Marionettes, masks and shadows

by Winifred H. Mills; Louise M. Dunn

MARIONETTES

CHAPTER I
The Marionette—Its Family Tree

This is the family tree of the marionette. Its roots are deep in the life of ancient Egypt, India, Persia, China, Japan, and Java. Its great trunk springs from the soil of Greece and Rome. Its branches spread over Europe and reach to America.

Long ago, in Egypt, there were little carved figures of wood and ivory with limbs that could be made to move by the pulling of strings. We do not know for what use these little figures were intended. They may have been the very first dolls in the world or they may have been little images of the great gods which the people of that country worshiped. We do know, however, that they were treasured, and were buried with the kings and queens of ancient Egypt in their tombs near the banks of the Nile. Some people tell us that the great idols in the Egyptian temples were puppets and that the priests concealing themselves inside their bodies could make them move their hands and open their mouths. This so amazed many of the people who saw them that they fell down and worshiped them.

Imagine a very long avenue with a row of carved stone figures called sphinxes on either side, leading all the way up to a great temple. Imagine a slowly moving procession of a hundred priests on its way to the temple to do honor to the great god Osiris. These priests are carrying a colossal golden boat on their shoulders. But more wonderful than the temple with its lotus-flower columns and its beautiful colors, more wonderful than the golden boat carried by these white-robed priests, was a marvelously made statue of the god Osiris, which rode in the golden boat. It moved its head constantly from side to side. The priests knew which way it wished to go by the way it turned its head. This figure of the god was a marionette. We also know that the ancient Egyptians had miniature puppet stages. One has been unearthed which has doors of ivory with the rods and wires still in their places. Among the Egyptian puppets that have been found was one of a crocodile. Its lower jaw moves on a pivot and its feet are connected with a kind of hinge.

INDIA

It is possible that India rather than Egypt may have been the first home of puppets. The people of India believed that puppets lived with the gods long before they came down to this world. There is a story of Parvati, wife of the god Siva, that tells of a puppet which she made, that was so beautiful that she was afraid to let her husband see it, she carried it away secretly, to the Malaya Mountains. But Siva suspected his wife and followed her. When Siva saw the beauty of the puppet that she was trying to hide from him, he fell in love with it, and brought it to life.

Another story is told in India about a basket of wonderful wooden dolls that was given to a little princess. These dolls were made in such a way that when the princess touched a small wooden peg one would run and bring her a cool drink, another would fly through the air and return with a wreath of flowers, still another could dance and one could even talk. Sometimes, when puppets were made to represent the gods, they were made of pure gold and birds that could talk were placed in their mouths.

The fame of these wonderful Indian puppets reached Persia and Turkey, China and Burma, Siam and Java, in each of which countries the puppets were different and different kinds of temples and theaters were made for them. Even the elephants carved for them to ride upon were different in each country.

In many eastern countries there were two kinds of marionettes: the round kind that we know and another thin, flat kind called “Shadows.” No one seems to know just when the first shadow figures were made. An old legend says they came from the time when all that the people saw of the religious ceremonies was the shadow of the priest on the walls of the sacred tent.

CHINA

We do not know just when the earliest travelers brought puppets from India to China and Japan. There is a legend that an old Chinese ruler who lived more than three thousand years ago invited a famous showman to bring his marionettes to the royal palace. This invitation delighted the showman whose name was Yen Sze. In fact, he was so anxious to please the king and his wives that he made his puppet courtiers smile at the royal ladies, which so stirred the old king’s jealousy that he ordered Yen Sze’s head cut off. Poor Yen Sze had to tear his puppets to pieces to make the angry old ruler believe they were not real people.

Another story of Chinese puppets is one that comes from the old city of Ping at the time it was besieged by a great warrior and his army. It happened that the king of Ping had a very crafty adviser. This adviser told the king to send for his chief marionette maker and order him to make a very large and beautiful marionette, one that could dance on the walls of the city, and this the king did. When the wives of the soldiers of the besieging army saw the beauty and grace of this marionette dancer, they became so jealous that they made their husbands give up the siege and march away at once.

It is always interesting to see how human puppets are, no matter when or where you find them. In China, some were aristocrats and lived at Court with the Emperor and the royal family. They wore beautiful robes and gave a great deal of thought to their speech and manners. Others were very religious and lived with the priests in the temples; still others seemed to have liked the out of doors, to travel and to meet and to please the common people, and to be very much like them in all their thoughts and ways. When these plebeian marionettes traveled, they took little with them for they were poor and had few clothes and possessions. This made travel very easy. Sometimes a small box would hold the stage, properties, and all the puppets.

The master of the puppets stood inside a blue cloth sack when he gave his play. These traveling puppets were apt to be rough and ready. They loved to make the people laugh, but best of all they loved to please the children. They gave plays about everyday life, about animals that could talk, and about great Chinese heroes. They touched the hearts of the people.

PERSIA

Puppets have helped even to make friends out of enemies, as you may see in this old Persian story. One day, a puppet play was being given before the Emperor Ogotai. In this play the showman thought he would please His Majesty by showing him some of his enemies, the Chinese, being dragged along tied to the tails of horses. Instead of pleasing the Emperor, this cruelty greatly distressed him. He ordered the showman to come to his palace. When the showman came, the Emperor showed him many beautiful things that had been made by Chinese and Persian artists, explaining to the showman that both the Chinese and Persian people loved beautiful things. He endeavored to make the showman understand that if he had respect for the art of the Chinese people, he could not be their enemy.

JAPAN

From China puppets traveled to Japan where the children still hear the story of the old emperor who ordered his best showman to travel from temple to temple for he knew that the gods would be entertained by his wonderful marionette plays. Because they made their puppets entertain the gods as well as the people, may be the reason that the Japanese have become more expert in making puppets than any other people. Japanese marionettes move their hands and their fingers and can even lift their eyebrows to show scorn and surprise. The costumes for Japanese marionettes have always been of the richest silks and brocades. Special thought is given to embroidering the designs on their costumes. Sometimes their gowns are covered with jewels. When a marionette has a beautiful new gown, a boy comes forward and holds a light just in front of the marionette, so that the audience can plainly see how beautiful the costume is.

The great poets of Japan have written more than a thousand plays for marionettes. In these plays the Japanese puppets do just the same things that Japanese people do. They have gardens and enjoy walking in them. The old ladies water the flowers, the young women play the kotes; the puppet children dance and play games, the boys fly kites, the girls carry dolls. The Japanese puppets are very silent little people. They do not talk, they simply act. There are specially trained people who read and chant their plays, and still others who are trained to play the musical instruments that accompany them.

GREECE

In the old Greek cities puppets were very much at home. They interested the older people as much as they interested the children. Puppets were taken to banquet tables and made to act. Such cities as Athens and Ephesus were rivals in the art of making them.

Greek boys and girls, instead of going to the movies, went to wonderful marionette shows. These were given in the public square, in the theaters, and even in the temples. The marionettes used in these plays could bend their heads, turn their eyes, and move their hands as though they were alive. This need not surprise us, because in those days, great engineers and mathematicians planned their mechanism. You probably remember the story of Archimedes, who burned the ships that came to attack his city of Syracuse by the use of concave mirrors. This great Archimedes, it is said, made such a wonderful marionette that it seemed to move of itself. One of the old Greek plays showed a temple in which there stood a puppet god with small figures dancing about it, and a fountain that, by means of weights and measures, jetted forth milk.

The best of the Greek puppet plays seem to have been taken from the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer. In a play of five scenes, one scene showed the seashore, with men hammering, sawing, and building ships, a second showed the men launching their boats, a third showed the coming of a storm on the sea, the fourth showed the ships being driven toward the rocks, the last scene showed the wreck of the ships and the drowning of Ajax.

ROME

Since the Romans seem to have copied so much from the Greeks, it is not surprising that they copied the Greek marionettes. In fact, the Romans and Greeks seem to have been equally fond of them. Roman writers mentioned them in their books, Roman Emperors filled their palaces with showmen and their puppets, and built small, richly furnished theaters for them. Roman marionettes were sometimes covered with gold and silver, precious stuffs, and shining armor. Their mechanism was amazing. Almost every sort of transformation could be carried out. At one time, Roman rulers became so interested in puppets that affairs of the government were almost forgotten.

There were three kinds of Roman marionettes. The simplest kind was the Burattini, a kind of marionette that is much like a mitten. They were shown on the street corners by a showman who needed no more than two—one for each hand. It cost almost nothing to see them. The shopkeepers, gladiators, slaves, and surely the Roman children came to look whenever they heard the showman’s fife. He would make them act droll little dialogues or pretend to sing popular songs. There was another kind called Fantoccini. These were jointed dolls strung on cords that were drawn across the knees of the operator. He usually sang or played some musical instrument while he made certain movements with his legs that caused the puppets to advance or retire or to move all in one direction. A third kind of marionette was manipulated by strings or wires from above.

In the tomb of the tragic Empress Marie, wife of the Emperor Honorius, who lived 365 B.C., were found the puppets of her little child. She probably cared more for these puppets than for all her jewels. The great Antiochus, when he became king of Syria, surrounded himself with mimes, burattini, and showmen, seemingly caring little for his huge empire.

When Rome fell, the gods and temples were destroyed and puppets were almost forgotten. But we find the world could not live long without them. In a very short time, when the early Christians wished to help each other to picture the precious story of the Christ, they again began to make puppets. We must now try to picture them in the great underground cities that we call catacombs—probably living in what were the world’s first churches, and enacting for these persecuted peoples the scenes of the new religion. We know that these early Christians revered them, for they carved them on their tombs.

It was before the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem that the greatest of the early passion plays were given by marionettes, plays so simple and religious that they were greatly loved by the devout pilgrims who came to that sacred shrine. It was here that puppets were probably seen by the first crusaders who, no doubt, had much to tell of them when they returned to their far-distant homes. Puppets lived in the churches, just as they once had lived in the temples. The plays they gave were called Mysteries. These puppet mystery plays were to be seen in both the churches and the monasteries of all medieval Europe. They were solemn festivals of sacred commemoration. Into the naves and chapels of these early churches, large wooden stages were built, carpets were spread on the floors, tapestries were hung on the walls. At the back of these stages, evergreen trees were placed and in front of the trees there were stones. These were covered with plants and moss in imitation of the hills and valleys and pathways of the Holy Land. Everything was so arranged that these marionettes could give the most dramatic scenes in the life of Christ. The little figures were carved from wood, colored to life, richly clothed, adapted by mechanisms so that their limbs could be made to move by the action of springs and levers.

As time went on the people seemed to lose much of their strong religious fervor. Marionettes did the same. Finally almost ceasing to be religious they became interested only in entertaining people. At last Savonarola banished them from the churches of Florence, and in the year 1550 the Council of Trent tried to banish all marionettes from the churches. The Council did this because it felt that marionettes were very irreligious.

Then the puppets rebelled and forsook the church for the theater. Thereupon they were accused of witchcraft and magic, were tortured, burned, beheaded, and even buried alive. All this was done in the XVIth Century. But all these indignities did not drive the marionettes far from the churches. They established themselves just outside the church grounds. Here they were sure to be on the days when crowds of people were coming to the great church celebrations. The plays they gave were episodes taken from the Holy Scriptures. These episodes taken from the miracles came to be known as Miracle Plays, and these plays became even more popular than the Mystery Plays that had been given inside the churches.

Sometimes puppets received invitations to visit great knights and ladies in their castles. They were eager for such invitations because they enjoyed the experiences of traveling. As always happens in travel, they saw new things to interest them and met new people, many of whom were quite different from their earlier and more serious-minded friends. They enjoyed the life of the castle, the songs of the wandering minstrels, and the heroic stories that the traveling bards told in the evenings about the fire in the great halls. They liked the noble lords and ladies, their speech and manners and dress. These marionettes became what you might call aristocrats.

The marionettes that were religious found a home in the quiet of the monasteries. They were the marionettes that were scholarly and were interested in Latin plays as well as in the Mysteries and Sacred Dramas.

The greater number of marionettes preferred to live in the towns with the common people and to know what was going on. These puppets were full of health and good humor. It was this sort of marionette who changed his name and his character almost everywhere he went. If he were in Naples, he was Scaramuccia; in Venice, he was Messer Pantaleone; in Bergamo, he was Arlequino; in France, he was Guignol or Polichinello; in Germany, he was Hans Wurst and Kaspare; in Holland, he was Jean Pickel Herring; and in England, he was Mr. Punch.

ITALY

In Italy at about this time every kind of marionette was very popular. Especially popular were the Burattini. These little figures consisted of a head and two hands held together by a large cloak within which was hidden the hand of the manipulator, who made the puppet act by the movements of his fingers and wrist. The curious word, Burattini, possibly came from a kind of coarse, durable cloth of bright colors known as Burato, which was used for clothing this type of puppet. One of these Burattini was called Arleechino. He was a great baby and played the part of a servant. His dress was made from triangles of red, blue, yellow, and violet pieces of Burato cloth. He wore a small hat that scarcely covered his head. His little shoes had no soles. Michael Angelo, it is said, did not like his head and face. He remodeled them to suit the Burattini’s character, which was an odd mixture of ignorance, ingenuity, stupidity, and grace. Listen to his speech: “Kind sir, I know that you are in want of a servant, after having made 327 changes in a year, and I hope to make up the round number. I am a man who knows how to do everything—eating, drinking, sleeping, and making love to the maids. The only fault I have is that I do not like work. I shall be as punctual as an idler, as faithful as a domestic thief, as secret as an earthquake, and as watchful as a cat. As to my honesty, surely no man can call me a thief, but rather a clever mathematician who finds things before their masters lose them.”

You may like to know how marionettes came by their name. One day, in the year 944, in the city of Venice, twelve beautiful maidens went forth from their homes to marry twelve young men at the church of Santa Maria della Salute. Suddenly a band of Barbary pirates landed near the church, attacked the crowd, and in the confusion that arose, carried away the maidens. In a short time the young men of Venice recovered from the shock, jumped into their ships, followed and overtook the pirates. After much fighting, they rescued the brides. From that very day it was the custom in Venice to celebrate the anniversary of this event by a great festival. Always on the last day of the festival came the marriage of twelve beautiful young women to twelve handsome young men. The wedding gowns and doweries were provided by the state from the public treasury. In the course of time, this led to so much jealousy and so many quarrels among the young men and women of Venice, that the city decided to substitute life-sized wooden dolls for the maidens. By and by, the Venetian toy makers began to make little figures that were exactly like the large figures, to sell as toys for the children. These were called “little maries” or “marionettes.”

When one learns to know the people of Italy, he can easily understand how puppets might feel more at home there than in any other country in the world. The Italian people love music and color and motion and life, above all else they love heroes, their great adventures and romances. All these things are equally dear to the hearts of the marionettes. They repay the sympathy of the Italian people by keeping alive for them their great heroes and hero tales. The people might have forgotten many of their great stories had it not been for the puppets. The legend of the Court of Charlemagne, the story of golden-haired Roland, which Taillefer sang before William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings, have been acted by puppets in Italy for more than three hundred years. One may still see all the characters that were in the story as it was told in the Xth Century. There is Rinaldo of Montauban, his horse Bayard, his sword Flamberge, Malagigi, the magician, and Ganelon, the traitor, fair Clarissa and Charlemagne himself. Italian boys and girls learn much of their history from puppets. Sometimes it requires a whole year to give one of their great plays like Orlando Furioso or the story of the seven Paladins. From Italy marionettes traveled to all the other countries of Europe, to France, Spain, Germany, and England. Finally they came to the United States.

FRANCE

You may wish to know how puppets found their way from Italy to France. There were two brothers, Giovanni and Francesco Briocchi. Francesco was a skilful wood carver and mechanic. Giovanni was very clever with his speeches and jokes. As children, they loved marionettes. They hardly knew which they enjoyed more, sitting in the audience watching the play, or standing behind the stage watching their friends manipulate the puppets. They decided that when they grew up they would be puppeteers, make their own puppets and travel from town to town and to the fair land of which they had heard so many interesting tales. This they did. Giovanni made the figures skilfully and dressed them beautifully. Francesco made them say and do such clever and amusing things that their fame went before them into small towns and into the large cities. When they had made enough money they said, “Now we can go to France. We can easily carry our little stage and puppets on our backs. We can earn our way by giving plays.” This they did, to the delight of all who saw them. Finally they reached the city of Paris. In those days great fairs were held where people came to buy and sell and to make merry. Here was just the place for Giovanni and Francesco. When the fairs became permanent the brothers decided to settle down and make a real home for their marionettes. This at first was a simple kind of theater, but later came to have every beautiful thing that French taste and ingenuity could provide. One day the king and queen made them a visit and engaged them to come out to their beautiful château at St. Germain en Laye and give puppet plays for their young son, the dauphin, and his friends. In the records of France you may still see the account as it stands: “Sept. 1669, to Jean Briocchi, divertir les enfants de France, 1365 livres.” When the Frenchmen saw the success of the Italian showmen, they, too, began to make puppets and to take them to the places where people gathered who might be willing to spend a few sous for entertainment. Among these was an old dentist, who found it difficult to earn a living. He made some marionettes and a clever little boxlike stage with a curtain about it. It was just large enough for him to stand inside and manipulate the puppets. He decided to take his stand to the Pont Neuf, one of the principal bridges of Paris. Here he would pull teeth when anyone needed his services and for the rest of the time would entertain the people. He had also a very celebrated monkey, called Fagotin, that he knew would attract a crowd. Fagotin he dressed as a sentry, gave him a sword, and trained him to march up and down in front of the little puppet booth. One day a great poet, whose name was Cyrano de Bergerac, was crossing the bridge and stopped, as did most of the people, to see Fagotin and the puppets. It happened that the poet had a very large nose and was a very sensitive person. When he saw Fagotin marching up and down and making grimaces, he thought he must surely be making fun of his large nose. At this, the poet was so angry that he challenged him to a duel. Poor little Fagotin drew his sword with the air of a master of the foils, only to be slain by the irate poet.

