Big thanks to Josh Cohen, Connor Hopkins and Liebe Wetzel for these notes.
Sara Farr
The Illusion of Life
- EYE FOCUS — be specific where the puppet is looking
- BREATH — lift for breath, drop for exhale; lead motion with a breath
- WEIGHT — show mass in the degree of the character’s inertia
- EMOTION — happy: lift | sad: fall | angry: strike out | scared: recoil
- ECONOMY — use movement deliberately; eliminate extraneous movement
Looking & Breathing
- Be specific in choosing where your puppet is looking
- Look at your puppet and correct eye line as necessary
- Let puppet look around and “see” the environment
- Shoulder rise-fall gives “breath” or life to your puppet
- Anticipate movement with a “breath”
- To look left or right, roll your wrist to show your knuckles to the audience
Walking
- Bounce gives rise and fall of walk
- Forearm to turn & shift weight for walk
- Vary speed, gate and emotion to create character walks
Talking
- Bounce from shoulder with relaxed wrist opens the mouth
- Pop open on vowels (close for consonants)
- Visualize voice coming from palm of your hand
- Keep puppet’s head out to audience; avoid profile
- Look at puppet & emote, then look at scene partner
- Keep hand pointed slightly down so audience can see eyes
- Practice thumb movement (drop jaw, maintain eye line)
- Small movements for talking
- Emphasize beats with BIG movement
- Puppet always knows what to say
Arms & Touching
- Use the arm rods with deliberance; otherwise, drop ’emCreate tension in arm by pulling out to full length
- Roll rod to turn handGive scene partner a target for high-5s and hugs
- Verbally and physically communicate your attack
- “Victim” reaction sells the touch/slap/hit/punch/kick
- Use slo-mo for “Kiss or Kill” moments
- Don’t rush the action; break complex actions down into individual steps
General Notes
- Everything you do, do it through the puppet
- Be conscious of the puppet’s movement
- Show, don’t tell… Nod for “yes”, shake head for “no”
- Use the puppet’s body language (eye contact, close/far to other characters)
- Share energy with audience… have puppet look at audience often
- Example: To other character…
“[Name] I want to ask you a question”
Out to audience… “[asks question]”
Back to other character… “Eh?”
Tips
- WATCH the puppet
- Keep energy in your hand
- Let the puppet misbehave