Pages from punchinello puppet plays

HINELLO l^PPET LAYS

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T.S.DENISON & COMPANY Publishers

PUNCHINELLO

PUPPET

VLAYS

V

TWELVE SHORT PLAYS FOR THE INTERMEDIATE AND GRAMMAR

GRADES

BY

EFFA E. PRESTON

CHICAGO and MINNEAPOLIS

T. S. DENISON & COMPANY Publishers

1

WARNING, IMPORTANT

This book is offered fcr sale at the price quoted only on the understanding that, if any additional copies of the whole or any part are necessary for its production, such additional copies will be purchased. The attention of all purchasers is directed to the following: This work is fully protected under the laws of the United States of America.

Violations of the Copyright Law arc punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both.

The copying, or duplication of this work or any part of this work, by hand or by any process, is an infringement of the copyright and will be vigorously prosecuted.

COPYRIGHT, 1936 •By

T. S. DENISON 8c COMPANY

Made in U. S. A.

Punchinello Puppet Plays

CONTENTS Art of Producing a Puppet Show, The

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Brownie Who Wouldn't Be Thankful, The (A Thanksgiving Play in Four Scenes) 152 Cherry Blossom (A Japanese Play in Two Scenes) .180 Farmer in the Dell, The (A Rural Melodrama in Three Scenes) 116 Found Guilty (A Kindness-to-Animals Play in Four Scenes) 66 Humpty Dumpty Parades (A Safety First Play in Two Scenes) 91 In the Pixy Meadow (A Fairy Play in Two Scenes) 196 Magic Mat, The (An Arabian Nights Play in Three Scenes) 135 Mfirmaduke and the Red Bananas (An Elephant Play in Four Scenes) 31 Princess Long Nose (A Book Week Play in Two Scenes) 102 Smiling Johnny (A Health Play in Three Scenes) . . 79 Stolen Tulip, The (A Dutch Play in Three Scenes) . 51 Tailspin Drops In (A Christmas Play in Four Scenes) 164 5

THE ART OF PRODUCING A PUPPET SHOW These little puppet plays, which are intended for use in the schoolroom, are so simple that they can be easily and artistically produced by any puppet club, which will usually consist of members from grades three to six inclusive. They afford wide opportunity for group activity and for individual expression.

For the information of the inexperienced, it may be said that puppet plays are exactty like other plays except that the actors are controlled by strings and do nothing of their own volition. Such plays need songs, dances, action, and dramatic situations. They need snappy dialogue, and clever people to speak it; so does every other sort of pla}r if it is to be successful.

Every play in this book is introduced by Punchinello, a chubby clown, who tries to convey the atmosphere of the play both by his words and by his attire, which varies slightly with the play.

In producing a puppet show, there are four important things to be considered: the puppets, the puppeteers, the theater, and the music. We shall consider each of these briefly.

HOW TO MAKE PUPPETS TYPES OF PUPPETS.—Broadh' speaking, a puppet, or marionette, is a figure used to represent a character in a play on a miniature stage. There are three types of puppets: the puppet operated from below by means of a stick or the doll's legs, the type made of a head

PUNCHINELLO PUPPET PLAYS

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PAPER PATTERN FOR PUPPET5

TAPE

A - Clofh is s+uffed.

8 -

No s+uffin^-This part ac+5 £i a j o i n r .

DoHed line represenfs where clofh is sewn iq separate siuifiM and joi'ni.

PLATE 1 How the Homemade Puppet Is Made

FOOT

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and an empty costume which is slipped over the hand of the puppeteer and operated by that hand, and the type manipulated from above by means of strings or wires. All the puppets in this book belong in the third class and arc manipulated by strings fastened to sticks which are guided by the hands of the puppeteers. There are many kinds of puppets. They may be made from dolls bought at the h've-and-ten-cent store, with the faces repainted to fit the character to be portrayed.

When these dolls are used, their arms and legs must be taken apart at the elbows and knees respectively and fastened together again with tape in order to give them freedom of movement at the joints. Each head must also be detached and fastened to its torso again with tape. In the same way, animal puppets may be made from toy animals.

T H E HOMEMADE PUPPET.—The most serviceable and interesting puppets, the easiest to manipulate, and the most attractive are those the children make for themselves. The size of the stage determines the size of the puppets ; but for amateurs a scale of three inches to a foot is excellent. The brave hero is then eighteen inches tall to the puppeteer, but six feet to the audience.

