells you to paint the sun in oranges, yellows and reds, it seems rather pointless to have black and white photos, especially given that blacklight isn’t easily visualised through B&W imagery. There are plenty of other examples in the book where colour pictures would have been better, as they showed different materials as they appear under blacklight and normal light.

Inside the book. Click on the image for a larger view.

Another nit-picky thing is that in explaining that you should always carry a UV flashlight with you to test cloth samples before buying, the authors suggest buying a battery-operated one from a scientific company, or from an American company. They completely miss the obvious and cheaper solution: go into any stamp-collecting store, and buy a small handheld UV light. They are used for checking for fraudulent stamps (they pick up underlying inks in the stamp, which are printed to aid in proving the stamp’s legitimacy) and are very easy to find and very cheap. Even here in Australia, you can pick up one of these small UV lights from Spotlight for around $AUD 7 each. I saw them in Spotlight and bought three of them, knowing they’d come in handy. On the other hand, buying one from a scientific store could cost more than $AUD 20 each. The exact same product from Wildfire Inc, the American company mentioned in the book, is $US 9 each. Which would you rather do: buy from a scientific store which are hard to find, or buy from a collector’s shop, which are easy to find? (Yes, I know, really really nit-picky. I’m just saying that there are a lot of assumptions made in this book, and a lack of imagination in terms of finding relevant products)

(I would also add that the book is aimed at American groups, which means that 99.9% of their references to suppliers and manufacturers will be absolutely useless for those not residing in that area)

The good points of the book (finally, we get to them!): an instructional on how to mount blacklight fixtures onto a rack, for easy transport and use; a pattern on making a blacklight sun; painting and dying materials; and a short intro to blacklight materials (you may want to read more about materials here). Personally, I found the tutorial on mounting blacklights a little confusing; but it’s mainly to my limited knowledge of carpentry terms (what the hell is a "spacer" I wondered?). The discussion on choosing materials, what colours to select, and using black to highlight or hide puppets, were all useful and insightful. The patterns and instructions seem very straightforward and easy to follow (I haven’t made the pattern yet, but from previous experience with patterns, it read well and looked like something anyone can make with little knowledge of building puppets), although I found some of the steps could have benefited from a photo explanation or diagram - even though there are plenty of photos in the instructional, I think a couple more couldn’t have hurt.

Let There Be… Blacklight! is a good short intro to blacklight puppetry - for puppet ministry groups. I, on the other hand, finished reading the book and still had no deep understanding of blacklight puppetry. I was extremely disappointed, as it is touted as the best currently published book on blacklight, and has been recommended highly by a number of puppeteers.

There are a number of excellent tips and hints for those new to this particular puppetry style. If I were part of an American church group, I would be extremely glad that I had Let There Be… Blacklight!. However, if you’re just a puppeteer or puppet maker, and want a comprehensive text on blacklight puppetry, my suggestion is to go buy something else and possibly add this later as an extension. Learn how to make one of these puppets here [link to be added].