Fig. 2.—Front view of living Marionette stage.
The mysterious combination shown in [Fig. 1] needs but little explanation, since it is very clear that the head is human whilst the body is wooden. This makes so comical a figure that anything but pure humor would seem singularly out of place issuing from those lips; it must, therefore, be clearly understood that the living Marionette is comic from beginning to end.
The stage must be about 3 feet wide, and of the same height, thus allowing room for the head and false body. The stage front may be made in the same manner adopted for the Marionettes proper, though so much space will not be required at the top, as can be seen from [Fig. 2]. The stage itself should be about 12 inches deep, and arranged at such a height that when standing behind, your chin will be about 11 inches above the stage. The whole construction will then be somewhat like the box and stage of an old-fashioned Punch and Judy Show.
A strip of perfectly black cloth is next stretched from side to side along the inner edge of the stage, i.e. the part farthest removed from the audience. This cloth should be 11 inches wide, and when in place will occupy the position shown in [Fig. 3]. Between this edge of the stage and the actual back of the box should be a space of 15 inches. The actual back must also be covered with black cloth. The sectional appearance of the stage will therefore be as in [Fig. 4]. An arrangement of curtains, as described in connection with the Marionette stage, must be fitted with the strings below the stage, in order that you may pull them unseen by the audience.
The wooden bodies should be 10 inches high, and headless. A collar must be sewn to the costume where the neck should be, in order to conceal the spot where the living head is thrust over the false body.
The most satisfactory way of working the limbs of the puppet is as follows: Above the stage, in the flies, a rod, upon which are strung several brass rings, extends from side to side (A, [Fig. 4]). Now the strings attached to the arms and legs pass up and through these rings, whence they descend behind the cloth screen and are moved invisibly by the operator. As there is only one figure to work, you can hold the arm threads in one hand, the leg threads in the other, whilst the supporting body thread passes in a loop around your neck. In this way the body is forced to move with the living head, as though really a part of it ([Fig. 5]).
You should now make up your face to suit the character. Suppose the body represents an ordinary Jack Tar, with bell-bottomed trousers, blue collar, and so forth. The comic sailor’s beard must be so adjusted that its bushiness will conceal what may be called the junction between your head and his false body. The hat or round cap can be put on at a nautical tilt.
Having fixed the body-thread around your throat and fastened the beard, crane your own neck forward, and place the Marionette body upon the stage, having the strip of black cloth between it and your shoulders. Arrange the arm and leg strings through the rings, and keep the ends in your hands ready for action. When everything is completed, draw the curtain and commence.
