Finding Eyes in Puppet Performance

Series Summary

Puppetry is so much more than a hand in a sock; it is a theatre art or the highest order, with some of the most amazing sets, costume design and character creations you will ever see. Contemporary stage productions such as “The Lion King” use life size puppets to bring animal characters to life. European puppet troupes create stunning sets and bizarre creatures to put on productions ranging from fairy tales to avant garde plays. Sure, we’ll always have primitive puppets for children’s television shows and cheap comedies. But please remember that the world of puppetry goes far beyond those silly sock puppets into a fascinating universe of delight and imagination.

In this free puppet lesson video, you will learn the basics of puppet performance and much more. Our expert discusses such common issues as puppet movement and weight distribution, yet moves into more esoteric issues for puppeteers, such as how to make a puppet see and think. Want to know how to create feelings for your puppet? Learn how to create a story around it? Watch this series of excellent videos from our professional puppetry instructor and you are on your way to becoming a puppeteer yourself!

Video Transcript

"In this clip, we're going to talk about finding your puppet's eyes. Working with the eyes of your puppet, it's really, really important. It's probably the main thing that's going to give life to the character of your puppet. Each puppet that you work with is different. Every time you pick up a new puppet, you're going to have to find the eyes of that puppet. The puppet I'm working with today is a puppet that I particularly like. It's a doll. The reason I work with dolls is that you can go like this and not really have to worry about it. I didn't spend 20 hours making her. The way to find her eyes is actually to have a partner stand right out there and say to am I looking at you. Tell your partner to be very, very specific. Don't be nice. If the puppet is looking over your shoulder or just over your head, it's not exactly right. Have your friend be very difficult and tell you exactly when the puppet is looking at them. "