In making the puppets, first of all, a pattern of the puppet should be drawn, with head, body, arms, and legs all separate. (See Plate 1.) If desired, the hands and feet may also be separately made. Making the pattern for the puppet is easy, as there are many delightful pictures to be copied from books and magazines. Only a fair amount of artistic ability is needed.

The following directions are offered for making the bod}' of the puppet: Lay the pattern on a piece of lightweight, unbleached muslin folded lengthwise with selvages parallel, and trace around the pattern. Do

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PUNCHINELLO PUPPET PLAYS

not cut but sew along the traced line with strong thread, leaving a small opening at which the muslin may be turned right side out. Then cut out the figure, taking care not to cut too close to the stitches, and turn right side out. Weight the feet with sinkers, wrapping cotton about the weights. Then stuff, using a knitting needle to pack the cotton firmly. Take a seam across the leg where the knee should be, so the leg can be movedeasily. Weight the hands, also, and sew the arms at the elbow as you did the legs at the knee. Stuff the torso solidly unless figure is a dancer, in which case it is well to leave body almost hollow, holding cotton in place with stitching. When the torso is stuffed, sew on the arms, gathering them slightly at the top and being careful to fasten them so they can be raised straight in the air. Do not gather the legs when sewing them to the body, but turn the raw edges in and overcast to the body. Leave one quarter of an inch unstuffed at the top of the leg so that the figure has freedom of movement. Leave the same amount of space unstuffed where the head and the arms join the body, also at the elbows and the knees, stitching firmly on both sides of the space to prevent the cotton from slipping into it. Stuff the head very firmly. Do not stuff the neck but overcast it to head and shoulders.

Make the hair of yarn or silk and sew it on the head.

It should be remembered that the hands as well as the face of the puppet must be painted. The face should be drawn first on a piece of paper just the size of the puppet's face. Expressions should not be exaggerated, as a puppet's face will always seem to the audience actually to reflect the emotions portrayed.

ANIMAL PUPPETS.窶年othing is more interesting in a puppet play than animal actors. Patterns may be made for them as for the human figures. A good

T H E ART OF PRODUCING A PUPPET SHOW

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picture should be used as a model. Animals may be made of soft leather, velvet, or rough cloth. Elephants should be made of gray duvetyn or felt, with gray string tails and orangewood tusks. Do not stuff an animal's neck firmly. If the animal has long legs, as a camel, a horse, or a donkey, make legs separately and sew them on the body so they swing freely, weighting them with sinkers as in human puppets. Circles of leather or old kid gloves make fine soles for animals' feet and shoe buttons fastened to circles of white leather make very satisfactory eyes. Manes and tails may be fringed cloth, wool floss, or raveled rope.

Snakes and dragons may be made of metal cloth or metallic silk by cutting the material on the bias, putting in a bit of cardboard to make the head flat, using beads for eyes, and attaching a red forked tongue. Shot is inserted every two inches along the body and held in place by stitching through the cloth. These snakes and dragons, as well as the other animals, may be painted any desired color.

COSTUMES.—The costumes of puppets play an important part in the presentation of the show. When it is necessary for a puppet to appear in different clothing in different scenes, there must be as many puppets made as there are to be changes in clothing as, after stringing, a puppet must have his suit sewed on firmly and therefore cannot have it changed.

When sleeves are made, room should be left for elbows to bend, and all petticoats should be shorter and less full than the dress skirts. Nothing should be hemmed that can be left unhemmed. It should be remembered that large hats interfere with head and shoulder strings and that lovely turbans may be made by winding a strip of ribbon about the puppet's head.

If the background is dark, the clothing should be

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PUNCHINELLO

PUPPET

PLAYS

MAIN

CONTROL KNEE CONTROL

V Y

A - Knee S+nWs B - Hand S+rings C - Head Siring D- Shcuider 5+ri^

PLATE 2 Stringing the Five-String Puppet

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light, and vice versa. All important characters must have conspicuous clothing. For fairies thin, gauzy materials should be used. White mosquito net embroidered in tinsel is beautiful. Satin and cheesecloth make fine costumes, and cheesecloth and unbleached muslin may be dyed any shade desired. Cloth of gold or silver and steel armor may be made by painting unbleached muslin with gold and silver paint.

