A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure , that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer . Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in ancient Greece .
113-421: There are many different varieties of puppets, and they are made from a wide range of materials, depending on their form and intended use. They range from very simple in construction and operation to very complex. The puppeteer buses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to move the body, head, limbs, and in some cases the mouth and eyes of the puppet. The puppeteer often speaks in
226-517: A Kinesthetic learning style would be used, involving the listeners through music, dream interpretation, or dance. For indigenous cultures of the Americas, storytelling is used as an oral form of language associated with practices and values essential to developing one's identity. This is because everyone in the community can add their own touch and perspective to the narrative collaboratively – both individual and culturally shared perspectives have
339-441: A Wayne Booth -esque rhetorical thrust, a dialectic process of interpretation, which is at times beneath the surface, conditioning a plotted narrative, and at other times much more visible, "arguing" for and against various positions; relies substantially on now-standard aesthetic figuration, particularly including the use of metaphor , metonymy, synecdoche and irony (see Hayden White , Metahistory for expansion of this idea);
452-639: A "sack-body" puppet, is built with the puppet's arms directly connected to its base. Popular examples include the Sesame Street characters Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch , and the Muppet character Rowlf the Dog . The Swedish Chef , another Muppet character, is operated in a unique way; both of his hands are actual human hands, supplied by the second performer. The technique of the main puppeteer performing
565-456: A "surface" story, that entails knowing certain information and clues to unlocking the metaphors in the story. The underlying message of the story being told, can be understood and interpreted with clues that hint to a certain interpretation. In order to make meaning from these stories, elders in the Sto:lo community for example, emphasize the importance in learning how to listen, since it requires
678-405: A box) who would talk when Wences opened the box. Similarly, chinface puppetry involves puppet features drawn or attached onto an upside-down chin. A pull string puppet is a puppet consisting of a cloth body where in the puppeteer puts his/her arm into a slot in the back and pulls rings on strings to make certain movements such as waving the arms or moving the mouth. A push puppet consists of
791-451: A character's head with an assistant performing both arms is also used for Rowlf playing the piano. Light curtain puppet presentations use light to highlight small portions of a performance area, allowing the puppet to be seen while the manipulators remain invisible. The puppets stand on a stage divided into an unlit background and a well-lit foreground, meeting to form a "curtain" of light. The puppeteer dresses in black and remains hidden in
904-515: A country's established ruling dynasty or was unrecognised by its nobility. "Puppet government", "puppet regime" and " puppet state " are derogatory terms for a government that is in charge of a region or country but only through being installed, supported and controlled by a more powerful outside government. An example is Vidkun Quisling , a Norwegian fascist leader during the Second World War who collaborated with Nazi Germany and led
1017-410: A dangerous place / he disguises himself / his disguise fools everybody / except for a common person of little account (a crone , a tavern maid or a woodcutter) / who immediately recognizes him / the commoner becomes the hero's ally, showing unexpected resources of skill or initiative. A theme does not belong to a specific story, but may be found with minor variation in many different stories. The story
1130-440: A different lens. Noted author and folklore scholar, Elaine Lawless states, "...this process provides new avenues for understanding and identity formation. Language is utilised to bear witness to their lives". Sometimes a narrator will simply skip over certain details without realizing, only to include it in their stories during a later telling. In this way, that telling and retelling of the narrative serves to "reattach portions of
1243-698: A finger, glove or rod puppet. The puppet play performed by the Von Trapp children with Maria in The Sound of Music is a marionette show. Prominent marionette theaters operating today include: Salzberg Marionette Theater , Bob Baker Marionette Theater , Center for Puppetry Arts , Melchior Marionette Theater, the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in Central Park , New York, and Le Theatre de Marionette . The marotte
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#17327799302041356-425: A form of storytelling for many ancient cultures . The Aboriginal Australian people painted symbols which also appear in stories on cave walls as a means of helping the storyteller remember the story. The story was then told using a combination of oral narrative, music , rock art and dance, which bring understanding and meaning to human existence through the remembrance and enactment of stories. People have used
1469-417: A larger story, thus storytelling can supplement analytical thinking. Because storytelling requires auditory and visual senses from listeners, one can learn to organize their mental representation of a story, recognize structure of language and express his or her thoughts. Stories tend to be based on experiential learning, but learning from an experience is not automatic. Often a person needs to attempt to tell
1582-401: A means by which to precipitate psychological and social change in the practice of transformative arts . Some people also make a case for different narrative forms being classified as storytelling in the contemporary world. For example, digital storytelling, online and dice-and-paper-based role-playing games. In traditional role-playing games , storytelling is done by the person who controls
1695-405: A medium to convey cultural and social messages to the audience. The word puppet can mean a political leader installed, supported and controlled by powerful external forces without legitimacy in the country itself. In modern times, that usually implies no democratic mandate from the country's electorate; in earlier times, it could have meant a monarch imposed from outside, who was not a member of
