The Scientific Method for Choosing a Puppet

I use puppetry in almost all of my shows. While I used to build all the puppets in my shows, recently I've been buying them. I'm very picky about the puppets I use.

There are two theories that can be used for choosing, or better yet designing, a puppet that people can relate with. One is “The Magic Triangle” and the other is “The Uncanny Valley”.

First, The Magic Triangle is a technique Jim Henson used in designing puppets for television. He was the first person to realize that eye contact is important, even for a puppet. His characters were designed to look right into the television camera. What the Magic Triangle refers to is an imaginary triangle that can be drawn from the characters pupils to the characters nose. The sides of the triangle should be equal. Ernie, on Sesame Street, is a perfect example of this. Ernie’s eyes are actually crossed. However, they are only crossed enough to give the illusion that he is looking right at the child watching television at home. The Magic Triangle has a significant psychological impact on anyone watching the puppet. Public speakers maintain eye contact with their audience. This is just as important for puppets.

Second, the Uncanny Valley is a principle concerning the emotional response of humans to non-human entities. It was theorized by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970. It says that the more human-like a non human ententy is the more we can relate with it. However there is a point where a non-human object becomes too human-like and we are repulsed by it. If an object is nonhuman, but hase some human characteristics, then we notice the human-like characteristics and we are attrcted to it. However, if an object appears almost human then we notice the features that make it non-human and it appears strange to us. A teddy bear is a non human object. It has eyes and a mouth so we are attracted to it. A corps looks human, but we immediately notice the characteristics that make it non-living, so it makes us feel uneasy. This is why puppets that are more cartoon-like are more desirable than realistic looking ventraliquist dummies.

Mori’s theory also states that movement implies life. His familuarity chart changed dramatically when the non-human object was animated. Acording to his chart, we are very atracted to Bunraku puppets, because they move so much like a humans.

So, a puppet that can make eye contact, moves in a believable manner, and is realistic, but not maniquin-like is a likable character that people can relate with.

Rudolph

I've had the privilege of visiting the Center for Puppetry Arts several times. It's a terrific place to learn about the history of puppetry. They have workshops, outreach programs, and they put on wonderful shows. One of the particularly cool things about the center is the museum. There you can see several Muppets, Dark Crystal puppets, Madame, and lots of other puppets that have historical significance.

The newest addition to their collection is Rudolph and Santa from the 1964 Rankin/Bass production of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". The current owner/discoverer of said puppets, Kevin Kreiss, contacted the center a few months ago to see what they could do about the puppets' deteriorated state. Kevin brought them by and they assessed the situation...The puppets were in bad shape, having been used as Christmas decorations/playthings for the last 30-odd years in the home of a former Rankin/Bass employee. Santa's legs were both broken, as was Rudolph's neck(!). Rudolph's nose bulb was torn out and the cavity had been stuffed with red candle wax. All of the lead armature wires inside the puppets were corroding and half of Santa's mustache was missing. There was a lot of cleanup and restoration to be done.

Luckily, a top member of their puppet crew, Robin Walsh, has a lot of experience with puppet restoration, having worked for several years at the Center for Puppetry Arts. While there she worked with everything from antique Indonesian shadow puppets to Italian rod marionettes, so she set up a plan and spearheaded the operation. The whole process took several weeks, and great care was taken to preserve the integrity of the puppets. They made new pieces only to replace missing parts, leaving everything in it's original form as much as possible. Careful cleansing of the fur and clothing got out years worth of cigarette smoke, candy stains and dust.

Now the puppets are in mint condition and are on display for all to see.