Puppet Shadow Shows
To work a Puppet Shadow Show is more difficult than either of the preceding entertainments, and requires considerable skill and ingenuity to present satisfactorily. As the name implies, the shadows in this case are cast upon the screen by lay figures, and the performers, of whom two are requisite, do not appear at all.
The simplest way to make a “stage” upon which to exhibit your puppets is to stretch a strong piece of cord across the corner of a room, and hang therefrom a sheet which shall reach from one wall to the other. Some people prefer to stretch it across an open doorway, but this is largely a matter of convenience, and is not always possible.
Before fastening up the sheet mark upon it a rectangle, as shown in [Fig. 9], the rectangle being five feet from the bottom, two feet high, and four feet wide.
Fig. 9.—Diagram of screen for puppet show.
Now take pieces of thick brown paper and tack them over the remaining portions of the sheet, so that when completed it shall be entirely opaque, except for the rectangle or stage upon which your figures are to perform. The brown paper will, of course, be on the side hidden from the audience. The next thing to be considered is the lamp, which should have a tin reflector and a one-inch burner. Arrange it in such a manner that it shall hang in the center of the stage and some eighteen inches or two feet from the screen—indeed at just sufficient distance to allow you to manipulate your figures without coming into collision with the light.
If possible shut out all light except that which is thrown by the lamp upon the stage, as the darker the room the more effective will be the appearance of the shadows. Take great care the sheet is so firmly fixed that it neither flaps nor creases.
Having accomplished this, turn to the making of the puppets.
The best material from which to manufacture them is thin zinc or tin, waste scraps of which any tinsmith will gladly sell for a mere trifle. With a pair of shears the metal can be readily cut to any shape, whilst it will also be strong enough to bear the rivets for working the figures.