Hi, I found puppets and stuff while searching for knowledge on making puppet hair. I found it here! Now I have spent far too much time here, but there are sure a lot of tremendous resources.

I use my puppets in church, and on short term mission trips to Moscow, Russia orphanages at Christmas time. What fun!

Welcome to Puppets And Stuff!!  You will love it here!!  Please share all about yourself and your puppets!!

Welcome to Puppets and Stuff. You are so right they are fun and it must be a Blessing in your Ministry work. What did you want to know about making puppet hair there are many tutorials here some where in the site if you can't find them let me know.

Billy D.

   It great to have new puppeteers.  It sounds like you have some great experience with performance.  We love pictures and videos so please feel free to share.

Are you from puppethub?  I saw your question earlier.  Welcome.  Nicebraga used to have a video on you tube that I was going to refer you to, but they must have pulled it.  Glad you found something here!

Welcome to Puppets and Stuff. You are so right they are fun and it must be a Blessing in your Ministry work. What did you want to know about making puppet hair there are many tutorials here some where in the site if you can't find them let me know.

Billy D.

Well, I just finished making the loom for some yarn wigs from your tutorial. That was what brought me here, and I'll just keep poking around.

  It great to have new puppeteers.  It sounds like you have some great experience with performance.  We love pictures and videos so please feel free to share.

I have a couple pictures up in the gallery.

The shows I make for Russia are my big deal. Most of the puppets I make, a few are purchased. I choose a story, create a script and then have it professionally translated. Once I get it back, I have to look up all the words I don't know (which is usually most of them) so that I can get the accent on the right syllables.

Then I record all the parts into the computer, edit out the mistakes, (at least the ones I find), add in music and sound effects. Mix it together and I have a soundtrack.

Costumes, backdrop, sound, it's all my production. I travel with Volunteers-in-Mission out of West Virginia where we visit in orphanages around Moscow. Our first three days we are divided up in teams to stay in different orphanages in the region. From the group I am assigned to, I recruit folks to help me do the show. We practice a few times, then start showing it. It's a real kick to do it with folks who 1. Have never worked with puppets before, and 2. Don't understand Russian.

I've learned to put in sound cues to the soundtrack that are unique to each puppet to help the puppeteer know when to enter and exit.

At any rate, there is a brief clip of last year's show, called "The Sea King's Daughter." It comes from an old Russian folk tale.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=wzTlFeCcy6U

This clip is from 2004-2005. The show is the story of Martin the shoemaker, from Leo Tolstoy's short story, "Where Love Is, There Is God, Also." As you can see from the clip, we visit senior homes, in addition to the orphanages.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=7vaKtp2jMvE&feature=user

Wow pictures and video we are one lucky group.  Thanks for sharing your work with us and nice to hear all the great traveling you do to spread puppetry around and have it appreciated.

Please don't hesitate to share any knowledge you have with us.....

By the way......Welcome!


Daryl H

Where is West Virginia is the mission?  My son goes to college in Morgantown.  He is majoring in creative dramatics and puppetry.  How often do you go to Russia?  How did you get started with that?  You must know Russian in order to do the recording.  I am curious as to how you got started and how you go about planning and implementing your trips!  Thanks for sharing the videos and pictures!  Have you ever gone to a One Way Street festival?

Where is West Virginia is the mission?  My son goes to college in Morgantown.  He is majoring in creative dramatics and puppetry.  How often do you go to Russia?  How did you get started with that?  You must know Russian in order to do the recording.  I am curious as to how you got started and how you go about planning and implementing your trips!  Thanks for sharing the videos and pictures!  Have you ever gone to a One Way Street festival?

Oh boy, questions, questions, questions! Our mission teams come from all over the state, and other states as well. The program is a part of the United Methodist Church, so this is the West Virginia "branch" of Volunteers in Mission. You can see more about them at http://www.wvvolunteersinmission.com.

I would love to take some of the puppetry courses at WVU, I want to learn more and more about the production side of the art. I go to Russia once a year. The trip goes from Dec. 28 through Jan 10. This will be my sixth trip there, and the ninth Christmas trip for Volunteers in Mission.

I have wanted to do a mission trip to Russia for years and years. I have been praying for folks in Russia since high school. (a loooong time) When the VIM coordinator gave a talk to a group I was with about the trips, he described the Christmas trip as a chance simply to bring joy to kids. That was something I could do. So I started fund-raising, and now I am headed back yet again.

That makes things easy for me. I am only in charge of me (and my friends that travel in the suitcases). The VIM coordinator puts everything together. He even arranges a bus or van that travels around WV picking up team members to take us to the first airport in Washington, D.C.

There's going to be a One Way Street Summerfest day in Hurricane, WV in Sept., and I plan to be there.