1808-496: A method to teach ethics, values and cultural norms and differences. Learning is most effective when it takes place in social environments that provide authentic social cues about how knowledge is to be applied. Stories function as a tool to pass on knowledge in a social context. So, every story has 3 parts. First, The setup (The Hero's world before the adventure starts). Second, The Confrontation (The hero's world turned upside down). Third, The Resolution (Hero conquers villain, but it
1921-432: A number of artistic elements that typically interact in well-developed stories. Such elements include the essential idea of narrative structure with identifiable beginnings, middles, and endings, or exposition-development-climax-resolution-denouement, normally constructed into coherent plot lines; a strong focus on temporality, which includes retention of the past, attention to present action and protention/future anticipation;
2034-413: A number of strings, plus sometimes a central rod attached to a control bar held from above by the puppeteer. The control bar can be either horizontal or vertical. Basic strings for operation are usually attached to the head, back, hands (to control the arms) and just above the knee (to control the legs). This form of puppetry is complex and sophisticated to operate, requiring greater manipulative control than
2147-483: A personal narrative serve"? This approach mainly looks at the power, authority, knowledge, ideology and identity; "whether it legitimates and dominates or resists and empowers". All personal narratives are seen as ideological because they evolve from a structure of power relations and simultaneously produce, maintain and reproduce that power structure". Political theorist, Hannah Arendt argues that storytelling transforms private meaning to public meaning. Regardless of
2260-631: A place in the co-creation of the story. Oral storytelling in indigenous communities differs from other forms of stories because they are told not only for entertainment, but for teaching values. For example, the Sto:lo community in Canada focuses on reinforcing children's identity by telling stories about the land to explain their roles. Furthermore, Storytelling is a way to teach younger members of indigenous communities about their culture and their identities. In Donna Eder's study, Navajos were interviewed about storytelling practices that they have had in
2373-541: A professor of literature at the University of Tennessee created the first organized storytellers league of its kind. It was called The National Story League. Wyche served as its president for 16 years, facilitated storytelling classes, and spurred an interest in the art. Several other storytelling organizations started in the U.S. during the 1970s. One such organization was the National Association for
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#17327799302042486-412: A puppet government. In a more general sense, a puppet is any person who is controlled by another by reasons of (for instance) undue influence, intellectual deficiency, or lack of character or charisma. Science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein 's novel The Puppet Masters depicts alien parasites who attach themselves to human beings and control their actions. Poppet , a word that sounds similar,
2599-605: A puppet, illustration, painting, or other visual medium is accompanied by rhythmical speech or song that describes or reenacts events to tell a story. Carnival puppets (also known as body puppets ) are usually designed to be part of a large spectacle. These are often used in parades (such as the Mayday parade in Minneapolis , United States and The Cape Town Carnival in South Africa) and demonstrations, and are at least
2712-399: A segmented character on a base which is kept under tension until the button on the bottom is pressed. The puppet wiggles, slumps and then collapses. Push puppets are usually intended as novelty toys , rather than as part of professional puppet theatre. A rod puppet is a puppet constructed around a central rod secured to the head. A large glove covers the rod and is attached to the neck of
2825-475: A series of dances. Not all forms of puppetry need specially created items to puppet. Object puppets can be created with found everyday objects either assembled in advance or during performance. Señor Wences was a Spanish ventriloquist who became popular through his appearances on the American program The Ed Sullivan Show . His characters included Johnny (a face drawn on his hand) and Pedro (a gruff head in
2938-416: A sock, with the opening and closing of the hand simulating the movement of the puppet's "mouth." The sock puppet is a type of hand puppet , which is controlled using one hand that occupies the interior of the puppet and moves the puppet around. A "live-hand puppet" is similar to a hand puppet but is larger and requires two puppeteers for each puppet. A marionette is a much more complicated type of puppet that
3051-462: A solution. Stories are effective educational tools because listeners become engaged and therefore remember. Storytelling can be seen as a foundation for learning and teaching. While the story listener is engaged, they are able to imagine new perspectives, inviting a transformative and empathetic experience. This involves allowing the individual to actively engage in the story as well as observe, listen and participate with minimal guidance. Listening to
3164-413: A story, who has accidentally broken something that belongs to the ahuaque, does not replace it or give back in some way to the ahuaque, the protagonist dies. In this way, storytelling serves as a way to teach what the community values, such as valuing the environment. Storytelling also serves to deliver a particular message during spiritual and ceremonial functions. In the ceremonial use of storytelling,
3277-411: A storyteller can create lasting personal connections, promote innovative problem solving and foster a shared understanding regarding future ambitions. The listener can then activate knowledge and imagine new possibilities. Together a storyteller and listener can seek best practices and invent new solutions. Because stories often have multiple layers of meanings, listeners have to listen closely to identify
