Puppet Talk

Presents numerous ways of making puppets, and ideas for using these to develop speaking and listening skills with young children.

A practical, accessible and inspiring guide to using puppetry in theatre--the perfect entry point for anyone looking to use puppets in their productions, to explore what puppets can do, or to develop their puppetry skills. Written by an experienced theatre and puppetry director, Mervyn Millar's Puppetry: How to Do Itfocuses on the performer and the craft of bringing any puppet to life. No puppet-making is required to use this book: starting just with simple objects, it lays out the skills required to unlock a puppet's limitless potential for expression and connection with an audience. Inside you'll discover fifty practical, easy-to-follow exercises - for use in a group or on your own - to develop elements of the craft, build confidence and help you improve your puppetry through play and improvisation. Also included are sections on different types of puppet, thinking about how the puppeteer is presented on stage and how to direct and devise puppet performances. Ideal for actors and performers, for directors and designers, and for teachers and students of all ages and levels of experience, this book will demystify the art of puppetry, and help you become more confident and creative with all kinds of puppets and objects on stage.

Effectively communicating with young people is vitally important -- we are constantly challenged to share the story of God's love in a way that really connects with them. Using puppets is an increasingly popular method for establishing a rapport with children and capturing their attention. Puppets are much more than just another gimmick -- because children (and adults, too ) carefully listen to and absorb the messages presented, they can be a very useful teaching tool. If you are interested in trying this captivating approach in your congregation, then Peter And The Children is just the resource for you. H. Burnham Kirkland has created 66 short pieces perfect for "children's time" in worship services or Sunday school classrooms. Employing witty dialogue between a presenter and a hand-held puppet named Peter, the frequently humorous and always instructive scenes can be used as written or to help generate ideas for your own presentations. Kirkland writes in a direct style that's easy for young people to understand, and makes the Christian faith relevant to their lives. Some of the presentations include: - Will Roast Pig Bring Us Luck? - A Direct Line To Jesus - I'm Allergic To That Word "School" - Weather Or Not - How Do You Catch The Christmas Spirit? H. Burnham Kirkland, during more than fifty years in the ministry, served as the pastor of eight local congregations and as a missionary in the Philippines, as well as district superintendent, conference program director, and treasurer of World Missions of the United Methodist Church. A graduate of the College of the City of New York and Union Theological Seminary in New York City, Dr. Kirkland also holds honorary doctorates from Philippine Wesleyan University and DePauw University (Greencastle, Indiana). This is his fifth CSS book. Now retired, Kirkland lives in Lakeland, Florida.

Full of imaginative and creative ideas for using puppets with children in the early years setting.

1 HISPANIC BOY PUPPET, 1 AFRICAN AMERICAN GIRL.

Telly Mercer is shy and quiet, used to living in the shadow of her older sister, Bess. Then she finds herself on the set of a puppet show, staying out of the way of her overstressed aunt Kathleen. One evening she makes a surprising discovery that launches her on an adventure with an unpredictable and angry puppet.

Baker is unhappy about leaving Seattle-- and his job as director of his grandmother's puppet shows-- to start fifth grade in a small Texas town, but a local festival provides an opportunity to overcome his shyness and prove himself.