Implementing Puppetry Into The Little Prince

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Parker Merrick Hallman (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Advisor
Gina Grandi

Abstract: Puppetry arts are inherently theatrical; however, puppetry is almost always isolated from traditional theatrical productions. In most recent history the use of puppets has moved away from theatre and exists primarily in the realm of “Puppet Shows.” Puppets are treated as or viewed as a prop and not an extension of a character in a performance. “Puppet shows” are shows that exclusively feature puppets with no human actors visible and are separate from general theatre productions that utilize puppetry. Puppets are a unique way to create fantasy elements and nonhuman characters in theatrical productions instead of glorified props on stage. When you treat a puppet as a character it becomes another actor in the production. In this section, I explain the goals of the project from my original proposal and the decisions that I made in order to prepare for the project. As well as giving an overview of the process of the creative project. The goal of this project was to research various styles of puppetry from puppetry traditions around the world and implement these techniques into an established production that does not already include puppetry in the provided text and implement puppetry into the production. I set out to research puppetry techniques, design several puppets that could be used in a production that did not already call for puppetry to be used in the script, and construct prototypes, models, and one completed puppet. I noticed a deficit in traditional American theatre where I feel that puppets can be used to represent characters in theatre through visual storytelling techniques. I was interested in ways to implement puppetry into production which do not explicitly call for puppets to be used. I feel like this technique could be implemented in many theatrical productions. I sought to make discoveries on strategies to achieve this, through the process of designing puppets for a theoretical production. The main focus of the project was puppetry design that is rooted in the research of the art of puppetry. With a wide range of overall research into the art form, I was able to make decisions informed by my research into various forms of puppetry techniques. Having hands-on experience creating models helped me to find techniques and problems in placing puppetry in production which they are not included.

Additional Information

Publication
Honors Project
Hallman, P. (2021). Implementing Puppetry Into The Little Prince. Unpublished Honors Thesis. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Language: English
Date: 2021
Keywords
Puppet, puppetry, The Little Prince, Shadow Puppet

Email this document to