The French people, like the Italians, had a great many heroes celebrated in song and romance. It certainly would have been poor taste on the part of the Italian puppets to have overlooked this. In a short time the puppets forgot Italy and were at home in many new rôles of French literature. New plays were written for them. When that great struggle, the French Revolution, came, the puppets took sides. Some were on the side of the poor starving people, others were unwilling to give up their lives of ease and luxury. During the Reign of Terror many puppets were beheaded. In fact, while one group of people was beheading King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette, another group in almost the same place was beheading poor Punchinello. Many puppets, however, survived, and a whole book might be written about the history of puppets in France and the great men and women who have loved them.

SPAIN

In Spain, the puppets first appeared in the churches, presenting great scenes from the Bible. At first their garments were simple and beautiful, but later they were so bejeweled and vulgar that they offended the good taste of the people and the puppets were driven out. Spain is the only country in which a marionette was ever made a citizen and baptized. Don Quixote saw them, and the great Emperor Charles V, in his retirement in the monastery of Cremona, spent many days with the famous scholar, Torriani, making puppet soldiers and bull fighters, with such skill that they were really able to fight.

ENGLAND

As in almost all other countries, the earliest English puppets were those which gave religious plays in the churches. From the churches, they went out among the people, still giving plays founded on the Bible stories and the lives of the saints. These plays were combinations of shadowgraph and marionette, and the English people sometimes called them “motions.” English puppets were also very fond of going to the fairs. Here is the pamphlet of a play given at the Fair of St. Bartholomew in 1641: “Here a knave in a fool’s coat, with a trumpet sounding or a drum beating, invites you to see his puppets. Here a rogue, like a wild woodman, or in antic shape like an incubus, desires your company to see his motion.”

Marionette play, "Men of Iron," given by ninth year pupils, Fairmount Junior High School, Cleveland, Ohio

Probably the most popular puppet play in England in those days was one called “The Old Creation of the world, with the addition of Noah’s Flood.” The best scene showed “Noah and his family coming out of the ark with all the animals, two by two, and all the fowls of the air seen in prospect sitting upon trees; likewise, over the ark is the sun rising in a glorious manner, moreover, a multitude of angels in a double rank, the angels ringing bells. Likewise, machines descending from above, double, with Dives rising out of hell and Lazarus seen in Abraham’s bosom; besides several dancing gigs, sarabands and country dances, with merry conceits of Squire Punch and Sir John Spendall.”

This play was given for fifty-two successive nights. Mr. Powell, the clever but roguish fellow who owned these puppets, once set up his little theater just outside the colonnades of Covent Garden, opposite the parish church of St. Paul. He began his plays at the sound of the church bells, and was successful in diverting so many from the church services that he was severely reproved by the churchmen. It was this same clever Powell, who had a very famous puppet called Lady Jane, who went to Paris every month and came back with a trunk full of gowns of the latest fashion. These marionette style shows delighted all the ladies of fashion in London, including the queen.

About 1642, all regular theaters were abolished in England, but marionette theaters were not included. You can scarcely imagine the good fortune this meant for them, for they inherited everything that had belonged to the great theaters, all the music and opera, the dramas, the tragedies, and the comedies.

When news of this reached Italy and France, many showmen started at once for England. They knew they could gather pennies on the way from almost every pocket. The regular price of these puppet plays was but two pence, but a fine play like The Gun Powder Plot cost eighteen pence. There were plays about giants and fairies, about Robin Hood and Little John, about St. George and the dragon, and a hundred other tales.

All the great writers of those days now began to write plays for marionettes. Beautiful new theaters were built for them. It became the fashion to go to puppet plays. Ben Jonson says that many great ladies went every day.

In 1688, Punchinello changed his name to Mr. Punch and he married Judy. When they had a son and went to housekeeping, then the quarrels began. You may have had the pleasure of hearing some of them. Punch had a wide circle of friends and some of them were interested in politics. Many great Englishmen, like Addison, Steele, Fielding, Milton, and Byron, were glad to tell him what to say that would help to set the people thinking. Some of the English puppets disliked cities and were only happy when they were going up and down the lovely English roads, traveling among the villages and country people. There you can still find them.

To-day the most beautiful English puppets are being made by Mr. William Simmonds who began his work with puppet plays for village children. Mr. Simmonds manipulates his own puppets as he cleverly improvises songs, dances, and pantomimes.

GERMANY—AUSTRIA—RUSSIA

Before we follow marionettes to our own country, we ought to take a little time to see them in Germany, Austria, and Russia. These peoples were skilful in wood carving and made their puppets beautifully. Marionettes were used in the early churches of these countries, and gave Holy Plays before the high altars. Then they went to the castles and at last to the theaters. It was only in Germany that great musicians wrote music for them. In 1762, Haydn wrote for them his toy symphony, “The Children’s Fair,” which was followed by five operettas given in the theater at Eisenstadt. Probably the great Passion Play at Oberammergau has grown out of the early puppet plays that were given in the monasteries and cathedrals.

The city of Munich built a little theater for Papa Schmidt, an old man who had spent all his life giving puppet plays. This was done through citizens who felt indebted to him for the pleasure he had given them as children. They said, the least they could do was to build him a theater, a place for himself and his daughter and their thousand puppets, that included all the characters in the beautiful fairy tales.

In Vienna, the artist Richard Teschner has created some remarkable modern marionettes. He has carved them most delicately from wood and has shown great ingenuity in the way he has put his little figures together.

In Bohemia, the puppets were interested in politics, if they were serious, and in comedies if they were not serious. In Hungary, they traveled with the gypsies. In Poland and Russia, they are loved by all the common people, and at Christmas celebrations still appear in their ancient rôles as Joseph and Mary and the Christ Child, as wise men, shepherds, and angels.

AMERICA

Puppets are not new in America. The North American Indians for hundreds of years used them in their great ceremonies. The Hopi Indians used marionettes to represent the mystic maidens who in ancient times gave them, according to their legends, the corn and other seeds. This ceremony is performed in a darkened room—in the center of which is a wooden framework. The marionettes are placed on a stage or platform and when the corn maiden’s song begins, the figures bend their bodies forward and backward in time to the music as they grind the meal between the miniature grindstones before them. The little figures are so cleverly manipulated that they even rub their faces with meal as the young Indian girls are accustomed to do. During the ceremony, two symbolic marionette birds are made to walk back and forth, on the framework, above the maidens, seeming to utter bird calls. The Hopi Indians also made marionettes of their enemies, the serpents, which represented floods and misfortune.

Most of the marionettes that we have known in America, until a few years ago, were Italian. They were very shy and would not leave their Italian neighborhoods. They often spoke no English. They gave plays about heroes that we know little or nothing about.

In America, there is a growing list of friends of the marionette. Probably the name best known to you will be that of Tony Sarg, a charming artist who has taken his puppet plays to the largest cities in our country and delighted us with his Rip Van Winkle, Rose and the King, and Don Quixote. The manager of his marionettes, Mr. Matthew Searle, is also an artist of ingenuity and taste.

In Chicago, the splendid work of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Brown made new friends for the marionette. Mr. Perry Dilley introduced marionettes and guignol to the people of California. He produced a great number of interesting plays and all of his puppets are exceptionally fine. Mr. William Duncan and Mr. Edward Mabley, creators of the “Tatterman Marionettes,” have brought to the marionette stage unusual imagination and skill, which is admirably shown in their The Melon Thief, The King of the Golden River, and Pierre Patelin.

Madge Anderson has written beautifully of her puppet heroes. Mrs. Helen Haiman Joseph has written an excellent Book of Marionettes. If it were possible one would like to add the complete list of all those who are carrying on the great tradition of the marionette. The interest, already created, leads one to hope that America may take her place high up in the marionette tree.

CHAPTER II
The Marionette—Its Famous Friends

Every person is proud of his famous friends. If we know a great artist, engineer, or traveler, we think we are fortunate. Can you imagine having so many famous friends that you could not count them? This has been the good fortune of marionettes. The names of all their Egyptian friends seem to be lost. But it is not so with their Grecian friends. Archimedes, Socrates, and Plato are the names of three famous friends that have come down to us. Archimedes, the greatest inventor of his time, liked puppets, it is said, because he could devise so many clever ways of making them move and appear human. Socrates probably cared nothing for the mechanism. He enjoyed taking a puppet in his own hands, asking it clever questions, and then furnishing the equally clever answers. These most unusual conversations would soon gather about him a crowd of Athenian men and women, who were greatly interested in his humor, irony, and whimsical paradoxes. The dialogues would probably go on and on until his scolding wife, Xantippe, appeared. Plato also cared little for their mechanism, but like his great master, Socrates, was interested only when they were made to talk about the very serious things of life, or when he saw them representing the gods and heroes in the beautiful scenes of the plays given on the small stages built for them in one part of the great theaters.

Kings and queens were among the famous Roman friends of puppets. You may remember that puppets were found in the tomb of the Empress Marie and that the Emperor Antiochus cared so much for them that he neglected the affairs of his great empire. He had clever puppet makers as part of his royal household, and delighted in planning the plays they were to give. He designed the stage settings, and he sometimes assisted the royal puppeteers.

In India, China, and Japan, the great rulers were greatly interested in puppets, and required their presence at court.

One of the most interesting stories of a royal friend of the marionettes is that of the Emperor Charles V of Spain. This strange ruler’s reason was clouded. His devoted minister tried in many ways to divert his beloved king, and finally succeeded when he found that the king could be interested in puppets. Puppet soldiers, puppet generals, puppet kings caught his imagination. The cleverest hands of Spain made them, by the hundred, for His Majesty, who handled them with such interest and pleasure that his reason was finally restored. Two other great kings could be added to the list of royal friends—they are Saladin and Louis XIV of France.

There is a long list of famous literary friends. Greatest of these is Shakespeare, who not only enjoyed marionettes, but wrote plays for them. Many people are surprised when they learn that Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Cæsar were written for marionettes. Shakespeare’s friend, Ben Jonson, wrote a marionette play, Every Man in His Humor. Another great literary friend was Cervantes. Some day you may wish to take his story of Don Quixote and turn some of its wonderful scenes into a play for marionettes. If you do so, you may be sure that their immortal author would approve of your venture.

In France, among their many friends, was the great dramatist Voltaire. At first he disliked marionettes thoroughly. For it happened that they had made fun of him, and, naturally, that was more than this great wit could stand. Finally, the story goes, he was invited to visit a friend who had a little marionette theater and some puppets. When Voltaire took the strings in his own hands, his feeling for them changed. He found they could be made to say witty things, and to make fun of one’s enemies. It ended by his writing short plays for them to act.

George Sand, the famous French novelist, made a very simple but delightful puppet theater for her little boy, Maurice, and set the fashion for puppets among her literary friends. Stories could be told of many other famous French friends, of Molière, Fontaine, Doré, and Rousseau. Great French writers still love marionettes. You probably know two of these: Maurice Maeterlinck and Anatole France.

When we go to Italy, we find other friends, but none greater than Michael Angelo. Picture this artist modeling heads for marionettes. We wonder what they looked like and what became of them. His great patron, Lorenzo de Medici, had a puppet theater built for his palace in Florence.

Marionettes have had famous musicians as their friends. If you are interested in music, you will enjoy reading about Joseph Haydn and the five toy symphonies that he wrote for marionettes.

Goldoni, the greatest Italian writer of comedies, was born in Venice, that city in which, you remember, puppets were first called marionettes. He lived near the street where most of the puppet makers lived and had their shops. As a child he played puppet games with many other children in a little park near his home. When he was seven years old he wrote a puppet play and invited his friends to come to see and hear it. He enjoyed writing plays that made them laugh. When Goldoni grew up he was still the friend of puppets because he felt that they had helped him in learning the art of play writing.

The German poet, Goethe, was a friend of puppets from his childhood. When he was about the age of seven, a friend of his good mother made some puppets and sent them to him and his sister for a Christmas present. The mother had a happy thought. She made a little stage and set it in the doorway of a room, just off the living room. On Christmas morning, after the children had seen their presents, she had the family sit down before the closed door. When she opened it, there was a kind of porch concealed with a mysterious curtain. The children were curious and eager to know what was behind that half-transparent veil. The mother, however, bade each sit down upon his stool. At length, Goethe says, “All were silent, a whistle gave the signal, the curtain rolled aloft and showed us the interior of a temple painted in deep red colors. The high priest, Samuel, appeared with Jonathan, and their strange alternating voices seemed to me the most striking thing on earth. Shortly after entered Saul, overwhelmed with confusion at the impatience of that heavy-limbed warrior who had defied him and all his people. But how glad was I when the dapper son of Jesse, with his crook and shepherd’s pouch and sling, came hopping forth and said, ‘Dread king and sovereign lord, let no one’s heart sink down because of this. If your majesty will grant me leave, I will go out to battle with this blustering giant!’

“Here ended the first act, leaving the spectators more curious than ever to see what further would happen—each praying that the music might soon be done. At last the curtain rose again. David devoted the flesh of the monsters to the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field; the Philistine scorned and bullied him, stamped mightily with both his feet, and at length fell like a mass of clay, affording a splendid termination to the piece, and then the virgins sang a song: ‘Saul hath slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands.’ The giant’s head was borne before his little victor, who received the king’s beautiful daughter to wife.” This is part of the description that Goethe wrote when he grew up and became a famous man.

Do read the delightful and vivid description which Constantin Stanislavsky gives of his boyish experiences with marionettes in his autobiography, My Life in Art. “We had decided to exchange the living actors for actors made of pasteboard and to begin the construction of a marionette theater with scenery, effects, and a full line of theatrical necessities. The marionette theater demanded expenditures. We needed a large table to put in the large doorway. While above and beneath it, that is above and beneath the marionette stage, the openings were covered with sheets. In this manner, the public sat in one room, the auditorium and the other room, which was united to the first, was the stage and all its accessories. It was there that we worked, we the artists, the designers, the stage managers, and the inventors of all sorts of scenic effects. My oldest brother also joined us. He was an excellent draftsman, and a fine inventor of stage effects. His help was important because he had a little money, and we needed capital for our work.

“We began to paint scenery. At first we painted on wrapping paper which tore and crumpled, but we did not lose heart for we thought that with time, as soon as we became rich (for we were to charge ten kopeks as admission), we would buy pasteboard and glue the painted wrapping paper to it. From the moment that we began to feel ourselves managers and directors of the new theater, that was being built according to our plans, our lives became full. There was something to think about every minute. There was a great deal to do. In the drawer of the table there always lay hidden some piece of theatrical work, the figure of a marionette which was to be painted and dressed, a piece of scenery, a bush, a tree, or the plan and sketches for a new production. In the margins of my books and copy books there were always sketches of scenery or a geometric drawing. We always chose moments of catastrophic character. For instance, an act from The Corsair, which called for a sea quiet in the daylight but stormy all night with a wrecked ship, with heroes swimming for their lives, with the appearance of a lighthouse, an escape from a watery grave, the rising of the moon, prayer, and dawn.

“These performances were always sold out, notwithstanding the high price of admission. Many people came to see them, some to encourage us, others to amuse themselves. Our promenades between lessons took on a very deep meaning. Before that we went to the Kugnetsky Bridge to buy the photographs of circus artists. But with the appearance of our theater, there appeared a need for all sorts of material for scenery and marionettes. Now we were no longer too lazy to take a walk. We bought all sorts of pictures, books with landscapes and costumes which served as material for the scenery and the dramatic personæ of our theater. These were the first volume of a rapidly increasing library.”