3390-467: A substantial focus on characters and characterization which is "arguably the most important single component of the novel"; a given heterogloss of different voices dialogically at play – "the sound of the human voice, or many voices, speaking in a variety of accents, rhythms and registers"; possesses a narrator or narrator-like voice, which by definition "addresses" and "interacts with" reading audiences (see Reader Response theory); communicates with
3503-425: A surface similar to a table top (hence the name). Shares many characteristics with Bunraku. A Ticklebug is a type of hand puppet created from a human hand to have four legs, where the puppet features are drawn on the hand itself. The middle finger is lifted as a head, and the thumb and forefinger serve as a first set of two legs on one side, while the ring finger and little finger serve as a second set of two legs on
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3616-426: A thousand years ago and formalised and combined with shamisen music at the end of the 16th century, the puppeteers dress to remain neutral against a black background, although their presence as a kind of 'shadow' figure adds a mysterious power to the puppet. Bunraku traditionally uses three puppeteers to operate a puppet that varies from 1/3 to 1/2 life size. Cantastoria is a form of visual storytelling in which
3729-473: A tool to correct inappropriate behavior and promote cooperation. There are various types of stories among many indigenous communities. Communication in Indigenous American communities is rich with stories, myths, philosophies and narratives that serve as a means to exchange information. These stories may be used for coming of age themes, core values, morality, literacy and history. Very often,
3842-428: Is a form of glove or hand puppetry and rod puppetry. Many puppeteers, particularly those for Jim Henson's Muppets , get their start assisting on a human-arm puppet; this is often known as "right-handing". Some of Henson's Muppets, such as the Muppet character Fozzie Bear and the Sesame Street characters Ernie and Count von Count , are live-hand puppets, as are Yoda and ALF . A variation of this puppet, called
3955-534: Is a kind of shadow puppet theater known in Sundanese, Javanese, and Indonesian as 'wayang (kulit)', that is, (leather) shadow puppet. While most shadow puppets cast black silhouettes from behind a screen, motekar shadow puppets can be in full color. They use plastic materials, transparent dyes, a special light system, and a special type of screen to make this happen. Motekar puppet shows can be performed by one or several puppeteers and usually feature music, singing, and
4068-423: Is a means for sharing and interpreting experiences. Peter L. Berger says human life is narratively rooted, humans construct their lives and shape their world into homes in terms of these groundings and memories. Stories are universal in that they can bridge cultural, linguistic and age-related divides. Storytelling can be adaptive for all ages, leaving out the notion of age segregation . Storytelling can be used as
4181-407: Is a method of puppetry invented by Gerry Anderson , which he used in his television shows Stingray and Thunderbirds . The puppets were marionettes with electronically moving mouths to allow for lip-synchronised speech . The marionettes were still controlled by human manipulators with darkened strings. A table top puppet is a puppet usually operated by rod or direct contact from behind, on
4294-441: Is a puppet, often human-shaped, operated by a ventriloquist performer's hand; the performer produces the puppet's voice with little or no movement of her mouth, which creates the illusion that the puppet is alive. Carnival puppets are large puppets, typically bigger than a human, designed to be part of a large spectacle or parade . Puppetry was practiced in ancient Greece and the oldest written records of puppetry can be found in
4407-427: Is a simplified rod puppet that is just a head and/or body on a stick. It was used by jesters in renaissance times. In a marotte à main prenante , the puppeteer's other arm emerges from the body (which is just a cloth drape) to act as the puppet's arm. Some marottes have a small string running through the stick attached to a handle at the bottom. When the handle is squeezed, the mouth opens. Motekar or wayang motekar
4520-471: Is assembled from lines which are repeated verbatim or which use one-for-one word substitutions. In other words, oral stories are built out of set phrases which have been stockpiled from a lifetime of hearing and telling stories. The other type of story vocabulary is theme, a set sequence of story actions that structure a tale. Just as the teller of tales proceeds line-by-line using formulas, so he proceeds from event-to-event using themes. One near-universal theme
4633-477: Is larger and requires two puppeteers. One puppeteer places their dominant hand inside the puppet's head and operates the puppet's head and mouth, while putting their non-dominant hand into a glove and special sleeve attached to the puppet to operate one of the arms. The second puppeteer puts their hand into another glove/sleeve attached to the puppet in order to operate the other arm. This way, the puppet can perform hand gestures and interact with objects with ease. This
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4746-510: Is not enough for Hero to survive. The Hero or World must be transformed). Any story can be framed in such format. Human knowledge is based on stories and the human brain consists of cognitive machinery necessary to understand, remember and tell stories. Humans are storytelling organisms that both individually and socially, lead storied lives. Stories mirror human thought as humans think in narrative structures and most often remember facts in story form. Facts can be understood as smaller versions of
4859-451: Is often enmeshed in intertextuality, with copious connections, references, allusions, similarities, parallels, etc. to other literatures; and commonly demonstrates an effort toward bildungsroman , a description of identity development with an effort to evince becoming in character and community. Storytelling festivals typically feature the work of several storytellers and may include workshops for tellers and others who are interested in
