Materials

The first thing to do is make sure you’re working with that right stuff.

• Wheat-based wallpaper paste. Why wheat? It has glucose in it, which binds with the cellulose in paper making a much stiffer and stronger wall, so you need fewer layers.
• Brown paper bags & other paper. The important thing here is that you don’t use newspaper. The fibers are short and it has no structural integrity of its on. Mostly it’s used as a counting layer. You do need paper that’s two different colors so you can tell what areas you’ve papier-mache and what you haven’t. I use either leftover printer paper (recycling) or scrap pages out of my sketchpad. As long as it’s not the same color as the bags, a similar weight, and it is uncoated it will work.
• Tissue paper Yes I do mean Kleenex or toilet paper. We will use this to separate the paper from the form. Regardless of whether you are doing direct papier-m�ch� or working into a mold you don’t want it to stick when it’s dry.
• Plaster mold (optional) If you know how to make a plaster mold it is easier and faster to work into a negative than to papier-mache directly on the form.

Technique

1. Mix your wallpaper paste in a shallow container like a pie-plate (anything will work this is easiest). Make a small batch. (Trust me, you will appreciate having to stop and wash your hands to make more.) Cover the bottom of the pan with cool water. Shake a SMALL amount of the paste onto the water. Add more if you need to for the right consistency. I use the Zen method of mixing till it feels right, which for me is like cream of wheat or a melted milkshake.
2. Tear the paper into 6″ pieces (approximately). Don’t cut it. You want a soft edge on the paper so it will adhere better and more smoothly to the other pieces.
3. Place the dry tissue paper in the mold (or on your form). After it is covered with a single layer, sprinkle it with water.
4. Pick up a piece of brown paper bag and touch the bottom of it to the wallpaper paste so that when you pick it up it’s got maybe two inches covered with paste. (The biggest mistake folks make is to use too much paste). Smear it on both sides of the paper and crumple the piece. We’re trying to break up the fibers in the paper and work the paste into it. All techniques do this it’s just faster to do it with a large piece than lots of small pieces.
5. Tear off a piece and place it in the mold or on the form. In a mold this is the layer that will be seen so it’s the only one that has to be neat. (On a form the last layer is the visible one so all layers have to be neat. You’ll just repeat all steps except six). Make sure that the piece is small enough that it doesn’t form wrinkles. Start in the center and work out. Overlap the pieces, pressing to remove airbubbles. When you get to the edge of the mold or form, go outside by at least an inch. You’ll need this to grab hold of when it’s time to take the papier-m�ch� out.
6. MOLDS ONLY. After the whole layer is covered in brown. Get another piece of the bag, wet it in paste, and crumple it as before. Wad it up and shove it tightly into the detail areas. For instance, if you’ve got a nose, push it as far into the nose and nostrils as you can. What will happen is that the detailed areas will suddenly have ten layers of m�ch� and the surface is smoother so your next layer will go faster.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 with the other paper, when it’s covered go back to the brown bag. Do this until you have between three to five layers. IMPORTANT do it while the layers are wet. They adhere better and you will have fewer airbubbles.
8. Let it dry. Put it the sun. Be patient, you can put it in front of a space heater or bake it (250 degrees) but you risk airbubbles. I have to admit that in the winter I usually force it dry, because I’m not patient.
9. It will reach a stage we call leathery. It�s still flexible, but it’s dry, like leather. This is the best time to pull it out. Be careful, if it’s too early and you see wrinkles happening, don’t do it. It’s better to wait until its completely dry.
10. Peel off what tissue paper you can and the rest smooth down with the paste.
11. If you trim edges wrap them in papier-m�ch� to keep them from peeling up.

Puppetry is the art of bringing to life an inanimate object. Or, more accurately creating the illusion of life. The basic principles of puppetry can be applied to all types of figures, no matter how different the mechanics are. If I refer to a body part your puppet doesn’t have, try to create the illusion that it does. Let’s explore how to give a puppet the illusion of life.

The principles to be explored are:
Thought/focus
Muscle/Contraction-expansion
Rhythm/breath
Meaningful movement

Along with the way, we will explore various symbolic poses and how these alterations of the silhouette can express emotion. Perform all exercises with the control of the puppet in the right hand and left hand. This will help reinforce what is 1earned.