Perhaps that friend who has done most to keep the world still interested in marionettes is Gordon Craig. He is a great English artist who sees them not as so much wood and cloth pulled about by a few strings at the whim of careless people, but rather as real creatures, human or more than human, quiet and dignified, as the gods of old. It has been his delight to give them again the great rôles of literature. He, too, invited the greatest actors of Europe to come and learn from them.

Possibly you are asking what it is that gives such friendships to the marionette. Perhaps none of its great friends could answer. The marionette is quiet, submissive, dignified, and mysterious. It becomes a different thing in every hand. It expresses every mood, thought, and fancy of the one who pulls the strings. What will it do in your hands?

CHAPTER III
Choosing Your Play

It may not always be easy to find just the play you wish for your marionettes. If you should go to your library and ask for a marionette play, it is possible that the librarian would have very little to offer you. But if you should go to her and ask for a good story that you could make into a marionette play, you would probably be surprised to see how many books she would place before you. You might even feel confused when you came to make your choice. Suppose that you wish to give a humorous play. Begin by making a list of the very best of the humorous books:

Alice in Wonderland—Carroll

Alice, Through the Looking Glass—Carroll

Gulliver’s Travels—Swift

Pinocchio, The Story of a Marionette—Lorenzini

Don Quixote—Cervantes

Midsummer Night’s Dream—Shakespeare

Peter and Wendy—Barrie

Rip Van Winkle—Irving

Just-So Stories—Kipling

Arabian Nights—Edited by Colum

Uncle Remus—Harris

Rose and the Ring—Thackeray

Tom Sawyer—Clemens

Wind in the Willows—Grahame

Tales of Laughter—Wiggin and Smith

You will find that it is not at all difficult to turn the vivid and amusing characters of these books into marionettes. Neither is it difficult to turn these stories into marionette plays.

First: Make a list of the most important incidents in the story.

Second: Decide upon the number of scenes that you think necessary for your play.

Third: Decide upon the number of characters required for these scenes.

These three things you must do if your play is to be only the simplest kind of a Burattini play, if it is to be a shadow play, or a marionette play.

If you are not experienced in making marionette plays, you may think that you need a great many characters to act your story. But the more you learn about marionette plays, the more you will be surprised to find how few characters, and incidents, and scenes you will need. Choose only those which are most important. This means that you should know your story very well indeed before you begin to make your play. When you thoroughly know your story and all the characters in it, all that they say and do, you will enjoy your play-making quite as much as your play-giving.

Scenes from the marionette play, "Adventures of Alice," given by ninth year pupils of Fairmount Junior High School at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Marionettes made by Tuesday Marionette Club.

Let us choose one or two humorous books and see how we can turn them into a marionette play. We might choose Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. You remember how the story of Alice in Wonderland begins? Alice falls asleep under the tree and the white rabbit passes by. So one might select:

Incident I. Alice and the White Rabbit Incident II. Alice and the Caterpillar Incident III. Alice and Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee Incident IV. Alice and Humpty Dumpty Incident V. Alice and the Duchess, the Cheshire Cat, the Cook and the Pig Baby Incident VI. Alice and the Hatter, the March Hare and the Dormouse

Of course, a dozen plays could be made from these two books, but these six incidents will be quite enough for your purpose. A good play, as you know, must not be too long, it must begin in the right way, the story must hold together, and it must be very interesting all the time, and it must have the right ending. The above six incidents were selected with these requirements in mind.

Now, how many acts shall we have? Since this is a dream story, the play might begin by showing Alice falling asleep under the trees, and the White Rabbit running past, and then Alice jumping up and following him. This part of the play we might call a Prologue since it begins the story. Then follow with:

Act I. Scene: In the woods Act II. Scene: In the Duchess’s kitchen Act III. Scene: The mad tea party

To bring the play to an end, there might be a closing scene, or epilogue, showing Alice waking from her dream and becoming herself again.

We must now decide just how many characters are really necessary in these six incidents. Let us take a pencil and make the list as we find them in these three acts:

Prologue: Alice and the White Rabbit. Act I. Alice, the Caterpillar, Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, Humpty Dumpty Act II. Alice, the Duchess, the Pig Baby, the Cook, the Cheshire Cat Act III. Alice, the Hatter, the March Hare, the Dormouse Epilogue. Alice and the White Rabbit.

Here we have made from six important incidents, in the two stories about Alice, a marionette play of three acts, with a cast of thirteen characters. This play might be called The Adventures of Alice.

Possibly you and your friends are much interested in heroes and heroines and would prefer a hero play made from such stories as:

The Book of King Arthur and His Noble Knights—MacLeod

Sohrab and Rustum—Arnold

The Boys’ Iliad—Perry

The Boys’ Odyssey—Perry

Adventures of Ulysses—Lamb

Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy—Colum

Robin Hood—Pyle

The Tales of Troy and Greece—Lang

Stories of Charlemagne—Church

The Story of Roland—Baldwin

Seven Champions of Christendom—Johnson

Beowulf—Cartwright

Sigurd, the Volsung—Morris

Joan of Arc—Boutet de Monvel

Ivanhoe—Scott

Daniel Boone—White

Norse Stories Retold—Mabie

The Cid—Wilson

Britain Long Ago—Wilmot-Buxton

Instead of hero plays you may be interested in plays of adventure. The list of excellent books of adventure is a long one, as you know. Here are just a few that are waiting to be turned into wonderful marionette plays:

Robinson Crusoe—Defoe

Boy’s Froissart—Lanier

The Wonder Book—Hawthorne

The Boys Percy—Lanier

Otto of the Silver Hand—Pyle

Black Arrow—Stevenson

Tales from the Alhambra—Irving

William Tell—Schiller

Treasure Island—Stevenson

Men of Iron—Pyle

The Story of the Canterbury Pilgrims—Darton

The Lance of Kanana—French

The Book of Bravery—Lanier

The Last of the Mohicans—Cooper

With Spurs of Gold—Greene

The Golden Perch—Hutchinson

Captains Courageous—Kipling

Let us take one of these, Howard Pyle’s Men of Iron, a story laid in England in the time of King Henry IV. The list of important incidents is a long one.

1. Myles parting from the old servant. 2. Myles presenting his father’s letter to the Earl of Mackworth. 3. Myles meeting with Gascoigne. 4. Myles meeting with Sir James Lea. 5. Myles at play with the boys. 6. The ball flies over into the ladies’ garden. 7. Myles and Lady Alice in the garden. 8. Myles, discovered by the Earl of Mackworth, learns that the Earl is befriending him. 9. Arrival of King Henry at Devlin Castle. 10. The knighting of Myles. 11. Myles’ challenge to the Earl of Alban, his father’s deadly enemy. 12. The combat between the Earl of Alban and Myles. 13. The triumph of Myles and his request for the hand of Lady Alice.

When you have studied the story of Men of Iron and made your list of important incidents, you will find that four acts are sufficient for your play:

Act I. Courtyard of Devlin Castle Act II. The ladies’ garden Act III. The great hall in Devlin Castle Act IV. The tournament ground and the royal pavilions and gallery .

The list of characters is long but it gives an opportunity to many boys and girls in a class to make marionettes and to have a part in the play. Here is the list of characters:

1. Myles as a boy in Acts I and II 2. Myles as a man in Acts III and IV 3. The old Servant 4. The Armorer 5. The Bear Trainer 6. The Bear 7. Gascoigne 8. Walter Blunt 9. The Squire

Marionette plays are exactly like all other plays. They need songs and dances, and many things that will be certain to interest the audience. Here is a list of the incidents that were added to this play when it was given by the boys and girls of Fairmount Junior High School in Cleveland, Ohio:

1. An Italian bear trainer, who whistled a jolly tune while his bear danced and did his tricks. 2. The song of the Armorer as he worked at his forge. (The forge was so made and wired that every stroke of the hammer on the anvil gave forth a shower of sparks.) 3. A fight between Myles and the young squire, Walter Blunt. 4. Practice at the pells to show the training of the squires of that day. 5. Lady Alice’s little dance. 6. Lady Anne’s song as she plays her lute. 7. Alice’s tame pigeon that flew down to her shoulder. 8. The wandering minstrel with his lute and his ballad of Chevy Chase. 9. The antics, capers, and songs of the jester.

In order to prepare the audience for the play and to carry every person back in imagination to the time of this play, an announcer was chosen, who, in the costume of that day, came before the curtain and gave the introduction to the play. This announcer was chosen with great care because his part was so important. He was responsible for carrying his audience back into the days of chivalry, not only by his speech and costume, but by his tone of voice and his gestures. Here is the prologue that one of the children wrote:

Hark ye! Hark ye! Ye who came to see

Enacted here some scenes of chivalry.

The castle gate swings wide its door

Scenes long since gone return to us once more.

Into times dim and far we bid you gaze,

Down the long vista to the tournament days.

Towers and turrets and battlements old,

Squires and pages and bachelors bold.

Lords and ladies step out from past ages

While knights and earls throw down their iron gages.

Then men were bold and strongly said their say

And there were few who dared to say them “nay.”

The minstrel, too, did tune on lyre his hero’s deeds

And sang of love, of hope, and needs.

Bears oft came dancing in court and in hall,

Trained by their master to heed beck and call.

Fair maids in latticed bowers were seen dancing,

Fantastic and gay, a jester comes prancing.

Hark! a blare of trumpets sounds as in a dream

And lo! the king and train in mail and helmets gleam.

Mid fluttering scarfs, the Queen of Beauty sat

While in the lists brave knights did wage combat.

All these have you from history’s page

Now shall you see them pictured on our stage.

Grant us your patience, lend eyes and ears as well,

The truth our puppets now will strive to tell.

There were many things in this play that every member of the class was uncertain about. No one knew about the kinds of costumes that were worn in England in the time of Henry IV. Neither did anyone know about houses, gardens, and furniture, nor about the armor and the musical instruments of that day until he had studied reference books. Here is a list of some of the books that were found helpful:

Heraldry—Complete Guide to Heraldry—Fox-Davies

Furniture—How to Know Period Styles in Furniture—Kimberly

Tapestry—Bayeux Tapestry—Belloc

Tapestry—Bayeux Tapestry—Bruce

Tapestry—The Practical Book of Tapestry—Hunter

Weapons—Armour and Weapons—Foulkes

Customs and Life of the Time—History of Everyday Things in England—Quennell

Songs and Ballads—Songs of England—Hatton

Costumes—The Heritage of Dress—Webb

Costumes—British Costumes During Nineteen Centuries—Ashdown

The Museum of Art and the Historical Museum can be visited for first-hand information. Librarians, history, art, and English teachers can be counted upon for help. The librarian will help you to find the kind of book you wish, and will be glad to help find reference books and pictures. The history teacher will help you in learning about the life and customs of the people who are of the time of your play. The English teacher can be of invaluable help to you in working out the development of your play. Last, but not least, you will have very great need of your art and manual training teachers. They will help you in learning how to make your marionettes, how to make your marionette stage, how to make your scenery and properties, how to light the stage, what colors to use in your costumes and in your scenery, and how to place both your scenery and your actors on the stage. They will also assist you in planning the stage pictures.

Moreover, you may be interested in other literary plays made from such stories as:

Birds’ Christmas Carol—Wiggin

Little Women—Alcott

Prince and the Pauper—Clemens

Oliver Twist—Dickens

Cricket on the Hearth—Dickens

The Tempest—Shakespeare

The Merchant of Venice—Shakespeare

Heidi—Spyri

Master Skylark—Bennett

Gabriel and the Hour Book—Stein

Rip Van Winkle—Irving

David Copperfield—Dickens

The Christmas Carol—Dickens

The King of the Golden River—Ruskin

Should you like the story of The Childhood of David Copperfield, some such interesting incidents as the following might be chosen:

1. David and Pegotty. 2. David meets Captain Pegotty, Emil, and Mrs. Grummage. 3. David and Emily. 4. David in the schoolroom. 5. Betsy Trotwood and Master Dick. 6. David and Betsy Trotwood.

The characters in these incidents are:

1. David 2. Pegotty 3. Captain Pegotty 4. Mrs. Grummage 5. Emily 6. Sam 7. Tommy Traddles 8. Schoolboy 9. Mr. Schoolmaster 10. Mr. Schoolmaster’s assistant 11. Betsy Trotwood 12. Master Dick 13. The mouse

Five acts would give the story:

Act I. The Copperfield sitting room Act II. Inside the boathouse Act III. Along the seashore Act IV. In the schoolroom Act V. Betsy Trotwood’s garden

Since every act of a play should help in telling the story, in solving the principal problem, and in bringing about the proper ending, this arrangement might be made:

Act I. David reads and talks to Pegotty about her brother’s boathouse. Pegotty invites David to spend a week there. Act II. In the boathouse. David meets Pegotty’s family. Act III. By the seashore. David plays with Emily, who sings a song, and David tells Emily how much he will miss her when he goes away to school. Act IV. In the schoolroom. The cruel schoolmaster and his assistant. David decides to run away. Act V. Betsy Trotwood’s garden. David finds a home with his good Aunt Betsy and gentle old Master Dick.

At the same time that Charles Dickens was writing David Copperfield and other stories about the people he knew, several clever artists were making drawings of the same people. You probably know many of the amusing pictures they drew, especially those of Cruikshank, Tenniel, and Du Maurier. If you wish to know how David and Pegotty and Betsy Trotwood and little Emily really looked, ask your librarian to show you some of the illustrations that these artists made. Because these pictures give the very best idea of how the people of Dickens’ time looked, you might copy them for your marionettes. Their faces have a great deal of character, their clothes are those of that time, and they are so quaint and characteristic that they will never be uninteresting.

Probably the most beautiful marionette plays that one can imagine could be done from the great stories in the Bible. Just as in the early days of Christianity, when marionettes helped the people to see and feel the great scenes in their new religion, so, it would seem, that a time might come again when the little figures might return to their earliest uses. This could well be done in Christmas and Easter plays for the church and Sunday school. Imagine the story of Joseph and his brethren with scenes showing:

1. The tent life of Israel. 2. The kind old father. 3. The cruel brothers. 4. The selling into bondage. 5. The court life in Egypt. 6. Joseph among his new friends. 7. The famine. 8. The visit of the brothers. 9. The remorse of the brothers. 10. Joseph’s forgiveness in the last scene.

Parables, such as that of the Good Samaritan, are full of dramatic possibilities.

How many beautiful plays appropriate for Christmas, Easter, and saints’ days could be made from the lives of the saints! If you are interested in a play for your Sunday school or your parochial school, read and make into a play the life of Saint Christopher, Saint George, Saint Patrick, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Agnes, Saint Genevieve, Saint Catherine of Sienna, or Saint Joan of Arc.

If you love fairy tales you will, no doubt, wish to make a fairy marionette play. You probably know many of the books listed here:

Mother Goose

Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales—Tr. Lucas

The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales—Tr. Crane.

The Arabian Nights—Ed. Colum

Adventures of Nils—Lagerlöf

Gulliver’s Travels—Swift

The Blue Bird—Maeterlinck

Water Babies—Kingsley

The Little Lame Prince—Craik

Old Peter’s Russian Tales—Ransome

Æsop’s Fables—Ed. Jacobs

Undine—La Motte Fouqué

Story of the Rheingold—Chapin

Japanese Fairy Book—Ozaki

Wonder Tales of China Seas—Olcott

Tales of Wonder—Wiggin and Smith

Here are a few familiar poems that may be turned into marionette plays:

Hiawatha—Longfellow

Evangeline—Longfellow

Story Telling Ballads—Olcott

Lady of the Lake—Scott

Lays of Ancient Rome—Macaulay

Many other stories will, no doubt, occur to you, and many ways of turning them to your needs.

CHAPTER IV
Making Your Stage

A chair, sofa, or table top may have been the first stage on which you moved about your tin soldiers and paper dolls. Your imagination supplied the scenery and lighting. A small table turned upside down and placed on top of another table may have been your next invention. A curtain drawn about its three sides and your string of Christmas-tree lights gave you a very satisfactory little theater. As your stagecraft developed, you may have seen possibilities in a soap box or a dry goods box. By knocking out one side to make a proscenium opening and painting scenery on the back of the box or on to cardboards which you slipped in and out, you had a very real stage. With a proscenium arch made from cardboard and decorated to suit the play, a little curtain on a rod, Christmas-tree lights, and your company of small doll actors, you had a complete theater. It could be placed in a door or an archway, or between two screens.

Possibly you were interested in the Burattini. You may have made a booth somewhat like the illustration and decorated it quite gaily. It had this advantage. By means of hinges it could be folded together. It was no trouble to take anywhere, indoors or out, to a friend’s backyard, to school, to the playground, or even to a picnic.

If your enthusiasm had led you further, you would have been interested in the drawings of a semi-professional marionette stage which are shown on the next two pages.

