A manual for beginning puppet theater teachers
Subject: basics of puppeteering for teachers of theater groups
Target: theoretical and practical familiarization of teachers with different systems puppets and the basics of puppeteering
Tasks:
THEORETICAL PART:
1. Opening remarks.Currently, the so-called “third genre” or “third type”, formed at the junction of dramatic and puppet theaters. In this system, live actors and puppeteers interact. In addition, quite often in dramatic performances They began to introduce theatrical puppets to reveal complex psychological problems. This does not happen by chance, because by using the expressive means of a puppet, the director can achieve a more vivid and multifaceted perception of the performance. In general, the use of theatrical puppets in dramatic, musical, folklore and other performances is becoming more and more intense. This is especially true for such genres as fairy tale-fable, performance-poster, comedy-popular print. Therefore, a theatrical puppet acquires great importance not only for puppeteers themselves, but also for all artists associated with the theater in general.
At today's master class we will try to master the secrets of the puppet theater, in particular, the basics of puppeteering. I will introduce you to the theory of puppeteering and show you in practice the basic exercises necessary to successfully master this skill.
2. Rules regarding all doll systems:
- The actor must always look at the doll.
The doll should always be pointing with its nose.
Talk about turning the doll on the spot.
The dolls should not be close to each other so that the viewer can see them.
When one doll speaks, the other should stand quietly and listen so as not to attract attention to itself.
When the doll speaks, it should not nod on every syllable, but only on the last syllable.
3. Rules for driving a riding doll:
When working with a horse, you need to pay great attention to working your wrist.
Describe and show the required positioning of the actor’s body when working with a riding puppet.
The doll must “feel” the floor.
A doll moving from the foreground to the background must be raised higher by the actor so that it does not get “lost” behind the foreground dolls.
Tell and show how a riding doll should sit down and stand up.
Tell and show how the riding doll should take the props.
Tell how the riding doll should walk and run (the doll should be tilted slightly forward)
The riding doll should always be tilted slightly downward with its nose towards the audience
4. Rules for driving a tablet doll:
Tell and show how to hold a tablet doll correctly
Tell and show how a tablet doll should get up and sit down
5. Rules for driving a puppet:
When working with a puppet, you should carefully look at the threads and precisely control the string.
Monitor the proper tension of the threads and the level of the thread (so that the threads are not loosened).
6. Rules for driving an open-controlled doll:
When working with an openly controlled (parquet) puppet, the actor must stand strictly behind the puppet.
The parquet doll should not stand at an angle to the hall.
Voice your point of view regarding the costumes of the actors with the parquet doll.
7. Part about mixing puppet systems:
Talk about mixing puppet systems (talk about the so-called “third genre” and multi-system).
8. Discussion and summing up.Dear Colleagues! Thank you for your interest in puppet theater. I hope that the last master class was interesting and useful to you. Believe me, a theatrical puppet is capable of much more than is usually believed. The whole point is only a sincere and conscientious attitude towards her and studying the laws according to which she “lives”. Therefore, the theoretical and practical knowledge you have acquired today should help you come up with new non-standard solutions and make your creative searches even more exciting. Thank you for your attention!
PRACTICAL PART:
- show and talk about theater puppet systems and its structure
- teach the minimum required set of movements for dolls of all systems
- show exercises with a glove puppet
- show exercises with elbow doll
- show exercises with a cane doll
- show exercises with a tablet doll
- show exercises with a puppet
- show exercises with an openly controlled doll
- talk about the rules of driving with a “talking” doll
- talk about the rules of communication between a doll and a live actor
- check the performance of teachers at the end of the master class
Additional very useful pages from Natalia Trifonova’s book “Do-It-Yourself Puppet Theater”
The complex process of putting it on the baby’s hand, and also synchronously reproducing the doll’s speech and movements. The doll you put on your hand must be turned to face you and make the following movements. Let the doll tilt its head forward several times, then bend from the waist. In the first case, the joint bends index finger, in the second, only the puppeteer’s hand bends. Then turn the doll right and left, clap your hands, spread them apart, lift them up, and stretch them forward. Stroke the doll's face with your hands or hand. Next to master: when a doll hugs, takes an object, walks with it and puts it back, whispers in your ear, cuddles up to you.
Their feelings and experiences are expressed simply. For example, to show that a bunny is crying, you need to cover its face with its own paws; when it is happy, it jumps; when it is scared, it trembles; when it is surprised, it spreads its paws to the sides. And if this is a small scene “Hide and Seek”, where two different heroes, we need creativity from both children and adults. The little squirrel is lively, cheerful, kind and resourceful, speaks quickly and loudly, and is friendly towards the bear. The bear is phlegmatic, clumsy, moves and speaks slowly, loves to sleep and honey. He is looking for the little squirrel calmly, without excitement, without fuss. All this must be taken into account when working with both children and adults.
To master puppeteering, teachers will need a number of exercises.
First, we learn how to put on and move a doll without a screen.
In order for the doll to act according to the text, it is necessary to master elementary movements, i.e., when necessary: she walked and sat down, turned, bent over, clapped her hands, squatted, spun, hugged, took objects, etc.; so that the doll looks at the children or at the hero. She stays upright, doesn't lean to the side, doesn't throw her head back or fall down. It's not easy, but surprisingly exciting.
The doll does not emerge immediately, as if from underground, but gradually: from the beginning its head, shoulders, chest and legs appear. The doll must “live” all the time, do something, move and confirm the text with its movements. It can be difficult to read the text and at the same time follow a doll or even two dolls on two hands. The doll should be at screen level all the time. If possible, lower the doll's arms downwards. It is very important to develop a sense of the floor, that is, the doll should seem to walk on the floor, without falling or rising. If you move it across the screen quite evenly, then the audience will get the impression that it is sliding, rolling, but not walking. When conveying the doll's gait, you need to move it forward with rhythmic movements. When leaving, she does not fall through immediately, but moves into the depths of the screen behind the background or gradually lowers.
There are two ways to even sit a doll. If she has legs, turn her to face the audience, throw her legs over the screen and lower the doll a little. If she doesn't have legs, put her in profile towards the audience, lower her a little and with your free hand straighten her dress along the screen, as if the doll had stretched out her legs. And taking an object from the screen means tilting only the upper part of the doll’s body; this is achieved by bending the puppeteer’s hand and there is no need to lower the whole part down. Or lie down - first sit her down, and then put her head on the screen. When it is necessary to show that the doll is sleeping, it is placed on a screen with its back to the audience so that its open eyes cannot be seen.