First things first, examine the puppet, notice how the puppet is constructed. Try to find the most comfortable position to hold it. Explore the flexibility of your puppet. How does its neck and head move? Knees? What about the movement and twist of puppet? How tall can it be? How far over can it bend and roll?

Now, establish the “0″ position. Your character returns after each gesture to this neutral posture. For instance, most people stand upright, with hands relaxed at the side.

Introduction of thought

The focus of the head achieves the illusion of thought. Simply put, we know what someone is thinking about by what they are looking at. For instance, when the puppet reaches to the left or right, it should also focus left & right.

Introduction of muscle

We want to create the illusion that the puppet can move under its own power. Muscle is the key to this. Try these exercises with your own body to help understand the illusion that you are going for. Concentrate on “curl” of the puppet to give illusion of backbone. Watch your puppet

:

1. roll up and set or “curl”

Bend your puppet at the waist, keeping the knees straight, till it touches the floor. Keep the head tucked at the neck, so the chin is as close to the chest as possible. Now, slowly stand your puppet upright, so that the head is the last thing to straighten. This is a curl.

2. compress/ expand jump

Bend the puppet’s knees. That is a compress. Straighten them. Now you’ve expanded. Simple, huh? Try jumping yourself without bending your knees to see how important this simple thing is. Now jump your puppet. Bend at the knees to prepare, curling the head to express muscle. Straighten the knees, expand and focus upward to express thought about jumping. As you come down, focus down to think about landing. Land and do a small compress/expand to show that your puppet is taking its own weight on landing.

3. pull back / push forward (straight-line focus)

This is easier. Lean your puppet forward and backward at the waist, being sure that it doesn’t overbalance. If it looks like it would fall over you’ve gone too far. Put out a foot so it can maintain its balance. Pay attention to the focus so that it moves along a straight line. These moves are very useful in expressing interest and fear.

More muscle exercises

: Experiment with compress/expand by pushing and pulling things.

1. Push away
2. Pull towards
3. Push down
4. Push up

Routine: Have the puppet focus on an imaginary object that is below its waist. Reach down, pick it up, focus on an imaginary shelf above its head, and then place object on shelf. Repeat routine as if character were on an assembly line that has varying speeds or tempos. Variation may be passing object to another figure. Remember contraction/expansion and thought/focus of the character in the routine. Hands should be together at this point. Do movements clearly and then work into a flow.

Repeat all above with the puppet on the left arm.

Introduction of breath/rhythm:

Just as focus indicates what the puppet is looking at, breath/rhythm indicates how puppet feels. We don’t usually notice a person breathing unless they are laughing, crying, tired or something similar, so use that to help show how your puppet feels.

Breathing

The goal is to create the illusion that the puppet’s chest is expanding and contracting, something that puppets are rarely built to do. We have a few tools at our disposal. By sinking very subtly we can try to emulate the fall of shoulders on an exhale. Add to this, a very slight dip of the head as the puppet is raised, and it will seem as if the shoulders are rising, because the neck appears slightly shorter. I can not emphasize enough that subtlety is the key.

Repeat above with the puppet on the left arm.

Identification of silhouettes and movements

A change in posture can alter the perceived emotion. Here are examples of two emotional qualities:

1. Happiness

2. Sadness/Depression

No need to bob head for crying. As in laughter, body will do most of animation.

Regressive/Passive/Aggressive movement: Puppet on Right and Left Arm

1.Exercise “What did you say?”

1. Aggressive - Lean into (remember the push forward/pull back exercise?)
2. Passive - cock head
3. Regressive - Lean back from

Emphasize movement by phrase. Restrict puppet hand movement to single gesture. Use breath (gasp. sharp burst etc.) for motivation and rhythm.

Introduction of separate hand rod use:

With the main puppet control in the right hand, hold the left-hand rod in your left hand and explore all areas of reach.

Routine: “I came from over there, I’m going over there, it was nice talking to you, goodbye.”

