In human theater, an actor in a costume is a person pretending to be someone or something else, but a puppet is exactly what it is. "On the puppet stage, puppets are the actors.
"Puppets are more interesting to watch than people," in Louis's opinion. But unlike actors, the puppets are not pretending to be something they are not. When puppets are skillfully activated by talented puppeteers, they are like actors on a stage. Puppets can make us laugh with delight or feel sad or maybe even angry. "Many people who started here as interns have gone on to perform puppets on television and in movies." Here, they can do that."Īt the center, teams put puppet shows together. "Most of them never have an opportunity to perform alongside four or five other puppeteers in a professional puppet theater in a large stage production. "They load their stages into vans and travel around to public schools, libraries, churches, and shopping malls." Most perform entire shows by themselves, or with a partner. "Most puppeteers in the United States work out of their basements," Louis says. It's also a place where puppeteers can learn more about their trade. One of the most important reasons the center exists is to offer performances for children and adults. They tell stories, reveal emotions, and illustrate ideas in a very direct way." They're also "fascinating to watch, fun to make, and challenging to perform." "Puppets appear in so many cultures," Louis continues, "because they are such good tools for communicating. Louis says, "puppetry has served as both cheap entertainment for peasants and a theatrical delicacy reserved only for kings. Puppets can also represent universal characters, called "types." A princess puppet may stand for all princesses, for example, or a farmer puppet for all farmers, and so on. Puppets sometimes represent characters from myths (like gods and dragons) or fairy tales.
Puppets are used to teach lessons in some societies - how we should treat one another, how we should live. Puppets from other countries can teach us a little about those countries and the customs and beliefs of other people. The center's education director, Alan Louis, invites children and adults to "learn about the traditions of other cultures by visiting our museum." Visitors can attend workshops and make their own puppets modeled after those from Africa, Indonesia, Japan, and many other countries. Puppets are one of the oldest forms of theater.
The center has many ancient puppets, too. You can see bunraku puppets from Japan, shadow puppets from Indonesia, marionettes from Europe, hand puppets like those on "Sesame Street" from the United States, and African puppets that are used in religious services. (Well, the museum is just part of what the center does.) It has a huge collection of puppets from around the world. Every country has its own puppets.Ī terrific museum in Atlanta, Ga., is the Center for Puppetry Arts. And they come in all colors and many forms, depending on where they were made. Puppets can be as tall as a giraffe, or as small as a thimble. We watch them and also watch for the artists - the puppeteers - who give them life. We know they're not real, and yet there they are, dancing, singing, even flying before our eyes. Isn't it wonderful how puppets seem to come to life? Finger puppets, hand puppets, puppets on rods, puppets on strings.