4972-529: Is one of the many effective ways to educate both the young and old about their cultures, identities and history. Storytelling help the Navajos know who they are, where they come from and where they belong. Storytelling in indigenous cultures is sometimes passed on by oral means in a quiet and relaxing environment, which usually coincides with family or tribal community gatherings and official events such as family occasions, rituals, or ceremonial practices. During
5085-459: Is repetition, as evidenced in Western folklore with the " rule of three ": Three brothers set out, three attempts are made, three riddles are asked. A theme can be as simple as a specific set sequence describing the arming of a hero , starting with shirt and trousers and ending with headdress and weapons. A theme can be large enough to be a plot component. For example: a hero proposes a journey to
5198-410: Is sometimes a term of endearment, similar to "love", "pet", "doll" or "dear". It alludes to folk- magic and witchcraft , where a poppet is a special doll created to represent a person for the purpose of casting healing, fertility, or binding spells . Sock puppet is used on social media as a term to describe fake accounts used to spread political disinformation. Storytelling Storytelling
5311-433: Is suspended and controlled by a number of strings connected to the head, back and limbs, plus sometimes a central rod attached to a control bar held from above by the puppeteer. A rod puppet is constructed around a central rod secured to the head. A shadow puppet is a cut-out figure held between a source of light and a translucent screen. Bunraku puppets are a type of Japanese wood-carved puppet. A ventriloquist's dummy
5424-518: Is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories , sometimes with improvisation , theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment , education, cultural preservation or instilling moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot , characters and narrative point of view . The term "storytelling" can refer specifically to oral storytelling but also broadly to techniques used in other media to unfold or disclose
5537-584: Is true. Folklorists sometimes divide oral tales into two main groups: Märchen and Sagen . These are German terms for which there are no exact English equivalents, however we have approximations: Märchen , loosely translated as " fairy tale (s)" or little stories, take place in a kind of separate "once-upon-a-time" world of nowhere-in-particular, at an indeterminate time in the past. They are clearly not intended to be understood as true. The stories are full of clearly defined incidents, and peopled by rather flat characters with little or no interior life. When
5650-430: Is used mainly in pre-schools or kindergartens for storytelling with young children. A hand puppet (or glove puppet ) is a puppet controlled by one hand, which occupies the interior of the puppet. The Punch and Judy puppets are familiar examples of hand puppets. 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
5763-404: Is written around 2nd century B.C. Puppetry by its nature is a flexible and inventive medium and many puppet companies work with combinations of puppet forms and incorporate real objects into their performances. They might, for example, incorporate performing objects such as torn paper for snow , or a sign board with words as narrative devices within a production. The following are, alphabetically,
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#17327799302045876-482: The Arabian Nights ), cluster around mythic heroes (like King Arthur ), and develop into the narratives of the deeds of the gods and saints of various religions . The results can be episodic (like the stories about Anansi ), epic (as with Homeric tales), inspirational (note the tradition of vitae ) and/or instructive (as in many Buddhist or Christian scriptures ). With the advent of writing and
5989-538: The Odawa Tribe , young boys are often told the story of a young man who never took care of his body, and as a result, his feet fail to run when he tries to escape predators. This story serves as an indirect means of encouraging the young boys to take care of their bodies. Narratives can be shared to express the values or morals among family, relatives, or people who are considered part of the close-knit community. Many stories in indigenous American communities all have
6102-598: The carved trunks of living trees and ephemeral media (such as sand and leaves) to record folktales in pictures or with writing. Complex forms of tattooing may also represent stories, with information about genealogy , affiliation and social status. Folktales often share common motifs and themes , suggesting possible basic psychological similarities across various human cultures. Other stories, notably fairy tales , appear to have spread from place to place, implying memetic appeal and popularity. Groups of originally oral tales can coalesce over time into story cycles (like
6215-406: The "Múa rối nước". Múa rối nước literally translates to "dance underwater" or "dancing underwater". This is an ancient tradition that dates back to the 10th century. The puppets are built out of wood and the shows are performed in a waist-deep pool. A large rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers to control them. The appearance is of the puppets moving over the water. When
6328-578: The 1930s, and the texts of epics such as the Odyssey . Lord found that a large part of the stories consisted of text which was improvised during the telling process. Lord identified two types of story vocabulary. The first he called "formulas": " Rosy-fingered Dawn ", " the wine-dark sea " and other specific set phrases had long been known of in Homer and other oral epics. Lord, however, discovered that across many story traditions, fully 90% of an oral epic
6441-802: The Perpetuation and Preservation of Storytelling (NAPPS), now the National Storytelling Network (NSN) and the International Storytelling Center (ISC). NSN is a professional organization that helps to organize resources for tellers and festival planners. The ISC runs the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN . Australia followed their American counterparts with the establishment of storytelling guilds in
6554-630: The UK proposes that the social space created preceding oral storytelling in schools may trigger sharing (Parfitt, 2014). Storytelling has also been studied as a way to investigate and archive cultural knowledge and values within indigenous American communities. Iseke's study (2013) on the role of storytelling in the Metis community, showed promise in furthering research about the Metis and their shared communal atmosphere during storytelling events. Iseke focused on
