Do you remember playing with hand puppets as a child? Did your parents buy a puppet or did your mother show you how to make one?

You can create a puppet with a stick or a finger. A sock pocket can be created with a lone sock that has been left behind by a runaway partner. Or the fingers can be folded into a slightly closed fist, draw a pair of lips and eyes, and you’re ready for puppetry. Add a voice to your character with the support of a script to tell a story and the show is now live.

These three simple methods of making puppets have been around and have entertained children and adults for many decades. Puppets are fun as they challenge our creativity, imagination, and art and craft skills.

What is a puppet?

It is an object made of wood, paper, cloth, sawdust, straw, cotton, and other materials that can be molded to represent a person, an animal, or an object. The puppeteer brings a puppet to life by moving its flexible parts with his hand, strings, rods, or mechanical and electronic methods.

Nine types of puppets:

  1. Finger: Simple paint on a finger that very young children enjoy.

  2. Sock Barr Tillstrom introduced the puppets Kukla, Fran and Ollie … Then Shari Lewis with Lamb Chop.

  3. Marionette (string operated) Ronnie Burkett and his puppets, and Howdy Doody created by Buffalo Bob Smith.

  4. Ventriloquist: Edgar Bergen and the character Charlie McCarthy. The world famous today is Jeff Dunham with his latest doll called Achmed the Terrorist.

  5. Body Puppet: Julie Taymor’s famous and popular play The Lion King is a great example of people being in the characters and operating the mechanisms to activate the puppets in action.

  6. Mechanical puppets: The use of small or miniature machines to operate individual parts of the puppet or doll.

  7. String Puppet – Dolls and marionettes that work by pulling a string. The most popular version of a pull rope are dolls that speak when the rope is pulled. Words like “I love you” are said or it could be an animal that makes sounds or speaks. Pulling strings Move your mouth, arms, and head.

  8. Rod Puppet: A single rod supports the puppet’s head or body in an upright position, or rods can be attached to the hands or arms to create movement. The Muppet Show featured Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. Sesame Street featured Cookie Monster.

  9. Shadow Puppet: These are puppet shadows that are created by illuminating a clear screen. All children have experienced shadow puppets. Place your hands in front of a light source and watch the shadow images cast against the wall. I bet you never knew these are puppet images.

Most puppet operators are shy people, but behind a mask, they are very confident and are excellent performers. The mask in this case is the puppet that is the target of the audience’s attention and exposure.