Christian Puppetry

[wes]

You are preachig to the Choir,

I second that and amen!!

 

[rtgentry]

Sorry I should state that I dont expect someone who does not want to lower their price. If a builder feels led to do so then That is great. I buy puppets at the normal price. I never mention it is for church.
I use them for personal use also.

I have custom puppets , commercial puppets, my own sorry sewn puppets, and they all work great with the right technique, writing and timing.

I was thinking of those who complain about the quality of the puppets themselves along with the poor performance.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

You know I'm a big believer in the power of a good idea. What bugs me more so than anything else isn't the quality of performance, or the puppets but (from what I've seen) the lack of ideas.

Maybe I'm making huge generalizations here, but quoting scripture and telling bible stories can be done by anyone. I think that Christians (or members of any other religion for that matter) who want to use puppetry as an aspect of their faith should use it as a medium of self-expression. Don't rely on stock puppets and generic scripts, use puppetry to tell me something. Talk to me. Communicate your ideas, beliefs, values and why they're important to you as a member of your religion. Use puppetry to start a discussion and build a bridge between your community and others.

I think there's few, if any, groups doing that right now because it's hard. It's not the money, the skill or expertise that's the problem. It takes a lot of work, thought, creativity, and (dare I say it) faith.

It's much easier to just hit like-minded people over the head with a big, fat dogmatic club.

 

[Phantom]

Point well made. I've often bemoaned the "dryness" of most skits, but to be honest, mine aren't much better. I recognize this fact and have expressed the desire to change that and have studied not only inspriational text, but comedy and drama writing books. Like any other art form, it takes time and practice to refine these skills. I would like to think I am pushing that way, however I haven't dedicated enough time to writing.

My last skit was better and maybe I can alter it enough to be posted. (It focused on money and the setting was a local town festival which was going on at the time.) Many of my skits are for a specific performance which (although may be self-imposed) limits my creativity.

My cousin is incredibly gifted in this capacity. I've been encouraging him to write more skits. Again, for me, it's the log-in-the-eye syndrome.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Don't fall in to the trap of putting down yourself or your own work though. In discussions like this there are often people saying "I'm not that good". That's irrelevant and it's usually not true anyway. Honest self-criticism is important and I'm sure there's things about everyone's puppetry work that they'd like to improve (most certainly true in my case), but I think it's not about jumping over the bar, it's about how high you set it for yourself.

Big ideas + high standards + hard work = great puppetry.

 

[Vic Romano]

I will say I am very pleased to see puppeteers like wes and Phantom and others who've posted here, pushing the envelope to end the bad stigma of Puppet ministry. Keep up the geat work.

 

[Phantom]

I'm just trying to be the best me I can be. That's why I'm here... Thanks.

 

[bdfuller]

This has been a very interesting discussion, I agree with a lot of points that are being directed to the lack of quality in Christian Puppetry. I don't think that anyone should lower prices of puppets, give anything away free, or change the method of puppet building to suit one group of people.
I agree that people should be more artistic in there ablity as puppeteers and there jobs in Christian Ministries. It is great that these things are out in the open and on the table so to speak.
My question to you now that everyone has voiced a opinion of bad Christian Puppetry.
" What can we do as people to make a change in this Christian Community ?"
" How many of you are willing to donate your time to go out as the Disciples did and educate those that are lost and un-informed about the correct way a puppet program should be conducted?"
" How do we reach these Christians, to tell them what there doing wrong?"
This has been a eye opening experience for me, and I am wondering what will be the outcome of this discussion... I certainly will change my outlook on how I look at things from now on.
Now I have to look at how I can change, and what part can I play in making a difference in the Christian Community.
I would like to thank each of you for your honesty, We don't always have to agree but we all strive for the same things... and that is to make a better world in which to live.
I think that much good will come from these discussions.. Hopefully churches will take notice and learn.
BDF

 

[RevTieDye]

Off-Putting-ness

I am Jewish, and this thread is slightly offputting to me.

I can understand discussing the puppetry factor, but quoting the bible and Jesus refferences... I think those should be PMed or discussed elswhere.

I have compleet and total respect for all of you (which I hope I get back in return!), bu in my opinion, this is not the place...

sorry if this offends anybody.

I understand your point of view. And I'm sorry that it puts you off. But the thread is titled "Christian Puppetry." I'd be fascinated if I found a thread called "Jewish Puppetry." And I'd be bummed (disappointed) if I found that it was just a bunch of Jewish puppeteers discussing the same aspects of puppetry that are found everywhere else on these boards. I'd want to find out what makes Jewish Puppetry unique. I'd be put off if I found myself in a thread called "Puppets & Porn." But you know what? I'd never enter a thread with that title.

That being said, some of us are Christians with a passion for puppetry, and so we use it as a way of expressing our faith. Others are Christians that see Puppetry as a tool to be used in Christian ministry, and pick it up expressly for that purpose. Some of these, I think are the real culprits when it comes to giving "Christian Puppetry" a bad rap--because they don't take the time to master the craft. Which is too bad, because the Bible is pretty clear (not quoting, just summarizing) that we should always give our very best, especially when it comes to what we do in ministry.

I hope my tone came accross as friendly and open. But I'm afraid my comment about "puppets & porn" might sound condescending, but I really didn't mean it like that.

(then again, does anybody ever MEAN to be condescending? Or is it just inherent in their own sense of...okay now I'm definitely off-topic)

 

[wes]

This has been a very interesting discussion, I agree with a lot of points that are being directed to the lack of quality in Christian Puppetry. I don't think that anyone should lower prices of puppets, give anything away free, or change the method of puppet building to suit one group of people.
I agree that people should be more artistic in there ablity as puppeteers and there jobs in Christian Ministries. It is great that these things are out in the open and on the table so to speak.
My question to you now that everyone has voiced a opinion of bad Christian Puppetry.
" What can we do as people to make a change in this Christian Community ?"
" How many of you are willing to donate your time to go out as the Disciples did and educate those that are lost and un-informed about the correct way a puppet program should be conducted?"
" How do we reach these Christians, to tell them what there doing wrong?"
This has been a eye opening experience for me, and I am wondering what will be the outcome of this discussion... I certainly will change my outlook on how I look at things from now on.
Now I have to look at how I can change, and what part can I play in making a difference in the Christian Community.
I would like to thank each of you for your honesty, We don't always have to agree but we all strive for the same things... and that is to make a better world in which to live.
I think that much good will come from these discussions.. Hopefully churches will take notice and learn.
BDF

Here Here I agree!

I will say I am very pleased to see puppeteers like wes and Phantom and others who've posted here, pushing the envelope to end the bad stigma of Puppet ministry. Keep up the geat work.

Thanks Vic, It's got to be change for the betterment og puppetry kind, and most importantly for the Message that were are trying to get across!