Each character in the play has his own interesting and characteristic movements and constantly reacts to what is happening. All the small, barely perceptible movements of the dolls make it real, meaningful, very busy and attract the attention of children. The doll does not move, freezes, it immediately becomes uninteresting.
It is advisable to find for each character its own characteristic voice, its own manner of speaking. When showing the performance, the text is read at a moderate pace, expressively pronouncing and pronouncing the words clearly, give the audience the opportunity to look at the hero, stop, do not rush with the words, pause, stop. Wait for the children to laugh, share their impressions, and talk with the characters in the play. If necessary, make explanations, add text, speed up the development of the plot or replace it with more accessible words and expressions.
We learn the ability to work with two dolls in two hands at once.
In the theater you often have to work with two puppets. With a doll on each hand, it is important to speak and move differently, each has its own place on the screen, its own manner. We must try to use the entire playing space of the screen and not group dolls in one place. And if the doll speaks, it means that it moves slightly and gesticulates a little. The doll that listens stands motionless and looks at the speaker. Each change of place and transition of dolls must be done reasonably, with a specific purpose. When the puppets change places, the puppeteers also change places.
Puppeteers work standing, so there should be no unnecessary objects behind the screen that interfere with movements. There is room behind the screen so as not to restrict movement. Coherence in working with the hero will come, but not immediately.
Also important for puppet theater are such moments as the foreground and background.
The show will be much more interesting and advantageous if you make a background shot, it will enlarge the stage, create a background behind which the action or the gradual exit of the doll will take place.
Light brings the design and characters to life, everything becomes much brighter and more attractive. At the same time, of course, we keep it in moderation and do not overload the design of the screen and costumes with trifles and details, and do not clutter it with unnecessary, unnecessary decorations and things that are not needed in the performance. We do not strive to reproduce the exact life situation, to create the greatest believability. On the screen we place only what is necessary, the details and props for display. Everything should be simple, elegant and beautiful.
When you need to show a forest, we put a tree, a bush and a stump. But let’s play with them: the doll can sit on a stump, or hide behind a tree or bush. If possible, we make the decorations real (newspaper, book, apple, sour cream, water:)
And it is imperative to explain to the kids new words used in the theater:
stage, screen, spectators, applause, scenery, lighting, backstage, curtain, poster, tickets, auditorium, puppeteer, performance
Types of dolls.
Puppet ( Annex 1). (from Italian marionetta) - a type of controlled theatrical puppet, which the puppeteer sets in motion using threads or a metal rod. The appearance of the puppet is usually attributed to the 16th century.
The word “marionette” comes from medieval dolls that depicted the Virgin Mary and were often called diminutive versions of the name Mary (French: Marion, Mariotte, Mariolle); in Venice, in particular, wooden mechanical dolls appeared during the annual church holidays). In old literature there is a statement that the name comes from the name of the inventor, the Italian Marioni.
The device of puppets. The doll usually consists almost entirely of fabric, but some parts are made from other materials. The most commonly used material is clay. Ropes are attached to the doll’s arms, legs, torso and head, threaded through the holes of the so-called “cross”, by means of which the doll makes human movements.
glove puppet(Appendix 2).
Glove puppets are placed on the actor's hand like gloves. The basis of such a doll is a case to which the arms and head are attached. The suit is sewn to the cover.
The puppeteer's hand can be positioned in different ways. The handles are made longer, and sticks or wire canes are attached to them. With this design, the doll moves more naturally and smoothly.
The glove puppet is small in size, its hands are small and stick out upward. The doll most often does not have legs, but they can be attached and moved in the performance with the second hand. The doll's hands are sewn like mittens, the fingers are stuffed and stitched, and they are glued to cartridges (in the form of a ring, a thimble to fit the puppeteer's fingers). Handles with cartridges are attached to the doll's case. A cartridge is also inserted into the doll's head.
Doll Parsley(Appendix 3)
The suit for the glove doll is made from soft fabrics and has a loose fit. Don’t forget that any clothes for such a doll are cut right away with the sleeves sticking out a little upward, otherwise the costume will fit poorly and restrict the movements of the puppeteer.
Glove puppets, regardless of who they depict, are called parsley dolls, since the first character of this type of doll was the famous Parsley. “Parsley” animals and birds are made using this type.
Puppets on canes(Appendix 4).
The cane doll has a different structure: its head is mounted on a rod, which the puppeteer holds in his right hand. Thin, long, but rigid cane rods are attached to the doll's wrists. With his left hand, the artist controls the doll's arms.
The cane doll has long arms and movements are more graceful than the glove doll. But the parsley doll has more opportunities to manipulate various objects: she can pick up any object, put it down, carry it away - of course, it is the artist’s fingers that help the doll.
A cane puppet is larger than a glove puppet and is much more difficult to work with. Quite complex puppets are made for puppet shows; the canes are disguised using hidden mechanisms so that they do not distract the audience.
Finger puppets(Appendix 5).
These dolls are very easy to make. They are based on two felt or drape plates, sewn along the edges to the size of a finger. These dolls are perfect for home performances. It is not necessary to make decorations, but the draped back of a chair can become a screen.
A finger puppet can be made from a table tennis ball, a baby rattle ball, or a Kinder Surprise egg case. We make a hole for the finger and decorate the toy. We put a regular glove or a cone made of a piece of fabric on our hand.
Use different shapes, not just round ones. Small boxes, cubes, plastic caps and bottle boxes will be used. Fantasy is limitless, you just have to look around - and you will find something that will help you realize your idea.
Shadow puppets(Appendix 6).
There are shadow theaters in many countries of the world, but the countries of the East are especially famous for them - Korea, China, Japan, Indonesia, India. The distinctive features of the puppets of this theater are that they are flat. The doll must have a clear, expressive silhouette, which is why it is depicted in profile. You also need a flat screen and lighting.
The performance is given behind a screen. The puppeteer actor is located between the screen and the light source. Viewers see dark silhouettes of the characters. The doll is moved with the help of thin canes, or the puppeteer holds it by the handle, and the moving parts are pulled by a string or fishing line.
The shadow theater can also be made in color by using colored transparent films and plastics in the design of the dolls. Lace, mesh, and openwork materials look very impressive. The doll itself is made of cardboard, leather, and synthetic materials.
Sock doll(Appendix 7).
Such a doll is called a miming doll. Cut the toe cap; Make a liner from cardboard, felt, drape and sew it into the cut. The eyes are buttons; nose, ears - from a different fabric, fur. By moving your fingers inside the doll, you can give its face different expressions.
Ways to control puppets in the theater
Tabletop theatrical games
Tabletop toy theater(Appendix 8). This theater uses a wide variety of toys - factory-made and homemade, from natural and any other material. Here the imagination is not limited, the main thing is that the toys and crafts stand steadily on the table and do not interfere with movement.
