I am torn between which method of puppeting to do, I have two main choices in several fields::

First, how the puppets are made:
Muppet-style puppets (Large heads, arms on sticks).

Pros:   More expressive,
easier for audience to see.  
Easier to make as fewer tiny parts.

Cons: One puppeter per puppet, not very traditional.
Requires more room to pack.
requires more room for actions/large scenes/stage.
more work to MAKE.

Punch and Judy style puppets. (Hand controls mouthless head and both hands on thumb/pinkie finger)

Pros:
Can do two at once.
Packs easier
Less work (no having to synchronise mouth/voice)

Cons:  
Less expressive
Smaller, harder to see at a distance


I thought of several options for the style of play itself:

Muppet-Show style medieval variety show with 'guest stars' being historical figures, dance and song routines and jokes.

more traditional 'tell a story' type fairy tales with jokes, music and the like.

I am thinking of combining both, with the main story being a bunch of puppets who want to join a 'human' organization that is all about medieval warfare and arts and stuff (A fictional version of the SCA).  As the stories progress, they do 'interviews' to find out  more about the past for their studies, as well as try to get into this organization with various members preventing them joining or foiling it (Perhaps some antagonists?) as they do so, combined with the fairy stories they tell in their own performances during these adventures.

What do you think?

Ps - The stage! I was wondering how to set up the stage! If I do either of these, for running/fleeing scenes and the like, I was thinking of the puppeters standing up behind the curtain ala Muppets. However, this has a problem in that for live performances, that means the stages' edge is five to six feet high... meaning people will have to sit further away.    Would this work you think? I suppose we could try to find a small hill/some bleachers or something to set up, or just hope people can see.

Random thoughts....

We use the Muppet type puppets. Also use a stage where we stand behind the upper level or kneel for the lower level.  It's never been a problem for people sitting to see, you really do not want them right up against the stage (children especially tend to try to look inside).

There is a puppet company near me that does the Punch and Judy type puppets. Not very exciting (this is what I have heard from children) and they also say "they don't have mouths!"

Depends on who you are targeting, as today's kids know about Muppets and other big mouth puppets. People over 50 are familiar with P & J.

A puppeteer can do two big mouth puppets, unless they have to use a rod arm. Not all shows will require a rod arm.

well, this is for the SCa mostly,so more 'traditional' puppets would be more pleasing I think to many.  Traditionally P&J werent always for children, IIRC

I was wondering on the problem of size, how 'large' a mouthed puppet has to be?  could one be a smaller P&J size? (My pattern has Punch's head at four inches front to back, probably more like 3-3.5 when rounded)

Look at www.onewaystreet.com. You will see they have several different size people puppets as well as Funzels (click on "under $50).  This will give you an idea.
We have several sizes that we use, from very small to very large.

It sounds like a rod puppet with a moving mouth might be an idea, but then you would be talking about a lot more work.

Yeah. I may start with making a PnJ puppet, with a mouth, and then experiment from there.

My next concern is recruiting puppetters... I have a certain vision and I worry about what will happen if they disagree with what I want to do.

you are the boss when it comes to recruiting if you have a storyboard and show them what it is that you are looking for then there should not be a problem and if there is a problem then you show them the door

Since your target audience is SCA you should really go with hand glove puppets like P&J. While I know that not all chapters are as strict as others they normally expect things to be close to the time period that they recreate.

Personally, I would stick to the larger, "Muppet" type puppets. Kids and most adults are more familiar with the "Muppet" type puppets, but all the puppets don't have to be the same type. It PUPPETS, anything goes.

What you might consider is multiple puppets, where one puppeteer handles more than one puppet. I once had my small team, of five, on stage with eleven puppets. Two of the puppeteers were working 8 of the puppets, a three man horn line and a five lady chorus. The girl doing the chorus could have any amount, from one to all five, singing at once. I also did a five puppet, clogging chicken line, done as marionettes. See my gallery for a picture of the chickens.

The main problem with running multiple puppets is a certain "stiffness" that you get by having them in some type of holding mechanism that can be attached to the puppeteer. (not a good explanation)

Definitely, a two level stage. This allows you to have your chase go from one level to the other and back again and different scenes can vary from level to level.

Also, consider parts in the production, where you can use the same puppet (sort of generic) and just change a hat to present a new character.

Hope this helps,
Cruppetman

Another thought...I have seen more of the Bunraku type puppets, large puppets manipulated by one or two puppeteers. This is with both the puppeteer in all black or not covered at all (like Avenue Q)

Check back several postings for the company that was going out of business and selling all their "shows". I think one of the shows was something with the Bunraku style at a Medieval fair.