Constructional Drawing of Marionette Stage--Back View--without Lighting

A Stage floor, 10' × 32". B Bridge for puppeteers, 24" wide, 12" high above stage floor. C Beaverboard facing (10' × 4' 6") in which proscenium arch (6' × 30") is cut. D Backdrop, 7' × 4'. E Supporting trestles, 33" high. F Bridge ladder. G Bridge fence. H Iron rod attached to fence for holding S hooks. I S hooks for holding marionettes when not in use. J Supporting frame for wings and backdrop. K Footlight trough. L Curtains.

Side View of Marionette Stage--with Lighting

K Footlights. M Switchboard. N Movable strip (one for each side of stage) of wing lights. O Boxed overhead lights for general stage illumination. Nine sections complete the line. R Large curtains between the audience and back stage—framing the stage. Fig. O Two sections of overhead lights showing bulb, and colored sheet gelatin Q inserted. Each section can be operated independently from the switchboard. Fig. P If the boxed lights are not practicable the simple tin trough with colored bulbs may be used.

CHAPTER V
Making Your Marionette

In your adventures with marionettes, probably nothing will give you more pleasure than the actual making of them. This is equally true of the Burattini, of the doll puppet, and of the real marionette.

The Burattini, Guignol, or Mitten puppet is the simplest kind of marionette. It is usually nothing more than a head, two arms, and an empty sack. The most important part of a Guignol is its head. This can be made from unbleached muslin, from a hollow doll’s head, it can be carved out of a block of soft wood, or it can be made from papier-mâché.

Muslin Head. Here is a pattern for the unbleached muslin head. Sew the two halves together and then stuff firmly with cotton. If you dampen the cheeks, the muslin will stretch and then you can round them out with more cotton. Into the neck insert a cuff of stiff paper, ⅞ of an inch in diameter. It should be fastened either by sewing or glueing. This cuff gives you space for the finger which manipulates the head. Water colors or crayons may be used for painting the face. Before you begin, experiment on scraps of muslin.

Doll’s Head. If you wish to use the hollow head of a doll, you will probably find it necessary to remodel its features. This is done by taking papier-mâché, a mixture of bits of paper mixed with flour paste, and building out the nose, the cheeks, and the chin, in order to give them more character. The building out must be done gradually, a bit at a time, after you have made the surface rough by the use of sandpaper or a file. When you are sure that you have finished the head, stand twenty or thirty feet away from it and see if it is still interesting to you. This is an excellent test. Those in the last rows of your audience will be even farther away and your Burattini must hold their interest.

Wooden Head. Boys who like to whittle will enjoy carving out wooden heads. If you decide to carve the head from wood, use a soft wood, such as pine. Start with a piece about 5 inches long by 3½ inches wide by 3½ inches high. It is well to keep in mind that the head is egg shaped. The chin is the small end of the egg. Observe that the eyes are placed halfway between the top of the head and the chin, and that the nose is placed halfway between the eyes and the chin. Notice, also, that the mouth is placed halfway between the nose and the chin. The illustration will show you how to go about the carving. Cut the big planes first, then the smaller planes. Curve the cheeks and chin if the character requires it. You will then be ready to drill the ⅞ inch hole up into the neck. Into this hole is thrust the forefinger of the puppeteer.

Papier-mâché Head. If you wish to make a papier-mâché head for your Burattini, follow the directions for making the head of the true marionette which you will find on page 67.

Hair. For hair, use yarn, lamb’s wool, or frayed hemp, as is best suited to the character. The toe of a stocking makes an excellent foundation for the wig, since it so perfectly fits the head. When the material for the hair has been sewed to this foundation, glue it to the head. When the glue has set, you can arrange the hair.

Hands. Burattini hands should be cut out of wood and shaped as in the illustration. Sandpapering makes them smooth. Little cuffs of cardboard should be glued or tacked onto the wrists in order to make a place for the thumb and second finger of the puppeteer.

Painting. When you have finished carving both the head and hands you are ready to paint them. You will need red, yellow, blue, and white oil paints. Use a piece of smooth wood or glass for a palette. Squeeze onto your palette a small amount of each color. As you know, people do not have pure-white skins. There is a tinge of yellow-orange in the white man’s skin, deep red and orange in that of the red man, brown in that of the Negro, and yellow in that of the Oriental. Begin by squeezing out onto your palette a small quantity of white paint. Only clowns’ faces, however, are painted a pure white. You must add a bit of yellow and red to the white paint if you are painting a white man’s face. If you are painting a red man’s face, you must add more red and a bit of blue. For the face of an Oriental, add yellow to your white paint and the least bit of red and blue. For the black man’s face, use black paint instead of white paint and into it mix a very small amount of orange and blue. Use a palette knife for mixing oil paints and turpentine for thinning them. Do not be timid when you begin to paint. Strong and vigorous painting is as important and necessary as strong and vigorous modeling in bringing out the features and expression. When the painting is finished, the face should fully express your idea of the character.

The Body. Now we come to the mantle or cloak which gives a kind of body to the Burattini. The illustration shows patterns for the front, back, and sleeves. To this foundation you can sew any costume that your character may require. The hands are fastened into the ends of the sleeves. When the cloak is fastened securely about the neck, it becomes a kind of sack, open only at the bottom. Now slip your hand inside this sack or mantle, your forefinger into the head, your thumb and second finger into the arms. The head will bow, the arms will move, and the little figure comes to life.

ANIMAL BURATTINI

A After completing papier-mâché head, cut out lower jaw as shown by dotted line. Then replace and paste a piece of thin muslin over lower cut, as shown by light line. This will not be seen when the head is painted.
B Dotted lines show the narrow elastic glued to upper and lower jaw. One piece on each side. The forefinger of the puppeteer pulls down the lower jaw, when it is released the elastic snaps the mouth shut.

Burattini animals can be made for such stories as The Three Pigs, The Three Bears, and Little Red Riding Hood. There are several ways of making them. The first way is to use the head of an old toy animal. Into the center of this head cut a hole for the forefinger. Then attach this head to a suitable sack or coat. The forepaws of the animal can be fastened into the sleeves.

Another way is to carve the heads and paws out of soft wood. A third way is to cut them out of suitable cloth. A fourth way is to make them out of papier-mâché in the same way as the papier-mâché heads described on page [67]. This illustration will show you how the lower jaw is cut out and then attached in such a way that the puppeteer can open and close the mouth.

Scale. Before you begin to make your marionette, you must decide upon the kind of stage you intend to use, for the size of the stage determines the size of the marionette. It is the right relation of the marionette to the stage that creates an illusion and makes your audience feel that the little figures are life-size. For the semi-professional stage, use a scale of 2½ inches or 3 inches to the foot. If you use a scale of 2½ inches to a foot, it would make a 15-inch marionette represent a 6-foot man. If you use a scale of 3 inches to a foot, your 6-foot hero would be represented by a marionette 18 inches high. Never forget your scale of measurements. All properties and stage settings must be worked out to the same scale you have fixed for your marionettes.

TURNING DOLLS INTO MARIONETTES

A very simple kind of marionette can be made from a ten- or fifteen-cent doll. Change the face as you did the Burattini face. Then take off the arms and legs and separate the arms at the elbows and the legs at the knees. Fasten the upper and lower arms together with tape. Do the same thing with the upper and lower legs. Then fasten the arms and legs to the body as in the illustration. The tape gives free movement at the joints.

Strings. This type of marionette requires not more than seven strings: two for the shoulders, two for the hands, two for the knees, and one for the back. The shoulder string should be about 42 inches long. The other strings are longer as you can see in the illustration. Waxed black linen thread can be used for the strings.

Controllers. For this kind of marionette you can use either a horizontal-bar controller or a cross-bar controller. The illustration gives measurements and construction, and indicates the place for attaching the strings.

A Horizontal-bar controller

1. Back string 2. Shoulder strings 3. Hand strings

1. Hand strings 2. Head strings 3. Shoulder strings 4. Back strings 5. Leather strap under which the hand slips

1. Foot strings 2. Hole to slip over nail in controller B when not in use.

STOCKING MARIONETTE

Another kind of marionette is made from old stockings or any soft material. The head and body are in one piece. Each arm is in one piece. Each leg is in two pieces. Cut and sew according to directions. Stuff the head very firmly with cotton. At the base of the neck leave a quarter of an inch between the two rows of stitching. This will permit the head to move. The body should be stuffed less firmly than the head, especially at the waistline, so that the figure can bend easily.

A Body pattern. Dotted line indicates stitching. Do not stitch across the bottom until after the stuffing has been inserted. B Arm pattern. Dotted line indicates stitching. C Front view of the leg stuffed, showing upper leg extending over lower leg. This is to prevent a forward swing at the knee. D Side view of C showing the fastening; the upper leg is sewed to the lower leg at the back of the knee. Note the downward slant of the foot. E A dancer’s leg showing the downward drop of the toe. F Lower leg showing round piece of wood to insure stiffness. G Back view of upper leg. Dotted line indicates the piece of light-weight cardboard inserted to insure stiffness.

Note: Pieces of lead or small shot are used to weight the feet and hands. A lead dress weight may be sewed in the torso to give the body weight. Cotton or soft rags are used for the stuffing.

Staples. Into each side of the head, where the ears would naturally come, insert a staple. It requires a great deal of patience to insert these staples into this kind of head but it can be done. Just where you place these staples is very important. If you place them too far forward the head will be drawn too far back when the strings are attached to the staples. On the contrary, if the staples are inserted too far back, the head will fall forward when suspended from the strings. If you wish to make a pompous, strutting character, then place the staples forward. If you wish to show a hunchback or bowed old age, then place the staples quite far back. Between these two extremes is the normal place for your staples.

Modeling. When the staples have been inserted, dip your fingers into water and dampen the head and then cover it with some kind of modeling clay that hardens when exposed to the air. The features of your character can be modeled with your fingers and the help of an orange stick or a toothpick. Do not cover the staples, for the head-strings must be attached to them later. This kind of marionette head should be painted with tempera colors or with oil paints. Paint the hands the same color as the face. When the paint is dry, cover the head with glue and attach the hair, which may be made from yarn, mercerized cotton, silk, or lamb’s wool.

A marionette of this kind could be used on the semi-professional stage if it is carefully constructed, made to scale, and appropriately costumed. The strings are attached to the head staples, to the shoulders, the hands, the back, and to the knees. For this type of marionette use the cross-bar controller.

THE REAL MARIONETTE

The third type of marionette, which might be called the real marionette, is somewhat more complicated, but it is better suited to the larger stage and to more exacting plays. There is scarcely a thing that this type of marionette cannot be made to do if skilfully constructed. Its greater flexibility of neck, waist, wrist, and ankle makes it possible for it to bow, kneel, sit down, turn its head, dance, play a musical instrument, climb a wall, or perform any number of lively tricks.

CHARACTER

A marionette should be as individual as a human being, both in its appearance and in its character. Before you make your marionette, you must have clearly in mind the character you wish to portray. You should aim to make its appearance indicate its character. Let us suppose that you are about to make a marionette of Myles in Men of Iron. Let us make a list of his characteristics: brave, strong, loyal, daring, courageous. Now choose one of these traits which you think most fully sums up the character of Myles. Probably you will choose the word “courageous.” The problem now is to create a marionette whose appearance will suggest the Myles who is brave, strong, loyal, daring, but, above all things, courageous. Can you not see him, tall, broad of shoulder, fearless of eye, as he stands before Sir James Lee? Strong of limb and strong of will, he reflects the spirit of his time. You now have the problem of creating out of a few bits of wood and cloth this daring, headstrong young squire.

Begin by making a working drawing somewhat like the illustration. Now make drawings of the face of Myles just as you imagine it, front view and side view. Always consider the age of the character you wish to model. Faces of the young are smooth and round, the brow unwrinkled; those of the middle aged less smooth and round, with the jaw, chin, and nose more clearly defined. In old age, sagging muscles produce lines and hollows around the eyes, nose, and mouth. You must also consider the structure of a face. This means giving attention to the shape of the jaw, chin, nose, lips, and the eye sockets. In modeling the face of Myles in Men of Iron, you would naturally give him a forceful chin and nose, and a large, firm mouth. If you were modeling Lady Alice in the same play, you would express her daintiness and lightness by giving her a delicate nose, smiling lips, rounded cheeks and chin. Lastly, you should study the expression of the face. Have you ever noticed what happens to the muscles around the mouth when a person smiles or is sad or angry? When we smile the muscles lift the corners of the mouth upward; when we are sad the mouth droops at the corners; when we are angry our lips become straight and firmly set. The brow is very tell-tale and can show different moods. In surprise, the brows are arched. Curiosity draws the brows together, anger draws them together and downward. Sadness is shown by the drooping of both brows and mouth.

If you are to become a successful puppet maker, keep a small sketch book in your pocket and make numerous sketches of many different types of faces and of human figures.

Modeling. With your drawings before you, take a lump of clay or plasticine and model it into the general egg shape of the head. The small end will represent the chin. The large end will represent the crown of the head. Add the clay for the neck. Draw a light line on the clay to locate the brow, the length of the nose, and the position of the mouth. Now while you hold this egg-shaped head in your hands, place your thumbs just below the line of the brow, and gently and firmly press the clay down and out and up to form the eye sockets. Then build up the nose and lips. It is unnecessary to model the ears. In the first stages of your modeling, you cannot expect the head to resemble your ideal character, because you will be striving for the general proportions of the face. When once you have attained these proportions you can then begin to work for a likeness. Besides your ten fingers, you may find an orange stick or a sharpened match a valuable tool.

Making a Mold. After you have finished the head it is necessary to make a plaster of Paris mold of it. One way to do this is to take a small cardboard box that will hold the head and allow an inch of space on all six sides. Grease the box on the inside with vaseline. At the same time grease thoroughly and evenly with a brush the clay or plasticine head. Now mix about one half pint of plaster of Paris with enough water to give it the consistency of thick cream. This must be done with quickness, for the hardening process cannot be stopped once it has set in. Pour this mixture into the greased box until it is half full. Then place the head, back down, into the plaster. Allow fifteen to thirty minutes for the plaster of Paris to harden. Now grease the exposed surface of the clay or plasticine head. Mix more plaster with water and cover the face thoroughly. Allow this to stand overnight. The next day, when you remove the box, the two halves of the plaster cast can be separated. Out will fall the clay or plasticine head, which you will no longer need because you now have the two molds for making the papier-mâché head.

A simpler way to make the mold is this: Mark the clay as in the illustration. Then insert pieces of tin or stiff paper, such as oak tag. When the clay is dry, apply a coat of vaseline to it and to the tin or paper. Then apply the plaster of Paris and keep applying it until you think it is fully an inch thick. After the plaster hardens, proceed in the same manner with the other side of the head. When both sides are hard, separate them from the clay and you will have two molds.

Papier-mâché. You are now ready to make the papier-mâché heads. Begin by making a small quantity of flour paste. Take two heaping tablespoonfuls of flour and mix with cold water to the consistency of cream, add two cups of hot water, place over fire and stir constantly until it comes to the boiling point and boil for two minutes. A few drops of oil of cloves will keep the paste fresh in hot weather.

Now tear wrapping paper into small strips about five inches long. Soak them in water for a few minutes, then wring out and dip into the flour paste. Take a piece and rub it gently between the fingers until the paper feels like wet chamois skin. Then press it into the back of the mold for the head. Continue to cover the surface with piece after piece. If necessary, you may tear the paper into smaller pieces. There must not be a wrinkle, but the pieces should overlap slightly. In this way you cover the entire surface with paper of one color. For the second layer use paper of another color. For the third layer use the first color, and so on, alternately, through the fifth layer. This alternation of colors will help you to keep account of the layers, and insures uniform thickness. Allow the edges of the paper to extend over the edges of the mold.

Do the same thing with the mold for the face, but use much more care to see that every depression is smoothly and evenly filled in order to bring out the features properly. The paper should stay in the mold until dry. The two halves of the head and neck can then easily be removed. The edges should be trimmed off. The two halves can be held together and fastened with strips of papier-mâché.

When you have finished making the head, cut out the crown as you see in the illustration. A round stick is now pushed down into the neck with its lower end extending through the neck as you can see. This stick should fit very closely. If it does not fit closely, a few tacks will keep it from slipping. Now, take glue and rags, and fill them into the small spaces between this stick and the upper part of the neck. Do not spare the glue. The crown can now be fitted back onto the head and fastened with a few strips of papier-mâché. The following day, when the glue is thoroughly set, you can insert a screw eye into the base of the neck. The head is then complete.

A Piece of wood to which the papier-mâché chin is glued B Small blocks of wood to be glued to inside of cheeks C Lead weight D Lead weight E String for operating the lower jaw F Metal pivot

It is possible to make marionettes which can open their mouths. This is done by cutting out the lower lip and chin in one piece and then fastening it to a rounded piece of wood, and inserting it through the crown of the head. The illustration is a working drawing of the Duchess in the Adventures of Alice and shows the way the piece was weighted and then fastened inside the head. This same principle can be used in various ways in constructing the heads of marionette animals.

