Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Puppetry/Answer Key"

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{{dablink|For other uses, including internet sockpuppets, see [[Sock puppet (disambiguation)]].}}
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A '''hand puppet''' is a type of [[puppet]] that is primarily controlled by a hand that occupies the interior of the puppet. Larger varieties of hand puppets place the [[puppeteer]]'s hand in just the puppet's head, controlling the mouth and head, and the puppet's body then hangs over most or all of the forearm of the puppeteer, and possibly extends further.  Other parts of the puppet may be controlled by different means, e.g., by rods operated by the puppeteer's free hand, or strings or levers pulled from inside the head or body. A smaller variety, '''simple hand puppets''' often have no significant manipulable parts at all.  
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{{dablink|For Wikipedia policy on sock puppetry, see [[Wikipedia:Sock puppetry]].}}
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== Simple hand puppets ==
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A '''sock puppet''' is a [[puppet]] made from a [[sock]] (or similar garment) which is placed over the hand of a [[puppeteer]]. When a sock puppeteer fits their hand into the closed end of the sock, the sock puppet can be made to "talk" with the opening and closing of the hand. The puppet's mouth is formed by the region between the heel and the toe, with the thumb forming a jaw. At a minimum the shape of the hand will instantly form the shape of a mouth, but sometimes the mouth is padded by putting in a fairly hard piece of felt (often with a tongue glued inside). Sometimes the region between the toe and heel is cut open with scissors to form a mouth.
 
  
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[[Image:Carlb-sockpuppet-01.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Sock puppet]]
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[[Image:Simple_hand_puppet.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Simple toy dog hand puppet.]]
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The sock is stretched out fully so that it is long enough to cover the puppeteer's wrist. Often, but not always, the puppeteer will hide behind a stand and raise up his or her hand above the stand so that only the puppet is visible. Many sock puppeteers, however, stand in full view along with their puppets and will hold conversations with their own sock puppets, using [[ventriloquism]].
 
  
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Sock puppets can be made from socks or [[stocking|stockings]] of any colour. Worn-out socks may be used, although socks that are too tattered may fall apart during performance, but socks are usually bought brand-new from the store in order to make sock puppets. Various additions can be glued on in order to give your sock a personality. Streamers and felt strings are popularly glued on for hair. [[Googly eyes]] (obtained from craft or fabric stores) are glued on for the puppet's eyes.  
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The simplest hand puppets are those with few or no moving parts.  They can be stiff, made from e.g. a hard [[plastic]], but are more often flexible, made from [[Textile|fabric]], possibly with some stuffing and attached decorations for eyes, nose, and so on. The mouth may be a mere decoration that does not open and close, or the thumb may enter a separate pocket from the rest of the fabric and so simulate a [[mandible]], allowing the puppet to talk.
  
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The process of making sock puppets is popularly taught as a creative activity in elementary schools. Many schools teach children to make sock puppets and then have the children put on shows or plays for the whole school with them, sometimes with all the sock puppets singing.
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Simple hand puppets are usually not much larger than the hand itself. A [[sock puppet]] is a particularly simple type of hand puppet made from a sock. A '''glove puppet''' is slightly more complex, with an internal division for fingers allowing independent manipulation of a character's arms.
  
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==Uses==
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Simple hand puppets, especially of popular [[licensed character]]s, are often distributed as children's [[toy]]s or [[party favor]]s.
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[[Image:Wikipe-tan sockpuppet show.png|200px|thumb|left|A typical Sock puppet show]]
 
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Tubesock puppets have many uses. They can be used in often elaborate puppet shows or children's plays, much as [[marionette]]s would be used. Sock puppets can also appear, like other puppets, on television shows. They can be used alone on the puppeteer's hand to entertain children, without a complex stage or show. Two [[orange (colour)|orange]] sock puppets named "Fu" and "Fara" are used in teaching German children how to read. People also make and display sock puppets for their own artistic value.
 
