Promote Reading Through Puppets
by Peter Brizzi, director of The P&T Puppet Theatre

Puppetry, as a medium, is particularly suited as a communication tool for children of grade school age. In an era of ever-expanding visual stimulus, I am often amazed to see how a simple puppet rivets the attention of a child. It is no wonder that puppets have been standard fare in all children's programs. Let's examine some of the reasons for this.

The Puppet: an egoless person

Gordon Craig, the English stage designer and producer said:
"What are men? Egoists...What are marionettes? Men without egoism. Being egoists, men do well to interpret what they know best, that is, themselves. Not being egoists, marionettes are with us to interpret other things." (From, The Marionette, 1918).

A puppet can say and do what would be offensive if said by another person. We identify with their foibles and dilemmas and learn about ourselves while being entertained. When working with a child on a personal problem it is often beneficial to tell them about "another boy or girl", rather than confronting them on their own shortcomings. Puppets do the same, they give us a view of truth that is palatable.

Hans Christian Andersen said in his fable, This Fable Is Intended For You, " Wise men of ancient times ingeniously discovered how to tell people the truth without being blunt to their faces. You see, they held a magic mirror before the people, in which all sorts of animals and various wondrous things appeared, producing amusing as well as instructive pictures. They called these fables and whatever wise or foolish deeds the animals
performed, the people were to imagine themselves in their places and thereby think, ' This fable is for you!' In this way no one's feelings were hurt."

Puppets versus TV, movies, and multimedia

The average child does not truly "watch" television attentively. They talk, get up, play, run out of the room, etc. The problem is one of focus. Flat screen media, whether TV or movies, do the imagining for you. You are presented with a facsimile of reality, predigested, all that is needed is to accept what you see. Modern movie special effects use slow motion to help you "see" what the eye could never see; a bullet moving through the air for example. The continual shifting of scene (how the illusion of reality is sustained through this media) creates a restless, shallow mental focus in the viewer. This is not conducive to the promotion of reading, which takes mental focus and promotes the use of imagination and the communication of deep thought.

Puppets, because of their limitations, rely on a connection with the audience to make the story come alive. There is an invisible thread of communication between the puppeteer and the audience that is essential; there must be the stimulation of the audience's imagination to believe. After a performance of Hans Christian Andersen's The Pea Blossom, we had a little boy in the audience ask how we got the peas to fly through the air. In the story, a little boy shoots peas at a pigeon with his pea shooter. We didn't actually have the peas shoot through the air, we merely alluded to it with action and sound. I told the child,"You made the peas fly through the air. You imagined it happening so you saw it happen!" I'll never forget the look on his face as he realized what I had told him, the lights went on in his young mind! Puppetry, by creating a strong imaginative tie, produces an intense focus much akin to being absorbed in good book.

Promotion of reading through puppetry

My wife and I have raised two children, a boy and a girl, to love reading. They are both young adults and are avid readers. One tool that we used was reading aloud to them. A child may develop into a strong reader at a young age, but because of their lack of experience can miss much of what they read. By reading to them aloud, I could bring in all the interpretive skills of an adult storyteller and really make the book come alive. This did not inhibit them from reading themselves. On the contrary, it whetted their appetite and expanded their view of what they read. We continued reading aloud to our children until they were twelve years old. We still like to read aloud to each other some amusing part of a book that we are reading. Puppetry works in the same way; it expands the view of the story to the child, stimulates his or her imagination, and whets their appetite for more. You can capitalize on a puppet assembly in your school or library and fuel your student's appetites for reading!

Capitalizing on an event

When seeing a play, ballet, or opera, the more you know of the story the more you will enjoy it! My wife and I are saddened when we perform at a school where the children are not properly prepared for the event. Here are some ideas on preparation for the event and follow through after:

Prior to the Event
Read the story aloud to the children.

Bring related background material to the children, ie, biography of the author, the times when the story was written, historical significance of the story, authors that were inspired by the person, etc.

Take a trip to the library and have the children get books to read of other stories by the author. (Can also be done after the event).

Watch a video, or listen to a tape of the story or other stories by the author.

The Event
Instruct the children how to behave in an assembly, to best enjoy it.

Discuss possible questions the children could ask if the opportunity arises.

Arrange for your class to meet with the puppeteers after the assembly for a close up view and questions.

Provide class time immediately after the assembly to discuss the story. Promotion of discussion helps the children to assimilate what they have viewed.

After the Event
Have the children pick a story to perform as a puppet show. Build simple puppets and perform for parents, other classes (see sheet on puppet building).

Have the children write a sequel to the story. Example; write a story of what happened
after the Grasshopper and the Ant went into Ant's house, and how they spent their time in the winter underground.

Have an art contest. Have the children draw or paint a scene from the story. Display them in the room and give prizes.

Have a reading contest. Prizes for the amount of books read, comprehension, etc.

Have the children write letters to the puppeteers. Mail the letters to the puppeteers with a request for a response.

About the P&T Puppet Theatre

Peter Brizzi has been performing with puppets since 1979. He is a member of The Puppeteers of America, and UNIMA International, the international puppetry organization. He is on the artist roster of The Cultural Council of Monterey County, The San Benito County Arts Commission, and Young Audiences of San Jose and Silicon Valley.

He has taken his puppets to thousands of children and families from Monterey County to the Bay Area. He has performed at countless schools, libraries, private and corporate parties, recreation centers, churches, festivals and theater venues. His puppetry has been enjoyed around the country, on television, and in Budapest, Hungary. The following is from one of his brochures:

"It is a great privilege for me to be able to acquaint young people with the classics and the arts through the medium of puppetry. Puppetry is a great way to introduce children to the arts, as it encompasses them all: music, sculpture, painting, dance, theater, poetry, and literature. For many children a live puppet show is their first introduction to theater. I want to inspire children to read and to discover the wealth of literature that has stood the test of time. I also hope to promote values that build character, to provide entertainment that has depth and meaning, that plants seeds of thought for the child's future development. I hope to instill an appreciation of beauty through my performances."