A Top view of shoulder piece B Side view of hip piece

The body consists of the trunk, arms, and legs. For the trunk, you will need two pieces of wood shaped as you see in the illustration. Here is a table for approximate measurements for the shoulder and hip pieces for the 15- and 18-inch marionette:

18-inch marionette man—shoulders 4 inches wide, hips 3 inches wide

16-inch marionette woman—shoulders 3 inches wide, hips 3 inches wide

15-inch marionette man—shoulders 3 inches wide, hips 2½ inches wide

13½-inch marionette woman—shoulders 2½ inches wide, hips 2½ inches wide

Keep your character in mind. A warrior will have broad, heavy shoulders and be deep of chest. A slender young woman will have a light frame. Take the shoulders and hip piece, and place them on your working drawing as in the illustration and then fasten them together with a strip of cloth, tacked as indicated.

A Wire construction B Finished hand sewed into lower arm, which is weighted with small shot

Hands. Arms, hands, legs, and feet are yet to be constructed. Let us begin with the hand. Its length is that of the face from the chin to the line of the hair. Into a piece of wood drive seven brads as in the illustration. Take a piece of light-weight copper wire, such as a strand of aërial wire, about thirty inches long, and attach one end to the lower wrist brad. You then loop the wire around the brads loosely, in the order indicated, beginning and ending with “A.” When you return to “A,” lift the wire loops from the brads carefully, holding the wrist loop. Now thread the loose end of the wire through these wrist loops in order to fasten them together. With the loose end, you now begin the tying of the two wires of the thumb together by going under and over as the illustration indicates. From the thumb, go to the fingers, taking each in turn. After tying the little finger, return to the wrist and wrap it three or four times before cutting off the last bit of wire. This wire frame corresponds to the bony structure of the hand. Small pieces of plasticine or modeling wax are now applied, long narrow strips to the fingers, heavier strips for the palm of the hand. A hand should show character. Keep this in mind as you are shaping it. The last thing to be done is the wrapping of the hand with quarter-inch white tape. Begin at the wrist, then wrap the thumb, carry the tape back to the wrist, then wrap the palm of the hand. When the hand has been carefully wrapped, then take a needle and thread and close any openings, such as those at the ends of the fingers or in the palms of the hands. The hand can now be pressed into any number of lifelike positions.

Arms. The upper and lower arm are made in one piece from white stockings or any other soft white material. The illustration indicates fairly wide seams. Begin your sewing at the wrist and follow the arrow around and back to the wrist. Now stuff the upper arm rather lightly with cotton. When you reach the elbow, stop and sew twice across, leaving one-fourth inch between the rows. This will make the arm flexible at the elbow. Then stuff the lower arm until it is quite firm. Into the open wrist insert and sew the hand. Attach a small piece of tape to the top of the upper arm and then tack it to the shoulder piece as in the illustration.

A Wire construction for foot. B Stocking leg and foot. Shows upright piece of wood and piece of lead shaped to the bottom of the foot. This gives the necessary weight for the lower leg. C Stocking barefoot leg. Use wire foot construction, lead to weight the foot and upright piece of wood. Fill out foot and leg with cotton and soft rags. D Wooden leg and foot. Strip of leather at the knee hinge.

Legs and Feet. The leg consists of an upper and lower part and a foot. These three parts may be made of cloth or of wood. If made of cloth, cut and sew and stuff according to the illustration. For a dancer a long silk stocking should be drawn over the entire leg to conceal the mechanics of the knee. This was done with the marionette dancers in the ballet Petrouchka. It is sometimes necessary to have a barefoot character, as in the play of Tom Sawyer. In that case the foot is made in much the same way as the wire and tape hand was made, as you can see in the illustration. If you prefer to carve the leg and foot out of wood, there are several ways of doing this. A very simple way is shown in the illustration. When forming the upper and lower leg, keep in mind the fact that the marionette’s lower leg works just like your own, which goes backward but never forward or sidewise. The attaching of the cloth legs to the hip piece requires thought and judgment. Two tacks should be used to fasten each leg securely. If these tacks are well placed, the legs will hang evenly and the feet will point forward.

Attaching the Head. When the arms and legs are attached to the body, take the head and place the screw eye in the hole that is in the center of the shoulder piece. A brad driven through from front to back will secure the head and allow free movement in any direction.

Painting. For this type of marionette you will have better results if you paint the face and hands with oil paints, rather than with water colors or tempera. Remember that there is a tinge of yellow-orange in the white man’s skin, deep red and orange in the red man’s skin, brown in that of the Negro, and yellow in that of the Oriental.

You might think that you were now ready to costume your marionette. Not so. The reason for this is that if you costumed your marionette without consulting the group, you might find that your marionette would not fit into the stage picture at all. Therefore the next step is group discussion of the background, and of the colors of the costumes seen on the stage together.

Backgrounds. A background may be either light, medium, or dark. If the background is light, the costumes which appear against it should be somewhat darker. Likewise if the background is dark, the costumes which appear against it should be lighter. You might think that a costume could be seen quite easily if it were of a color unlike the background. This is not true, if the costume and background are of the same color value. If you experiment and observe your stage picture from a distance, you will discover that you must use light-colored costumes against a dark-colored background, or dark-colored costumes against a light-colored background. This contrast between light and dark need not be a strong one. However, there must be some contrast if the figures are to be seen from a distance. Stage compositions build themselves about the most important characters of the play. Therefore, the costumes of these important characters must be outstanding. They must be in contrast to the background and to the other costumes. The costumes of the less important characters should not rival those of the principal characters. With these suggestions in mind, you are ready to begin the costuming of your marionette.

Costuming. In the family scrap bag you will probably find all the materials you need: cotton, wool, silk, satin, velvet, ribbons, laces, and braids. Your marionette may represent a character of a particular period and country. If so, it must have a costume similar to the costume worn in that country at that time. In your library, you can probably find books of historic costumes from which you can make sketches or tracings. It is well to sketch several of the costumes that seem best suited to your character. In this way, you acquire, not only a knowledge of the costumes, but of details such as headdresses, shoes, and ornaments. Also make careful color notes. On the tree of the marionette, you will find a gay company of little figures in historic costumes of many lands. They are worth studying.

Suppose your character is an imaginary one, such as an elf, fairy, or gnome. Then turn to the books illustrated by such artists as Dulac, Rackham, Nielson, and Bilibin. They will inspire you to create and costume your own elves, fairies, and gnomes. Remember to choose suitable materials and appropriate colors. For example, thin, gauzy materials would be appropriate for fairies, while coarse, dark materials would be appropriate for gnomes. Try to express your conception of a character in the colors you choose for its costume.

A Body of controller: 9½ in. long; 1⅝ in. wide B Cross bar: 7½ in. long; 1⅛ in. wide at center C Shoulder controller: 6 in. long D Foot controller: 8½ in. long; ⅞ in. wide E Screw and nut for fastening cross bar to body of controller F Post for holding foot controller when latter is not in use G Pivot (nail) 1 Back string 2 Head strings 3 Shoulder strings 4 Hand strings 5 Sword strings 6 Knee strings

With your sketches and materials before you, cut out the costume in the same way that you would cut out doll clothes. It might be wise to experiment with paper patterns before you cut into your materials. Avoid wide seams, as they make a garment clumsy. Both your mother and your sewing teacher can give you valuable suggestions for both cutting and making. When your marionette is costumed, drive a staple into each shoulder for the shoulder strings. It is a fine art to costume a marionette. It requires not only research and thought but it also requires skill, taste, and subtle character appreciations.

Controller. Here is a sketch of a controller suitable for the true marionette. The frame is made from wood, the loop is of leather. Follow the measurements and directions as indicated.

Strings. Black and white woven fish line makes the very best strings for your marionettes. It is strong, it does not tangle, and it is almost invisible. Unfortunately it is expensive. A fifty-cent spool will string but two marionettes. Strong gray linen thread may be used instead. If you cannot get gray linen thread, then use white linen thread and gray it by rubbing with a cloth that has been dipped in black paint or in India ink. If you use black thread, gray it by rubbing with white chalk. Strings should be made as nearly invisible as possible. If the linen thread is rubbed with a little beeswax, it is less liable to break and to become tangled.

Cutting the Strings. It is an exciting moment when you begin to cut the strings, for the strings bring the puppet to life. The first to be cut are the head strings. They should be at least forty-two inches long and should be tied securely to the head staples. Next, measure and cut the hand strings. These will be longer, since they are measured from the palm of the hand as it hangs down. Allow three extra inches for arm movements. The back string is measured from the small of the back. The knee strings are measured from the knees. The shoulder string is not cut at this time.

Attaching the Strings. The head strings are the first to be attached to the controller. Next in order, attach the back string. Now you are ready to measure and attach the shoulder string. It goes from one shoulder up through the screw eyes in the swinging bar, and then down again to the other shoulder. When the knee strings have been attached to the separate horizontal bars, your marionette is complete.

ANIMAL MARIONETTES

It is possible to make a surprising number of different kinds of animal marionettes. There are many plays in which they are indispensable. For instance, in Men of Iron, the horses are indispensable, as there could be no tournament scene without them. The bear and the doves are not indispensable but they add a touch of humor and lively interest. When we gave the play the making of these animals presented an interesting problem. Two boys asked to be responsible for the horses in Men of Iron. They went downtown and looked about in the toy departments of the largest stores until they found two wooden toy horses exactly in scale with the 15-inch marionettes which were to be used in this play. They began by taking the horses off their wheeled platforms. These toy horses were very stiff. In order to enable them to move their heads, necks, and legs, it was first necessary to saw off the heads, necks, upper and lower legs. The drawing shows the way these parts were again attached so that great freedom of movement was possible.

For the bear marionette, a teddy bear was used. Since a teddy bear is very stiff, it was necessary to remove all the stuffing from the head, body, and legs. In order to make the head drop forward, the snout was weighted with a small three-cornered sack of shot. The paws were also weighted in order to make the bear stand naturally. The bear was very lightly restuffed. The strings were attached to each side of the head, to the shoulders, lower part of the back, and to each of the four paws. The marionette was reweighted no less than four times, in order to get the right balance to make its movements seem natural and bearlike.

A girl was responsible for the three doves used in the second scene of Men of Iron. She decided upon the proper scale and then cut a pattern for the body and another for the wings. The body she made from soft gray silk and weighted it near the tail. The wings were wired along their upper edges and then attached to the body. Each dove required three strings, one for the center of the back and one for the tip of each wing.

In the Adventures of Alice, it was necessary to have a caterpillar, a frog footman, a Cheshire cat, a pig baby, a dormouse, and a March hare. The Tenniel illustrations for Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass were closely followed. The students who made these animals tried to give to each one the character which it had in the story. The heads of the caterpillar, the frog footman, and the March hare were first modeled in clay. Molds were then made from these modeled heads. Then papier-mâché heads were made in just the same way as the papier-mâché heads of the true marionettes. To the papier-mâché head of the caterpillar was attached a body. Nile-green silk was used for the upper part and yellow-green silk for the under part. Half hoops of dress cord were stitched to the under side of the back, in order to indicate the segments. A rubber tube for smoke passed through the body from mouth to tail. Because the caterpillar was almost human, he was given hands and arms. The frog footman had a frog’s head, throat, and webbed hands, and the body of a footman.

The March hare had the head and forepaws of a hare and the body of a country gentleman. He was made to appear rather simple, credulous and bland. He had great ears, side burns, and an engaging air, which belied his occasional impatience. The white rabbit was brisk and dapper. He was conscious of his shell-pink ears, fetching whiskers, and the large elegant watch which he drew from his pocket with a flourish.

Marionette animals such as dogs, cats, and pigs may be made from cloth. Even dragons may be made from cloth. Every animal marionette presents a new problem for your ingenuity to solve.

The directions and suggestions which are given in this chapter are meant to guide and to help you. However, it will be your own experiments and inventions which will give you the greatest satisfaction and lead you on to new achievements in the art of puppet-making.

CHAPTER VI
Making Your Scenery

The stage is made. The puppets have a floor to walk upon. Is anything more required? You say, “Oh, yes, there must be scenery before it will be a real stage.” Who shall plan and make this scenery? Shall this be the work of one pupil or the work of the whole group? All will want a share in it. This means that the large group should be divided into smaller groups and that each group should be made responsible for a scene.

Let us suppose you have dramatized Howard Pyle’s Men of Iron and made a play of four scenes. In order to give the same note of unity to the scenery that you are trying to give to your play, every scene must be in harmony with every other scene and with the whole idea of the play.

Three scenes of Men of Iron are laid in Devlin Castle, England. What do we know about castles and about English castles? When were castles built? We go to the library and find books that give us both illustrations and descriptions. In one of these, Quennell’s History of Everyday Things in England, there are drawings and descriptions of castles of the XIth, XIIth, XIIIth, XIVth, and XVth centuries. The story of Men of Iron is laid in the year 1509. Devlin Castle had probably seen many generations of the Mackworth family come and go long before this time. It probably was built in the XIIIth or early XIVth century. Let us follow, therefore, the plan of a XIVth Century castle. On page 86, we find a ground plan and a picture of such a castle. Read the description of its massive stone walls and towers, colorless and gray, and of its courtyard and great hall. The first scene of the play is laid in the courtyard. The second scene is laid in the ladies’ garden. The third is laid in the great hall.

Your problem now is to give your audience a picture of this castle, and the varied life of its courtyard, its ladies’ garden, and its great hall. On a stage measuring 30 inches by 55 inches, how can this be done? If the settings are wisely planned, the audience will have such a vivid impression of the courtyard, the garden, and the castle, that they will feel they are living in the time of the play.

You may be interested in the way a group of boys and girls planned the stage settings for this play. The first scene was laid in the courtyard. Instead of trying to show every little incident and detail of the life of the courtyard, every stable and blacksmith shop, every well and water trough, they asked themselves what important things happened in this first act and listed them as follows: First, Myles practised at the pells. Second, the armorer worked in his shop. Third, Myles played with the squire, and threw a ball over the wall. Then they took the ground-floor plan of the XIVth century castle, as they found it in the book, studied it carefully, and planned this setting. Every stage setting must give the actors enough room to move about in. It must have exits. It must be a well-composed picture. It must be related to the scene that follows. You can readily see how this careful planning met each of these requirements: First, it gave room for their puppets to do what they were required to do. Second, it gave them the two necessary exits, one into the castle, the other out to the drawbridge. Third, it made, by the arrangement of wall, towers, and armorer’s shop, a well-composed picture. Fourth, by this arrangement of the first scene, they were able to carry the imagination of the audience, with Myles, when he climbed over the wall, into the ladies’ garden, in the second scene.

Another group planned the second scene. They imagined themselves on the inside of the garden, on the other side of the wall shown in the first scene. They asked themselves, not what do we see, but what happens in the garden during this scene.

First, Lady Anne plays a lute and Lady Alice dances.

Second, Myles tumbles over the wall.

Third, the Earl of Mackworth comes from the castle and returns into the castle.

Here is the plan they made. You can see how they planned first to have plenty of floor space for Lady Alice’s dance, and then, to keep the wall away from the back drop so that Myles could climb over it. Second, it provided the necessary exit. Third, through the arrangement of ivy-covered towers, trellised wall, and garden bench, it made a charming picture. Fourth, by means of the exit into the castle, the interest of the audience was carried into the third scene.

Still another group planned the third scene which is laid in the great hall of the castle. Their purpose was to make the audience feel the spaciousness of the great hall and of its galleries and corridors. Again it was necessary to think of what happened in this scene. The first difficulty to present itself was this: How can enough space be provided for eleven puppets to be on the stage at the same time, to move about freely and moreover keep the stage picture beautiful? A clever boy thought of making a gallery at the side for Lady Anne and Lady Alice to sit in. This gave them a place in the picture and enabled their puppeteers to stand behind the wings of the bridge. Here they were out of the way of the other nine puppeteers who stood on the bridge behind the back drop. These illustrations will show you the floor plan and elevations. Another boy ingeniously planned the doorway seen in the elevation, for a rear exit. He made two back drops. In the rear drop he made a stained-glass window. The forward drop he made in two parts. As you can see in the illustration, he placed one section just a little in front of the other. This provided space between the two parts, for the passage of the strings of the king and all the other characters that should enter from this doorway. To the eyes of the audience there appeared to be no break in the wall above the doorway, neither did the eyes of the audience detect the painting of the tiled floor on the rear back drop, done in perspective, another bit of cleverness, which seemed to give width to what otherwise would have appeared a very narrow corridor. Whenever one sees a puppet going out through a door, or passing by outside a window, he is interested, because it gives the suggestion of life and activity beyond the stage.

