Puppeteer

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Puppeteer performing with his Puppet, India.
Puppeteer performing with his Puppet, India.

A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object — a puppet— in real time to create the illusion of life. Depending on the type of puppetry, the puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or her own hands. Some puppet styles require puppeteers to work together as a team to create a single puppet character.

There are a wide range of styles of puppetry but whatever the style, the puppeteer's role is to manipulate the physical object in such a manner that the audience believes the object is imbued with life. In some instances the persona of the puppeteer is also an important feature. Similarly, animators can make a puppet move on film by using stop motion, where the puppet is moved tiny fractions in between each frame.

The relationship between the puppeteer and the puppet-maker is often assumed to be similar to that between an actor and a playwright. This may be so, but one of the characteristics of puppetry is that very often the puppeteer assumes the joint roles of puppet-maker, director, designer, writer and performer. In this case a puppeteer is a more complete theatre practicioner than is the case within other theatre forms.

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Sergey Obraztsov (1901-1992), frequently cited as the father of artistic puppetry, was highly skilled in finger puppeteering, but also extended the range of the form by exposing the manipulation techniques involved.

Probably the best known of modern puppeteers is Jim Henson (1936 -1990), who with his associate Frank Oz developed The Muppets. Their work has entertained children for decades on the television series like Sesame Street, and adults for The Muppet Show. Henson and Oz also frequently worked in film, including directing and puppeteer work in the 1982 film The Dark Crystal and the 1986 film Labyrinth. Oz is also well known for his work with the puppet of Yoda in the popular Star Wars movie series and as a director of movies such as the musical Little Shop of Horrors.

Peter Schumann (b. 1934) has also been a highly influential puppeteer. Schumann formed Bread and Puppet Theatre in 1963, using puppetry as a form to campaign politically and educate socially as well as entertain. His work has also been formally experimental, and influenced a wide range of theatre practicioners including Julie Taymor.

"Chili das Schaf" puppet from German series Chili TV and Berndivent, and its creators Tommy Krappweis and Erik Haffner.
"Chili das Schaf" puppet from German series Chili TV and Berndivent, and its creators Tommy Krappweis and Erik Haffner.

Ramdas Padhye, Ventriloquist & Puppeteer from India, is famous all over India. His ventriloquist dummy Ardhavatrao, and Bunny (the rabbit that starred in the commercial Lijjat Papad) are well known on the sub-continent. His son Satyajit Padhye is also a Ventriloquist and Puppeteer who is carrying this art of Puppetry to future generations.

Another famous and influential modern puppeteer is Gerry Anderson who used a marionette puppet system called Supermarionation to a number of successful science fiction television shows like Thunderbirds.

Edgar Bergen in the film Stage Door Canteen (1943), with puppet Mortimer Snerd.
Edgar Bergen in the film Stage Door Canteen (1943), with puppet Mortimer Snerd.
Doug Kincaid with "Kincaid Karacter" puppet "Grouchie Gator" on the set of television's "Gator Tales" (1988)
Doug Kincaid with "Kincaid Karacter" puppet "Grouchie Gator" on the set of television's "Gator Tales" (1988)

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