6667-458: The actions of good or mischievous stock characters while also allowing room for children to make meaning for themselves. By not being given every element of the story, children rely on their own experiences and not formal teaching from adults to fill in the gaps. When children listen to stories, they periodically vocalize their ongoing attention and accept the extended turn of the storyteller. The emphasis on attentiveness to surrounding events and
6780-541: The art form or other targeted applications of storytelling. Elements of the oral storytelling art form often include the tellers encouragement to have participants co-create an experience by connecting to relatable elements of the story and using techniques of visualization (the seeing of images in the mind's eye), and use vocal and bodily gestures to support understanding. In many ways, the art of storytelling draws upon other art forms such as acting , oral interpretation and Performance Studies . In 1903, Richard Wyche,
6893-418: The audience's attention away from the performer's activities and heighten the illusion that the dummy is speaking. They are called dummies because they do not speak on their own. The ventriloquist dummy is controlled by one hand of the ventriloquist. Ventriloquism acts are not always performed with a traditional dummy; occasionally other forms of puppetry are used. A water puppet is a Vietnamese puppet form,
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#17327799302047006-519: The background and puppeteer's costume normally made of black velvet . The puppeteers manipulate the puppets under the light, while they position themselves unseen against the black unlit background. Puppets of many sizes and types may be used. The original concept of this form of puppetry can be traced to Bunraku puppetry. Bunraku puppets are a type of wood-carved puppet originally made to stand out through torch illumination. Developed in Japan over
7119-403: The basic and conventional forms of puppet: The black light puppet is a form of puppetry where the puppets are operated on a stage lit only with ultraviolet lighting , which hides the puppeteer and accentuates the colours of the puppets, which are normally designed using colours that respond to UV light by glowing brightly. The puppeteers perform dressed in black against a black background, with
7232-577: The behavior. Parents in the Arizona Tewa community, for example, teach morals to their children through traditional narratives. Lessons focus on several topics including historical or "sacred" stories or more domestic disputes. Through storytelling, the Tewa community emphasizes the traditional wisdom of the ancestors and the importance of collective as well as individual identities. Indigenous communities teach children valuable skills and morals through
7345-411: The children the cultural ways, along with history, community values and teachings of the land. Children in indigenous communities can also learn from the underlying message of a story. For example, in a nahuatl community near Mexico City , stories about ahuaques or hostile water dwelling spirits that guard over the bodies of water, contain morals about respecting the environment. If the protagonist of
7458-615: The classic example of this. In China, it became popular from the Song dynasty . A sock puppet is a puppet formed and operated by inserting a hand inside a sock. The hand is opened and closed to simulate the movement of the puppet's "mouth" and give the impression of speaking. Sometimes eyes and other facial features are added to the sock in order to make the puppet more realistic. Sock puppets are popular in many puppet performances, as they are simple to make and easy to use. They are mostly used in satirical or children's works. Supermarionation
7571-424: The context of entertainment, where the narration progresses as a sequence of patterns impressive in quality ... and is part of a thoughtful progress". Some approaches treat narratives as politically motivated stories, stories empowering certain groups and stories giving people agency. Instead of just searching for the main point of the narrative, the political function is demanded through asking, "Whose interest does
7684-482: The current reality, but with different settings and beings such as werewolves, aliens, daemons, or hidden societies. These oral-based role-playing games were very popular in the 1990s among circles of youth in many countries before computer and console-based online MMORPG's took their place. Despite the prevalence of computer-based MMORPGs, the dice-and-paper RPG still has a dedicated following. Oral traditions of storytelling are found in several civilizations; they predate
7797-413: The dholak (a double-headed drum) and the sarangi (a bowed string instrument). Rajasthan puppetry performances are typically accompanied by lively folk songs and dances, creating a vibrant and engaging atmosphere. The stories depicted in the puppet shows often revolve around historical events, mythological tales, social issues, and moral lessons. The performances are not only entertaining but also serve as
7910-429: The earth. In this way, children learn to value their place in the world as a person in relation to others. Typically, stories are used as an informal learning tool in Indigenous American communities, and can act as an alternative method for reprimanding children's bad behavior. In this way, stories are non-confrontational, which allows the child to discover for themselves what they did wrong and what they can do to adjust
8023-401: The entire arm. Other parts of the puppet (mainly arms) are usually not much larger than the hand itself. Often the mouth can also open and close, and special variants exist with eyelids that can be manipulated. A sock puppet is a particularly simple type of hand puppet made from a sock. Also called a "two-man puppet" or a "live-hand puppet", the human-arm puppet is similar to a hand puppet but
8136-443: The environment and the non-playing fictional characters, and moves the story elements along for the players as they interact with the storyteller. The game is advanced by mainly verbal interactions, with a dice roll determining random events in the fictional universe, where the players interact with each other and the storyteller. This type of game has many genres, such as sci-fi and fantasy, as well as alternate-reality worlds based on
