To: <puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org>
Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2008 01:01:54 -0500
Subject: [Puptcrit] Marionettes: their appeal


What makes marionettes seem so wonderful?
A lot of puppeteers and non-initiated alike have a tendency to think of pro 
marionettes as the highest form of puppets.

What makes them so attractive?
Is it the obvious difficulty of creating them, the mind boggling mastery it 
requires for it to be pure delight?
Or is it something much more?
What brought you to choose marionettes, if you are a dedicated practitionner 
of that form?

I'm very curious about what others here think, what brought them to 
marionettes, and what keeps them with it.

My thoughts:

I'm attracted to marionettes both  as a puppet builder and as a performer.
But I'll admit the builder side has more power right now.

My goal is to soon make a very well functionning marionette mostly out of 
carved wood, which would look good and well-finished, even undressed.  I 
traded a mask for some medium chisels recently, and have a few small Dremel 
carving bits. I hope to get some small "gouges" for details soon. I'll ask 
around, and see antique shops. I might even make my own gouges, if it comes 
to that.

My biggest technical limitation is lack of knowledge about making precise 
tongue and groove articulations with hand tools. I don't have access to a 
detail bandsaw yet. I'm thinking of getting some miniature saws.
I recently found out that fine metal saws are very good for cutting wood.


Marionettes were the second type of puppets I had a satisfying success with 
(the first was a rod puppet).
My three first marionette figures, built as a set for children, were very 
simple, but moved well, despite and thanks to the limited articulations and 
few strings. I should have built a copy of one for myself.
They were fun to play with, and I'm sure they could have been made to 
perform.

I made a few more marionnettes over the years, the latest were a set of two 
for a short film, two years ago.
The film is supposed to be ready for release this Christmas.  I hope they'll 
make a trailer, as for noew, it's not scheduled to hit the web. It,s meant 
for film festivals and TV shorts.

I saw Stephen Mottram's show a few weeks back, and it gave me the temptation 
to get back to work on my miniature bird marionette.

It's so small I had to build the head out of lead, which I hammered into a 
ball shape. All it needs to be completed is a better leg articulation (like 
real birds, because right now, it's got mamal legs) and a prettier, more 
compact controller.


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