You have a chance to show yourselves artists in the placing of doorways and windows. Doorways that open upon courtyards, or that give glimpses of distant landscapes, and windows that open out upon gardens, are charming details when appropriately used. Avoid, if possible, painting doors and windows on to your scenery.

The group that made the tournament scene had the problem of providing plenty of space for the puppet spectators. It was decided that a very effective scene could be made by placing the royal box, for the king and his court, at the rear of the stage. Directly in front of the box there was space enough for the tournament. The entrances for this scene were on the right and left, and were large enough to admit the horses and their riders. On the back drop was painted a landscape of the surrounding country, with hills, trees, and a distant castle. It usually happens that certain members of a large group are more drawn to one scene than to another. If there are too many in one group, some pupils, realizing the importance of equalizing the size of the groups, will, good-naturedly, turn to the assistance of the smaller groups. There should be boys and girls in each group, and a chairman selected for each, who will be responsible for his group. Each chairman meets with his group to discuss the requirements, general arrangement, and the color scheme.

Do not be in a hurry to begin. Have the impression you wish to convey to your audience clearly in mind. Close your eyes. Can you see with your mind’s eye the place where the scene is laid? Can you see its color, the movements of your characters, and hear their voices? Does the picture which comes to your mind’s eye put you into the mood which you felt when you first read the story? If it does, you are ready to begin. Take a sheet of paper about 14 by 17 inches. Let the rectangle you draw on this be the same proportion as the proscenium arch. As you plan within this rectangle, keep in mind the picture your audience is going to see when your scene is presented.

When the plans for a scene have been submitted, choose the best one, or put all the best ideas into a new plan. Remember, if you understand proportion, everything is possible. You can show lofty cliffs that seem to tower into the air. You can show level plains that seem to stretch miles to the horizon.

When you have finished your plan for each scene, you are ready for your tools and materials. Here is a list of the things usually required:

Tools

Rulers

Scissors

Hammers

Brushes

Saws, large and very small

Screw driver

Dye pans

Materials

Beaver board

Wood

Unbleached muslin

Burlap

Tacks, nails

Screws

Dyes

Gesso

Glue (flake and liquid)

Oil colors

Water colors by the pound

Suppose that you belong to the first group. Take your plan and place it before you. For the back drop, wall, and wing, you may use beaver board, heavy paper, canvas, or muslin stiffened by a thin coat of boiled starch. Now go to your stage and measure the height and width of the back drop and the wing frames. Then cut out the back drop and wing from the material you have chosen. Place these in their positions on the stage. Take a piece of charcoal, or soft lead pencil, and lightly sketch your design onto the back drop and wing. Now step back, at least ten feet, in order to see if your arrangement, perspective, and scale are correct. You may find that your distant tower is too large or too small, or that your trees are too small or too tall, or that your arrangement is not according to your well-worked-out plan. Make your corrections. Then take the back drop and wing from the stage, and lay them flat on desks or tables. With your scenery in this position carefully complete your sketch.

Now take a piece of white chalk and draw on the stage floor the ground plan. If the tower nearest the front is made large, and the one farther away slightly smaller, you will get the effect of distance. You will observe that the larger tower is not round, although it appears so to the audience. By making it flat at the back, you gain floor space for the marionettes that may be waiting to go on the stage. The bases and tops of these towers are of wood; the sides are of strips of wood which serve as a foundation for the burlap cover. The armorer’s shop, too, may be made of wood and beaver board. The effect of stone may be produced by covering the surface of these towers, walls, and shop with a mixture of sand and gesso.

Colors. When you are ready to paint the scenery, you can use ordinary house paints, showcard colors, or water colors. House paints are ready mixed. Water colors are practical and inexpensive when bought in powder form, but when you use them you should add several tablespoonfuls of a fixative made from flake glue dissolved in water. Various kinds of showcard colors are clear and pure and very easy to use, but they are comparatively expensive. If you cannot afford many colors buy red, yellow, dark blue, and white. By combining them you can get a wide range of colors. If you are not limited in the amount you can spend, add to your list orange, light green, light blue, mauve, and magenta.

Color Mixing. You probably know something about color and the mixing of colors. However, you may find the following directions helpful. First let us experiment with yellow. If you add a very little bit of blue to the yellow you can see the yellow turning to greenish-yellow. As you gradually add more blue you can see the greenish-yellow turning to yellow-green and finally to green.

Let us begin again with pure yellow. If you add a very little bit of red to the yellow you can see the yellow turning to orange-yellow. As you gradually add more red, you can see the orange-yellow turning to yellow-orange and finally to orange.

Let us begin once more with pure yellow. If you add a very little bit of blue and red to the yellow, you can see the yellow turning to a grayish-yellow. As you gradually add more blue and red you can see the grayish-yellow turning to yellowish-gray, and finally turning to a neutral gray.

Let us experiment with red. If you add a little bit of yellow to the red you can see the red turning to yellowish-red. As you gradually add more you can see the yellowish-red turning to reddish-orange, and finally to orange.

Let us begin again with pure red. If you add a very little bit of blue to the red you can see the red turning to a bluish-red. As you gradually add more blue you can see the bluish-red turning to reddish-purple and finally to purple.

Let us begin once more with pure red. If you add a very little bit of yellow and blue to the red you can see the red turning to a grayish-red. As you gradually add more yellow and blue you can see the grayish-red turning to reddish-gray and finally turning to a neutral gray.

Let us experiment with blue. If you add a little bit of yellow to the blue you can see the blue turning to greenish-blue. As you gradually add more yellow you can see the greenish-blue turning to bluish-green and finally to green.

Let us begin again with pure blue. If you add a very little bit of red to the blue you can see the blue turning to a reddish-blue. As you gradually add more red you can see the reddish-blue turning to bluish-purple and finally to purple.

Let us begin once more with pure blue. If you add a very little bit of yellow and red to the blue you can see the blue turning to a grayish-blue. As you gradually add more yellow and red you can see the grayish-blue turning to bluish-gray and finally turning to a neutral gray.

Brown, which is not a pure color, is made by adding a little blue to orange. There are yellow-browns and red-browns, but some blue is used in making every one of them.

Value and Intensity. What do these technical terms: “Color Value” and “Color Intensity” mean to you? There is a certain satisfaction in understanding their meanings and in being able to use them correctly. Value refers to the amount of light reflected by a color. Light red is lighter in value than dark red. A color is always made lighter in value by the addition of white. Intensity refers to the strength or brilliancy of a color. Pure red is intense. When a little yellow or blue is added to it, it becomes a grayish-red, and consequently is less intense. If white is added to pure red, its intensity is lessened.

Brushes. For the painting of the scenery you will need several brushes of different sizes, varying in width from the small sable brush to the inch or inch and a half bristle brush. Use large brushes whenever possible. Work from left to right, using horizontal strokes or vertical downward strokes. Brushes are expensive, and should be given excellent care and thoroughly cleaned after using.

Let us suppose that you are ready to paint the scenery for Men of Iron. Let us take Scene I: what is the time of year and what is the hour of the day? You answer, “It is a day of sunshine, in early spring.” Spring skies are clear and may be painted light blue; the trees may be painted yellow-green with splashes of pure yellow to give an effect of sunlight. The castle towers, wall, and armor shop, should be painted a warm neutral gray. An occasional touch of darker gray at the top of wall, windows, and tower suggests thickness and adds to the illusion you are creating. The distant castle tower on the back drop should be painted a lighter gray because it is far away.

In the second scene, the time of year is midsummer, and the time of day is mid-afternoon. Therefore, the sky was painted a deeper blue than that of the first scene. The trees were painted a richer green; the flowers were painted in brilliant colors. The castle walls and towers were painted a yellowish-gray, while the vines that clambered over them were painted a rich green. In order to carry the imagination of the audience into the castle, a circling stairway was painted on the right wing. The audience caught a glimpse of this stairway at the right of the tower.

In the third scene, which is laid in the great hall, the back drop, wings, and walls were painted a lighter gray than the outside walls. Sand and gesso were mixed with the gray paint in order to give the suggestion of rough stone. The great stone walls, as you know, made the old castles cold and colorless. This coldness was relieved by stained-glass windows, rich tapestries, hangings, and colorful costumes.

The boy who painted the tapestry for this scene went to books and to the old tapestries in the art museum for his inspiration. He produced the effect of rich tapestry by painting directly on the beaver board, with thin vertical strokes of pure color. Another student produced the effect of stained glass by making a design on tracing paper, painting it on both sides with water colors, and then fastening it to the window opening in the back drop. Manila, Haytol, or oak tag paper may be used instead of tracing paper; you can make them translucent by brushing both sides with a little linseed oil after the water colors are dry. A light placed behind these stained-glass windows brings out their designs and colors.

In the fourth act, which is the tournament scene, the time of year is late summer, the time of day is late afternoon. On the back drop was painted a landscape of the surrounding country, hills, trees, and a distant castle. The sky was painted a pale gold to signify the success of Myles in the combat. The royal box and fence were painted a dark earth brown. The box was enriched with gold and colorful hangings.

These directions are not meant to be followed. They are merely offered as suggestions, to assist you in meeting the problems your play may present. Every boy and girl ought to feel free enough, in every phase of his work, to express his own ideas. This should be equally true in arranging or writing a play, in making a marionette, in planning and constructing properties and scenery, and in experimenting with lighting. Few pleasures in life compare with the pleasure of creating something. In planning your scenery, much depends upon the plan and the type of stage you have chosen. No matter what the play or what the stage, you can make no mistake if you keep your backgrounds simple. Some of the greatest artists use no scenery. They produce their effects simply by means of curtains and lighting. Begin your experiment by using curtains. A light gray curtain for a back drop and the sides of your stage can give many charming effects, as you will discover when you begin experimenting with colored lights.

Scenes from the Marionette play, "Men of Iron."

Few things will show your judgment and good taste more than your scenery, which must be first, last, and always, a background for the marionettes. This means that it must be either lighter or darker than the puppets, so that they can be seen against it. It must be so simple that the eye can follow the marionette easily, and not be lost in the detail of the background, which will happen if there are too many colors, and the colors are not of the same value. The scenery should not be an end in itself, but should be a beautiful setting for the marionettes, and by its fitness give an added sense of the beauty of your play.

How to pull your curtains. Attach central ring of one curtain at A and the central ring of the other at B. Pulling string C closes the curtains, while D opens them.

So far we have not thought of the frame for our stage, which is called the proscenium, nor have we spoken of the stage curtains. These are important because they are what might be called an introduction to the play. If they strike the right note, they may even hold the thread of interest between the acts. It is usual to have a contrast between the proscenium and the curtains, and between the proscenium and the several settings of the play. If your play has several brightly lighted scenes, you will probably find that a gray proscenium with a very simple, appropriate design looks much better than a brightly colored one with elaborate designs. Use the same good taste in framing your stage picture as you would in framing any other picture. Grays, yellows, and dull gold are always pleasing. The best material to use for the curtains is unbleached muslin. Because it takes dye so beautifully, it sometimes comes to have the look of the richest old velvet. It should be thoroughly soaked in hot water and then rubbed between the hands before dipping in the dye bath. The selvedges should be gathered together and then the entire piece should be wrung out. The dye bath should be ready. If you wish a plain color you may dip the entire piece, usually four yards, two for each curtain, at one time. If, however, you wish to have the curtains darker at the bottom than at the top, you must allow the lower part to remain longer in the dye bath. As you gain experience in dyeing, you may wish to use two or even three different dyes for your curtains. The curtains for Sigurd, the Volsung, kept the same color symbolism as the costumes. The upper part was yellow to symbolize the wisdom of Odin, running into orange to symbolize the home ties of the Volsung line, and into deep red at the bottom, symbolizing the valor and courage of the hero, Sigurd. The curtains for Men of Iron were red at the top to symbolize the valor of Myles, then purple to symbolize the royal blood of the Mackworths, black at the bottom to symbolize the deceit, overthrow, and death of the Earl of Alban. Until you have acquired skill in dyeing it is best to hold to very simply colored curtains. These may be either in harmony with or in contrast to the color you have chosen for the proscenium. The curtains should never be ironed. They should be smoothed out with the hands, when the muslin is still very damp, then hung up to dry. Hem carefully at the top and bottom, fold into pleats at the top. Small brass rings should then be sewed on to every pleat for the curtain strings to pass through. To the bottom of the curtain small dress weights should be fastened every five or six inches just under each curtain ring. Crease the folds with your hands. Your curtain may come to have its own way of looking just right—of behaving properly when it has its part to do, and may add the last note of craftsmanship and perfection to your scenery.

CHAPTER VII
Making Your Properties

Puppets usually require a few well-chosen properties. These should be in scale with the puppets, and serve some practical need. Properties should be similar to the things used in the time of your play, in the country of your play, and by the class or classes of people represented in your play.

It is well to be familiar with the life, customs, and manners of the people who lived at the time of your play. The library, historical museum, and art museum are sources of information. First, there is the library in which there are always books and pictures and a wealth of information for your use. Take several pieces of tracing paper with you when you go there, also several well-sharpened pencils, and your colored crayons. When you find a suitable illustration, make a sketch or a tracing of it and careful color notes.

Let us suppose that you are about to make the properties for Men of Iron. Take the story and from it make a list of the properties that you will need. You will probably make a list somewhat like this:

Act I—Courtyard. Properties required:

1. Bench for the squires to sit upon and later for Myles to stand upon. 2. An upright post, or pell, to be used by Myles when he practises with his sword. 3. An anvil to be placed in the armorer’s shop. 4. A ball for Myles.

Act II—Garden. Properties required:

1. Garden seat for Lady Anne to sit upon when she plays her lute. 2. A lute for Lady Anne. 3. A ball for Myles.

Act III—Great Hall. Properties required:

1. Throne for the king to sit upon. 2. A dais for the throne to rest upon. 3. A seat for the minstrel. 4. A carved oak chest, such as was usually seen in the great halls. 5. Royal carpet. 6. Hangings for the ladies’ gallery. 7. A lute for the minstrel.

Act IV—The tournament. Properties required:

1. A royal box. 2. A fence.

The bench in Scene I was made of wood and was a copy of a picture of an English XVth Century bench.

Sometimes there are properties and effects that take special ingenuity and skill. Many boys have unusual ability in solving these problems. In the first scene of Men of Iron an anvil was needed. One boy asked to be responsible for the anvil. There was a miniature anvil in the classroom that had been used the year before by the class that had given Sigurd, the Volsung. Now, what did he do? First, he drilled two holes into the top of the anvil and placed a strip of mica on the iron between the holes. Then he attached a thin coil of wire, about the size of that in an electric toaster, screwed it down into the holes, where it met the charged wires which came up through the holes in the anvil. When the current was turned on, the coil glowed red. This boy also made a hammer, which he fastened in the hand of the puppet armorer. From the hammer a long wire stretched upward to the controller, and then down behind the scenes to the socket. When the armorer struck the anvil with his hammer, brilliant sparks flew in every direction. Care was taken to strike the broad surface of the anvil top and to avoid striking the coil of wire. You will notice that he placed the mica and coil close to the edge, in order to give the armorer plenty of room for the strokes of his hammer.

The garden bench in Act II was made by a pupil who had made a special study of gardens. When one of the boys found that a lute was needed for this scene, he went to the art museum where he had the good fortune to find two lutes, a large one and a small one, both of Italian make. He then went to the historical museum where he found pictures of similar lutes used in England, in the time of his play. He now decided to use the large lute in the museum as a model for the lute of his minstrel, and the smaller one for Lady Alice. He then made careful drawings to scale, proceeded to carve the instruments from wood, and to stain them, and enrich them with gold. When they were finished, with the little detail of strings, they were such an exquisite note of perfection that they added much to the beauty of the scene, and gave a thrill of delight to all who saw them.

In Act III, a Gothic throne and a Gothic chest were needed. The boy who was responsible for these went to the art museum to look for Gothic furniture. He found a Gothic chest, and adapted its proportions and design to both the throne and the chest. He copied a XVth Century stool for the minstrel to sit upon. The carpet and hangings for this scene were made from large scraps of rich crimson velvet given by a generous upholsterer.

In Act IV, the royal box was historically true, as it was made from drawings of a royal box found in an old illuminated manuscript. It was constructed from wood and beaver board. Tapestries hung from the front of the box and pennants from tall poles at the corners.

Sometimes, when scenery has been especially well designed, it makes properties almost unnecessary. For instance, in the throne room of King Elf in Sigurd, the Volsung the background is a dark, richly colored tapestry. Against this was placed the throne on a raised dais. With this single property the scene was a satisfying picture. When the three fair-haired maidens, dressed in white and gold, with flowing veils of pale rose, came to present the baby Sigurd to King Elf, it was a lovely picture.

The materials used for making properties are usually wood, cardboard, tacks, glue, ½-inch linen or cotton tape, papier-mâché, gesso, and paints. The tools needed are hammer, coping saw, scissors, and a sharp knife. Drawings should be kept before the worker for constant reference. They are his guide for proportion, design, and scale.