  
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Perhaps the best known sock puppeteer was [[Shari Lewis]] and her well known puppets [[Lamb Chop's Play-Along|Lamb Chop]], Charlie Horse and Hush Puppy.  [[Señor Wences]]' act was also sock-puppet-like, except that he painted the character's face on his bare hand. [[Kermit the Frog]] was originally a mere sock puppet on ''[[Sam and Friends]]'' in 1955.
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== Larger Hand Puppets ==
  
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Sock puppets have also appeared in [[advertising]]. During the late 1990s, the [[ecommerce]] company [[Pets.com]] used a "spokespuppet" along with the [[tagline]] "because pets can't drive" in its advertising to much critical acclaim. But while the puppet became a [[pop culture]] icon, it did not help the company sell enough products to survive the [[dot-com crash]].[http://www.internetworld.com/magazine.php?inc=121500/12.15.00fastforward2.html]
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[[Image:Guiermo-rods-50pct.png|right|331px|thumb|A nearly-completed [[hand puppet]] with arm rods. This puppet will be complete once eyes and hair are added.]]
  
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As sock puppets appear friendly, non-threatening, and clearly non-human, therapists often have their patients speak to a sock puppet when they feel inhibited from speaking to the therapist. For the same reasons, and because oneself and one's sock puppet often feel like two different persons, one can speak through a sock puppet to express thoughts or facets of one's personality that one would not feel free to admit in person or fears would harm one's reputation were they actually said in one's own person. [[Herbert Garrison|Mr. Garrison]]'s use of [[Mr. Hat]] on ''[[South Park]]'' is a good example of this.  Conversely, the American [[professional wrestler]] [[Mick Foley]] has used a sock puppet called ''[[Mr Socko]]'' as one of his signature weapons.
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Larger and more complex hand puppets generally have, at minimum, a complete working hinged mouth, and usually arms as well.  Special variants exist with additional manipulable parts: e.g., eyelids that open and close.  Most hand puppets depict only the upper half of the character, from the waist up, with the stage covering the missing remainder, but variants also exist that have legs.  The legs usually just dangle, but in special cases the legs may be controlled either from behind the stage using strings that dangle over the top of the stage and control the legs from above (like a [[marionette|marionette's]], or by another puppeteer using rods from below, hidden by a lower and more forward part of the stage.
  
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In the 1993 film ''[[Freaked]]'', [[Bobcat Goldthwait]] plays Sockhead, a character who is a talking sock puppet.
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== Technique ==
  
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The late 1990s [[MTV]] sock puppet show, [[Sifl and Olly]], ran for two years and developed a [[cult following]].
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=== Basic Positioning ===
  
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Sock puppets are the biggest fear of [[Homer Simpson]], a character on the [[FOX TV]] show ''[[The Simpsons]]'', as claimed on the show's [[Fear of Flying (Simpsons)|114th episode]] (in the sixth season).
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As with any stage performer, the puppet should always face the audience; it may turn somewhat to one side or the other, but generally not more than about 45 degrees away from straight forward.  This allows the audience to see the puppet's face.
  
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Canadian music video network [[MuchMusic]] is the home of [[Ed the Sock]]. Ed is an intentionally gruff cigar-smoking sock puppet who has been a part of the MuchMusic line-up since the 1990s.
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Since the puppet stage is normally taller or higher than the seated audience (in order to best hide the puppeteers and provide room for them to work), the puppet must be made to lean forward slightly with its head tilted somewhat down, in order to make eye contact with the audience. A puppet that fails to do this appears to be staring over the heads of the audience or, in extreme cases, at the ceiling, a mistake often made by novice puppeteers.
  
