Give Me Five #2 - Using Puppets in your Presentations

Give Me Five!
#2 in a Series – Collect the Whole Set!
by Tommy Johns

This is a second in a series of articles that has a simple premise. The articles will take you less than five minutes to read (that’s when you give ME five!) and each will contain an introduction to a problem or concept pertaining to our work encouraging kids to read. Each article will also include a list of five ideas, reasons, tools, steps or other helpful items (that’s when I give YOU five!) related to the topic of the article. While none of these articles will claim to be the last word on any topic, I promise to make each one fun, well researched and way beyond the obvious.

Give that Puppet a Hand!

Before I started using puppets in my school assemblies, I would hear puppeteers (professional and part-timers) say something like, “Oh, I never know what that puppet is going to do. Patsy has a mind of her own. The things she comes up with – I don’t know where she gets it!” Riiiiiiight! I would always begin to look around and move any sharp objects away from the puppeteer, to prevent one of those situations that become a “Ripped from the Headlines” Law and Order episode. Now that I have been working with puppets for a couple of years, I am beginning to understand what those people mean. I’m not any less nervous around them, but I do understand them a bit better.

I have discovered that a puppet can do some things more effectively than I can, especially when it comes to telling a story. There is something about a story told as a dialogue or drama that makes the story a lot more interesting than if it is simply read. The puppet can serve as a helper, an actor, an interruption, a clarifier, or can even be the star of the story, with the puppeteer playing a bit part in the drama.

Just like quality storytelling, video or drama, puppets can communicate effectively to every age group, even adults, when done well. Jeff Dunham is a ventriloquist who sells out comedy clubs all over the US, and David Letterman has “Ventriloquist Week” every year. Beyond the obvious tips for getting started, like checking out books about puppetry (they have books about EVERYTHING in the library!), looking at your budget and age group, and checking with the experts in person and on video (check out www.youtube.com for some great video clips of puppet skits), here are five things to consider when adding puppets to your media center presentations:

1. Puppets have character. Choose a puppet that fits with the character you want to develop. A dog puppet with a leather jacket might have an attitude, while a talking daisy might be very sweet. Or not. (See #4 below.) You can use a lot of different puppets over the course of the year, or have one puppet that the kids get to know really well. Developing the character, reactions and attitude for one puppet can really set you free when you ad-lib or respond to something unscripted during your presentation. Whichever route you choose, develop the puppet’s personality. (This is when you will start getting weird like my vent friends mentioned above!)

2. Choose the style of puppet that you are most comfortable using. I prefer a hand puppet with a working mouth, but you can use stick puppets, glove puppets, or even sock puppets. Other options include puppets on a puppet stage that do not interact with you at all, or even marionettes. The main thing is to use a puppet that you can manipulate well, and that fits with your age group. Puppets can range in price from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars for the high end latex puppets. Sunny Puppets (www.sunnypuppets.com), Folkmanis (www.folkmanis.com), and The Puppet Store (www.thepuppetstore.com) all have beautiful puppets that are very good quality. Sunny and Folkmanis puppets are available at toy stores and online. TPS is only available online. My personal favorite puppet maker is Steve Axtell (www.axtell.com) out of California. Visit his site and you’ll see why so many pros use his creations.

3. Don’t wing it. They say that dogs can smell fear, and students can smell a lack of preparation! Always know what you and the puppet are going to do and say and PRACTICE it! As silly as it will feel to rehearse, it pays off in big ways.

4. Use humor generously. People expect puppets to be funny. Have the puppet misbehave, flirt with a kid on the front row, ask Knock-Knock jokes or riddles, or overreact to things that happen in the story. Like in the example above, you could have a very articulate biker character, or a gravely voiced daisy with an attitude. In my science show, for example, Beauregard, a red neck buzzard puppet, is starring in Aesop’s “The Crow and the Pitcher.” When we start to put rocks into a pitcher of water to make the water rise so he can take a drink, he asks me if the rocks can swim. I tell him no and start dropping rocks into the water. After 12-15 rocks are in the pitcher, the kids and I notice that the water level is rising. I ask Beauregard if he can see what’s happening. He nods his head, and I tell him to tell the kids what is happening. He looks at the kids and yells, “THE ROCKS ARE DROWNING!”

5. Don’t overdo it. While there is nothing wrong with a visit from a favorite puppet during every session (and a good argument can be made for doing so) don’t do too much of a good thing. Use a variety of approaches to telling the story or communicating your content. Keep some puppet visits brief and others long. Variety really is the spice of teaching!

Puppets can add so much to your presentations. They add humor, character, depth, and drama. And you never know what they might say!

Bonus Five!
Steve Axtell of Axtell Expressions (in my opinion, the makers of the BEST puppets ever!) offers this bonus list of “Five Ways to Use Puppets without Ventriloquism.” Click on http://www.axtell.com/puppets_for_magicians.html#novent to see how non-ventriloquists can use puppets successfully. There is even a link to a video of Bill DeMar’s hilarious Feldon the Frog routine, using a non speaking puppet to entertain kids. While you are on Steve’s site, look at some of his creations, especially his Magic Drawing Board. It is extremely versatile and can make you a reputation!

Try one or more of these ideas next time you present a library orientation, a story, or a lesson and see if it makes a difference. If you have additional ideas or want more tools for keeping the attention of your students, a great place to share and ask questions of the state’s BEST experts is on the GLMA discussion board. To become a part of this group, you can subscribe at http://www.georgiamedia.net/mailman/listinfo/georgiamedia.

Tommy Johns has been getting and keeping the attention of children and adults for almost three decades as a teacher, school show presenter and educational entertainment specialist. Find out more at www.tommyjohnspresents.com. He welcomes your comments and ideas for future “Give Me Five!” articles. You can contact him at tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com.