Tabletop picture theater(Appendix 9).
All pictures - characters and decorations - are double-sided, since turns are inevitable, and in order for the figures not to fall, supports are needed, which can be very diverse, but always quite stable. This is ensured by the correct ratio of the weight or support area to the height of the picture. The higher the pictures, the larger or weightier the support area is needed. The actions of toys and pictures in the tabletop theater are limited. But you should not lift them and move them from place to place. It is important to imitate the desired movement: running, jumping, walking and at the same time pronounce the text. The state of the character, his mood is conveyed by the intonation of the presenter - joyful, sad, plaintive. It is best to hide characters before the game starts. Their appearance during the action creates an element of surprise and arouses the interest of children.
In order to create an idea of the scene, decorative elements are used: two or three trees are a forest, green cloth or paper on a table is a lawn; blue ribbon - stream.
Stand theatrical games Stand book
(Appendix 10). The dynamics and sequence of events are easy to depict using successive illustrations. For travel type games it is convenient to use a stand book. It needs to be secured to the bottom of the board. On the top place the transport on which the trip will take place. As the trip progresses, the presenter (first the teacher, and then the child), turning over the sheets of stand-books, demonstrates various scenes depicting events and meetings that take place along the way. You can also illustrate episodes from the life of a kindergarten. Flanograph
(Appendix 11). Pictures are also good to show on the screen. It is held in place by the adhesion of the flannel that covers the screen and the back of the picture. Instead of flannel, you can stick pieces of sandpaper or velvet paper on the pictures. Drawings are selected together with the children from old books and magazines. This gives children pleasure. You can also use natural material.
Screens of various shapes allow you to create “live” pictures, which are conveniently shown to all the children in pairs at the same time during classes. The scenes on the screens are different, and children will be able to see the variety of options for depicting the same topic. This view makes it easy to depict crowd scenes, for example “Air Parade”, “Bird Flight”, “Launch” space rocket
" and etc.(Appendix 12). What is needed is a screen of translucent paper, expressively cut out black flat characters and a bright light source behind them, thanks to which the characters cast shadows on the screen. Very interesting images are obtained using your fingers. For example, you can make a goose, a hare, a barking dog, an angry turkey, and fighting boxers. The show must be accompanied by appropriate sound.
Varieties of dramatization games.
Dramatization games with fingers. The child puts the attributes on his fingers, but, as in dramatization, he himself acts for the character whose image is on his hand. As the action progresses, the child moves one or all fingers, pronouncing the text, moving his hand behind the screen. You can do without a screen and depict actions by moving freely around the room.
Finger theater is good when you need to show several characters at the same time. For example, in the fairy tale “Turnip” new characters appear one after another. Such a performance can be performed by one child using his fingers. Fairy tales: “The Goat and the Seven Little Goats”, “Twelve Months”, “Boy-Kibalchish”, “Geese-Swans” and others with many characters can be shown by two or three children who are located behind the screen. The display of such fairy tales with crowd scenes is possible thanks to finger attributes.
Dramatization games with bibabo dolls(Appendix 13). In these games, a doll is put on the fingers. The movement of her head, arms, and torso is carried out using the movements of her fingers and hand.
Bibabo dolls usually operate on a screen behind which the driver is hidden. But when the game is familiar or the dolls are driven by the children themselves, that is, the moment of mystery has disappeared, then the drivers can go out to the audience, communicate with them, give them something, take someone by the hand, involve them in the game, etc. Such “exposure” does not reduce, but rather increases the interest and activity of the children.
Introduction
4. The magic of puppet theater
5. Puppet theater and school
Conclusion
Introduction
The tasks of restructuring public education in the documents of the reform of general education and vocational school, including its first link - preschool institutions, require the development of independence, initiative and creativity of children in all areas of their activity.
Relevance of the topic.
Puppet theater can play big role in the formation of a child’s personality. It brings a lot of joy, attracts with its brightness, colorfulness, dynamics, and affects the audience. It begins to attract children's attention early and contains great opportunities for their comprehensive development.
The puppet theater has a whole range of means: artistic images-characters, design, words and music - all this taken together, due to the child’s figurative and concrete thinking, helps the child understand the content easier, brighter and more correctly literary work, study foreign languages, affects the development of his artistic taste. A doll playing on stage does not live conventionally for a child, it is reality, a fairy tale come to life.
Unlike television programs and animated films, it is really visible in three-dimensional space and materially tangible, it is present nearby, it can be touched.
Preschoolers and primary schoolchildren are very impressionable and quickly succumb to emotional influence. They actively get involved in the action, answer questions asked by the dolls, and willingly carry out their instructions.
The importance of puppet theater was emphasized and studied in the studies of T. N. Karamanenko, Yu. G. Karamanenko, A. P. Usova, D. V. Mendzheritskaya, U. A. Karamzina.
The emotionally experienced performance helps determine the children’s attitude to what is happening, to acting persons and their actions, makes you want to imitate goodies and be different from the negative ones.
Based on the above, we can say that the topic is quite relevant in this moment has not been sufficiently studied.
Object of study.
A comprehensive study of puppet theaters and the influence of puppet theater on the learning ability and development of children’s abilities
Study and clarification of the features of puppet theater, and the impact of puppet theater on children
Based on the goal, the tasks were set to reveal the following questions:
1. A little about the history of tetra dolls
2. Batleyka - folk puppet theater in Belarus
3. Classifications of puppet theaters
3.1 Classification according to principles social functioning.
3.2 Classification of puppet theater by types of puppets and methods of controlling them
4. The magic of puppet theater
5. Puppet theater and school.
The practical significance of the work lies in the fact that practical methods and techniques for studying puppet theater can be used by teachers to improve the educational process
Research structure. The work consists of an introduction, 5 chapters, a conclusion, and a list of references.
1. A little about the history of tetra dolls
The art of reviving dolls is very ancient, its history is enormous, and its geography is very wide.
Puppet theater, a type of theatrical performance in which puppets (volumetric and flat) act, driven by actors-puppeteers, most often hidden from the audience by a screen. Many forms of representation are determined by the difference in types of dolls, their control systems: (string dolls), so-called (glove) dolls, mechanical, etc. Sometimes dolls are replaced by a conventional object (cube, ball, stick, etc.), metaphorically depicting a living creature.
Dolls range in size from a few centimeters to twice human height.
The difference in the forms and nature of performances is most often determined by national tradition, the specifics of production and dramaturgical tasks, and the relationship with other types of art (graphics, folk toys, sculpture, mask theater, cinema).
