Puppetry glossary
As well as having a list of puppet types, I thought it would be a good idea to develop a glossary of regularly used terms relating to puppet building, performance, puppet parts, etc. For instance, a regularly asked question about puppetry is: "what is the name of the wooden handle on marionette/string puppets?" So here I will be adding explanations of terms like that. This list is incomplete: I will update it as I think of more terms.
| Term | Explanation | |||
| Animatronics | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the word ‘animatronics‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Blacklight | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the word ‘blacklight‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Bunraku | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the word ‘bunraku‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Cable-control | A method of operating a puppet by using a wire, thread or elastic (often run through a tubing of some sort), by which pulling the wire/whatever moves the puppet in some way. An easy example of this is Scar’s moving mask in The Lion King musical; the cable runs from the mask ontop of the performer’s head, down his arm, and into a control mechanism in the performer’s hand. | |||
| Caricature puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the word ‘caricature puppets‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Costume puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘costume puppets‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Controller | Usually referring to the puppet’s control on a marionette, there are many types of controls; on marionettes, there are horizontal or vertical controls. The term can be extended to include control mechanisms for rod puppets (especially when dealing with cable-controlled puppets) | |||
| Dummy | See ventriloquist doll. | |||
| Finger puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘finger puppets‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Fish control | A term given to a particular way of building a control on a marionette. It is a vertical control; that is, the control is oriented in a way in which a puppeteer is holding it as one would hold the neck of a bottle. | |||
| Found puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘found puppets‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Gallows | The name for a marionette stand. Imagine playing hangman: that’s what a gallows looks like. Using a gallows allows puppet makers to string the puppet to the control bars, whilst ensuring that correct balance and weighting occurs. | |||
| German control | See ‘fish control’. | |||
| Glove puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘glove puppets‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Glove arm puppets | This refers to muppet-type puppets when (usually for close-ups on TV/film) a glove/human hand is used in order to operate the puppet’s hands/arms. Ie. You get more dexterity and ability to pick items up with a human hand, than with a puppet hand and rod. | |||
| Hand puppets | Just a generic term for glove puppets. I tend not to use the term, since it really can apply to any kind of puppet | |||
| Hand mouth puppets | I’ve never heard any pro puppeteer use this term, but I suspect that if anyone does, it’s because they really mean ‘muppets’ but don’t want to be sued for infringing on a trademarked name. See muppet-type puppets for more info. | |||
| Horizontal control | A term given to a particular way of building a control on a marionette. A horizontal control is one which is held as if one is pouring liquid out of a bottle. | |||
| Human arm puppets | See term, ‘glove arm puppets’ | |||
| Light curtain | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘light curtain‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Object manipulation | See term, ‘found puppets‘ | |||
| Marottes | Simple rod puppets; eg. the jester’s sceptre | |||
| Marionettes | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the word ‘marionettes‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Mouth plate | Another name for the mouth of the puppet. This is usually used when referring to muppet-type puppets. The mouth plate is simply a circular piece of material, folded over; much like a paper plate folded in half. | |||
| Mouth puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘mouth puppets‘ and read the explanation there. Really this is any puppet that talks | |||
| Muppet-type puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘muppet-type puppets’ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Outdoor puppets | See term, ‘parade puppets‘ | |||
| Parade puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘parade puppets‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| People puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘people puppets‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Portrait puppets | See term, ‘caricature puppets‘ | |||
| Rod puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘rod puppets‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Shadow puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘shadow puppets‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Shoulder puppets | A type of cable-controlled puppet which rests on a person’s shoulder. The control runs down to the performer’s hand | |||
| Sock puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘sock puppets‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Soft foam puppets | Usually refers to full-bodied muppet-type puppets, used for ventriloquism. Instead of having access to the inside of the puppet via a hole at the bottom, as muppet-types do, soft foam puppets used for ventriloquism have holes at the back of the puppet (ie. literally in the small of the back) | |||
| String puppets | See term, ‘marionettes‘ | |||
| Table-top puppets | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘table-top puppets‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Toy theatre | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘toy theatre‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Ventriloquist | The person who operates a ventriloquist doll. This is, in the industry, considered a distinct and separate definition from a ‘puppeteer’; that is a ventriloquist attempts to throw their voice, whereas a puppeteer doesn’t. | |||
| Ventriloquist doll | Lots of people struggle to figure out what these dolls are called. In actual fact, the term for a ventriloquist doll is exactly that: a ventriloquist doll. However, they are also known as: a dummy; the abridged version ‘vent doll’ or ‘vents’. Sometimes they are also called ’soft’ ventriloquist dolls, when referring to muppet-type puppets that have legs. | |||
| Ventriloquism | Ventriloquism is the act of making a puppet talk, whilst the performer is visible onstage - and the process of hiding the fact that the performer is talking for the puppet. This is quite different from other forms of puppetry, where no effort is made to hide the performer’s lips moving. In the industry, ventriloquism is seen as a completely different style to puppetry itself. | |||
| Vertical control | See term, ‘fish control’ | |||
| Water puppetry | I’m not going to redescribe this term. Click on the words ‘water puppetry‘ and read the explanation there. | |||
| Wayang Golek | A Javanese style of puppetry, using rods | |||
| Wayang Kulit | A Javanese style of shadow puppetry | |||
| White light theatre | Referring to any show in which the puppeteers are seen. Many people also call this ‘bunraku‘ theatre, although that term (bunraku) is misapplied, since bunraku is specifically referencing Japanese theatre. |
Is there a term missing from the list that you’d like to see added? Leave a comment and I’ll put it up!
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