Accidents are as likely to happen in puppet families and at puppet parties as they are to happen in our homes and at our own parties. If the chairs are unsteady and the tables too light, they may cause trouble and embarrassment. Think what might have happened at Bob Kratchet’s Christmas party in Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol, when all the puppets sat down to the well-laden table, if some thought had not been given to making it secure. How do you imagine this was done? The table and all the chairs were glued to a large piece of cardboard. When the scene was set, this was placed on the stage. In the time of Bob Kratchet, just as in our own time, houses contained many pieces of furniture and other things of daily use. Imagine what would happen, if we made all the properties that are mentioned in the story and then tried to crowd them on to the stage. There would be no room for the puppets to move about in. Our eyes would be confused with details and the picture would be ruined. Here is a list of the properties that were chosen by the group of children who gave The Childhood of David Copperfield:

Act I. Sitting room in the Copperfield house An armchair for Peggoty A table for Peggoty and work basket Stool for little David Curtains for the windows Act II. In the boathouse A chair for Peggoty A chair for Mrs. Gummage A table for Peggoty’s work basket and balls of bright-colored wool. A chest for David and Emily to sit upon A small box for Ham A chest of drawers, on top of the drawers a tray, teapot, two cups, and saucers Curtains for the windows Act III. The seashore A log for David to sit upon A large rock for Emily to sit upon Two or three small rocks to complete the picture Act IV. The schoolroom Six benches for the schoolboys Two desks, one for the master, one for his assistant Two chairs Books for the desks Act V. Betsy Trotwood’s garden A long bench where David rested A large kite for old Master Dick Three or four flower pots to complete the picture

Nearly all properties need some decoration. Some need color, others need merely stain. Occasionally it is necessary to give the effect of carved wood. This is necessary in plays of the Middle Ages like Sigurd, the Volsung, and Men of Iron, where your properties represent old wood carving. Gesso may be used to suggest this carving. Gesso was used by the craftsmen of the Middle Ages, especially in Italy, for enriching surfaces. This is the formula for making it: 2 tablespoons of varnish, 12 tablespoons of glue (best quality), 8 tablespoons of linseed oil. Mix these three ingredients together and allow to stand. In a separate dish put 20 rounded tablespoons full of whiting and then mix with water until it is the consistency of thick cream. Pour this into your first mixture and cook in a double boiler for ten minutes, stirring constantly. Then pour into a bottle and cork tightly. The gesso is now ready for use.

Work out your design and then draw it carefully upon the chair, chest, or throne which you mean to decorate. Apply the gesso with a small brush. Be very careful to keep well within the line of your design. The gesso will give you a pattern in relief. You must keep each surface flat for at least 12 hours, or until dry. If the design is not high enough when it is dry, a second coat may be applied. When you have covered all the parts which are to be painted and the gesso is dry, rub it over with a bit of oil paint mixed in these proportions: ¾ of ivory black, ¼ of burnt sienna thinned with a little turpentine. After the oil paint has dried, add a coat of dull finishing wax and rub down.

A fountain is a most effective and beautiful device. When placed in a garden, surrounded by miniature ferns and flowers, with birds singing, and soft colored lights playing upon its jetting water, it makes a scene of enchantment. Fountains are very simply made as you can see in this illustration. A low cake tin, with a hollow tin centerpiece, a funnel, and a piece of ¾-inch rubber tubing about six feet long, are the only materials necessary.

Occasionally there is a need for smoke. In the play of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, the genii appear out of a cloud of smoke. In Sigurd, the Volsung, the dragon may be made to breathe forth smoke. In the Adventures of Alice, you may remember the old caterpillar who sits on a toadstool and smokes his pipe. Smoke can be made from ammonia and hydrochloric acid. The illustration shows how this is done. In order to make the dragon breathe forth smoke, a rubber tube was run through its body from mouth to tail. The end that extended from the tail was connected with the tube that came from the bottles. When a boy blew through the tube, smoke came from the dragon’s mouth. In the marionette play of Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, a hole was bored through the stage floor at the spot where the genie was to appear. At the clap of thunder that announced the genie’s appearance, a cloud of smoke poured forth.

In the Adventures of Alice, when the caterpillar was made, a tube was run through his body from tail to mouth. When this tube was attached to the bottle tube, and the lazy old fellow took his pipe in his mouth, he appeared to blow out great puffs of smoke to the surprise and delight of everyone.

The toadstool was such a nice property that you may wish to know how it was constructed. The girl who made it found some beautiful pictures of toadstools in an old number of the National Geographic. She chose one of interesting shape and color as her model, and reproduced it with papier-mâché. When it was quite dry, she colored it to represent the illustration. It was winter time when this play was given. Had it been any other season, she could have gone to the woods and fields and searched out a beautiful specimen which would have served her purpose much better than the illustration.

Fireplaces and stoves are comparatively modern inventions. Braziers were used in earlier times. They consisted of a metal tripod and a basin to hold the coals. A brazier could be used appropriately in a Greek or Roman play, or in a play of the Middle Ages. The tripod could be made of wire or of tin. The basin could be made of tin, wood, or papier-mâché. Both the tripod and the basin should be painted to imitate bronze or iron. A tiny red bulb can be fastened into the center of the basin, and attached to a wire leading down from the tripod, through the stage floor. Slightly conceal the bulb with small bits of wood. The warm light from this brazier will throw a glow on the face of a marionette, who is warming his hands over it.

A marionette may carry a lantern. This marionette lantern may be made from any small tin or cardboard box. Find some pictures of old lanterns suitable for your play, and then make a lantern as much like the illustration as you can. A pattern of holes should be punched in the sides. A tiny electric bulb may be fastened inside the lantern and its wire carried up to the controller and from there to the battery.

Properties should be made in a craftsmanlike way. A craftsman respects his materials and his tools. He cleans his brushes and palette as soon as he finishes the work of the day, and puts his materials in order for the next day’s work. He never hurries. His reward is his satisfaction in the excellence of his work.

CHAPTER VIII
Lighting Your Stage

Let us imagine that we are seated in a dimly lighted theater. The signal rings. The curtains open and what do we see? People. What makes them visible? Light. What makes the color? Light. What makes the interesting shadows? Light. It is light that does all these things, makes the picture visible and carries our thoughts and feelings into the play which is about to begin.

By what means is all this done? By means of footlights, overhead lights, movable strips of lights, and movable spotlights. A few years ago every stage was lighted by footlights only. These lights threw a crude glare on to the faces of the actors and sometimes made large ugly shadows on the back drop. Later, when overhead lights were used with footlights, there were no shadows at all. This was equally bad. The majority of people did not seem to mind this, but when certain artists went to the theater, they began to ask themselves whether there might not be some way of remedying the glare of the footlights and of managing the shadows. These artists began to experiment. They made little stages, took the footlights away, and began, by means of arc lights, to light their stages indirectly. They began to use movable spotlights behind the scenes, and to fasten lights on to strips of wood and place these strips wherever they felt they were necessary.

They made further experiments. They covered their lights with pieces of different colored silks and gelatine. This not only removed the glare of the lights but produced new and very interesting effects. Next they turned to Nature and began to observe how she produced her wonderful effects. They discovered that these usually came in the soft light of early morning and late evening, in twilight and moonlight, and not in the strong garish light of mid-day. With these observations in mind, they went to work to reproduce some of these effects. The result of their experiments is that, to-day, we see stage pictures as beautiful as pictures painted by the finest artists. Lighting has now come to be such an important factor in the producing of plays that no stage, however small, can ignore it.

Let us now consider the kind of lighting which may be used in the several kinds of marionette stages. The Punch and Judy stage requires no lighting when used in daylight. But even this stage requires some thought for its lighting when it is used in a darkened room. Your set of Christmas-tree lights may be fastened to the top of the proscenium arch and an extension light may be used in the same way as is shown in the illustration. Christmas-tree lights and extension lights are all that are necessary for the table stage and the soap-box stage. In the chapter on “Making Your Stage” you will see how these lights are placed.

If you have made the semi-professional stage with overhead lights, footlights, and strips, you are ready to experiment with your lighting. Begin by asking yourself whether the scenes of your play take place indoors or out of doors. What is the time of day and the season of the year? Is it an out-of-door scene, representing the cold of winter, or the heat of summer? Does your scene occur in the soft light of early morning or in the glow of sunset? Is your scene laid in a deep cool wood or in a warm sunny garden? All of these questions must be considered.

Now, how can you produce these varied effects of sunlight and moonlight, coldness and warmth, somberness and gaiety? Certain colors such as red, orange, and yellow are called warm colors, because they give the feeling of warmth. Other colors such as green, blue, and violet are called cool, because they give the feeling of coolness. If your scene suggests warmth, whether indoors or out of doors, begin experimenting with warm lights, ambers, reds, and yellows. You will find that usually a certain number of white lights are needed with the colored lights in order to produce the effects you seek.

Marionette Ballet, "Petroushka"

Everyone knows that color produces varied emotions. We are familiar with the effects of red which are stimulating, exciting, or irritating. The toreador, recognizing this principle, waves a flaming red mantle before the bull. Blue has an exactly opposite effect. It quiets and soothes, and when it runs into violet, it becomes depressing. Experiment with purple lights and you will find that they give a note of gloom, mystery, or of impending disaster. Yellow is the color that brings gaiety and light-heartedness, as you will recall when you contrast your own feelings on a sunshiny day and on a gray day.

You will find that most out-of-door effects are produced by soft natural lighting which gives a sense of distance and perspective to the scene. For this effect use yellow, amber, and white lights with an occasional blue or red. Only lights coming from several directions will produce the subtle tones of nature. This means using footlights with discretion, stronger lights overhead, and placing strips wherever you need them in order to destroy the shadows which other lights may throw. Sometimes it takes several hours of experimenting to find the right lighting for a single scene. It means changing the position of the strips, using more lighting or less lighting, and always asking yourself whether your lighting is just that which your scene demands to bring out its mood. The shadows produced by footlights may sometimes be used to give charm or mystery to a scene. For instance, in the second scene in the Petrouchka Ballet, only footlights were used. The pattern of the shadows of the dancers falling on a neutral background was very effective.

If your scene is laid indoors, your lighting will be somewhat determined by the period of the play. For instance, in the third act of Men of Iron, the great hall of Devlin Castle was softly lighted to suggest candle and torch light. This effect was produced by using amber and blue lights overhead; red, blue, white, and amber in the footlights. A strip of blue and red lights placed upright against the proscenium frame threw rich color against the king and those of his courtiers who stood near the throne. This color was most pleasing when it fell upon the armor of Myles as he knelt before the king.

Again your lighting may be determined by the kind of action. A gay scene naturally requires bright lighting. As an illustration of this: The royal kitchen in the Knave of Hearts was made warm and gay by the use of white and amber lights overhead, and amber, blue, and red footlights to throw rich colors on the costumes. The fireplace gave a warm light, and through the window could be seen the bright summer landscape.

As an illustration of a serious and somber scene, we might take the first act of the hero tale, Sigurd, the Volsung. Here many blue lights were used with a very few red and amber. The result was that the great hall became a mysterious place in which Odin himself could appear, and a somber enough setting for the traitorous Siggeir.

If your picture is an imaginative one, such as the garden of jewels in Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, you are free to use your lights as you wish, to produce a scene of enchantment.

When you have finished your experimenting, and have found the right lighting for a scene, take a sheet of paper and make a chart. This illustration suggests a form for you to follow.

Chart
Name of Play
Scene I.
	Overhead lights.
Left (as seen from the audience)		Right
	blue, white, white, white, blue
	Footlights
Left		Right
	blue, red, amber, white, red, blue
Left strip
	blue, red, blue, blue
		Right strip
		blue, amber, blue, blue
Left extension
	white

The stage electrician will need a chart for each scene of your play. The changing of the lights for each scene will be his responsibility.

You will probably have little need for baby-spots unless your equipment is very elaborate, and to use them requires almost professional experience. Every boy who is interested in electricity knows that a rheostat or dimmer is used for turning lights off and on gradually. They may be purchased for a small sum or they may be made.

Every new play and every new scene presents a new problem for you to solve. You will know that you have solved your problem when, as a group, you can sit before each scene and feel that it is harmonious, that it surrounds the figures with suitable atmosphere, and that your lighting interprets the idea and mood of your play.

From A the current from one wire passes to the stationary electrode C which is submerged in a gallon jar of water containing one eighth teaspoon of ammonium chloride. The graduated electrodes (all connected) are fastened to the wooden bar B which is made to slide up and down the vertical posts at either side. Both sets of electrodes are made of thin sheet copper. By means of the cord (attached to the screw eye in B) which runs over the pulleys D, D down to the spool drum E, the upper electrodes can be slowly let down into the ammonium chloride solution, completing the circuit and increasing it as more of the electrode surface is exposed to the liquid. This dimmer will carry as many lights as your theater will ever require.

CHAPTER IX
Training Your Puppeteers

The stage is set. The play has been chosen. The puppets are ready. Let us gather around the table to talk about our parts. There should be a copy of the play in the hands of each puppeteer. Begin by reading the play, each pupil reading the part that he has chosen. After the reading, discuss and analyze each character, his appearance, his disposition, and his voice.

For instance, Captain Peggoty in The Childhood of David Copperfield would have a rough-and-ready seaman’s voice that would boom from his deep chest, but his words would show generosity and kindness. Alice, in Alice in Wonderland would have a little girl’s voice, one that would suggest wonderment, sometimes impatience, and a quaint dignity when she tried to appear grown up. The White Rabbit’s voice would be high, nervous, and impatient. The Caterpillar would have a slow, full, dignified voice, while the voice of the Duchess would be gruff and peppery. Deacon Bowman, the faithful old servant in Men of Iron, would have the trembling, wavering voice of extreme old age.

How shall the right person be found for each part? One of the most satisfactory ways is that of trying out for parts, with the group acting as a jury. The judges must keep in mind that the voice is very important in interpreting character and they will do well to choose the voice that is best suited to the character. If each puppeteer takes the same position at the table at each rehearsal, you will soon associate each voice with a certain place. This will make it much easier to address your lines to the proper character. The lines should be reread slowly for the sake of better understanding. In this way, each in turn soon comes to read the lines of his character with real appreciation. Do not hurry over the little words. Every word should be clearly spoken. Lift your eyes as often as you can from your manuscript. “Talk” your lines. In almost no time you will know your lines without looking at them. When you can speak your lines so naturally that any of your friends, with his eyes closed, could imagine the character you are interpreting from your voice, you are ready to take your puppet in hand.

Manipulation of your marionette is the second step in your training as a puppeteer. You will be surprised at the amount of time this requires. Some of the greatest puppeteers have spent months learning to manage a single puppet. In all your practice work, avoid careless motions of your hands, with your thoughts elsewhere. Be wholly absorbed in what you wish to do.

Your puppet in the making has been so weighted that when you hold your controller you will know the very second the puppet’s feet touch the floor. This delicate position must be held. Hold your controller steady. If you lower your controller after the feet have touched the floor your puppet will sag. Behold the sagging puppet! Begin gently. Do not jerk the strings. The least motion of the hand brings a quick response from the puppet. In fact, puppets are just like ourselves, if handled skilfully they will do almost anything you may wish them to do. As your skill grows so will your pleasure in your puppet grow. Its many almost human movements and gestures will delight you as they have delighted all those men and women who have been its friends. If you can hold your marionette before a mirror and practise with it, speaking your lines, as you pull the strings, you will be surprised to see how lifelike it becomes. You will discover that a slight movement may indicate very strong feeling.

A whole chapter could be written about the movements of the head. Let us see how the head may show thoughtfulness. When you are thoughtful, how do you hold your head? Release the head strings and your puppet’s head will drop forward as yours has just done. If you wish to turn this thoughtful pose into one of discouragement, let the shoulders droop forward as well, so that the chest becomes hollow. How would you stand if listening? Release the head strings and slant the controller so that the head falls a little to one side and a little forward. How near to this and yet how different is the attitude of craftiness and cunning. To the listening pose you simply add a forward thrust of the head and a hunching up of the shoulders. For the proud, erect bearing of a king, hold your controller horizontally. If your puppet is a charming young lady, her head will make many quick, graceful little turns. This may be done by releasing the head strings and tipping the controller back and forth.

We now come to the movements of the shoulders and the waist. The center string controls the movements of the waist and is used whenever you want your puppet to sit down, kneel down, or bow. As you know there are a hundred different ways of sitting down. The young and old, each has his way. So, too, have the proud and the humble, the gentle and the boisterous. When you make your puppet sit down, unless he is very stiff and proud, let his body settle a little. You will notice that most people do this. When you pull the center string you must at the same time lower the controller slightly to keep the feet from swinging off the floor.