The origins of the Puppet Theater are in pagan rituals, games with materialized symbols of the gods, personifying the unknown forces of nature. Historically, it is associated with the development of the most ancient forms of stage culture.
As a rule, this theater was distinguished by its traditional plots, performance techniques, and the presence of permanent characters.
Puppet theater performances in most countries consisted of religious and mystical spectacles.
IN Ancient Egypt(16th century BC) - this is a mystery about Osiris and Isis, in Ancient India and China - cult performances. Mention of theatrical puppets is found in Herodotus, Xenophon, Aristotle, Horace, Marcus Aurelius, Apuleius and others. From the 11th century. In churches and monasteries, performances were organized in which dolls were used as a means of staging gospel scenes, the main character of which was the Virgin Mary. The name Marion (Marion, Marionett) remained in the Romano-Germanic languages as a designation in general for a theatrical puppet, and in Slavic languages - a puppet on strings.
The performances of the Puppet Theater became increasingly saturated with topical, “earthly” content, which caused persecution by the medieval church.
Banished from the interior of the church to the porch,
The puppet theater then settled in squares and fairs, being persecuted by the Inquisition. Despite the prohibitions, the anti-church, anti-feudal element intensified in his ideas.
By the end of the 16th century. In Italy, the folk-satirical Puppet Theater with the main character was finally formed. Inheriting the traditions of Atellan comedy (see), close in spirit, it spread to Europe.
In the 17th century a similar uncensored Puppet Theater established itself in France ( main character-), England (), Germany (, later -), Holland (Pickelgering), Belgium (Woltier), Poland (Koplenyak), Romania (Vasilake), Czechoslovakia (), in Russia ().
Among the peoples of Asia and the Middle East, Puppet Theater developed in a special way.
Its traditional national forms have existed here since ancient times. Presumably, the ancestor of Pulcinella, Petrushka and others was the comedic hero of the classical Indian theater, the big-headed hunchbacked jester Vidushaka (the Turkish Karagöz is close to him).
In Indian Puppet Theatre, a puppet is led by two puppeteers (one behind a screen, the other in front of a screen). The emergence of Puppet Theater in China dates back to the 1st century. BC e.
In the Japanese Puppet Theater (known since the 11th century), large human-sized puppets are used, which are controlled simultaneously by 4 - 5 puppeteers in black clothes (on the face there is a black mask - stocking), visible to the audience. He, like Chinese Theater puppets, associated with classical theater.
Up to the 19th century. in European Puppet Theater traditional, often satirical, review plays about those in power, officials, and the church were performed; also developed wandering stories- about Doctor Faust (J.V. Goethe borrowed it from puppeteers), Don Juan, the king and his three daughters, etc. In the 19th century. Attempts are being made to create a professional Puppet Theater. G. Kleist, E. T. A. Hoffmann (Germany), George Sand, A. France (France), M. Maeterlinck (Belgium), B. Shaw (Great Britain), etc. wrote for it. In the 20th century many famous theater people turned to the creation of the Puppet Theater as the most perfect type of theatrical spectacle (director G. in the article “The Actor and the Super-Puppet” promoted the idea of abandoning the actor).
In the 1st quarter of the 20th century. Professional puppet theaters were created for children and adults.
The Russian professional Puppet Theater began to take shape after October revolution 1917. E. S., artists N. Ya. and I. S. and others attracted major writers, artists, composers to create a Puppet Theater for children, which would set broad social and pedagogical tasks, promote new socialist forms of relations between people .
The Soviet Puppet Theater reflects the bright, characteristic features and psychology of a person in their most general manifestation, strives for typicality, brought to a figurative household name.
Under the leadership of S.V. - an exponent of these ideas. His performances “At the command of the pike” by Tarakhovskaya (1936), “ Magic lamp Aladina" Gernet (1940), "The Deer King" by Speransky after Gozzi (1943), "An Extraordinary Concert" (1946) and many others laid the foundation for the director's method and the system of work of actors-puppeteers on stage images, which makes it possible to create an evolutionarily complex , psychologically based score of the role, truthfully show the fate, character, features of the stage image.
Puppet theaters turn to the language of stage pantomime (“Hand with Five Fingers” - Romanian Theater “Cenderike”), stage musical works (“Peter and the Wolf” by Prokofiev - Central Puppet Theater of Bulgaria; “Petrushka” by Stravinsky, “The Wooden Prince” by Bartok - Central Puppet Theater of Hungary; “The Story of a Soldier” by Stravinsky - Central Puppet Theater of Bulgaria and Riga Puppet Theater; “The Firebird” by Stravinsky, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Dukas - Minsk Puppet Theater).
The imagery of the performances is achieved using the entire variety of stage techniques (a live actor, a subject being played out, radio recording and lighting effects are involved in the action). The desire for the formulation of social, moral and ethical problems, for the art of bright and catchy theatricality forms new type Puppet Theater (“The Watchmaker”, “Krali Marko” by Teofilova at the Central Puppet Theater of Bulgaria, “Don Cristobal” by Garcia Lorca and “ A little prince» Saint-Exupery at the Tsenderike Puppet Theater, “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik” after Capek in Leningradskoe Bolshoi Theater dolls, etc.).
Since 1958, within the framework of the International Union of Puppeteers (UNIMA, founded in 1929), international festivals, competitions, which promotes the exchange of experience between Puppet Theater workers. In 1976, the 12th UNIMA congress was held in Moscow (S.V. Obraztsov was elected president).
In the USSR in 1975 there were over 100 Puppet Theaters that staged performances in 25 languages of the peoples of the USSR.
The training of creative personnel is carried out at a special department of the Leningrad Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography, at the State Institute of Theater Arts named after. Lunacharsky (directors and artists), school named after. Gnessins and in the studios at the Puppet Theater Material on the history of the Puppet Theater is collected and systematized by the Museum of Theater Puppets at central theater dolls (founded 1937).
In amateur performances, especially in schools, palaces of pioneers, etc., the Puppet Theater is very popular.
2. Batleyka - folk puppet theater in Belarus
Batleyka (betleyka) is a folk puppet theater in Belarus (16th - early 20th centuries). The Batleyka Theater appeared in Belarus at the beginning of the 16th century. Its name comes from the word Betleem - Bethlehem. According to the Gospel, this is the birthplace of Christ. The history of the theater is precisely connected with the Christmas holidays. Initially, all stories were shown exclusively on biblical topics. And the heroes were the Virgin Mary, the Baby Jesus, and the saints. By the way, the word “puppet” comes from the name of small figurines of Mary participating in medieval mysteries. Later, interludes appeared - comedy-everyday episodes alternating with canonical scenes.
