Christian puppetry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Christian Puppetry is a continually emerging form of entertainment and ministry. Though puppetry itself has existed for thousands of years, the modern Christian form is relatively new. The Muppets gave puppetry a whole new look and life in the mid-twentieth century. "Puppet-fever" engulfed Americans. With the new public interest in puppetry, both in America and worldwide, Christians began to see the potential in this art form.
Beginning then and continuing to this day, churches in nearly every Christian denomination have started small puppet groups. Usually such groups' purpose is to serve their own children's ministry programs, but some reach outside their own walls, performing for other churches or secular venues. Some teams travel internationally to third-world countries, where children and adults have neither experienced this kind of entertainment, nor heard about Jesus Christ.
Christian Puppetry has grown so large that thousands of performers gather yearly at festivals to showcase, share, and learn more about their art form. One of the largest Christian puppet supplies distributors, One Way Street, hosts regional festivals to serve church teams, as well as a world-wide festival (I-Fest), lasting an entire week.
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[edit] Recent Trends
Though rod-arm puppetry continues to be the most common technique in Christian circles, some other forms have begun to gain popularity.
[edit] Blacklight Puppetry
Blacklight Puppetry capitalizes on the novelty of ultra-violet lights, or black light. Lighting the staging area with only these specialized lights, the audience can see only the objects that are coated with a special paint. The idea of controlling what the audience sees is a major responsibility of any puppeteer, and blacklight has provided a new way of accomplishing it.
[edit] Dowel Rod
Dowel Rod Puppetry combines interpretive dance and the use of (typically) two simple dowels. This style has been popularized and widely taught by Jeff Smith and adapted by churches across America. Routines usually involve a song that tells a story or conveys a message while performers move in a choreographed dance, employing their rods in equally choreographed ways.
[edit] External links
- How To Start A Puppet Ministry Good guide to starting your own puppet ministry
- Puppet Resources, a free on-line site where Christians upload their favorite puppet scripts for other users to borrow and perform.
- Kidology Children's Ministry site with an emphasis on puppetry, run by Karl Bastian.
- Puppet2Puppet Puppet Plays] Children's Ministry site focused on Puppet Ministry, a collective run by Rev. Jim Hill
- Puppets and Stuff Online puppetry portal with a large base of puppet scripts, many of them Christian.
- PuppetBuilding.com Large web site devoted to making puppets for ministry and other purposes; includes many free puppet building patterns, tutorials and other resources.