There are quite as many ways of bowing as there are of sitting down. A courtier would bow from the waist, his head slightly bent; the little princess, in her full skirts, would courtesy gracefully with her head tilted backward.

Next, we come to that small but important thing, the hand. When one knows how to control it, it can do such wonderful things. It can show force or gentleness, harshness or kindness, nervous excitement or shaky old age. It is possible for a marionette to draw a sword, practise at the pells, engage in fist fights, and hammer at a forge. When a marionette must hammer at a forge, as in Sigurd, the Volsung, and in Men of Iron, be sure that it makes a heavy, steady stroke. The hammer must be of iron. If the armorer sings a jolly rhythmic song, he can keep time with his hammer. Suit your gestures to your words. It is the fault of inexperienced puppeteers that they make all gestures alike. Experienced puppeteers suit their gestures to the ideas and to the feelings which they wish to convey.

It is when a puppet is called upon to do some unusual thing, such as dancing, climbing a wall, fighting a duel, riding a horse in a tournament, that difficulties appear.

Let us take the first of these—dancing. The Bear in Men of Iron danced. Dainty little Lady Alice in Men of Iron danced. Fat jolly Tweedle Dee in Alice in Wonderland danced. The surly old cook in the Duchess’s kitchen danced. But imagine the differences in these dances! Each dance expressed the character of the dancer. The Bear danced to a lively jig whistled by his trainer. His steps were carefully worked out in time with the tune, and when once learned were never varied. Little Lady Alice, with dainty step and charming courtesies, danced to the tune of a medieval love song. Tweedle Dee danced to a rollicking tune played on an accordion. His steps were lively and when he danced across the stage on his right foot, kicking out his left in time with the music, he made everyone laugh. The cook’s dance was an Irish jig.

Puppets are versatile. To them belongs not only the interpretation of the spoken word but they are equally at home in the world of pantomime, music, and dance.

The illustrations in this book show how puppets can even perform a ballet. Here you can see their interpretation of the colorful and dramatic Russian ballet, Petrouchka. The cast of twenty-one puppets included four principal actors, the manager, the Moor, the Ballerina, and Petrouchka and besides these, a showman and a trained bear, an organ grinder, and bands of gypsies.

A ballet or an opera will naturally require a different procedure than a play, because the character analysis comes from the music. Here are the steps by which the Petrouchka Ballet was worked out:

1. The story was told to the pupils.

2. The musical score as a whole was played to them.

3. The motif for each character and incident was played to them.

4. The musical score as a whole was again played and the pupils listened for the motifs.

5. Each character was analyzed and his probable actions upon the stage were discussed.

6. The puppet was taken in hand and the interpretation of the music with it was begun.

There are four scenes in this ballet. The first scene is a street fair in a Russian village. A little theater occupies the center back stage in which the stage manager exhibits the Moor, the Ballerina, and Petrouchka. The scene closes with their lively dance and Petrouchka’s declaration of love to the Ballerina.

Scene II is in Petrouchka’s box and shows his despairing love for the Ballerina.

Scene III is in the Moor’s box and shows him playing with his ball. The Ballerina enters and they dance together. Petrouchka rushes in and in a jealous rage tries to kill the Moor. The Moor chases Petrouchka out of his box.

Scene IV is again at the fair. There are gay dances by gypsies and nounous. Petrouchka runs in, chased by the Moor who stabs him. The people draw away and the Ballerina kneels beside him. The manager comes in, the Moor, the Ballerina, and all the people depart. The manager drags poor, lifeless Petrouchka toward the little theater. Suddenly up over the little theater appears the spirit of Petrouchka, mocking and gesticulating. The manager stands aghast.

So that you may understand how this ballet was produced, let us take the second scene and work it out together. The scene opens with a crashing chord as Petrouchka is thrown onto the stage. (No less than thirty times did the puppeteer rehearse this entrance with the music.) He lay in a motionless heap. At a few plaintive notes he lifts his head, then drops it again. To the quick notes that follow he beats the floor with his hands. As the music grows in volume, his despair increases, and he leaps to his feet and rushes wildly about the room, beating frantically upon the walls. As the music changes and becomes soft and reminiscent, Petrouchka thinks of the Ballerina and stretches out his arms, then sorrowfully drops his head. The motif for the Ballerina announces her entrance. She comes in gay and light as a bird. Petrouchka, overcome with emotion, drops on his knees before her. She continues her gay little dance and leaves as lightly as she entered. Despair again seizes Petrouchka, who dashes himself against the walls, then finally falls to the ground. The curtains close.

In a gymnasium there are certain exercises that bring all the muscles of the body into use. Likewise there are times when the whole body of a marionette must come into action. If you want a marionette to climb a wall, your audience must feel that the marionette is actually pulling himself, with effort, up and over the wall. This requires a great deal of patient practice. To make your marionette climb a wall, he must first appear to catch hold of the wall, then to draw up one knee, then to strain up as you would, then to throw an arm over the wall, then to pull his body up until he can throw a leg over the wall. If this is well done, the audience climbs the walls with the puppet.

Sometimes, puppets must appear to assist each other. For instance, when Myles was thrown on the ground by the bully, Walter Blunt, Gascoigne, his friend, got down on one knee beside him, threw his arm around his shoulders, and apparently helped him to rise.

There are certain little tricks which are very effective, such as crying, or dropping off to sleep and snoring. In the Childhood of David Copperfield, Mrs. Gummage frequently lifted her apron to her eyes and wept. As one corner of her apron was sewed to her hand, this was an easy thing to do. Can you see her, shoulders shaking, her apron to her eyes, sniffling, “I am a lone, lorn critter and everything goes contrary with me?”

In the illustration, page 130, you can see how a puppet may appear to toss a ball. This is the way it was done. One puppeteer held the Moor’s controller while his assistant held the end of a string attached to the ball. Through practice, these puppeteers were able to make the Moor’s hand and the ball rise at the same moment, thereby giving the impression that the Moor tossed the ball. When the Moor stopped playing with the ball, the puppeteer who held the string attached to the ball let it fall to the stage. The audience felt that the Moor was tired of playing and had tossed the ball aside.

In this same ballet, an organ grinder appeared. The handle of the organ was fastened to one of his hands. When the puppeteer pulled the hand string up and down in time with the music, it seemed to the audience that the organ was really being played. A marionette can be made to play a flute. The flute is fastened in one hand, and a string from the flute passed through the mouth of the marionette up through the top of its head to the controller. When the puppeteer pulls the flute string, the flute is raised to the mouth of the marionette.

All these effects and many others can be accomplished when you understand the manipulation of your strings. Sometimes you may wish to use birds, bees, butterflies, or flying dragons. If you keep the wings in constant motion you can make your audience believe that these winged creatures are really flying. Of course, bees and butterflies move their wings more rapidly than birds and dragons. The more you observe flying birds, the better you will be able to imitate them.

You have made the puppet look the part, now see that it acts the part. You have made your hero look like a hero, now see that he acts like a hero. You made the king look like a king. Can you make him act like a king?

The third step in your training as a puppeteer comes when you have acquired enough skill to manage your puppet. Then you are ready to join your fellow puppeteers on the bridge. At first you will probably feel that the bridge is not large enough for you alone, not to mention four or five others. Experience will show you, however, that you can do a great deal in a very small space. This means good management and practice and consideration for your fellow puppeteers.

Now that the puppet is on the stage, imagine what a shock it would be to your audience to see a great hand coming down below the proscenium arch. To prevent this, always keep your hand, even during rehearsals, close to your control.

While on the stage, every motion must have a reason behind it. Puppets cannot move aimlessly about the stage any more than real actors can. Every gesture, too, must mean something.

Now the time has come to show yourselves as real artists. Your stage is your picture and though you change it with every move of your puppets, you are always making it the picture. This means that you should know what artists speak of as arrangement or composition.

Let us suppose that you are sitting in the audience and saw two puppets standing like this: “Oh, how stupid,” you would say. Imagine them standing like this:

Upper: Marionettes from "The Adventures of Alice."
Lower Left: Bear and Trainer from "Men of Iron."
Lower Right: Marionette from "Petroushka."

“How interesting.” But why interesting? The first spacing was equal, hence it was monotonous. The second was varied, therefore, more interesting. Again you are sitting in the audience looking at the picture and this is what you see:

Two small figures on one side and one large figure on the other side. How satisfying! The reason is balance. You can see by these two simple illustrations how necessary it is to keep in mind not only the movements of your puppets, but the positions of all the puppets on the stage. If each puppeteer understands this and considers the relation of his puppet to every other puppet, the audience will always see an interesting picture.

Equally as important as the stage picture is the conduct of your puppets when on the stage. They should all show interest when another puppet is speaking. This may be done by turning the head to listen, nodding the head to show agreement, shaking the head to show disagreement, leaning forward to show interest. In a hundred small ways a puppet can show life. The point is, there should be no dead puppets on the stage.

But there is a danger here. Puppets must not divert the attention of the audience from the main character. For example, in Men of Iron in the scene showing the great hall of Devlin Castle, the minstrel is singing before the king and his court. The jester, with his pranks and capers, could easily have taken too much of the attention of the audience to himself and away from the minstrel, but instead, he sat down on the floor near the minstrel and pretended to be playing a lute. He followed every gesture of the minstrel and when the minstrel finished his song, rose and bowed low before the king. The jester did likewise, to the amusement of the audience.

Good puppeteering is much like good ball playing, the interest is in the ball but the ball always moves. It goes from player to player. Any player who holds the ball is the center of interest, some longer and some shorter. Your skill and cleverness can keep this sense of movement and interest in your puppets and their play. This smoothness is accomplished by your quickness in watching for the last words spoken by the speaker before you, which is called your cue; and also by your cleverness in planning ways to help out a puppeteer and his puppet who has difficult things to do.

When the bear trainer, for example, commands his bear to stand on his head, the boy who is holding the bear’s controller must have time enough to make the difficult manipulation of the strings. If the puppeteers who manage the squires make their puppets lean forward and call out in surprise to each other, “What? A trick?” “The bear can do a trick.” “Look.” “Bravo!” “Bravo!” (as the bear succeeds in standing on its head), they will be of great assistance to the bear puppeteer.

Here is an illustration of the way in which you can avoid awkward pauses. The Knave of Hearts, in the play by that name, steals some tarts and climbs out of the window. Now you can see that his puppeteer would need plenty of time in getting the knave through the window. Lady Violetta, who helps him steal the tarts, shows great excitement and cries to him to hurry, then she runs to the door, saying that she hears someone coming. Then she runs back again. She repeats this until the knave has made his escape. You can easily imagine how this clever trick excited the audience.

Getting your puppet off the stage is just as important as getting it on. Time your exits so that there is no awkward pause between the last word spoken and the exit.

You have imagined yourself sitting in the audience seeing a picture. Now can you imagine your disappointment when you cannot understand a single word the puppets say? Inexperienced puppeteers are apt to think that it is the high, loud voice that will reach the people in the last row of seats. Experienced puppeteers know that it is the clear, full, rich voice that carries. Address your words to those farthest away from you. Keep in mind that your voice must travel down and out through the proscenium arch. If your head is not lowered, your voice will strike the curtain, which will deaden it.

Sometimes it is necessary to make the voice seem to come from a distance and yet every word must be distinct. This can be done in a very simple way. Bend your arm and lift it to your face, holding your mouth inside your elbow. Now when you speak, your words seem to come from a distance. As you slowly lift your mouth from your arm, your voice seems to come nearer and nearer. In Sigurd, the Volsung, there is a scene where the dragon, who possesses a treasure of gold, comes, at twilight, out of the rocky crevice of a great cliff, to drink at a pool. Before he is seen, his voice is dimly heard calling, “Gold, gold, my gold, my gold.” The boy who spoke these lines used this trick so cleverly that his audience shivered as the dragon appeared.

Every person knows that the greatest charm of a voice is its naturalness. This naturalness comes to you when you let your feelings go down the strings into your puppet. Then it is that your puppet comes to life, is gay, sad, prankish, haughty, timid, bold, willful, cunning, sly, or lovable. When your puppet obeys your every feeling, you and your puppet are one.

CHAPTER X
Presenting Your Play

The successful presenting of a play requires much planning and organization. It will be necessary to choose a property man, two assistants, a stage electrician, an inspector of the strings, one assistant, and a prompter. It is the business of the property man to see that the scenery and properties are in perfect condition before each performance. He, with his assistant, sets the stage long in advance of the performance. He changes the settings for each act. It is necessary for him to have two assistants, one for the right and one for the left of the stage. The property man finds places for all his properties. He places the properties for each scene together. He places the back drops and wings in the order in which they are to be used. Each property, when not in use, should be in its place. Benches should be provided behind the scenes for the puppeteers. If chairs are used, beware of squeaky ones.

The stage electrician is responsible for the lights and the making of all changes in lighting between acts. He must be provided with a chart of instructions, giving the lighting plan for every scene. This plan should be securely tacked where it can be easily referred to. The electrician can also take care of the drawing of the curtains, which is an important task. There should also be a sheet of cues for the drawing of the curtains, since a scene can be spoiled by drawing the curtains too soon, too quickly, too slowly, or too jerkily. The last words spoken in the first scene of Men of Iron were: “I will climb the wall and fetch it.” This was the signal or cue for the electrician to close the curtains.

The prompter ought to have a low, clear voice and ought to be a person in whom every puppeteer has confidence. Girls usually make good prompters because of the quality of their voices. The prompter should stand on the bridge near the middle and always keep her eyes on the lines. She should never fail to prompt a puppeteer the instant he needs it. She never confuses the puppeteers by trying to prompt them when they do not need it. She must know the play so well that she understands every pause.

The inspector of the strings is another important person in the organization. This office is usually well filled by a girl. If there are a great many puppets she may need an assistant. It is her duty to test all the strings about a half hour before the play. This is done by placing the thumb and forefinger on the string, just under the controller, then letting the string pass between the thumb and forefinger as they travel down to the marionette. If there is a weak part in the string it can be easily detected. She sees that the fastening at the controller is secure, and that the strings hang straight and untangled from the controller to the marionette. She should provide a first-aid box fully equipped with scissors, thread, paper of pins, thumb tacks, and needles. A threaded needle, with the thread the length of the knee strings, can be pinned into the curtain so that it is available the second it is needed. A place for everything, and everything in its place, does much toward making your performance move along with smoothness and rapidity. All puppeteers, including property man, electrician, and prompter should wear gymnasium shoes. In fact, anyone who assists behind the scenes should do the same. If you find that your bridge stairs creak the puppeteers should remain on the bridge throughout the scene. Before a puppeteer comes down from the bridge, he hangs up his marionette.

Since silence is so necessary behind the scenes, it can readily be understood how important it is to have absolutely no talking on the bridge, or between puppeteers who are waiting behind the stage. Scenes must be changed and properties moved almost noiselessly. If you have a high ideal of perfection for your play, two or three weeks of daily rehearsals will be necessary. This is especially true for any marionette ballet, such as Petrouchka, where it is necessary to memorize the music, because each puppeteer is dependent on the music for his cues. Before the curtains open all marionettes that are to be in the scene should be in their places on the stage. Hold your controller with a steady hand, so that your marionette is motionless. Keep your puppet on its feet. Do not let it sag. Remember the sagging puppet.

As soon as the curtains open, begin your lines. Remember that a play is like a piece of music, it moves onward in perfect time. An awkward pause, or hesitation, breaks the time and destroys the spell you are weaving about your audience. Entrances and exits should be so arranged that the marionette makes his entrance and begins to speak his lines as soon as the speaker before him finishes his lines. We have spoken of the spell that you are trying to weave. Let us see what has been done, so far, toward this end. The puppets are beautifully made. The scenery is lovely in design and color. Hands, through patient practice, have acquired that deftness and sureness that we call skill. The voices are well pitched and appropriate for each character.

The greatest thing, however, is yet to be done. It is to touch the imagination of your audience. The key to this world of the imagination is suggestion. The lights and setting give the mood. The voices and the movements of the puppets convey the thoughts and emotions of the characters of the play. The harmony of lights, setting, voices, and the movements of the puppets work the spell.

In the battle scene in Sigurd, the Volsung, the curtains open on a stage where a low mound and one tree is silhouetted against a twilight sky. A bit of afterglow still lingers. On the ground are several shields and spears and two prostrate figures. Against one of the figures lies Sigmund, the great Norse hero. Beside him kneels his faithful wife, Hiordis. The audience feels that, shrouded in the mysterious blue light, are a great host of noble slain. Sigmund bids Hiordis gather up the pieces of his broken sword to keep for his son that is to be born. Out of the shadows, dimly seen in his “gleaming gray mantle and cloud-blue hood,” comes Odin, to welcome Sigmund to the hall of the heroes in Walhalla. Hiordis bows her head in silence and the audience experiences her grief, and shares her hope for the future. The afterglow in the sky seems to be a promise of a new day.