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Important “Little” Things Part 3

When putting on a puppet presentation, if you aren’t careful, it’s easy to overlook some simple things that add to the professionalism of the presentation. This is the third “little” thing in this series.

When we train new puppeteers, we don’t rush to have them start working the arm rods. Their focus needs to be on learning proper posture, lip sync, and developing the arm muscles. Puppet arms are designed to hang naturally when not used, so it isn’t a problem.

When we do start training with the arm rods it amazes me what happens. In the instruction, I clearly state not to hold the puppet’s arm out for any length of time. Pick up the rod, make the motion and drop the rod back down. Invariably, many puppeteers still hold the arm out.

In talking with people, I’ve never seen anyone hold their arm out for any length of time. They may point to something, but drop their arm fairly quickly. If they kept their arm out while talking, I’d begin to wonder what’s wrong with them. That’s not a natural arm position.

People don’t do that, but I’ve seen puppets do it the entire time they’re on stage. If it doesn’t look natural when a person does it, it certainly won’t look natural with a puppet.

Arm movements should complement the puppet’s appearance, not take away from it. Try not to get in the habit of making motions just to move the arm. Think through the motions and have someone watch them to make sure they fit well.

It’s better to do fewer motions that are targeted, than to have a lot of motions just to make the puppet look busy. Sometimes too many motions will detract from the program and what’s being said. When a puppet does things that don’t seem natural, it draws the attention of the audience to the puppet and away from the message.

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