8249-479: The fisherman getting the short end (often capturing his surprised neighbor by mistake). Besides village life, scenes include legends and national history. Lion dogs romp like puppies while dragons exhale fire and smoke and shoot sprays of water at the audience. Performances of up to 18 short scenes are usually introduced by a pig-tailed bumpkin known as Teu, and accompanied by a small folk orchestra. Painted wooden heads, hands made just by stuffing clothes or cotton into
8362-472: The foundation of the community. Storytelling is used as a bridge for knowledge and understanding allowing the values of "self" and "community" to connect and be learned as a whole. Storytelling in the Navajo community for example allows for community values to be learned at different times and places for different learners. Stories are told from the perspective of other people, animals, or the natural elements of
8475-414: The gender of the narrator and what story they are sharing, the performance of the narrative and the audience listening to it is where the power lies. Therapeutic storytelling is the act of telling one's story in an attempt to better understand oneself or one's situation. Oftentimes, these stories affect the audience in a therapeutic sense as well, helping them to view situations similar to their own through
8588-552: The given story. Therefore, children in the Quechua community are encouraged to listen to the story that is being told in order to learn about their identity and culture. Sometimes, children are expected to sit quietly and listen actively. This enables them to engage in activities as independent learners. This teaching practice of storytelling allowed children to formulate ideas based on their own experiences and perspectives. In Navajo communities, for children and adults, storytelling
8701-412: The idea of witnessing a storyteller as a vital way to share and partake in the Metis community, as members of the community would stop everything else they were doing in order to listen or "witness" the storyteller and allow the story to become a "ceremonial landscape", or shared reference, for everyone present. This was a powerful tool for the community to engage and teach new learner shared references for
8814-560: The importance of oral tradition in indigenous communities teaches children the skill of keen attention. For example, Children of the Tohono O'odham American Indian community who engaged in more cultural practices were able to recall the events in a verbally presented story better than those who did not engage in cultural practices. Body movements and gestures help to communicate values and keep stories alive for future generations. Elders, parents and grandparents are typically involved in teaching
8927-800: The increasing popularity of written and televised media in much of the world. Modern storytelling has a broad purview. In addition to its traditional forms ( fairytales , folktales , mythology , legends , fables etc.), it has extended itself to representing history, personal narrative, political commentary and evolving cultural norms. Contemporary storytelling is also widely used to address educational objectives. New forms of media are creating new ways for people to record, express and consume stories. Tools for asynchronous group communication can provide an environment for individuals to reframe or recast individual stories into group stories. Games and other digital platforms, such as those used in interactive fiction or interactive storytelling , may be used to position
9040-521: The late 1970s. Australian storytelling today has individuals and groups across the country who meet to share their stories. The UK's Society for Storytelling was founded in 1993, bringing together tellers and listeners, and each year since 2000 has run a National Storytelling Week the first week of February. Bunraku Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
9153-459: The main cast of Fraggle Rock . A shadow puppet is a cut-out figure held between a source of light and a translucent screen. Shadow puppets can form solid silhouettes or be decorated with various amounts of cut-out details. Colour can be introduced into the cut-out shapes to provide a different dimension and different effects can be achieved by moving the puppet (or light source) out of focus. Javanese shadow puppets known as Wayang Kulit are
9266-471: The narrative of a story. Storytelling, intertwined with the development of mythologies , predates writing. The earliest forms of storytelling were usually oral , combined with gestures and expressions. Storytelling often has a prominent educational and performative role in religious rituals (for example, the Passover Seder ), and some archaeologists believe that rock art may have served as
9379-515: The narrative". These gaps may occur due to a repression of the trauma or even just a want to keep the most gruesome details private. Regardless, these silences are not as empty as they appear, and it is only this act of storytelling that can enable the teller to fill them back in. Psychodrama uses re-enactment of a personal, traumatic event in the life of a psychodrama group participant as a therapeutic methodology, first developed by psychiatrist, J.L. Moreno , M.D. This therapeutic use of storytelling
9492-454: The occasion of a tiny movement; the levers are released, and strike the twisted strings against one another. In India, puppetry was practiced from ancient times and is known by different names in different parts of the country. Excavation of clay dolls from Indus valley sites serve as an indication. The art of puppetry called Bommalattam is mentioned in Tamil literature Silappadikaram , which
9605-404: The opposite side. The toy theatre is a puppet cut out of paper and stuck onto card. It is fixed at its base to a stick and operated by pushing it in from the side of the puppet theatre. Sheets of puppets and scenery were produced from the 19th century for children's use. The Ventriloquist's Dummy is a puppet shaped like a small human which is operated by a ventriloquist performer to focus
9718-480: The past and what changes they want to see in the future. They notice that storytelling makes an impact on the lives of the children of the Navajos. According to some of the Navajos that were interviewed, storytelling is one of many main practices that teaches children the important principles to live a good life. In indigenous communities, stories are a way to pass knowledge on from generation to generation. For some indigenous people, experience has no separation between
