Especialidades JA/Títeres/Respuestas
Nivel de destreza
2
Año
Desconocido
Version
04.11.2024
Autoridad de aprobación
Asociación General
1
Antes de hacer (o comprar) sus títeres, debe tener una idea de qué se tratará el espectáculo de títeres y la clase de títeres que va a usar. Generalmente es una buena idea escribir un guión primero y luego desarrollar los títeres necesarios para el guión. Si va a realizar la obra ante una audiencia multicultural, puede considerar el uso de personajes animales en lugar de personas. Las personas de cualquiera raza pueden identificarse con un animal con más facilidad de lo que puede con un personaje que pertenece a una raza diferente.
2
3
The hardest part about writing a script is getting a story idea. You could choose a story from the Bible and either play it as written or adapt it in some way (much the way several VeggieTales movies have a different take on a Bible story). Another source of ideas would be your Investiture Achievement curriculum. All of the progressive classes have requirements that can be met by putting on a skit or by role playing. These can easily be translated into puppet shows.
It's OK to work on these scripts as a group, but be sure that everyone participates.
4
Now that you have puppets, voices, and a script, it's time to rehearse your puppet show. Appoint someone the director of the puppet show. This person should not have a puppet to operate, but rather, should take charge of the entire operation. The director will tell the puppeteers what type of expression to use in their voices, and will watch the play as it progresses. The director's job is to point out any mistakes the puppeteers make so that they can correct them rather than reinforcing them The puppeteers need to understand that the director is only trying to improve the play, and they must be open to constructive criticism.
Once everyone knows their lines and knows how to move their puppets on the stage, it is time to perform the play. This can be done during a Pathfinder meeting, as the children's story during church, or even as the sermon (in whole or in part) on Pathfinder Sabbath. You could also take your show on the road and perform it for school children (though you need to make sure that the school knows the nature of the play - public schools in the U.S. are not allowed to host religious events, and schools in other countries are expressly forbidden to allow evangelism from religions that are not expressly sanctioned by the state.)
You could also offer to perform your play at a day care center.
Another thing you might consider which may (or may not) help your performance go more smoothly is to pre-record the puppet show's sound track, including all the voices. In this way, you may utilize a larger group of people by using different people to operate the puppets and provide the puppet voices. Or you can use the same people. This approach will also allow you to add music and sound effects, and it eliminates the risk of a person botching their lines or succumbing to stage fright.
Other risks are added however. Prerecording the audio removes spontaneity (though in some cases this might be desired) and precludes the possibility of adapting to an unforeseen situation (such as prop or stage failure). You also take on the risk of technical failure of the audio equipment. As with a completely live performance, the key is to practice.
5
The reason for have the assessment done by someone who is not related to the puppeteer is to avoid bias. Sometimes relatives will tell you you did a great job even if you did not because they do not want to hurt your feelings, or because they love you so much they are unable to really see your faults.
It is important to get honest feedback, because that is the only way you will be able to improve. If possible, video tape the performance and go through it with the puppeteers afterwards, pausing the videos to discuss various points. The assessor should not only point out the weaknesses and what went wrong, but should also point out the strengths and the things that went right.
Things to look out for:
- Puppets is in the wrong place, either slipping below the stage, or being raised so high that the puppeteer's arm is revealed to the audience.
- Mouth not synced to the voice.
- Puppet is speaking to a character, but not "looking" in that direction.
- Puppet is becoming the center of attention when attention should be centered on a different character.
Try to keep in mind that this honor belongs to the Spiritual Growth, Outreach, and Heritage Series of AY honors, and remember what that implies. The purpose of learning puppetry in this honor is so that it may be used as an evangelism tool. Good puppets, good voices, good scripts, and good execution of the play can be a very effective evangelism tool. Poorly made puppets, boring voices, ill-conceived scripts, and inexpert execution are far less effective. The audience may lose interest, or start thinking about how awful the presentation is. Rather than the audience getting lost in the message, the message gets lost.
