Puppeteers

Puppeteers are performers who manipulate puppets to bring to life characters, objects, or concepts during a performance. They may operate figures by hand, on rods, by strings, or through more complex systems such as three-person bunraku or shadow-puppet stages. Puppeteers design characters, build the puppets, choreograph movements, and provide voice acting and theatrical direction as needed. In many traditions, a single puppeteer may perform a complete figure, while in others a team coordinates movements for realism.

Forms of puppetry are diverse. Hand puppets are worn on the hand and controlled by fingers. Rod puppets use rods attached to the puppet’s hands or joints. Marionettes are controlled by strings from above, requiring coordinated manipulation of multiple strings. Shadow puppets, cut from leather or paper, are moved behind a lighted screen to create silhouettes. Some traditions, such as Japanese bunraku, employ multiple puppeteers per figure, with the main operator visible to the audience and two assistants handling other aspects of movement.

Puppetry has ancient and global roots. Shadow theatre and string-puppet forms appear in many cultures, with notable traditions including Wayang kulit in Indonesia, Kathputli and other Indian puppet theatres, and European marionette theatres. In the 20th century, puppeteers such as Jim Henson and Frank Oz popularized puppet performances in television and film, expanding the medium into new media.

Puppeteers work in theatre, television, film, education, and community arts. The practice combines performance craft, sculpture, storytelling, and sometimes engineering, and it continues to adapt with digital technologies and contemporary storytelling methods.