Storytelling & puppetry

[Buck-Beaver]

What are everyone's thoughts on the importance of story in their puppetry? What do people think about it? Do people think about it?

I guess what I mean is that most of the discussion here centers on technical things like how to build a puppet, how to puppeteer, lip sync, etc. and all of those things are very important but it's a little bit like learning to walk - it's extremely necessary but it's only a starting point.

Alot of MCers often praise the Muppet Movie (one of my favourites), which I think worked well because it was a good story with great characters and not because it was puppetry. There is a lot of talk all the time about how adults don't watch puppetry and I think it's nonsense, people watch interesting characters and stories.

For example, I read this post on story artist Jenny Lerew's blog about the importance of storytelling in animation and thought it was also very applicable to puppetry as well.

I started thinking about this because I am working with a dramaturge (sort of like an editor) on the scripts for a project I'm about to film and it's been a very educational but very painful process where I find a lot of stuff that maybe I wrote just because I thought of a cool puppet or neat character is getting tosses out because while the puppet/character might be cool or neat it's not serving the story. I was very hesitant and defensive going in to this process, but now I am finding that the result is much better scripts and stories.

Just throwing this stuff out there to hear what people think.

 

[robinthecrow]

I completely agree Buck. Storytelling is a prime key. At the moment I am in stale-mate with my own project, nice idea with the puppet but what's the story?

But yes, telling a story has always been my prime when starting a project.

 

[ChinoXL]

I have a project going on that is very much inspired by an anime series called cromartie high. This series is 100 percent random so it may be hard to follow for some people ( What the **** is going on and why is a horse galloping around in the school HALLWAY and why is one episode entirely based on humming) to me it's classic comedy and probably over some peoples heads.

Each character has there own individual story and own personality and own perspective of whats going on in the school filled with deliquents. One student wants to impress the leader of his group but he cannot get noticed because he always steals the leaders joke so someone else takes the spot a puppet vantrilaqest but strangley it isn't the student controlling the puppet but the puppet itself that is promoted to be his right hand man because the leader finds it hilariously entertaining

There's also Pootan. Yes loveable Pootan is really a middle aged man dressed up in a bunny puppet costume. Why? No one really knows. What we do know is Pootan is always talking about a generic day that has no story to it in a somewhat menacing tone.

These funny, individual and random stories combine into one story about a student in a delinquent school which I will try to apply my own similar comedy style to my own puppet series.

 

[ravagefrackle]

its very inportant, a solo puppet with no story , or purpose is not very interesting, it is something i feel a lot of the more recent puppet related shows on tv have failed to comprehned, many sem more interested in some pandering lesson then crafting a interesting story around the characters,

just got in from a pretty lengthy meeting about a new show that will be comming to the Puppetworks Theatre in Brooklyn ny this fall, and almost the entire meeting was focused on the story , the who,what ,where,when and why of the story , motivations, personalities,and confilcts, the puppet were actually almost a second thought ,with out a compelling story , all u have is a lot of things running around on stage with no purpose.

 

[Anita The Great]

If you really want to engage your audience (in live theatre, television, or film), you have to give them something to grasp onto--something to follow, to identify with. If you don't take the time to craft and engaging, entertaining story, you will not keep an audience interested. Stories inspire.

Good gags, are however, good for a giggle--they just won't get you as far without a good framework to pin them on.

 

[ChinoXL]

If you really want to engage your audience (in live theatre, television, or film), you have to give them something to grasp onto--something to follow, to identify with. If you don't take the time to craft and engaging, entertaining story, you will not keep an audience interested. Stories inspire.

Good gags, are however, good for a giggle--they just won't get you as far without a good framework to pin them on.

I agree with the fact a good storyline will keep people interested. However i feel that you can also get alot of credit and a good laugh if something is random. Yes, people like things they can relate to but also we seek things to escape reality in humour. Take for example Seinfeld, it's basically about nothing with no set story ....but I guess it depends on what your viewer is aiming for.

 

[puppetise]

they need a character they can live through like bigbird and kermit, Were they feel like there somwhat going through the same situation and after they feel enlightened by the experiance so they can walk off with ideas on how to deal with those things. I belive this is the best aproch as i want kids and adults to go through this...
just like in MTM when they all split up and almost every one feels at least a bit upset this is the best aprouch i believe

 

[Anita The Great]

I agree with the fact a good storyline will keep people interested. However i feel that you can also get alot of credit and a good laugh if something is random. Yes, people like things they can relate to but also we seek things to escape reality in humour. Take for example Seinfeld, it's basically about nothing with no set story ....but I guess it depends on what your viewer is aiming for.

But, even Seinfeld a show about "nothing" had characters that people could identify with, with their own unique story (background) and each episode did, in fact, tell a story; a story about the 'nothing' that happens to people every day. They told it with great jokes and gags, with characters you believed in.

So, even if you're going for a good laugh (not that their's anything wrong with that , you still need to have good characters and a story frame to hang it on.

...I'm not saying you need Shakespeare! You just have to have some kind of thru-line to drive the action, as complicated, or a simple as you like.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Seinfeld wasn't about nothing, it was just written to seem that way. It's one of the most brilliantly written sitcoms of all time. There was nothing random in the entire show. I there's an enormous amount of craft behind a lot of seemingly random humour. If you watch really great comedians, their stuff isn't usually off-the-cuff, they just make it look that way.

 

[ChinoXL]

I can't disagree there your both absolutely right