How to Make a Chinese Shadow Puppet Theater

Chinese shadow puppets are elaborately painted and decorated.

The art of Chinese shadow puppetry goes back thousands of years, and shadow puppetry itself is thought to have originated in India and China. Chinese shadow puppets are presented in a simple fashion, using just a white screen background, usually silk or linen, a light source -- at first firelight or lamplight, then later electrical light -- and figurines held behind the screen to form the shadow puppets.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 6 pieces of 2-by-4 wood
• Hammer
• Nails
• Linen sheet
• Lamp

1. Assemble four 2-by-4 pieces of wood in a square shape on a horizontal surface. Hammer nails to attach the pieces of wood together until the square is secure. This will be the frame for the puppet theater.

2. Stand the frame up vertically. Lay the remaining 2-by-4 pieces of wood horizontally flush with the outside edges of the frame. They will be parallel supports to keep the frame standing upright.

3. Hammer two to four nails through the frame and into each support until secure.

4. Stretch your linen sheet tightly over the wooden frame and secure with hammer and nails.

5. Position your light source, the lamp, behind the white screen. The light will shine toward the audience from behind, with the puppets being manipulated between the light source and the back of the white screen.

Tips & Warnings

• Industrial-strength Velcro is the best kind for this project. The sticky back is really sticky!

• Do not use a light that gets dangerously hot since you will have puppeteers near the light.

References

• Chinese Theater Works; A Brief Introduction to Shadow Theatre; Kuang-Yu Fong and Stephen Kaplin