Why should I use puppets?

This question is hard to answer, but I’ll try my best to cover as many concepts as possible. The list here is probably only a small number of reasons why you should use a puppet in a performance. It should be noted that here I am referring ONLY to using puppets in theatrical performances and events; and that this does not cover other uses, such as art therapy, use in the classroom, film/TV, etc. The examples used in this post to explain certain concepts do come from film/TV, but only because they will be easily recognisable to you, the reader.

This also attempts to answer the reasons why puppets have been used in the past, and how they got started in the first place.

This ox puppet shows just how puppetry can be used to express an abstract idea in a way that a human actor can only do with makeup and costumes. The choice between using a puppet and a an actor with makeup may not be obvious; and both have their pros and cons. Image by Marshall Astor.

Puppets can do what humans can’t

Ever wanted to do a scene in a show, where the head of a character rotates on their neck? Want to shoot lasers from their eyes? Want to create a fully ‘realistic’ futuristic performance, without having to create huge sets?

In some performance situations, human actors can be very limiting, and puppetry is a great way to do all the things you wanted to do. Human actors are also limited by natural phenomena, like gravity: if you want an actor to fly, you’d have to rent a theatre that hosts a complex rigging system - with puppets, all you need to do is lift it up into the air.

A great example is the use of claymation in movies and on TV. (Ie. Chicken Run is claymation, as well as Wallace and Gromit) Do you remember Gumby? Using clay, the creators were able to make characters that not only looked like creatures, but also managed to change shapes, colours, and style of movements. You certainly couldn’t do this with human actors - which is why they chose to use something more maleable and manipulateable. Puppets can often provide a solution to a tricky scene or plot.

Puppets can express abstract ideas

There is a misconception that puppets can only be used for theatrical performances and events that are light on dialogue. That is not true. I have seen shows where there was no dialogue, and the movement of the puppets told the events of the storyline, the emotions and the relationships of the characters. I have also seen shows that ran for a couple of hours, and were extremely dialogue heavy (the former using rod puppets, the latter marionettes). It is true that having dialogue requires more skill for the puppeteers - whether the puppets have moving mouths or not - but it can be done effectively if rehearsed well.

However, puppetry is extremely adept at being used for abstract concepts and storylines, because it is a highly visual craft. Most people think of puppetry performances as traditional Punch and Judy style, or Muppets, but the truth is that puppetry can be so much more. Storylines that I’ve seen from abstract puppet performances have included: UV-lit lines that evolve into shapes in mid-air; large furry objects that roll around on stage; clay faces that are mashed and pinched into different expressions, each telling a new part of the story; and magical ‘god-like’ hands appearing from nowhere to create the world around it.

Where traditional scripts would fail to express many of these abstract concepts using dialogue, puppetry can do it well. It is similar to dance in many respects: the use of movement, the types of objects (in dance, the object would be the dancer), the emotion and atmosphere, and the use of space, is more important to these forms of theatre than dialogue, and than in other more traditional forms of performance.

Stand-up comedians and ventriloquists often use puppets in their acts. It can bring a certain novelty to their performance, as well as create some interesting interactions between puppet, puppeteer and audience. Image by Matthew Brown.

Puppets can heighten a script

An ordinary script can be made into an extraordinary one by changing all the roles into ones performed by puppets. Alternatively, you can change the meaning of a script by making one role performed by a puppet - is the character real, or part of another character’s imagination? Or you can take a traditional story, like Gulliver’s Travels, and make it come to life, with Lilliputian puppets and an actor playing Gulliver. Because puppetry can include a range of styles, theatrical conventions, and suits most topics and themes, it can go further than what you would consider a typical puppet performance.

Additionally, puppetry can bring a certain magic, or je ne sais qua to a performance. It’s an X-factor, a sort of childlike delight, or freeing of imagination, in the audience’s mind. For example: take Kermit the frog. Imagine him singing It’s not easy being green. He’s sitting on a big brown rock, with trees behind him, and he’s sitting cross-legged.

Go it? … Now imagine the Kermit sitting there is a human, dressed up in a large green frog costume. His face is painted green. He is overly large sitting on that rock… Suddenly, all the magic of the song has disappeared, hasn’t it?

Certain scenes or performances, will suddenly seem more interesting, and more enchanting, with the use of puppets.

Puppets can make excellent teaching aids

My puppeteer friend, Gary Friedman, is known around the world for his use of puppetry teaching about AIDS in Africa. Puppetry can often help express social, historical, and political issues in a simpler form than regular theatre performances, and can enhance an audience’s memory of the lessons contained in the show. Furthermore, they can please and instruct both adults and children at the same time. In some situations and performance styles, puppets can also be easier to tour to small locations, can be used outdoors and without modern conveniences (like electricity for lighting, etc.), and can remove the ‘fourth wall’ that exists in traditional venues.

Puppets can aid in skill development and socialisation

Art therapy commonly includes exercises in puppetry. Tactile tasks can improve skills in any number of areas, such as: dexterity; coordination; creativity; and innovation. Additionally, puppetry can offer young and old the chance to develop skills in: cooperation and team building; dealing with social issues, such as bullying or traumatic experiences; self-confidence and social fears. The act of building puppets can be just as useful and important as it is to use puppets for performances. In fact, this is why it’s so popular for community events: anyone can make them and anyone can use them, regardless of age, language, education, and economic status. They can truly cross any class barrier.

Quite often parade or rod puppets are used in protests against the government. These puppets are of George W Bush and Tony Blair. Image by Neil T.

Puppets can be used for satire

Punch and Judy started out as a satire on social and political issues of the everyday person: and just as puppetry to teach about AIDS can inform the public on an issue, so can puppetry about a range of other topics. You can satirise local politicians, take on current affairs, explore messages of social importance, and express your distaste for a particular event or policy. A great deal of puppeteers have built and use caricaturised figures of well-known people, and they can be not only attention-grabbing, but also fun and funny.

Other thoughts - why you shouldn’t use puppetry

Not every script or performance suits puppetry, just as not every puppetry performance would suit a transition to a traditional actors-only production. For some scripts, an overabundance of puppets - or even one - changes the performance entirely. It may change the meaning of the script, the audience reaction, the dynamics of the characters, etc.

Let’s take another example: Star Wars. The only puppet in the movies was Yoda (that is, until he turned CGI). Now let’s imagine that the entire movie was done using puppets. While I’m sure there are plenty of spoof movies and episodes online that use puppets, if SW had been done using puppetry - every character a puppet - it would have changed the entire audience reaction. It could have been that by using puppets instead of actors, Star Wars would have been taken by the audience to be a spoof in itself; and not have created such a legendary following. (Likewise, Thunderbirds would probably not have been so successful had it been done without puppets; the later ‘04 movie based on the show was less well-received because of its use of actors)

Don’t use puppetry for puppetry’s sake; have a reason behind using a puppet, and if you plan on doing it, do it well and with consideration. Just because it worked on Broadway is no reason to say it will work for your three-act performance on housemates. But you’ll find there’s some great opportunities in every show to consider using a puppet.

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