E-Book, Englisch, 192 Seiten
Currell Making and Manipulating Marionettes
1. Auflage 2004
ISBN: 978-0-7198-4356-3
Verlag: The Crowood Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark
E-Book, Englisch, 192 Seiten
ISBN: 978-0-7198-4356-3
Verlag: The Crowood Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark
David Currell is widely recognized as a leading authority on puppet theatre. He was co-founder of the National Puppet Centre and its chairperson for nearly twenty years. One of the most widely published authors on the subject over a period of forty years, this is his first book to focus exclusively on shadow play, which is one of his specialist interests. David has written Puppets and Puppet Theatre and Making & Manipulating Marionettes for Crowood. Resident - London SW
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2 MARIONETTE DESIGN
PRINCIPLES OF MARIONETTE DESIGN
In order to understand and design marionettes, one should appreciate something of the nature of puppet theatre in general and marionettes in particular. They are not actors in miniature and generally they fail as puppets if they are made too lifelike for that is to misunderstand what it is about puppets that has captivated human audiences for thousands of years.
Characters from Aesop’s Fables (left) and The Tempest (above), carved by Gren Middleton, costumes by Juliet Rogers, Movingstage Marionettes. The heads, hands and feet are carved in limewood and the bodies and limbs of the larger characters are carved from jelutong. Smaller figures are limewood throughout. The wood is finished with stains or left plain, rather than painted.
An actor acts but a puppet is. The marionette is sometimes referred to as the complete mask, the mask from which the human actor has withdrawn. It was this that appealed to Edward Gordon Craig when he proposed the Uber-marionette and George Bernard Shaw argued the case for a puppet theatre to be attached to every drama school to teach the quality of ‘not acting’.
Fiery Jack by Paul Doran, Shadowstring Theatre.
All puppets, including marionettes, need to be an essence and an emphasis of whatever they represent, whether human, animal, or an abstract concept. They hint at or suggest qualities, movements or emotions and they are most effective when they interpret rather than copy the human form. The power of the puppet resides in large part in the fact that it is a simplification of form; it invites the audience to participate in a rather special way – to supplement those dimensions of character and movement that are merely suggested by the puppet through its design and by skilful manipulation.
A marionette built to human proportions tends to look too long and thin, so it is usual to exaggerate the head, hands and feet slightly. Finely detailed modelling or carving will be lost to an audience more than a few feet away, so keep the modelling bold. When designing or creating the head, think of the modelling and painting as akin to stage make-up compared with everyday cosmetics. Despite the ways in which the puppet departs from human proportion, it is useful for characterization to study books on human anatomy for artists, and basic ‘how to draw’ books of the human form.
With puppets, one is liberated to create characters that can defy natural laws; they can fly through the air, turn inside out and transform in all manner of ways. Their design is not limited by the human form, for one creates not only the costumes of the actors, but also their heads, faces, body shapes, and so on. Of course, the puppet needs to look like, and move as, the intended character and this is conveyed in part by the shape, size and modelling of every part of the puppet. The way in which it moves is influenced by its structure, the method of control and the skill of the manipulator. So it is important to be clear about what the marionette is to be and to do, and to design it accordingly.
Marionettes can be as simple or as complex as you wish but their apparent complexity and remoteness from their operator distinguish them from other forms of puppet. Unlike a hand or rod-puppet, which you position just where you want it, the marionette, which is controlled via strings, has more independence of movement so it has even more of a life of its own. Therefore a marionette with good balance, appropriate distribution of weight and suitable joints will have intrinsic movement that assists the manipulator. When one operates a well-constructed puppet, the puppet does a good deal of the work but it can also resist intended gestures or other movements, so flexibility or restriction of movement is an important consideration.
Prospero and Ariel: carved by Gren Middleton, costume by Juliet Rogers, Movingstage Marionettes. Ariel was created in glass by a professional glass blower to designs by Gren Middleton; the use of glass was inspired by the stage direction ‘Enter Ariel invisible’.
