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Doll
it up, The
Hindu Young
World, Saturday,
Feb 07, 2004
PAROMITA PAIN
Here is how you learn to make puppets.
The Goodbooks store
recently resounded with the chatter of
some very clever puppets in the workshop
conducted by Evelien Pullens from Holland.
She said, "Puppetry is very good for
all children. Especially when they make
their own puppets, which becomes a great
friend to share secrets and have fun
with." She likes using papier-mâché
to make the puppets and kids also enjoy
dipping their hands into the glue.
Papier-mâché is good material for
puppets, as it is easy to make (soak
shredded newspaper in water overnight and
pulp it) and hardens fast so that faces
and colourful dresses can be painted. It
has to be applied in layers and usually
takes a day to dry. The last layer usually
includes glue, and the material is
varnished afterwards to give it a shining
appearance. Normally, she uses foam but
children find it difficult to twist it
into shapes. In Holland she worked with
puppets made of socks. Such dolls are very
easy to make with two small buttons for
the eyes, some coloured paper to make the
mouth and a bigger button for the nose.
Since its ready in minutes and easy to
work (just slip it over your hand) it is
great for impromptu concerts. Marionettes
can be made out of anything — teacups,
brushes, footballs, and newspapers,
including the base of buckets and bottles.
They are incredibly helpful in classrooms.
Since puppets must have
dialogue, puppeteers learn to modulate
voices and express emotion. The various
puppets displayed at the workshop were
made from astounding stuff. Plain, boring
bottles were magically transformed into
people and animals with funky hairstyles.
Evelien's favourite puppets have well
defined mouths since speech matters a
great deal. She cuts the mouth in just
before the papier-mâché completely
dries. This interesting and informative
workshop concluded with a duet about a rat
going to see Queen Elizabeth and Evelien
herself presenting a Dutch folk song.
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