Pages from hand puppets and string puppets

HAND PUPPETS AND STRING PUPPETS W A L D O

S.

L A N C H E S T E R

THE MANUAL ARTS PRESS, PEORIA, ILLINOIS

Puppetry has now a permanent place among school activities, and so this concise book of practical instruction in making puppets supplies a definite need. The author is a professional showman of many years' experience and he here deals with everything necessary for a successful puppet show. The directions are simple and clear throughout.

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HAND PUPPETS AND STRING PUPPETS

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The author with one of his String Puppets.

HAND PUPPETS AND STRING PUPPETS BY

WALDO S. LANCHESTER {of the Marionette Theatre, Malvern) With a Foreword by R. R. TOMLINSON, A.R.C.A., R.B.A. Author of " Picture-making by Children," " Crafts for Children," etc.

THE MANUAL ARTS PRESS PEORIA, ILLINOIS

" He who would work for the stage . . . should leave nature in her proper place and take careful heed not to have recourse to anything but what may be performed by children with puppets upon boards and laths, together with sheets of cardboard and linen."—GOETHE.

FIRST PUBLISHED

1937

SECOND AND REVISED EDITION THIRD IMPRESSION

1938

1939

All Rights Reserved

Made and Printed in Great Britain by Hazell, Watson & Viney Ltd., London and Aylesbury

FOREWORD PUPPETS and Marionettes! The mind flies back through the centuries to the days of ancient China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, at the very mention of the names. As it returns to our own early experiences we recognise again the names of old and valued friends in puppetry: Punchinello and Punch and Judy, the latter giving their names to one of the favourite English puppet plays.

Those of us who believe that our children should become acquainted with the best that the past has handed down to us will see that the children with whom we come into contact shall make the puppets' acquaintance. Unfortunately, the opportunity to introduce them is all too rare; rare because puppetry to-day is only carried on by a few believers in the art. The writer of this book is, in fact, the owner of the only professional marionette theatre in England; yet such great musicians as Mozart and Haydn and such great writers as Goethe, Le Sage, and Maeterlinck have written plays for the marionette theatre.

As Mr. Lanchester has addressed himself primarily to the teacher, I too will confine my remarks mainly to the puppets' place in the scheme of education.

Briefly, then, it may be said that they offer unrivalled advantages for the study of art, music, and the drama.

Whilst fully recognising the formative and cultural value of the study of both music and the drama, I will confine my remarks to that aspect with which I am best qualified to deal; that is, the art and craft aspect. It is also mainly with the designing and making of puppets that the author has dealt.

During recent years I have taken advantage of every opportunity that has presented itself to press the claims of the use of a wider range of material in craft teaching in our 5

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FOREWORD

schools. I have drawn attention in my own writings, particularly in Crafts for Children, to the fact that materials may be divided into three main classes: (i) The Plastic; (2) The Pliable; (3) The Rigid. Each class has not only its separate constructive possibilities but its individual appeal. For this reason, it is my firm conviction that every child should be made acquainted with the materials which represent each of these three classes.

If my claims for the use of a wider range of materials are justified, then surely there is no better means of stimulating the child's interest than by enabling him to become acquainted with the possibilities of all three classes that are offered by the attractive practice of puppetry.

The making of puppets brings into use practically all the classes of materials to which I have referred. Puppets, associated as they are with " make-believe" and play activities, have an instinctive appeal to children.

Rightly used in schools, this art is not only a means of training the craftsman, musician, and actor, but it may also develop into a life's hobby.

The value of the latter cannot be too fully stressed in this mechanical age.

In this little book, the author, a master of his craft, has clearly and concisely explained the making of both hand and string puppets, and also briefly but clearly shown how they may be used in their appropriate settings. Although he has done this adequately, he has left the field clear for teachers and children with creative minds to develop the art according to their own particular tendencies.

Because of the great educational value of puppetry, and because of the joy its practice can bring into the lives of children when rightly used, I welcome the opportunity offered me by the writing of this foreword, to wish this book the wide circulation it so richly deserves.

R . R. TOMLINSON.

CONTENTS PAGE

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FOREWORD

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STRING

PUPPETS

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FOUNDATION

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5

PUPPETS

CONTROLS

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GLOVE

DRESSING T H E PUPPETS

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WIRE-FRAME

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PUPPETS WITH

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INTRODUCTION

PUPPETS IN W O O D

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29

THE

GLOVE

PUPPET

THEATRE

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THE

STRING

PUPPET

STAGE

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THE

PLAY !

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