Look Out for That Quicksand!

    Rod puppets are in the midrange of complexity, calling for more details and skill than glove puppets, but with far fewer  opportunities for error.  Rod puppets, Rods for short, are composed of a barrel-shaped body with a single heavy rod attached someplace that makes us all glad WE'RE not rods.  This rod bears the weight of your puppet, and is generally held in your "off" hand. That is, if you're right handed, the main rod should be held in your left hand. 

    The first, worst, and most frequent error puppeteers make with rods is to let them sink too low.  Although they are made of closed-cell foam and light woods, they can get rather heavy because you hold them over your head and an angle that is decidedly un-ergonomic.  This can result in the puppet slowly sinking lower and lower, as though trapped in mud, or quicksand.  If you're looking down, reading a script, it's even easier to let it happen.  You can end up with nothing but a forehead, two eyeballs and a hand showing above the stage.  Comical, but not the kind of humor we are looking for.  So to watch out for quicksand.  Remember, if your arms start feeling comfortable, the puppet is probably too low.

    Then next most frequent, and second worst mistake novices make with rods is to be too shy.  When it's your line, speak up!  And don't be subtle.  Subtlety is for Pelicans.  When it comes to comedy, think Mel Brooks and Moe Howard.  Or Groucho Marx.  When it comes to tragedy, think Lawrence Olivier and Richard Burton.  The puppets, by nature, are small, and even in a small theater with the audience close, they need help from you.  Help them by speaking up, and making broad, sweeping gestures.  As a puppeteer, you need to live large, for your alter ego is small.

    Third most frequent mistake is actually two:  moving too much, and moving too little. The key here is to differentiate which puppet is speaking.  Since rods have no facial articulation, the only way that the audience has to tell which puppet is speaking is by which one is moving.  So when you are speaking, gesticulate, and don't be shy.  When you're not speaking, hold still.

If you avoid these three mistakes, everything else will be fine.

Well, so far we've covered what not to do.  The next step is what to do. 

Rod puppets have three control rods, the main weight-bearing rod and one for each arm and hand.  As I mentioned above, the main rod is held in your off hand.  This hand also holds the puppet's off hand.  Just grab both rods in your fist and hold the puppet up over the level of the stage.  Your "on" hand should hold the other control rod.  This gives you the finest control over one of the puppets hands.  It also has the side-effect of giving the puppet the same handed-ness as the puppeteer.  That's all you'll need to get started.  You'll also note that this tends to make your puppet look like something of a stroke victim.  He's only got one working hand.  This is OK!  Think back.  Even if you haven't been to too many puppet shows, most folks have been exposed to rod puppets.  Remember Sesame Street?  Both Bert and Kermit, at least in those days, only had one working hand. 

I know what your next question is:  How come Ernie has two working hands, and how did Kermit grow a second working hand in The Muppet Show?  The answer:  two puppeteers working in tandem on the same puppet.  So don't sweat the off arm, unless you're feeling really adventurous.

And that's it.  Watch out for quicksand, speak up, move when you've got lines, don't move when you don't have lines, and you're a puppeteer.  Poof.