Use strong focus, and go to “0″ after every indication with arm. Enter from Stage right, look right and say “I came from over there” point right. Focus Left “I’m going over there” point left. Focus out “It was nice talking to you.” Wave “Goodbye.” Focus left and continue off stage.

This is movement by phrase or meaningful movement. Since the puppet uses symbols to communicate it is important that all of the movements have meaning.

Repeat routine holding right hand.

Repeat all above with the puppet on left arm

Exercise: Repeat “I came from…” using both hands for indications. Emphasize movement by phrase.

Repeat with the puppet on left arm.

Combination of Mechanic and Principle: Both Left and Right Arms

Exercise: “I came from over there….”

1. Routine done happy with laughter
2. Routine done depressed with sobbing
3. Routine done angry with aggressive postures

Movement of the puppet from Location to Location

. For right and left arm

One of the common beliefs in puppetry is that it takes two people to walk a tabletop puppet, and while this is very often true it doesn’t have to be. With a well-constructed puppet you have the option of the Swing-step. I will attempt to explain it on paper. A word of warning; hold your puppet in the air before starting this. Do the feet hang down or do they extend from the leg at a right angle? If they hang down, the swing step won’t work. You’ll need to restrict the movement of the ankles first, sorry.

Hold the puppet in your right hand, so that it is facing Stage Left. With your left hand reach down and hold the left ankle between your thumb and forefinger. Tuck the rest of you fingers into your palm. Hold the foot on the playboard and lean the puppet slightly upstage. By rocking the puppet SL and SR see if you can get the right leg to swing. You might need to raise the right foot slight on the toe to do this.

Once you’ve got it swinging try to swing it forward and set it down in front of the puppet. Now swing it back and set it down behind the puppet. See how little movement (i.e. leaning and standing on tiptoe) you can do and still make this happen. Ideally there will be no noticeable lean or tiptoe.

When you have the swing down, the next thing is to step. So, swing the right leg forward and set it down. Now lift the left leg and put it down in front of the right leg. Congratulations. That’s a swing step. To make it look natural the left leg should emulate the right leg’s movement. After all, you have direct control over the left leg, so the stride length and how much the knee bends should be similar, otherwise your puppet will limp.

Walk across the table. Now, repeat the exercise with your left hand on the main control.

Exercises:

Try some different walks.

1. Walking
2. Sneaking
3. Running
4. Jumping
5. Dancing
6. Flying
7. Swimming
8. Floating

Emphasize illusion of muscle, rhythm, and contraction/expansion

Instructions

Welcome to Mask-making with Paper. While working on the mask, it is important to know that the side of the paper with printing is the inside of the mask. Find a firm surface to work on, like a notebook.

1 Score the lines labeled “Eyebrow”. (Scoring means that you press firmly along the line with a pointed, but blunt object, such as a butter knife, knitting needle, or screw driven This will leave a dent in the paper)

2 Using a blunt point, press each of the dots along the curve of the eyelid so that you can feel the dots on the outside of the mask.

3 Turn the page over and score the eyelid by connecting the dots you created in step 2.

4 Cut out the face along the solid black lines. Make sure you cut all the solid lines.

5 With the inside of the mask facing you, gently bend the paper along the scored eyebrow line, so the line makes a valley in the paper.

6 Turn the mask over and gently bend the paper along the scored eyelid line so the line makes a valley in the paper (The eyebrow line should be like a hill from this side)

7 Starting with the letter A, glue the tabs inside the mask to the matching gray areas. (Tab A to gray A, etc.) Use masking tape to hold them in place while the glue dries. (Hint- tear the tape & stick it to your shirt before you pour the glue)

8 Ta Da! You may paint it if you want.

I don’t mind if you copy one just to try it, but I do sell these patterns and the instructions so please don’t make multiples.

Her design work has been recognized with an UNIMA-USA citation of excellence for Mark Levenson’s Between Two Worlds and Other Hand Productions Old Man Who Made Trees Blossom. The Citation of Excellence was founded by Jim Henson and is the highest award possible for an American puppeteer.

For more information about Mary, please visit her website.

Jodi performed at Seattle Repertory Theater and the Spoletto Festival in Charleston, SC with Ping Chong’s Obon. In addition to performing as a singer and actor, Jodi is co-director of Other Hand Productions. He received his advanced theatre and music training at Regent’s College (London), Shakespeare & company (MA), and Gardzienice Theatre (Poland).