Materials should be selected with a view to both the joints required and the relative weight of the different parts. If the pelvis is too light in relation to the legs, for example, the puppet will not walk well. In fact, any part that is too light will not facilitate good control and movement. Marionettes that are entirely carved achieve a unity of design and good distribution of weight that promotes a quality of movement other puppets do not always achieve.
It is always a good idea to plan the puppet, drawing it to actual size both from the front and in profile. You may find that drawing on lightly squared paper eases the transition from the plan to the puppet. If so, work with fair-sized squares of around 2.5cm (1in) so that the figure is divided into manageable segments. When drawing your design, have regard for the notes on proportion and structure that follow.
MARIONETTE PROPORTION
Marionettes can be any size or shape and the variations of proportion can contribute significantly to characterization, so effectively there are no rules. However, some guidance may be useful in order to achieve relative proportions within a puppet.
A guide to proportions for a marionette.
A puppet’s head is approximately a fifth of its height, or just a little less. As with humans, the hand measures the same as from the chin to the middle of the forehead and covers most of the face. The hand is also about the same length as the forearm and the upper arm. Feet are a little longer, approximately equal to the height of the head. Elbows are level with the waist, the wrist with the bottom of the body, and the fingertips half-way down the thigh. The body is usually a little shorter than the legs.
Typical proportions for a head: the ears align with the eyes and nose, and the eyes are approximately one eye’s width apart.
The way in which the face is framed by the addition of hair can have a strong influence on the puppet’s appearance, and the age of a character affects the proportions of the head. As a general guide, the face has three approximately equal divisions: chin to nose; nose to eyebrows; eyebrows to brow-line. The bulk of the hair will often add to the height of the head and can make the proportions appear somewhat different. When designing the head, do not make the profile too flat, particularly the back of the head.
Eyes are a little above the mid-point between the chin and the top of the skull and are usually one eye’s width apart, depending on the width of the nose. The top and bottom of the ears normally align with the top and bottom of the nose. The mouth is a little above the mid-point between the chin and the nose, and the corners of the mouth align with the centre of the eyes. The neck is set a little way back from the centre of the skull and, for characterization, may be slightly angled by the positioning of joints between the head, neck and body.
The angle at which the head sits in relation to the body contributes significantly to characterization.
Common mistakes are to make the eyes too high or too close together and foreheads too low. Ears are sometimes too high or too small and need to be examined from all angles as they also contribute to characterization.
Consider proportion not only in terms of height but also in terms of the bulk of the body and limbs. Ensure that the neck, arms and legs have sufficient bulk; if they are too thin this will affect the way the costume hangs and moves and the lack of bulk will often become apparent. Check the profile of the entire puppet; if you hold the puppet in a strong beam of light, does it cast a strong, interesting shadow?
MARIONETTE STRUCTURE
Generally, a marionette head moves most effectively if the neck is separate from both the head and the body, though the head and neck may be made in one piece. I made most of my early marionettes with head and neck as a single unit and was perfectly satisfied with the result. However, when I later made them separately, I discovered the greater variety of movement that I could achieve. For some purposes the neck may be made as part of the body and joined inside the head.
Three types of neck. Top: the neck made as part of the head. Middle: the neck made as part of the body and joined inside the head. Bottom: a separate neck joined inside both the head and the body.
A marionette body is normally jointed at the waist but movement may be restricted as necessary. Some puppet makers favour a three-part body with the upper body and pelvis separated by a large ball around which they move, which can be most effective. Some applications will require a one-piece body with no waist joint, though this sometimes affects the way the puppet walks.
For unity of design and weight, hands and feet are best constructed in the same material as the head. When different materials are used, ensure that the finished appearance has a coherence of style and texture.
Wrist joints are usually designed to allow a good deal of flexibility but ankle joints tend to be more restricted to ensure a good walking action.
Where necessary, puppet parts may be weighted with sheet lead (available from builders’ merchants) or lead curtain weights, glued or nailed on....
