Make a shadow puppet performance
Follow this simple step-by-step guide to make your own shadow puppet performance inspired by RAMM’s natural sciences collection.
What will I need?
- Paper or card. The joy of shadow puppetry is that it doesn’t matter if it has been drawn or written on. A cardboard box such as a cereal packet would be perfect. It is simply the shape you need. TIP: if using paper, fold in half before drawing the puppet so it is thicker.
- Pencil
Table full of resources needing including Card, Pencil, Scissors, Sticky tape, Sticks, Split pins, Light, White sheet
- Scissors
- Sticky tape
- Sticks or something to support and work your puppet eg. garden canes, straws, thick card, paper rolled into a thin tube.
- Split pins or something to hinge parts of the puppets. A small metal screw screwed through the two pieces will work. REMEMBER, you can put on an amazing shadow puppet performance using puppets without any hinged parts.
- Light source. This can be a table lamp, desk lamp, torch, even your phone torch
- White sheet. You can perform against a wall, as the picture shows BUT EVEN BETTER, stretch a white sheet between two chairs. With your puppets and the light source behind the sheet, you can work your magic.
Planning your performance
You will need a story line before deciding on your characters and any scenery. If you are good at thinking up your own stories, that would be great. OR you could use one you already know.
Decide if your characters are going to speak or if you are going to narrate (telling your audience what is happening).
Write down your script. It doesn’t have to be long as a good short performance can be very enjoyable for an audience.
Making your puppets
RAMM has lots of amazing animals, birds and insects in its collection. Check out some RAMMs Animal ideas or look at zoology section of our website for some great ideas.
If you are making a puppet with moving parts, which parts will move? For example, a waving arm, a kicking leg or a nodding head. Keep it simple, as it is hard to move lots of different parts.
Step-by-step guide
Step 1 – Draw the puppet onto the card or thick paper. Draw each part separately, as you will join them together once they are cut out. You will need to draw a complete body so the parts can be attached. Now carefully cut out the separate pieces of the puppet.
Step 2 – To make the joints of the puppet, make a hole and attach two pieces together using a paper fastener OR screw a small metal screw through both pieces. Make sure the joint is not too tight.
Step 3 – If you want to make your puppets more interesting, why not cut out patterns in the middle of it? When you use them on the shadow screen, the light will shine through the holes
Step 4 – Now you need your sticks but you can used thinly rolled paper. Hint: roll it around a pencil before taping it.
Step 5 – Tape your sticks or thin paper tubes to your puppet. These will make your puppet move. You will need one for the body and one for each moving part.
Step 6 – Now set up your theatre by stretching a bed sheet across two chairs. Find a way of putting your light source behind the sheet so it will shine on it. Now darken the room, get your puppet ready and wow your audience with your performance.
Headdress Shadow Performance
Have you seen the Lion King performance on the West End stage? The actors wear headdresses to become the animals. You could do the same for a shadow puppet performance.
You will need to make a band of paper or card to go around your head and stick on the characters and scenery you have made
Example of a shadow puppet hat featuring a lion and a gazelle
Example of a snail-shaped shadow-puppet hat
Example of a shadow-puppet hat featuring a hunter with a spear
Example of a shadow puppet hat
Silhouettes
While you have the sheet up with the light source behind, why not ask a member of your family to sit behind so you could draw their silhouette on a piece of paper? Do they recognise themselves? If you cut it out and stick it onto a piece of paper of a different colour, it will look great.
Example of somebody’s silhouette to draw around