To display the batleyka, a house of any size was made from wood, usually in the form of a dwelling or church. It had horizontal tiers-stages with slots for holding dolls. The structure was decorated with multi-colored paper, fabric, and thin slats that from a distance resembled a balcony.
In the background they painted icons, stars, windows, crosses. The doll was attached to a wooden or metal rod, with the help of which the character could be guided along slots in the floors of the stage. The shows were always accompanied by music and songs; the stage and dolls were illuminated by candles.
The batley player was often not only the only performer, but also a playwright, director, composer, and entertainer.
There were batleykas with changing transparent decorations (in Dokshitsy), as well as ones arranged on the principle of a shadow theater (in Vitebsk).
They used puppets on strings and glove figures in performances. The shows took place not only in major cities, but also in remote villages.
Batleyka could be the size of a small bedside table. The traveling actor came to the village with her, gathered the entire neighborhood around him, and the puppet’s passions began to boil. It turned out to be a kind of TV.
The performance consisted of two parts: religious and secular. Each was played on its own tier, upper and lower.
The most popular was the secular repertoire with comical, poignant scenes. And since they were spectators simple people, then the heroes, characters, events were familiar, understandable, recognizable.
The satirical images of a charlatan doctor, an evil landowner, and a greedy merchant were contrasted with a smart and cheerful hero from the people. Often performances were organized by city authorities together with craft shops on the days of major fairs and holidays.
In Batleyka, religious mysticism and everyday realism, piety and blasphemy constantly collided and were organically combined. Therefore, the performances soon began to cause attacks from spiritual and secular authorities.
After the October Revolution, such folk puppet theaters began to decline altogether. Persecution contributed to this communist party against the church and all dissent.
The last recorded shows took place in the Slutsk region in the early sixties.
Nowadays, the national puppet theater "Batleyka" is being carefully and diligently revived by a few enthusiasts. In 1989, Galina Zharovina created a museum and theater studio “Batleyka” in the urban village of Mir, Grodno region. Together with her students she staged the plays “King Herod”, “Anna Radziwill” and many others.
3. Classifications of puppet theaters
3.1 Classification according to the principles of social functioning
Within the framework of this classification, the following main directions of puppet theater can be distinguished.
Ritual ritual is the most ancient form of puppet theater. Back in the 16th century. BC. in Egypt there were puppet mysteries about Osiris and Isis. Mentions of play dolls are found in Herodotus, Aristotle, Horace, Marcus Aurelius, Apuleius and others.
Most often, ritual and ritual puppet theaters are the most traditional theaters, strongly associated with national traditions.
A number of puppet theaters in the East developed in this direction:
Indonesian wayang;
Japanese joruri;
Indian;
Chinese, etc.
A number of theaters of the Christian tradition also belong to ritual-ritual theaters.
The doll took part in European mysteries of the 11th-16th centuries. (the term puppet, denoting a type of play doll, arose from the name of the figurines that depicted the Virgin Mary in the mysteries). Later European ritual puppet theaters (mainly Christmas ones) have survived to the present day: El Pastorets (Catalonia); Nativity scene (Ukraine and Russia); Batleyka (Belarus), Malanka (Moldova); Shopka (Poland), etc.
Often performances of ritual puppet theaters are organized by non-professional actors, because the main meaning of such spectacles is not a performance, but an action, a mystery. The unique theater “Vgeayo ape Rirre!” works in this mysterious direction. (“Bread and Doll”) by Peter Schumann (Vermont), which has no analogues in world history.
Folk satirical puppet theater. The origins of this type are considered to be the ancient Roman improvised scenes of atellan (from the city of Atella in ancient Campania).
Topical satirical scenes were built on the participation of typical characters, one of whom, Makk, became the prototype of the main comic puppet character of the folk theater.
In a variety of countries, this jester character had a similar appearance: large-headed, hook-nosed, with one or two humps - front and back.
In Indian theater it is Vidushaka; in Turkish (and the Armenian that emerged from it) - Karagöz; in Central Asian - Palvan Kachal (Bald Hero); in Italian - Pulcinella; in English - Punch; in German - Hanswurst; in French - Polichinelle; in Belgian - Voltier; in Russian - Petrushka (Petr Ivanovich Uksusov, Vanka Ratatouille); etc. This character largely retains the most ancient features of the archaic pratheater - both in his character as a trickster-shifter double, and in the puppeteer's devices (for example, a squeak, an instrument for changing voices, which came from the rituals of shamans).
This direction was practiced mainly by traveling actors.
Folk satirical puppet theater is characterized by convention, minimalism of design and other visual means; a simple standard plot scheme, within which there is improvisation on topical topics.
Puppet theater for children. Mainly built on fairy tale material. As a rule, it combines two functions - educational and entertaining.
Due to its specificity, it has high degree didacticity - obvious or hidden.
Within the framework of the same classification, a number of additional areas of puppet theater can be distinguished. For example: - allegorical-symbolist theater (performances are addressed to adult spectators); - theater for mass and collective celebrations (giant puppets work in direct contact with the audience, involving them in joint action); - therapeutic theater (the doll is used in the treatment of certain mental illnesses and for the development of fine motor skills).
3.2 Classification of puppet theater by types of puppets and methods of controlling them
It is, rather, of an auxiliary professional nature, because often used in one performance different types theatrical dolls.
The most famous types of dolls: glove dolls (finger variety); cane; puppets; flat (used in shadow theater); automatic machines (mechanical). In modern puppet theater, the so-called “live plan”, when the actor controls the doll openly, in front of the audience, sometimes interacting with it.
In such a theater, a particularly common technique is when any object acts as a doll - from a household item to a specially made object - which portrays an animated character and is controlled by an actor.
These types of classifications of puppet theater are quite conventional and exist in constant flexible interaction.
For example, the ritual and ritual Indonesian wayang theater includes varieties of wayang-kulit (shadow theater of leather flat puppets), wayang-kelitik (flat cane puppet theater), and wayang-golek (3-dimensional puppet theater). Puppet theater for children constantly uses all types of puppets. Puppets are used in satirical folk theater; etc.
4. The magic of puppet theater
What child hasn’t dreamed at least once that his favorite toys, which have become his best friends, come to life and speak? So that they can open the prison of their static nature, talk about themselves, and become real play partners? And even robot dolls are not able to fulfill this dream, because their movements are mechanistic and, perhaps, even further from the desired “revival” that the child longs for. But it turns out that the miracle of a “living” toy is still possible!