9831-441: The physical world and the spiritual world. Thus, some indigenous people communicate to their children through ritual, storytelling, or dialogue. Community values, learned through storytelling, help to guide future generations and aid in identity formation. In the Quechua community of Highland Peru, there is no separation between adults and children. This allows for children to learn storytelling through their own interpretations of
9944-539: The printed and online press. Storytelling was used to explain natural phenomena, bards told stories of creation and developed a pantheon of gods and myths. Oral stories passed from one generation to the next and storytellers were regarded as healers, leaders, spiritual guides, teachers, cultural secrets keepers and entertainers. Oral storytelling came in various forms including songs, poetry, chants and dance. Albert Bates Lord examined oral narratives from field transcripts of Yugoslav oral bards collected by Milman Parry in
10057-487: The puppet. A rod puppet is controlled by the puppeteer moving the metal rods attached to the hands of the puppet (or any other limbs) and by turning the central rod secured to the head. The best known examples of rod puppets are Jim Henson 's Muppets , most notably Muppet characters such as Kermit the Frog , Miss Piggy , Gonzo and others, many Sesame Street characters such as Elmo , Bert , Grover and Abby Cadabby , and
10170-413: The rice fields would flood, the villagers would entertain each other using this puppet form. The water also provides the setting for traditional stories depicting day-to-day village life. Water puppets bring wry humor to scenes of farming, fishing, festival events such as buffalo fights, and children's games of marbles and coin-toss. Fishing turns into a game of wits between the fisherman and his prey, with
10283-503: The senses to bring one's heart and mind together. For instance, a way in which children learn about the metaphors significant for the society they live in, is by listening to their elders and participating in rituals where they respect one another. Stories in indigenous cultures encompass a variety of values . These values include an emphasis on individual responsibility, concern for the environment and communal welfare. Stories are based on values passed down by older generations to shape
10396-602: The size of a human and often much larger. One or more performers are required to move the body and limbs. In parades, the appearance and personality of the person inside is not relevant to the spectator. These puppets are particularly associated with large-scale entertainment, such as the nightly parades at various Disney complexes around the world. Similar puppets were designed by Julie Taymor for The Lion King . The Jim Henson Company also has their version of these puppets called full-bodied puppets . The Sesame Street characters Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus , as well as
10509-464: The sleeve of the dress, with painted appearances, angled eyebrows, mustache for men and nose ring for ladies, and huge expressive eyes all over, manikins are hung with dresses produced using sequined old textures. The puppeteers, known as " Kathputliwalas " skillfully manipulate the puppets while also providing voice and narration for the characters. They use their hands and feet to control the strings and often perform with live music, using instruments like
10622-551: The stories are used to instruct and teach children about cultural values and lessons . The meaning within the stories is not always explicit, and children are expected to make their own meaning of the stories. In the Lakota Tribe of North America, for example, young girls are often told the story of the White Buffalo Calf Woman , who is a spiritual figure that protects young girls from the whims of men. In
10735-493: The stories we read, the "neuro-semantic encoding of narratives happens at levels higher than individual semantic units and that this encoding is systematic across both individuals and languages." This encoding seems to appear most prominently in the default mode network. Storytelling in serious application contexts, as e.g. therapeutics, business, serious games, medicine, education, or faith can be referred to as serious storytelling. Serious storytelling applies storytelling "outside
10848-481: The story correspond to each unique situation. Indigenous cultures also use instructional ribbing — a playful form of correcting children's undesirable behavior— in their stories. For example, the Ojibwe (or Chippewa) tribe uses the tale of an owl snatching away misbehaving children. The caregiver will often say, "The owl will come and stick you in his ears if you don't stop crying!" Thus, this form of teasing serves as
10961-471: The story of that experience before realizing its value. In this case, it is not only the listener who learns, but the teller who also becomes aware of his or her own unique experiences and background. This process of storytelling is empowering as the teller effectively conveys ideas and, with practice, is able to demonstrate the potential of human accomplishment. Storytelling taps into existing knowledge and creates bridges both culturally and motivationally toward
11074-613: The supernatural intrudes (as it often does), it does so in an emotionally fraught manner. Ghost and Lovers' Leap stories belong in this category, as do many UFO stories and stories of supernatural beings and events. Another important examination of orality in human life is Walter J. Ong 's Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (1982). Ong studies the distinguishing characteristics of oral traditions, how oral and written cultures interact and condition one another, and how they ultimately influence human epistemology. Storytelling
11187-401: The supernatural occurs, it is presented matter-of-factly, without surprise. Indeed, there is very little effect, generally; bloodcurdling events may take place, but with little call for emotional response from the listener. Sagen , translated as " legends ", are supposed to have actually happened, very often at a particular time and place, and they draw much of their power from this fact. When
