YOUR OWN PUPPET THEATRE

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 226, 24 September 1938, Page 24 (Supplement)

YOUR OWN PUPPET THEATRE

How To Make It. If you have even soon puppets perform I am sure you have been filled with a longing to have puppets and a theatre of your own. Well, this is how you tot about it. If you want to make your pupju't* quickly you can just take the wooden head of a doll and attach a dress to it, or carve the head out of a pieoe of wood, and paint it in bright colours, but the most excitipg and messy way is to make a paper mask. Get some plasticine and model a face on a of board or glass. Make the eyes deep, add the nose, and pome small rolls for t l»n littc any? ....Hin.. _

tJie lif>s and eyebrows, putting a small ball in each eye. Don't forget to model a little for the front of the neck. When the face in finished take two different colours of tissue paper and cut them into strips about ljin long, then using some of mother's plain flour, mix a paste and carefully cover the face with strijis of tissue paper. Press them on gently and put smaller strips round the eyes and nose. Continue pasting on the strips so that they overlap, and cover all the face until you have done seven layers. Then put it in a warm place.

When tlie mask is dry. n-nine it from The board or gla-s and s'-iMpc out the plasticine with a penknife: it does not i matter a'noiit sera piny it all out. Then p:iste more strips on the in.-ide. especially round the na-e. and you will have . a good, strong ma-k. | Y<>u now fa-ten the ma-k on to a piece ! of loofah, which forms the hack of the I puppet k head, sowing on cardboard ears in their right places at the same time. : I'se wool for hair, and your puppet head is now complete. So paint in the ; eyes, lips and cheeks. j Xow pet some odds and ends of strong i material and cut out a plain sacklike j dress. Push a piece of cardboard tubing up inside the loofah to form the puppet's neck, and fasten on the dress with cotton and glue it with seeootine. In the sleeves fix two more pieces of tub-

I ing. and for the hands sew on gloves j cut without fingers like a baby's mitten, j Now put your first finger up the neck. : and your thumb and second finger into | the sleeves and waggle them, and your I puppet will come to life. j For the simplest theatre, drape a I clothes horse with curtains, and hiding ] yourself inside, stick the puppets over i the top. Get them to sing and dance. , and say funny things, then give a per- | formanee to your family and friends, j and I am sure they will be greatlv j amused.