Teachers' Resource Pack
Teachers' Resource Pack
for
Murray Raine's
It's Raining Puppets
How Does He Do It?
How Murray Began As A Puppeteer:-
When I was a little boy in infants school a puppet show came to my school. The
puppeteers had brought with them a large stage and had beautiful puppets I had
ever seen. They were large puppets operated by strings. They were called marionettes.
While I was watching the show I wished that I could be in the stage working
the puppets. I decided on that day that I was going to be a puppeteer. That
Afternoon when I got home I told my mother about my wish to become a puppeteer.
I had already been to my school library and borrowed a book on how to make puppets
and my mother said that she would make the puppets costumes for me. Before long
I had made my first puppets from old socks, buttons for eyes and ping pong balls
for noses. My mother stopped me from doing this when she found that I only had
one pair of socks left.
I started to experiment with paper maché using little squares of paper and wall paper paste. This turned into my first glove puppet - a clown. My first puppet show was in my bedroom. I had invited some of my friends to watch the show. They sat politely on the edge of my bed watching the show but they quickly got bored with my performance. I had learnt my first lesson in puppetry - a performance needs structure.
Since then I have been to a puppetry school and I have learnt about puppetry from some of the world’s greatest puppeteers. Even as a little boy I had learnt enough about puppetry to make my own show which I performed to a large audience and even got paid for doing it, I will now tell you some of my secrets so that you can produce your own puppet show. Don’t make the same mistake which I made with my first show. It not entertaining for an audience just to jiggle around a puppet. Your show needs a structure. Here is how to do it.
Creating A Structure For Your Show:-
The First thing to remember is that there is not a lot of point having a puppet
do something which a real person is able to do. Puppets are at their best when
they’re performing antics that a person could never do. This gives surprise
for the audience. But the surprise will only work once. So if you think of something
really funny and surprising for your puppet, do not be tempted to do the gag
over and over again because it will no longer be a surprise. My “Tina Turner”
puppet helps to explain this. when you see “Tina Turner” you will be surprised
by the funny way she looks but you will be even more surprised when you see
what she does - it is something which could never happen to a real person so
it is very funny to see. I do not use this same gag again with another puppet
in the show because it would no longer be a surprise or funny.
I find my ideas for puppets just by looking at people and events that are around me. sometimes I find things which I think are funny and would make a good puppet. So if you are looking for something funny you might think about people in your school, at home or on television. It needs to be somebody which everyone will recognise. The person needs to have something about them which can be exaggerated more than in real life. My “Tina Turner” puppet has a much bigger mouth than in real life. I have made a caricature of her. Once you have chosen somebody you then decide what it is that your puppet is going to do. Again it needs to be surprising and something which a real person could never really do. If you were going to do a puppet of your teacher who might get a little bit angry, your puppet might “blow it’s top” by having the top of it’s head fly off. This would be a surprise for your audience and something which your teacher could never do. You are now ready to start designing your puppets. I begin by making lots of caricature drawings. I share these with my friends and ask their advise before deciding upon a design.
Decide What Sort Of Puppet Is Best for Your Gag:-
Now that you know what your puppet is going to look like and what it is going
to do you then decide what sort of puppet you need to best do the gag. There
are lots of puppet styles to choose from:
* Marionettes (string puppets)
* glove puppets
* rod puppets
* shadow puppets
* humanettes ( the puppeteer’s head is the puppets head but there is a puppet's
body attached to it - you will see some of these in my show).
I am sure that your school or local library will have books on how to make some
of these puppets. Remember that puppets are best when the design is kept simple
with bright and bold colours.
Decide The Sort Of Staging To Best Suit Your Puppet:-
I use black velvet curtains and strong lights which make my puppets look brighter,
bigger and more attractive. You could make the same effect by having black cardboard
as your backdrop. You could choose other types of staging such as window curtains
but remember that if your backdrop is too bright and colourful your puppets
won’t look as good. You want your audience to see your puppets clearly. If the
puppeteers will be seen they cannot be dressed to brightly or colourful either.
You do not want your audience to notice them. Remember, your puppet is the star
of the show!
Choose Music, Dialogue and Sound Effects:-
My puppets do not say very much. I think that too much dialogue from a puppet
quickly becoming boring. I prefer to get my story across with music and sound
effects. I record all of this on a cassette tape so that when I do my show all
I have to worry about is working the puppets. You do not have to do it this
way if you have got some friends who can help you when you perform. You will
need somebody to play the music or put the music on; somebody to make the sound
effects; and you would be the best person to do puppet’s talking. If you are
performing to a large audience in a hall you will need a microphone.
Rehearsing Your Show:-
Your puppet will only seem alive to the audience if you believe that your puppet
has character and is alive. If you do not believe in your puppet’s character
then it won’t seem believable to your audience. I find my puppet’s character
by living with it for a while. I have it hanging around my house for weeks,
play with it to see what movements it does best. Pretty soon the puppet changes
into a living thing. My job is to work out the best movements to show the character.
I never jiggle my puppets to make them move because real live people or animals
do not jiggle or bounce. The movements need to be careful and as much like the
real thing as possible. I rehearse in front of a mirror so I can see how it
is moving. I also have friends watch my rehearsal so that they can tell me what
works and what doesn’t. From the moment the puppet enters the stage to the moment
it leaves the stage it must move and act just like the character you have chosen
it to be. Your puppet must enter and exit just as a real person or animal would
do.
Finally do not make your gag too long. If you keep it short it will not become
boring and you will leave your audience wanting more.
Your show needs to be well thought out and rehearsed before the audience sees
it.
Good luck!
N.B. Requirements:
An indoor area 3.4 square mts. A min ceiling height of 2.6mts.
and good vehicle access.
Also of interest the teachers' notes
from our other puppet shows
Who Let The Puppets Out and (Shadow)
Puppet Making Workshops &
(Rod)
Puppet Workshops
us a Booking