About a soft rag doll that can be “revitalized” with the help of your hand and “animated” by the power of your emotional experiences. Have you ever introduced your child to soft toy- a glove? If yes, then remember his first reaction. He was already accustomed to the ordinary dolls around him, frozen in one pose and expressing only one emotion, or even completely indifferent. And then suddenly he sees a doll that reaches out to him with its hands, nods its head, naturally bows and greets him as if by itself... Amazement, curiosity, the desire to touch and unravel the mystery of the “living and talking” toy - everything is simultaneously expressed on the face. The first indelible impression is followed by mastering the doll's capabilities, which turn out to be almost limitless.
What are the advantages of such a toy?
Firstly, by putting the doll on his hand, the child “merges” with it and is identified with the character he will play.
With its help, he can not just practice behavior patterns, as he does with an ordinary doll. With her, he is able to emotionally express everything that worries and worries him, speaking not on his own behalf, but on behalf of a fairy-tale character living in an imaginary world. By the way, this is why glove dolls are used by child psychologists in psychocorrectional work.
During the lesson, the psychologist invites the child to act out a scenario created especially for him. During the performance, which in one form or another recreates a traumatic situation for the child, the baby, with the help of a glove doll, expresses his feelings and aggression. Thus, children get rid of the fears and negative emotions that tormented them.
Secondly, the glove doll itself carries some emotional image. As a rule, a doll - cheerful or sad - depicts a positive or negative hero any fairy tale, cartoon or television film.
While playing with a doll, the child psychologically experiences the role. This means that he gains the much-needed emotional experience of going through polar states.
Several different types of glove dolls will help your child answer the question of what it is like to be evil or kind, deceitful or truthful, smart or stupid, trusting or suspicious, brave or cowardly, open or withdrawn, irritable or calm.
And finally, most importantly, what is it like to be an adult? In the game he is no longer a child, he is an adult: he solves adult problems, copes with life situations, makes his own choice.
The advantage of puppet theaters is that, as a rule, they are all based on fairy tales known and loved by children. We all know that it is impossible without fairy tales full development child.
The fairy tale touches the deepest layers of the human psyche and reveals fundamental human values. The beneficial influence of fairy tales even on the psyche of an adult is obvious.
For a child, a fairy tale is an opportunity to learn to think, evaluate the actions of heroes, and learn ethical standards, develop memory and speech.
The rhythmic, simple and melodious language of fairy tales, full of repetitions and stable phrases ("once upon a time", "living well and making good things", "running bunny", "fox-sister"), greatly facilitates the understanding of fairy tales and trains the child’s speech apparatus when telling a story out loud.
The whole family can participate in a theatrical production, and to make it more interesting for the child, invite his peers to play. Let each of the children choose a hero they like.
Teach children to say their role out loud, explain their actions in the game, and voice the character.
Each of the heroes must speak with a special intonation, expressing only his characteristic character.
And remember, theater is a magical performance for which you need to provide an appropriate “magical” environment: twilight, backstage, with the help of candles or multi-colored lighting you can create a mysterious play of light and shadow.
But let's get back to talking about usefulness. What else does playing puppet theater give a child?
Let us remember that the doll is completely under the control of the child and depends on him. This gives the baby the opportunity to model own world, which will be a reflection of the “real” world, the world of adults. In this simulation, two very important processes for development occur in parallel.
On the one hand, this is imitation of adults, which is one of the key factors in child development. Over and over again, the child repeats a movement, situation, phrase, story, while monitoring the reactions of others. Through this imitation the child learns self-determination.
The second process is opposite in nature, but internally closely interconnected with the first. This is the process of creating your own, new world, i.e. creation.
The plot of the story is only a support for the child, only an impetus for independent creativity. Ideally, a child needs a puppet theater as an opportunity for endless experiments and modulations.
What is creativity?
This is the ability to create your own ideas, not to act on templates and tips. Creative abilities are laid in childhood and develop on the basis of one’s own activity and interest. real world. Therefore, it is so important to give the child the opportunity to freely explore the surrounding reality. Encourage him not only to learn, remember and “correctly” play this or that role, but also to develop his own stories, a free game in which he can realize his fantasies. This is how the basis for the future creative perception of the world is formed.
Playing puppet theater gives children the opportunity to form this foundation.
All children love performances. They enjoy not only watching the performance, but also being performers themselves. The child initially has a desire to play; everyone wants to play their role. But how to do that? How to teach a child to play, take on a role and act? This is exactly what the puppet theater will help.
Theater is one of the most democratic and accessible forms of art for children.
It allows you to solve many pressing problems of modern pedagogy and psychology related to artistic and moral education, development of communicative qualities of the individual, development of memory, imagination, fantasy, initiative and emancipation.
Because it is closer to our children. Playing with dolls, a shy child feels freer and begins to speak more freely. Dolls can help teach important lessons.
Puppet theater, which children can get acquainted with in classes or in special clubs, promotes the development of fine motor skills and hand coordination, stimulates visual and auditory perception, attention, memory, coherent speech, and increases vocabulary. Scientists have proven that hand development is in close connection with the development of the human brain, and therefore the child’s speech and thinking.
In classes with children, they can also become acquainted with the history of puppet theater.
Classes also contribute to the development of facial expressions, imitative skills, improvisation skills, stimulate emotional perception, develop initiative and imagination. These activities promote the emancipation of children through play, imitation, freedom of choice, development of speech, and fine motor skills.
Schoolchildren can, under the guidance of teachers or parents, make dolls and be not only listeners, but also full-fledged participants in the performance.
5. Puppet theater and school
A puppet theater can come to the rescue when learning foreign languages, as well as when familiarizing yourself with literary works.
Dramatization using puppets is very popular among students in grades 2-5.
Organizing a puppet theater does not require complex costumes and decorations.
Theater productions are an important and necessary element in the learning process foreign language. Such a serious obstacle as the “language barrier” becomes easily overcome as soon as students find themselves in a situation of play, role-playing interaction, and become involved in a common creative process. The theater turns the self-doubting “eternal C student” who stumbles over every word into an inspired Romeo, pronouncing monologues in one breath.
It is also important that collaboration working on a performance or preparing for a holiday develops the participants’ ability to listen to a partner, creates conditions for mutual understanding and mutual assistance (strong students help weak ones), and strengthens responsibility for the success of a common cause.
At the same time, for the teacher, working on the script and rehearsals, in addition to additional time for practicing pronunciation, introducing and consolidating lexical units, provide a unique opportunity to communicate with students, and in a new context for both parties.
The usual roles of teacher and students are transformed into a different model of relationship - director and actors.
