I have very little experience with puppets. Besides the movie we watched in class the only other time I’ve seen a puppet performance was the Jeff Dunham comedy show. Jeff Dunham is a comedian ventriloquist who uses different puppets to assist his comedy. Each puppet has its own personality and I found it to be very amusing. One of the puppets is an old guy who likes to complain about the different towns they perform in and about his wife. I think that the voice helps bring these puppets to life and gives them all a unique character. One of his newer puppets is a terrorist bomber. He is basically a skeleton who likes to say “I’ll kill you” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uwOL4rB-go ). I think that the variation and the different voices helps make these puppets come to life.
Besides ventriloquism I found that in the video in class there was a moment where the puppets did seem to come alive. I really liked how the one puppet that was dressed in all white kept going up to kids and sitting on their laps. I thought it was cute how the one little girl didn't want to let him go it gave the puppet a life like quality. I also liked how the one puppet that played the trumpet in a jazz performance would wipe his forehead with a towel. That action to me made him more lifelike because it is something that you could see any performer doing and It made the puppet seem almost human.
I also thought the bird that ate out of the kids hands had a life like quality because birds do eat out of people’s hands. I thought many of the puppets seemed to come to life because they all did things that are very real and because the audience members helped make them real. Like how the kids all stuck out their hands to feed the bird. That action gave the puppets life and was really cool. The puppet master also helped bring the puppets to life by helping to guide their movements and help interact with the audience. I liked how he said that "If you change one thing even the strings with one the exact same length it also changes the puppets personality."
I thought that was cool because it made it seem like even to the creator of the puppets they were alive and had different personalities. I think that the varied personalities also helped contribute to their life like quality. Just like no two people are the same none of the puppets were the same either and i think it added a lot to the performance. I find it amazing how the puppet master could make the puppets move like they were real and make it seem like they really were walking and dancing or playing an instrument. I liked the video and was surprised how easily i was drawn into the world the puppet master was creating with his puppets. It's amazing how with a little care and attention you can bring objects to life and make someone smile.