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In 2003 the online bank Egg used the sock puppet as an amusing device to advertise their credit card, showing a diffident man trying to negotiate his way through potentially embarrassing situations, such as being ripped off by a menacing plumber on callout at his house, producing a puppet that proceeds to voice loudly and sarcastically his real sentiments.
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Vertically, the puppet should be kept elevated, with its shoulders well above the stage.  Ideally, most of the puppet's torso should be kept visible to the audience at all times.  A puppet that is not properly elevated is said to be ''drowning''.
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=== Diction ===
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The term ''diction'' refers to the manner in which the puppet's mouth opens and closes in order to appear to form words or sounds, similar to [[Lip sync|lip syncing]]. 
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As a rule, the puppet's lower jaw ([[mandible]]) should open downward, with the upper jaw, which is usually contiguous with the rest of the head, not raising much.  This mimics the way the [[human]] mouth works.  A typical novice mistake is to reverse this and open the puppet's mouth like that of an [[alligator]], flipping the top.  With practice, this tendency can be suppressed.  When learning the technique, it often helps to move or lean the entire puppet, or at least the head, forward slightly each time the mouth opens; with more experience, this becomes less necessary.
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The basic mainstay of diction for most puppeteers is ''syllabic diction'', i.e., opening the puppet's mouth once for each syllable, closing it at the end of the syllable.  Another common novice mistake is to reverse this, closing the mouth on each syllable, which makes it look as if the puppet is biting off its words; this effect should be carefully avoided.
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When the puppet must speak very rapidly, a variant on syllabic diction may be used where some syllables are omitted.  It is important to open the puppet's mouth for the first and last syllables as well as all long or emphasized syllables, but most audiences will not notice if some of the unimportant syllables are omitted, provided it happens fairly quickly.  As the puppet's speech (or song lyrics) slows down, it becomes more and more important to include every syllable.
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More advanced forms of diction are possible.  Ultimately the experienced puppeteer will master ''phonetic diction'', in which the degree to which the puppet's mouth is open at any given point mimics the motion of the human mouth forming the same series of [[phoneme|sounds]]; thus, the mouth will be open wide for a long O vowel, briefly close almost completely when forming a [[dental consonant|dental]] [[plosive consonant|stop]], and so on and so forth.
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=== Arm Rods ===
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A hand puppet's arms are often controlled by the puppeteer's free hand via rods, which attach to the insides of the puppet's wrists in some fashion (most commonly via [[rubber band]]s, but other attachment methods may be used).
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=== Body Movements ===
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One of the most important techniques in puppetry is continuous motion.  A puppet that remains still has a dull, lifeless appearance and is said to be ''dead''.  Motion should shift from one portion of the puppet to another, so that one moment the puppet is moving its head and the next moment shifting its torso or repositioning an arm.  The puppet may shift from side to side, look around, lean or straighten, fidget (with part of the stage, its own clothing or hair, or any available object), cross or uncross its arms, sigh, tilt its head, or make any number of other small motions, in order to continue to appear lifelike.
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
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*[[Sockpuppet (Internet)]]
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* [[Muppet]]
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* [[Two-Arm Puppet]]
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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* [http://www.daniellesplace.com/html/puppets.html Danielle's Place: Easy To Make Sock Puppets] - Instructions on how to make a variety of different sock puppets
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* [http://www.bright.net/~jonadab/puppets/technique.htm Technique information]
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* [http://www.thepuppetstore.com Puppets] - Puppets and Resources
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* [http://homepages.nyu.edu/~sty206 Finger Puppets] - Nonprofit society for the promotion of finger puppetry
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* [http://www.101handpuppets.com/ 101 Hand Puppets] - A guide for puppeteers of all ages
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{{Commons|Sock puppet}}
 
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[[Category:Dolls]]
 
 
[[Category:Puppets]]
 
[[Category:Puppets]]
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[[pl:Pacynka]]
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[[de:Handpuppe]]
 
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[[eo:Gantpupo]]
 
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[[ja:ソックパペット]]
 
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[[nl:Sokpop]]
 

Revision as of 06:32, 15 October 2006

A hand puppet is a type of puppet that is primarily controlled by a hand that occupies the interior of the puppet. Larger varieties of hand puppets place the puppeteer's hand in just the puppet's head, controlling the mouth and head, and the puppet's body then hangs over most or all of the forearm of the puppeteer, and possibly extends further. Other parts of the puppet may be controlled by different means, e.g., by rods operated by the puppeteer's free hand, or strings or levers pulled from inside the head or body. A smaller variety, simple hand puppets often have no significant manipulable parts at all.

Simple hand puppets

Simple toy dog hand puppet.

The simplest hand puppets are those with few or no moving parts. They can be stiff, made from e.g. a hard plastic, but are more often flexible, made from fabric, possibly with some stuffing and attached decorations for eyes, nose, and so on. The mouth may be a mere decoration that does not open and close, or the thumb may enter a separate pocket from the rest of the fabric and so simulate a mandible, allowing the puppet to talk.