11300-414: The telling of the story, children may act as participants by asking questions, acting out the story, or telling smaller parts of the story. Furthermore, stories are not often told in the same manner twice, resulting in many variations of a single myth. This is because narrators may choose to insert new elements into old stories dependent upon the relationship between the storyteller and the audience, making
11413-617: The titular character from Bear in the Big Blue House , are popular examples of this type of puppet (Snuffleupagus, in particular, requires two puppeteers; one in the front of the puppet, and one in the back). The Little Girl Giant Puppet is an initiative by the MJF Charitable Foundation to promote Puppetry and to spread the message of female empowerment in Sri Lanka. This giant puppet measured 14 ft and
11526-492: The underlying knowledge in the story. Storytelling is used as a tool to teach children the importance of respect through the practice of listening. As well as connecting children with their environment, through the theme of the stories, and give them more autonomy by using repetitive statements, which improve their learning to learn competence. It is also used to teach children to have respect for all life, value inter-connectedness and always work to overcome adversity. To teach this
11639-542: The unity building theme of the message becomes more important than the time, place and characters of the message. Once the message is delivered, the story is finished. As cycles of the tale are told and retold, story units can recombine, showing various outcomes for a person's actions. Storytelling has been assessed for critical literacy skills and the learning of theatre-related terms by the nationally recognized storytelling and creative drama organization, Neighborhood Bridges, in Minneapolis . Another storyteller researcher in
11752-402: The unlit background of the stage while the puppet is held across the light curtain in the lit foreground of the stage. "Light curtain puppet" is an umbrella term, and any puppet which is extended into a well-lit area where its handler remains separated from the puppet by a division of light may be called a light curtain puppet. Marionettes , or "string puppets", are suspended and controlled by
11865-611: The use of stable, portable media , storytellers recorded, transcribed and continued to share stories over wide regions of the world. Stories have been carved, scratched, painted, printed or inked onto wood or bamboo, ivory and other bones, pottery , clay tablets, stone, palm-leaf books , skins (parchment), bark cloth , paper , silk, canvas and other textiles, recorded on film and stored electronically in digital form. Oral stories continue to be created, improvisationally by impromptu and professional storytellers, as well as committed to memory and passed from generation to generation, despite
11978-404: The user as a character within a bigger world. Documentaries , including interactive web documentaries , employ storytelling narrative techniques to communicate information about their topic. Self-revelatory stories, created for their cathartic and therapeutic effect, are growing in their use and application, as in psychodrama , drama therapy and playback theatre . Storytelling is also used as
12091-434: The values and ideologies of the Metis. Through storytelling, the Metis cemented the shared reference of personal or popular stories and folklore , which members of the community can use to share ideologies. In the future, Iseke noted that Metis elders wished for the stories being told to be used for further research into their culture, as stories were a traditional way to pass down vital knowledge to younger generations. For
12204-442: The vast incommunicable constructs of psychopaths. In contemporary life, people will seek to fill "story vacuums" with oral and written stories. "In the absence of a narrative, especially in an ambiguous and/or urgent situation, people will seek out and consume plausible stories like water in the desert. It is our innate nature to connect the dots. Once an explanatory narrative is adopted, it's extremely hard to undo," whether or not it
12317-435: The voice of the character of the puppet, and then synchronizes the movements of the puppet's mouth with this spoken part. The actions, gestures and spoken parts acted out by the puppeteer with the puppet are typically used in storytelling . Two simple types of puppets are the finger puppet , which is a tiny puppet that fits onto a single finger, and the sock puppet , which is formed and operated by inserting one's hand inside
12430-573: The works of Herodotus and Xenophon , dating from the 5th century BC. The Greek word translated as "puppet" is "νευρόσπαστος" ( nevrospastos ), which literally means "drawn by strings, string-pulling", from "νεῦρον" ( nevron ), meaning either "sinew, tendon, muscle, string", or "wire", and "σπάω" ( spaō ), meaning "draw, pull". Aristotle (384–322 BC) discusses puppets in his work On the Motion of Animals . The movements of animals may be compared with those of automatic puppets, which are set going on
12543-494: Was built under the direction of Swedish artist Felix Widen Norgren (Director, Compania Pirata) in collaboration with Power of Play PVT LTD, Sri Lanka. The finger puppet is a simple puppet variant which fits onto a single finger. Finger puppets normally have no moving parts, and consist primarily of a hollow cylinder shape to cover the finger. Finger puppets are often decorated with eyes and mouths made out of fabric or other materials. This form of puppet has limited application and
12656-432: Was described by Reynolds Price , when he wrote: A need to tell and hear stories is essential to the species Homo sapiens – second in necessity apparently after nourishment and before love and shelter. Millions survive without love or home, almost none in silence; the opposite of silence leads quickly to narrative, and the sound of story is the dominant sound of our lives, from the small accounts of our day's events to
12769-485: Was incorporated into Drama Therapy , known in the field as "Self Revelatory Theater". In 1975 Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas developed a therapeutic, improvisational storytelling form they called Playback Theatre . Therapeutic storytelling is also used to promote healing through transformative arts , where a facilitator helps a participant write and often present their personal story to an audience. The art of narrative is, by definition, an aesthetic enterprise, and there are
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