The Punchinello of this book, a clown with a cheerful, goggle-eyed face, wears a clown suit of black and white, and a jester's cap with points at both sides and in the middle of the crown. These points curl at the tip and may have on them either black pompons or tiny silver bells. Unless otherwise specified, Punchinello carries (sewed to his right hand) a black and silver staff, with which he knocks three times on the floor as a signal that the play may begin.

STRINGING THE PUPPETS.—For stringing puppets, gray waxed thread or fishline should be used—something as nearly invisible as possible. The simplest form of stringing requires five strings. Each puppet is strung on two ten-inch sticks of light-weight wood, held in the hands of the operator, or puppeteer. The feet are attached by strings to one stick, and the head and arms to the other. Each foot is fastened from the knee and tied to one end of the stick, two inches from the end. The head string is fastened at the top of the head and tied to the middle of the other stick.

Hands are also strung from this stick by strings extended from each hand to the stick about two inches from either end. The two shoulder strings are fastened to the shoulders and tied to the main stick, one on either side of the head string. (See Plate 2.)

The stick to which the leg strings are fastened is called the foot or knee control and sometimes the leg

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PUNCHINELLO

KNEE CONTROL

PUPPET

PLAYS

MAIN CONTROL

A — Knee S+rin^s B— Hand S+rin^s C — Head Sir ings D —Shoulder E - Back Sirin F — Hand Sfra

PLATE 3 Stringing the Seven-String Puppet

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stick, the knee stick, and the single stick. The other is the main control. The foot or knee control is held in the puppeteer's right hand and the main control in the left, when manipulating puppets.

The five-string puppet has five strings on the main control and two strings on the foot or knee control, making a total of seven strings. The seven-string puppet has seven strings on the main control and two strings on the foot or knee control, making a total of nine strings.

Most people prefer the seven-string puppet, finding it best to secure ease and accuracy in manipulating puppets. A simple seven-string control is made of two sticks of wood eight inches long and one quarter of an inch thick, which are crossed and fastened in the middle and equipped with a strap handle. To the main control is tied a string coming from the back of the puppet. Two head strings—one from where each ear is supposed to be—are tied to the ends of the same stick, also the two hand strings, an equal distance apart. The knee strings are tied to the two ends of the single stick. When all the strings are fastened and the puppet is relaxed, both sticks should be at the same height. The head strings are fastened first; next the back string is fastened. The head strings should be at least forty-two inches long. Hand strings are measured from the palm of the hanging hand, and it is best to allow three extra inches for arm movement. The back string is measured from the small of the back, and the knee strings go from front to back and are knotted under the knee. (See Plate 3.)

For animals, the puppeteer can manage easily with one control stick about as long as the animal itself.

If the animal has a long tail, there should be a separate string for the tail and it should be attached to a

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PUNCHINELLO PUPPET PLAYS

PLATE 4 Stringing an Elephant Puppet

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small stick on the back of the control stick. Donkeys need strings for their ears, and a dragon must have one on his jaw to open and close his mouth. An elephant must have one for his trunk and this is attached to a short stick, about five inches long, nailed out in front of the control stick. (See Plate -i.)

THE PUPPETEERS The puppeteers are the persons who do the talking for the puppets, who manipulate them, or who do both.

It is a much-discussed question whether the same person should move the puppet and speak for it as well.

There are arguments on both sides, but it is plain to see that if the same person does both there are fewer people behind the scenes and consequently less confusion, while the conversation and the action will coincide absolutely. It may be difficult at first for a child to do both talking and manipulation, but it can be done, with practice. There should be a puppeteer for each character, however. The contrast of voices adds great interest to the play, and the puppeteer having responsibility for one character only should give a perfect performance.

CONTROLLING THE VOICE.—Puppeteers should be sure they have the right voice for the various puppets, since the voice must interpret character. Children should choose their own parts, as far as possible, but it is well to try out for parts as in a real play. Puppeteers should keep the same position at rehearsals, so a certain voice becomes associated with a certain place, bearing in mind it is not the loudest voice that carries best. They should deliver their speeches to those farthest away from the stage, and lower their heads, or their voices will hit the curtain and be lost. If they wish the voice to appear to come from a dis-