Glossary of Puppetry
Puppetry is an ever evolving artform the origins of which date back between ~30,000 and ~21,000 B.C.E. As such, it defies fixed definitions. Below are some frequently used definitions and descriptions to help anyone who is learning about puppetry to better understand and talk about what they are seeing. It is common to think of puppetry in 6 major categories or types (Bunraku, Marionette, Shadow, Rod, Hand, and Body), but especially in contemporary puppetry, many puppets fall into more than one, or even outside of these major groupings. Explore below to learn more.
Photo: Richard Termine
Body Puppet
With Body Puppets a large portion or all of the performers’ own body is enclosed or hidden within the puppet. An example is Sesame Street’s Big Bird.
Photo: Laura Bliss
Photo: Richard Termine
Photo: Yvette Marie Dostatni
Bunraku-Style
Bunraku is a classic form of puppetry and was created at the Takemoto-za puppet theater in Osaka Japan in the 1680s. In traditional Bunraku, a single puppet is manipulated by multiple puppeteers with the most experienced puppeteer moving the head and supporting puppeteers moving the puppet’s arms and/or legs. All puppetry using this method outside of the originating theater in Japan, is referred to as Bunraku-style.
Photo: Yvette Marie Dostatni
Photo: Dexter Ellis
Crankie
A Crankie or Crankie Theater uses a long illustrated scroll (usually paper) wound around two spools which, when cranked, displays a progression of imagery. Sometimes this is inside of a box shaped like a proscenium.
Photo: Richard Termine
Glove Puppet
Glove Puppets are a type of hand puppet where the separate use of fingers inside of the puppet articluate the puppet’s head and arms. Frequently Glove Puppets are without a moving mouth.
Photo: Richard Termine
Photo: Richard Termine
Hand Puppetry
Hand Puppets are controlled by the puppeteer’s hand on the interior of the puppet. The puppeteer essentially wears the puppet on the hand to manipulate it.
Photo: Yvette Marie Dostatni
Kuruma Ningyo
Kuruma Ningyo is a Japanese theatrical tradition derived from Bunraku. The term Kuruma comes from rokuro-kuruma (a small seat with wheels) and ningyo means “puppet,” thus “puppet on a cart.” It is operated by a puppeteer sitting on and steering the cart with their feet, which allows only one puppeteer to comandeer the puppet instead of the three as in traditional Bunraku.
Photo: Lodernes Leuchten
Photo: Richard Termine
Photo: Loren Toney
Marionette
Marionettes are manipulated from above, usually by strings.
Photo: Philamonjaro
Muppet Style
The word “Muppet” is a specfiic reference to the unique tv/film puppets created by Jim Henson and seen in The Muppet Show and Sesame Street. Muppet-style Puppets are characterized by a fluffy or furry exterior on a hand, hand & rod, or rod puppet.
Photo: Richard Termine
Photo: Yvette Marie Dostatni
Object Theater
Need Definition
Photo: Philamonjaro
Rod Puppetry
Rod Puppets are controlled, often from below via rods and/or a post.
Photo: Richard Termine
Shadow Puppet
Shadow Puppets appear to audiences as images made by shadows or lights cast on a screen or object.
Photo: Nick Zoulek
Spectacle
Spectacle puppetry implements larger scale puppets frequently using pageantry or parading outdoors in order to draw the attention of the audiences in large venues, open spaces, or public forums.
Photo: Dexter Ellis
Photo: Brave Lux
Photo: Yvette Marie Dostatni
Photo: Richard Termine
Table Top
Tabletop Puppetry is smaller-scale puppetry that can be performed on a tabletop. This can include any style, but is frequently bunraku-style, crankie, toy theater, or shadow.
Photo: Erik McGregor
Toy Theater
Toy Theater was originally a simple, commercially available way of staging popular dramatic spectacles in your own drawing room in 19th Century England. Contemporary Toy Theater is generally characterized by flat, miniature, paper images moved within a proscenium arch or other container.
Ready to Learn More?
Visit the Chicago Puppet Fest Archive!
In our Archive, you will find Festival programs, video and photos from performances, in-depth commentary, and links to further reading about Festival artists, partners, programs, and their work. Whether you are a puppeteer, a scholar, or a fan, you are welcome to immerse yourself in this free archive to gain inspiration, read deeply about puppetry performances, learn new skills, or appreciate a culture that may be different from your own. This archive is helping to redefine the mainstream understanding of puppetry and foster enduring cross-cultural understanding in a pluralistic world.