The production script must be built on the studied lexical units, grammar and speech structures. Having all the advantages of role-playing play, dramatization using puppets has specific features. Depending on the wishes of the students, the doll acts as a friend with whom they have a conversation as an equal, a child who needs to be taught everything, a partner in some kind of activity. In the form of a game, the child models his behavior as the behavior of dolls. He is passionate about this activity because he feels authority figure, who knows everything and can do everything.
As a result of the increased level of language preparedness, students can be asked to engage in dramatization or production of any literary work.
Staging is a more active and complex process of embodying an image than dramatization, since it is based on a deep intellectual and emotional comprehension of the author’s intention, the nature of the images and the ability to embody them on stage.
In the staging, the sequence of creative stages is more clearly visible: the “period of cognition,” the “period of experience,” and the “period of embodiment.” The implementation of these stages contributes to the improvement of communicative activity, the development of emotionality, solving problems of aesthetic and moral perception, the development of creative abilities, skills and abilities in their organic unity.
From the very beginning of work on dramatization, it is advisable to provide students with a choice of work, help them understand and feel the behavior and speech of the characters, and practice expressive reading selected role.
In order to increase interest in theater throughout the school, I recommend staging real performances once or twice a year
Managing such an activity as dramatization places special demands on a foreign language teacher in terms of increasing the level of proficiency in intonation, voice range, facial expressions, and gestures.
In an effort to develop stage skills and the ability to impromptu in students, he must also be constantly ready to demonstrate to them possible options embodying the role, constructing mise-en-scène, decoration. In the production of dramatizations, not even the most perfect technical means is not able to replace the influence of the teacher’s personality on the formation of young talents and the development of their ability to communicate.
IN modern methods school education puppet shows pay serious attention, so you should thoroughly master the methods and techniques of using puppet shows.
As mentioned earlier, puppet theater will help the child listen to the literary text more consciously, imagine the characters more clearly, and more actively monitor the development of the action.
In addition to the indicated methods of working to develop literary taste in children, an adult must master techniques that allow him to include the literary word in a child’s daily life.
Conclusion
Adults do not play with toys for only one, quite reasonable reason: they do not have enough time and energy for this. Playing as children play is the most serious activity in the world; and as soon as the bustle of petty responsibilities and troubles befalls us, we have to abandon such a huge, daring undertaking. We have enough strength for politics and business, for the arts and sciences; but we are weak for the game.
This truth is recognized by everyone who has ever played anything - built a house out of cubes, nursed a doll, arranged tin soldiers.
Adults do not play like children, not because they are not interested, but because they have no time. They cannot spend time and energy on such a great cause.
The philosophy of puppet theaters is worthy of all attention. From this toy you can derive everything that modern people need to understand.
Now it is impossible to say exactly when the first doll appeared in the world. From archaeological excavations and extant historical sources we can conclude that at all times dolls have been constant companions of humans.
Here is a primitive man putting on a ritual mask. The ancient Egyptians made stone statues for festivals dedicated to the gods Osiris and Isis.
Ancient Greek actors put on the masks of evil and good heroes, gods and mere mortals. Giant ancient Roman statues turn their heads and nod. Catholic Madonnas shed tears. And the people's Parsleys, Punchies, Polichinels, Hanswursts vilify the clergy...
The art of puppet theater is folk in nature. Puppet theaters now exist in professional puppet theaters, in schools, kindergartens and simply in large friendly families.
Remember that each of us probably had our own puppet theater in childhood. There was no screen, scenery, lighting equipment, or specially made dolls. He simply existed in the world around us and a little in our imagination. But how rich and varied it was! Here in the sandbox, fortresses are being erected. Their steep walls are storming tin soldiers. And when there are no soldiers, their place is taken by wooden matches with commander Korobka. Small pieces of wood and the simplest paper boats float in fast, cheerful streams, but the grouse are already high-speed frigates, schooners, and caravels.
Puppet theater begins with these games. Playing with an object is its origins.
Theatrical games are always loved by children. Children are happy to join in the game: answer the dolls’ questions, fulfill their requests, give advice, and transform into one image or another. They laugh and cry along with the dolls, warn them of dangers, and are always ready to come to the aid of their heroes.
It is useful to have a puppet theater wherever children are: at school, in kindergarten, at home, in a children's summer camp, in a children's hospital, etc.
Children's classes in the puppet theater develop children's imagination, memory, thinking, artistic abilities, introduce them to many children's fairy tales, contribute to the development of sociability, communication skills of the child, develop motor skills of the child's hands and fingers, and motor activity of the child.
By participating in theatrical games, children get acquainted with the world around them. The large and diverse influence of theatrical games on a child’s personality allows them to be used as a strong, but unobtrusive pedagogical tool.
Children love to play, especially with peers. For them, playing is a serious matter, but at the same time, fun.
It is always a great pleasure for parents and teachers to watch how children at home or in kindergarten or at school talk on behalf of their dolls.
Children feel the need to try themselves in a variety of roles. And when an adult asks in Parsley’s voice: “Well, is everyone here?” or jokes with a clown on his arm, then all the children immediately eagerly pick up the game. Such communication develops much better than television.
Puppet theater is a widespread phenomenon in our lives. Every child’s childhood and aesthetic education begins, as a rule, with puppet performances.
List of sources used
1. About theory and practice artistic creativity children. Vetlugina N.A. Moscow Publishing house - “Neva”. 1991
2. Puppet theater. Rostov-on-Don: “Phoenix”, 1999
3. Batleyka. Mn.: “Youth”. 2000 g
4. History of the development of puppet theater. Moscow. Ed. - “Neva”. 2000
5. Aesthetic education younger schoolchildren. Tsvetkova I.V. – M.: Pedagogical Society of Russia, 2003.
6. Pedagogy (lecture notes) - M.: “Prior-izdat”, 2004.
"Parsley" dolls
In a puppet theater, performances are performed by puppets. They are controlled by puppeteers. Usually the viewer does not see the actors operating the puppets - they are hidden. But there are also theaters (in Japan) where puppeteers, dressed in black robes, appear on stage along with their puppets, and although the viewer sees them, he agrees not to notice their presence. And his attention is so absorbed by the dolls themselves in bright, elegant costumes that after a while he actually forgets that the dolls are in the hands of puppeteers and that each of them is controlled by three people.
It is a great art to make the viewer forget about the existence of puppeteers even when they are visible, and this task is the main one in the skill of an actor-puppeteer of any puppet theater.
How can this be achieved?
In modern puppet theaters, artists play with puppets of a wide variety of devices. The simplest in design are “parsleys” or, as they are sometimes called, “finger” or “glove” puppets.
