Puppetry 101 — Book Review
An actor’s appearance limits the characters they can convincingly portray. But a puppeteer can be anyone or anything they wish. This book may inspire you to become a puppeteer.
The book Puppetry 101 is a masterclass in creating film and television-style puppetry. Written by expert puppeteer Adam Kreutinger and published in 2022, it is 116 pages full of tips and advice for anyone considering becoming a puppeteer.
You may not think you have what it takes to be a puppeteer but, as Adam points out, ‘puppetry is for everyone’. So, whether you are aiming to emulate the Muppets or just entertain your family, grab a copy of Adam’s book and read it.
Puppetry 101
Adam Kreutinger is an elementary school art teacher by day and a gifted and experienced puppet-builder and performer with a popular YouTube channel focussing on puppetry. He has created puppets for both stage and screen and his videos teach puppetry in a way that is accessible to people of all ages.
His goal in writing Puppetry 101 is to share his love of puppetry and to communicate the techniques for successful on-screen puppeteering.
A walk through the chapters
As a teacher, Adam is good at communicating information in a way that is easy to understand. The book begins with an introduction on how to use the book itself. This is followed by a motivational chapter that aims to encourage people like you and me to give puppetry a try.
Chapter Two examines the different types of puppets that are used in television and film puppetry and the differences between them.
This is followed by a chapter on how to puppeteer — covering topics such as eye focus, the all-important lip-synch, and the Henson punch.
How to create a compelling character is covered in Chapter Four. Adam explains that your puppet’s voice, attitude, and movements all go towards creating a relatable character with whom the audience can fall in love.
The fifth chapter deals with creating the story for your show. In it, Adam examines story structure, plot, and characters.
The next chapter gets more technical with an explanation of the ins and outs of television puppetry and how to perform on the screen. Adam stresses the necessity of using a monitor to enable you to give a truly believable performance.
Chapter Seven covers how to make your puppets. This is a fairly short chapter as there is a wealth of puppet-creation content on Adam’s YouTube channel. This chapter also takes a brief look at green screen and props.
So, you’ve got your story, your puppets, and your technique perfected — what does that leave? In Chapter Eight you’ll discover why practicing really matters. You’ll also learn about the best way to practice and sharpen your skills.
The penultimate chapter is a fairly short one that gives you a few tips on how to promote your show to potential audiences.
The final chapter is a couple of pages to encourage you to join the puppetry community so that you can start making friends and discover other forms of puppetry around the world.
The book concludes with some pages of useful resources for creating puppets, learning about puppetry, and other puppet-related links.
Each chapter is illustrated with line drawings and includes pro tips and takeaways. The forward is by Muppet performer Dave Goelz.
Conclusion
Puppetry 101 is laid out in a concise and logical way which makes it easy to read for both kids and adults. The depth of Adam’s puppeteering experience is clear, as is his enthusiasm and it makes for an enjoyable read.
Adam makes no secret of the fact that his book is aimed at those wishing to learn more about puppetry for television and online video platforms such as YouTube. However, many of the tips and techniques are useful even if you just want to entertain your kids with a puppet show in your own home.
The book won’t turn you into a master puppeteer overnight but it gives you a good grounding in the relevant puppetry skills.
And, who knows, it may just inspire you to start your journey into the wonderful world of puppetry.
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