How to Make a Professional Marionette

The process of making a marionette you can use in a professional show is literally a sum of parts rather than a whole. While a marionette can be made as one lone object without movable parts, the key to a truly professional marionette is in connecting multiple parts to create moving joints--as in arms and legs. Here's how to create a marionette in the guise of a human being, complete with costume.

Things You'll Need

• Light pieces of wood
• Hammer
• Nails
• Screws
• Long pieces of string
• Practical & natural materials to make marionette body
• Papier mâché with wet paste

Instructions

Creating the string controller

1. Take two small pieces of wood and nail them together in a cross formation. Make sure the nails go all the way through the wood so you can tie strings around each end.

2. Wrap pieces of long string securely around the end of each nail and tie string into a knot.

3. Set aside for the time being until making the marionette figurine.

Creating the torso, head and arms

1. Make the torso of your human marionette by using a material such as a pipe cleaner or block of lightweight wood. Keep in mind that the lighter the torso section, the more agile your marionette will appear.

2. Create the head using any piece of lightweight natural material that's in the general shape of a circle. The head doesn't necessarily have to be perfect circle, since abstract shapes can give the essence of a body part.

3. Glue the marionette head to the top of the torso. Decorate the head by adding paint or gluing small materials to the face. Consider using ribbon for the hair.

4. Take two pieces of wood or pipe cleaners to create a movable joint by fastening them together via a pin or a nail. Make sure the arm joints are flexible enough to make realistic movement.

Creating the hands, legs, feet and costume

1. Create and attach hands to the arms using the same materials, along with optional joints for movement.

2. Create the legs and feet as you did the arms and hands, using the same materials for consistency.

3. Use papier mâché to create a costume on the front of the marionette as well as additional features on the face. Consider fabric materials as a better alternative to creating clothing on the marionette.

Attaching strings and performing

1. Attach the strings of your string controller to the marionette's body parts. Tie the strings securely into a knot on each marionette part so they won't break during a performance.

2. Practice using the marionette to get the feel of moving each part with the string controller. Try different types of unique voices to give a personality to your marionette.

3. Use a video camera to capture your practice, then study the presentation to determine if the suspension of disbelief has been attained.

References

• Creating marionettes out of natural materials

Resources

• Making and Manipulating Marionettes; David Currell; 2005