Simple hand puppets are usually not much larger than the hand itself. A sock puppet is a particularly simple type of hand puppet made from a sock. A glove puppet is slightly more complex, with an internal division for fingers allowing independent manipulation of a character's arms.

Simple hand puppets, especially of popular licensed characters, are often distributed as children's toys or party favors.

Larger Hand Puppets

A nearly-completed hand puppet with arm rods. This puppet will be complete once eyes and hair are added.

Larger and more complex hand puppets generally have, at minimum, a complete working hinged mouth, and usually arms as well. Special variants exist with additional manipulable parts: e.g., eyelids that open and close. Most hand puppets depict only the upper half of the character, from the waist up, with the stage covering the missing remainder, but variants also exist that have legs. The legs usually just dangle, but in special cases the legs may be controlled either from behind the stage using strings that dangle over the top of the stage and control the legs from above (like a marionette's, or by another puppeteer using rods from below, hidden by a lower and more forward part of the stage.

Technique

Basic Positioning

As with any stage performer, the puppet should always face the audience; it may turn somewhat to one side or the other, but generally not more than about 45 degrees away from straight forward. This allows the audience to see the puppet's face.

Since the puppet stage is normally taller or higher than the seated audience (in order to best hide the puppeteers and provide room for them to work), the puppet must be made to lean forward slightly with its head tilted somewhat down, in order to make eye contact with the audience. A puppet that fails to do this appears to be staring over the heads of the audience or, in extreme cases, at the ceiling, a mistake often made by novice puppeteers.

Vertically, the puppet should be kept elevated, with its shoulders well above the stage. Ideally, most of the puppet's torso should be kept visible to the audience at all times. A puppet that is not properly elevated is said to be drowning.

Diction

The term diction refers to the manner in which the puppet's mouth opens and closes in order to appear to form words or sounds, similar to lip syncing.

As a rule, the puppet's lower jaw (mandible) should open downward, with the upper jaw, which is usually contiguous with the rest of the head, not raising much. This mimics the way the human mouth works. A typical novice mistake is to reverse this and open the puppet's mouth like that of an alligator, flipping the top. With practice, this tendency can be suppressed. When learning the technique, it often helps to move or lean the entire puppet, or at least the head, forward slightly each time the mouth opens; with more experience, this becomes less necessary.

The basic mainstay of diction for most puppeteers is syllabic diction, i.e., opening the puppet's mouth once for each syllable, closing it at the end of the syllable. Another common novice mistake is to reverse this, closing the mouth on each syllable, which makes it look as if the puppet is biting off its words; this effect should be carefully avoided.

When the puppet must speak very rapidly, a variant on syllabic diction may be used where some syllables are omitted. It is important to open the puppet's mouth for the first and last syllables as well as all long or emphasized syllables, but most audiences will not notice if some of the unimportant syllables are omitted, provided it happens fairly quickly. As the puppet's speech (or song lyrics) slows down, it becomes more and more important to include every syllable.

More advanced forms of diction are possible. Ultimately the experienced puppeteer will master phonetic diction, in which the degree to which the puppet's mouth is open at any given point mimics the motion of the human mouth forming the same series of sounds; thus, the mouth will be open wide for a long O vowel, briefly close almost completely when forming a dental stop, and so on and so forth.

Arm Rods

A hand puppet's arms are often controlled by the puppeteer's free hand via rods, which attach to the insides of the puppet's wrists in some fashion (most commonly via rubber bands, but other attachment methods may be used).

Body Movements

One of the most important techniques in puppetry is continuous motion. A puppet that remains still has a dull, lifeless appearance and is said to be dead. Motion should shift from one portion of the puppet to another, so that one moment the puppet is moving its head and the next moment shifting its torso or repositioning an arm. The puppet may shift from side to side, look around, lean or straighten, fidget (with part of the stage, its own clothing or hair, or any available object), cross or uncross its arms, sigh, tilt its head, or make any number of other small motions, in order to continue to appear lifelike.

See also

External links

pl:Pacynka

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