“Parsleys” have a head with a hole at the bottom (into which the puppeteer’s finger fits) and a cover with two sleeves. The puppeteer puts the “parsley” on his hand like a glove. Usually he controls the doll's head with his index finger, and his thumb and middle fingers control her hands (look at the picture). Of course, this is not the only way to control parsley.
You can put the doll's head on the middle finger, and its hands on the thumb and little finger (Fig. 3 and 4) or stick two fingers (index and middle) into the head, put one hand of the doll on the thumb, and the other on the ring and little finger , folded together (Fig. 5 and 6). In this case, you can not only tilt your head, but also turn it to the right and left. To do this, just move your index and middle fingers.
The choice of one or another method of controlling the “parsley” depends on who the doll will portray and what movements it will have to make. For example, if the doll represents a small bunny, then it is convenient to put the doll’s head on the middle finger, and the paws on the index and ring fingers. If you learn to quickly move with these fingers, the bunny will drum with its paws.
How to control a parsley doll
In order to learn how to drive a parsley doll well, you must first master a number of exercises, which are useful to repeat later as “exercises” before each performance.
Having put the doll on your hand, see if the doll's head sits correctly - whether it is shifted to the right or left; bring the doll's hands together and make sure that her palms are facing each other and that the fingers of your hand do not slip out of the tubes. Check whether the cover is comfortable: bend your hand forward at the wrist and see if the bend of your hand coincides with the inclination of the doll’s body at the waist, and whether the suit is sewn correctly. If everything is in order, then you can start the exercises.
Exercises can be done with a count, and then with music, in exactly the same way as you do yourself during “exercises”. Make yourself some kind of screen (the simplest way is to stretch a rope in the doorway at a height 3-5 cm higher than your height and throw a blanket over it), stand behind it and show the doll above the screen. Pay attention to the position of the doll. The doll should be turned towards the audience with a very slight tilt forward - down so that its eyes meet the eyes of the audience. To do this, your hand should also be slightly tilted forward - slightly bent at the wrist. A common mistake is bending the wrist forward, that is, tilting the hand back, which entails “throwing back” the doll. Make sure that the elbow of your hand does not deviate to the side, so that an imaginary line drawn through the palm and the elbow point is perpendicular to the floor
The doll should be shown above the screen at a height of three quarters of its height, approximately to the knees. Get used to holding the doll above the screen at the same height from the very beginning. Pay close attention to the bend of the wrist and the position of the elbow point. It seems that this is quite simple, but in fact, even with fairly experienced puppeteers, the doll sometimes loses its level or unexpectedly deviates to the side.
Since it can be difficult to notice such a mistake yourself, you need to monitor each other during the exercises, so that while one is doing the exercise, the other is watching and noticing the shortcomings. From the outside, as they say, you know better.
So, the initial position of the doll will be when it appears above the screen at three-quarters of its height with its face facing the audience and its arms spread to the sides.
In this position, the doll can make the following movements: tilt its head forward (the bend of the index finger, on which the doll’s head is placed), bring and spread its arms (bring together and spread the thumb and middle fingers, on which the doll’s hands are placed), tilt the torso forward, to the right, to the left and back (bend the wrist in the appropriate direction), squat (pull the wrist back without moving the elbow) and take the original position (straighten the hand).
Try to do all these movements in any sequence you choose for four counts, making each movement “one” and maintaining a calm position of the doll for “two-three-four”. Make sure that each movement is precise and does not cause the entire doll to “flutter” and change the level at which it was in its original position. When these simplest movements are mastered, move on to more complex ones.
The most difficult step is the step. In order for the doll to start walking along the imaginary floor plane hidden behind the screen, you need to slightly raise and lower the elbow point up and down and move your hand in the direction of the doll’s movement. If at the same time you raise and lower the doll’s arms (alternately) - large and middle fingers your hand - you get the impression of a marching doll. With an accelerated count, the step will turn into running. The step can be combined with other movements, such as squats or jumps.
Each exercise must first be done on one hand, then on the other, and then on both at once. When you move dolls on both hands at the same time, pay special attention to the position of your elbows. The pictures (see below) show the correct and incorrect position of the puppeteer's hands when performing an exercise with two dolls.
"Parsleys" take well into the hands various items. This feature can be successfully used in future performances, so it is useful to conduct a series of exercises on playing with things.
To begin with, try holding the doll's hands with some light object, such as a matchbox or an ordinary children's toy cube. Tilt the doll at the waist so that the palms of its hands are behind the screen, and give the object with your free hand. Take it with the tips of the doll's hands and make sure that the doll does not lose level and does not disappear behind the screen. Do the exercise with two dolls, passing the object from hand to hand. If several people are participating in the class, try passing the object on with all the dolls in turn. Do this first by counting, and then to the music in a march rhythm.
When you get comfortable with these exercises, come up with other, more complex ones: for example, one doll gives a glass, and the other pours water into it from a jug. Two dolls build a pyramid from blocks and then take it apart.
If several children are doing the exercises, you definitely need to learn how to communicate with each other, so that the dolls in the hands of different puppeteers can play well with things and “enter into conversation” with each other. All this will be useful in future performances of your school theater.
"Petrushki" are very funny dolls. Not only are they good at running, jumping and playing with things, but they can also dance a wide variety of dances.
If you want your “parsleys” to learn to dance, take a close look at your dancing comrades. Move a short distance away from them, pick up a notebook or a strip of paper and, bringing it to your eye level, look at the dancers so that you can see them up to their knees. This way you will see more clearly what movements they make with their torso and arms in a particular dance.
Try to remember these movements and try to reproduce them on dolls. Of course, your “parsleys” will not be able to do all the various and small movements that a dancing person makes, and this is not necessary. After all, a doll should only resemble a living creature, give its generalized image, and not imitate a person.
Let's try to dance a waltz. The characteristic movement of this dance is a smooth twirling at a certain position of the dancers' figures. Put the dolls on both hands, turn them (the dolls) towards each other, joining your hands in the same way as you noticed with your dancing comrades: extend the right and left hand dolls up - sideways (to do this you need to connect thumbs your hands), place one hand of the “lady” doll on the shoulder of the “gentleman” doll, and with his hand grab the “lady” by the waist (in this case, the middle fingers of your hands work). Make sure that the dolls' faces are turned towards each other. Now try to dance the waltz yourself, being careful not to lower the level at which the dolls are above the screen and not to change their positions in relation to each other. In this case, the audience will immediately understand that the dolls are dancing a waltz. This is perhaps the easiest dance for the puppets, since they themselves do not have to make any movements, but it is enough for the puppeteer to maintain the position of the puppets found for the waltz.
