How are Hand Puppets Operated? Hand Puppets are quite easily operated. The puppet should move around the stage, which will be placed higher than the audience, and face more than one direction during the show. This creates a sort of liveliness that helps move the show along. Puppets will be slightly elevated above the stage so that it will look like it is walking around. As for when it talks, a hand puppets mouth should work like a humans- its bottom jaw opens a large amount and the top jaw barely moves. It is very important that the puppet is constantly moving, as other wise it looks like it is dead. The puppets movement should shift around, so that one moment it is moving its head and the next its arm. However it shouldn't move when another puppet is talking as this moves the point of focus from the other puppet to itself. How are Hand Puppets Voiced? Hand puppets are voiced by their puppeteer. While moving the mouth as said earlier, puppeteers should make sure that they are opening the mouth during each syllable and closing it strait after, instead of closing during the symbol. This is hard to do when the puppet is talking rapidly, so instead it is a good idea to use this technique on the first and last syllables of a word, as well as on the important ones. However most audiences will not notice if they unimportant syllables are missed out. The slower it is talking, the more important it is to make sure the puppet is 'saying' all the syllables. How are Hand Puppets Made and What are they Made of? Hand Puppets are usually stuffed with fur or other types of stuffing, and often have stitched noses, eyes and mouths. They could be made into anything, and because of the different types of puppet, from any type of fabric. Beads, ribbons, and buttons are often used for decoration. Hand Puppets can be made at home, using a paper pattern, which you cut out and place against two pieces of fabric. After cutting out the fabric, sew, embroider or paint the puppet the way you want it, before sewing the two sides together, wrong way up. Leave a hole in the top that is big enough to fit your hand. Flip through the hole, so that the right side is up. And there is your hand puppet!