This is a Native American story about two brothers, Klickatat and Wy-east. They were chiefs of the Klickatat and Multnomah tribes in and around the Columbia Gorge in Oregon and Washington. Several Native American artists were involved in creating the show.

The director, Jodi Eichelberger, wanted to create the feeling that the play was taking place within a longhouse because that is where Klickatats and Multnomahs would gather.

The tricky part was that then the long house had to open and the action would take place in the Columbia Gorge. Keep in mind that this is a touring show, and although it played to sold-out houses in the theater, it also had to play as well in a gymnasium. These photos were taken in a museum. The columns on the left and center of the photo are not part of the show.

As far as materials. The longhouses are muslin stretched over a wooden frame that collapses to fit in a van. The rocks are papier-mache

The puppetry style is overt rod, and the puppets are made to resemble Klickatat Indian baskets. Amy Gray, the puppeteer on the right designed the bodies and Lillian Pitt sculpted the masks. The large mask in the back is a representation of “She Who Watches” a petraglyph in the Columbia Gorge, that serves as a narrator in the story. Yes, she does separate from the column of stone.

In Marvin’s Room the director, Cynthia McGean, and I had the interesting challenge of trying to create multiple locations on a very small stage. Not only did we have to go from Bessie’s house to various Doctor’s offices, we also had to go outside. How to do this? Shadows. They provide versatility and also some symbolic benefits.

The shadow technology was quite effective for the scenes happening in Marvin’s, her father’s, room. We were able to place a sharp light upstage of the actor and project his shadow on the wall of Bessie’s house. The script refers to “Marvin lies in a bed upstage, barely visible through a wall of glass bricks.” I don’t know about you, but a wall a glass bricks was not particuarly appealling. But- walls of muslin gave us a whole range of possibilities. You can see how easily we could change their color. We were literally painting with light. This seemed the natural choice not just from the practical reasons but also symbolically. As Bessie comes to face the fact that she has leukemia the very walls around her become less substantial.

Now- how did we actually execute this. Lance Woolen, my TD (technical director), made simple frames for the shadow screens. Then he canted them forward at a slight angle so that the shadow figures would rest against the muslin. We stapled the muslin down, just as you would stretch a canvas, and voila! Shadow screen. The upstage side of the screen has fishing line hung so that the various peices can just hook in place. Our lighting designer carefully shuttered all of the lights so there was minimal spill on the screens. (There was actually more light onstage than these pictures show, but we’ve adjusted the levels for my photos.) All of this led to a very lovely, and simple set onstage. But the upstage side was quite a different story.

You can see how utterly simple the figures are. They are cut out of foam core, or cardboard. The colors are simply tissue paper, scotch taped on. We painted the downstage side of each black, so that it wouldn’t reflect light through the screen.

The challenges that I face are that the entire show needs to fit into a van, and be handled by two puppeteers. I also want to create the feel of India, but not an authentic Indian puppet show.

The director, Jodi Eichelberger, wanted to start with blank stage and create everything during the first scene. So I ground my teeth and pulled my hair a bit and came up with the idea of arcs. India art and architecture use lots of circles and arcs. Conviently fans collapse flat and expand to be arcs, so all of the set is based on this. We have three scenic locations. Heaven, the sarna (sacred grove of trees) and, the furnace. All three are made out of the 38 saris we bought in India.

We use the nagara drums as our playboards. At times the poor actors have to carry these 45 pound drums around and puppeteer at the same time. They don’t complain too much.

As you can see, when we go to heaven, the rest of the set collapes down out of the way. The costumes the puppeteers are wearing are hand-woven and based on India dress. We chose not to go with standard puppeteer blacks for two reasons. We wanted them to be distinctivly Indian costumes. We incoorporate indian dance movements into the transitions and did not want to mute the presence of the performers. Besides, with a puppet and a 45 pound drum in front of them, who’ll notice the puppeteer?

Singbonga’s mask is based on Purulian Chhou. Although this one is now made mostly of scrim to allow the actor to have decent vision.