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Need a Quick Puppet Theater? Use a Doorway.

Sometimes you may be asked to perform a puppet show in a place you don’t have enough space to set up your theater or don’t have a theater available. What do you do?

You could find something in the room to hide behind, a piano, a standing chalkboard, or a desk.

If you’re presentation involves using only one or two puppets, you might want to consider a doorway stage. They are simple to make, are adjustable to fit different sized doorways, and are inexpensive.

Quick Puppet Theater Using a Doorway

For materials all you need is a spring tension curtain rod and a twin sheet. Determine the height of the theater and trim the sheet so it is about four inches longer than that measurement. For the width, you want it to be at least one and a half times as wide as the widest doorway you’ll use. That will allow you to bunch the material across the rod to give it a nice appearance. 

Sew a one inch hem in the bottom to give it a nice even look. At the top, fold about two and a half inches over and sew a seam across, making a pocket.

Adjust the curtain rod so it is about an inch or so wider than the doorway. Set it in place and lightly pull down on it to make sure the tension is correct. 

Once the curtain rod is set, thread it through the top pocket in the curtains and put it in place.

If there is a lot of visible clutter behind the theater, you may want to make a second, shorter one that attaches at the top of the doorway and hangs down at least six inches below the other curtain as a backdrop.

The advantage to this theater is that it sets up and comes down in just a couple of minutes. That way, working with a Sunday School teacher, you could pop in to the class, do a quick play, and leave or go to another class. 

NOTE: If you want more information on puppet stages, including plans, cutting diagrams, and step-by-step information on how to build a PVC pipe frame theater, you can find it in Course 101 for $7 on my website at http://www.experiencepuppets.com/.

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