A Blog by Rev. Grace Verrier

INSTRUCTIONS FOR WORKING WITH PUPPETS

1. No elevator entrances or exits. I.e. they simulate walking up stairs

2. Keep puppet’s mouth closed when not talking.

3. Lip sync with the spoken part. Be sure to move the mouth on each syllable.  Open the mouth when you speak – don’t close it.

4. If you do not have rod arm puppets, use your own hands to move the puppet’s arms around. The kids really don’t notice your hands.

5. Keep the puppet at right angles to the stage.

6. Puppets always exaggerate their actions.

7. Look for sewing talent in your own church. Our puppets were designed by someone in ours.

8. Make them so babies’ clothing fits them.

9. The puppet show is done live. A sheet with dialogue is pinned to the stage.  In order to work the puppets effectively and read the dialogue at the same time it takes quite a bit of practice.

10. It might be better at first if the show is adlibbed if your workers are able to take a subject and do this.

11. Puppet shows can be pre-recorded with sound effects. The disadvantage is if something unplanned happens (i.e. a wig falls off a puppet) you must stop the show and start all over again.

12. The best way to learn to operate a puppet is to do it for someone else. Ask them to tell you the things you are doing right and wrong.

13. If you have puppets that appear regularly, give them a personality and stick with it.

                                                   PUPPET IDEAS

1.Give each puppet a voice appropriate to the puppet.

2. Watch kid’s shows for ideas.

3. Get kids to ask God for a character puppet to come to Children’s Church. Give him a biography and say how he needs money to come.  Receive an offering for it.  (Children do not have much money but they know how to get it from their parents.)

4. Write puppet skits for animal puppets.

5. Use a puppet to give out a quiet seat prize (need a puppet with hands to do this).

6. Get a puppet to do announcements.

7. Puppets can do music.

8. Bully puppet can tempt the kids to do wrong showing them peer pressure.

9. Devil puppet tells kids not to give during offering.

10. Use songs on tapes and puppets to sing them.

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