Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which

involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects. Puppetry is used in almost all human societies both as an entertainment in performance and ceremonially in rituals and celebrations such as carnivals. Most puppetry involves storytelling. The impact of puppetry depends on the process of transformation of puppets, which has much in common with magic and with play. Thus puppetry can create complex and magical theatre with relatively small resources.

PUPPET-

any object that is animated for dramatic purpose or in a dramatic manner by a human operator.

The Glove or Hand Puppet- This type of puppet is used

like a glove on the operators hand. Usually it is simple in structure and limited in gesture to the movement of the fingers, although expressive movement can be achieved with practice.

The Marionette- A puppet on strings, the marionette is

suspended from a control held by the puppeteer. It can be simply made, with just a few strings, but more often is the most complex type of puppet.

The Rod Puppet- This puppet, held and moved by a rod or

nods, usually form below has been taken up throughout the world during the 20th century, especially in Eastern Europe.

THE GLOVE OR HAND PUPPET AND THE ROD PUPPET

THE MARIONETTE

Puppetry is a very ancient art form, thought to have originated about 30,000 years ago . Puppets have been used since the earliest times to animate and communicate the ideas and needs of human societies. Some historians claim that they pre-date actors in theatre. There is evidence that they were used in Egypt as early as 2000 BC when string-operated figures of wood were manipulated to perform the action of kneading bread. Wire controlled, articulated puppets made of clay and ivory have also been found in Egyptian tombs. Hieroglyphs also describe "walking statues" being used in Ancient Egyptian religious dramas. The oldest written record of puppetry can be found in the written records of Xenophon dating from around 422 B.C.

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.

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 practitioner than is the case within other theatre forms.

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

The phrase and the practice probably began in medieval liturgical dramas such as the Golden Mass, where on special occasions a Mass was punctuated by short dramatic scenes and tableaus. They were a major feature of festivities for royal weddings, coronations and Royal entries into cities. Often the actors imitated statues, much in the way of modern street entertainers, but in larger groups, and mounted on elaborate temporary stands along the path of the main procession.