CHAPTER II
Making a Shadow Play
It is not at all difficult to make a shadow play if one knows what the requirements are. The first requirement of either a cut-out shadow play or a human play is that its story shall have action. In this it is like a movie. You will recall how keenly you enjoy the action in such movies as Robin Hood and the Black Pirate. The second requirement is a dramatic plan or problem. This is necessary in order to hold the attention of the audience. For example, the dramatic plan or problem in the Black Pirate is the struggle of the hero to free himself from the pirates. Your attention is held by this struggle. The third requirement is the selection of the most important and interesting characters in the play. Since the success of a shadow play depends upon interesting silhouettes, each character must have individuality. No two silhouettes should be alike, either in appearance or size. As an illustration of this, notice that the shadow figures at the top of page 215 are of different appearance and height. Lastly, the settings of a shadow play should be very simple and suggestive and help to tell the story.
Nursery rhymes and fables, folk and fairy tales are delightful material for cut-out shadow plays. They are vivid, humorous, and fanciful. They are full of direct conversation which can be carried on by the puppeteers behind the screen or by a reader in front of the screen. In the following list you may find a story to turn into a cut-out shadow play. Nursery rhymes such as: Little Bo Peep, Old King Cole, The Knave of Hearts, A Frog Who Would A-Wooing Go, and The House That Jack Built. Fables such as those of Æsop, La Fontaine, and Bidpai. Folk and fairy tales, such as: Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Seven at a Blow, Snow White and the Dwarfs, The Three Bears, Red Riding Hood, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, Sleeping Beauty, The Mermaid, Just-So Stories, Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Traveling Musicians of Bremen, and The Pied Piper of Hamelin Town. Bible stories can be turned into beautiful shadow plays. For example, David and Goliath, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, Jonah and the Whale, and Joseph and His Brethren.
Tales of heroism and adventure, ballads and poems, stories of Christmas and Easter, Bible stories and stories of the lives of the saints are appropriate for human shadow plays because they have great human interest and give opportunity for dramatic interpretation. The following list may be a guide to you in choosing your play: William Tell, Robin Hood, King Arthur, Roland and Oliver, Hiawatha, The Cid, Joseph and His Brethren, The Story of Moses, David and Jonathan, David Before Saul, The Good Samaritan, The Story of Ruth, The Story of Queen Esther, The Story of St. Francis of Assisi, The Nativity, The Christ-child Legend, Where Love Is There God Is. Also, and Christmas carols such as: Good King Wenceslaus, We Three Kings of the Orient Are, Here We Come A Wassailing, and Little Town of Bethlehem.
Boys and girls who have originality and a gift for writing will find great pleasure in making their own shadow plays. These can be done either in prose or in verse. They can do this easily, if they keep in mind the requirements—action, dramatic interest, individuality of characters, and a simple, harmonious setting. It is worth trying.
Scenes from the cut out shadow play, "The Traveling Musicians of Bremen."