Knowing your puppets history and personality

This is a subject that we have not dealt with for several years. Since so many of you were not on our list that far back, it is timely that we address this topic for the new folks and also to review it for the older family members.

In order to portray to your audience that you have a close and personal relationship with your puppet, it is important that you know all about your puppet on a very personal basis..

We know that it is not reasonable to expect your puppet to sit down and tell you all about his/her autobiography. Even though we want our audience to think that our puppet is a living, breathing person, we do realize that is not the case. So. . . we have to get to be creative.

Sit down with your puppet next to you. Get a piece of paper and start writing his/her background. When was he/she born.? Where was it? What was his/her mothers name? Father? What did his father do for a living? Did his Mother work or was she a home body?

How man brothers and sisters did the puppet have? What were their names? Were they older or younger than your puppet? Make a list of Uncles, Aunts, Cousins and their names/ How about friends and neighbors? Girlfriends, Boyfriends?

Write about school experiences. Teachers names. Create a background for the puppet that is as comprehensive as your own background.

Once you have written it all down, read it several times until you are very familiar with the puppets history. Now with nobody else in the room, pick up the puppet and begin to talk to the puppet about his/her life. As you do this you will get to be more comfortable with the puppet and his history.

Make sure to jot down lines that come up naturally that are relevant to the puppets life and are maybe very funny. The better you know the puppet the more you can make him/her come alive for your audience.

Work on this. It is worth the investment of time. This is the technique that people like Jerry Clower used as he told stories about his childhood. Interweave the puppets life with yours.

This is the very technique that Jeff Dunham uses with Walter. When Walter comes out you know in advance that he is going to be grumpy. You know he is going to complain about his wife. Even though you know these things, you still look forward to seeing him so you can hear what is new in Walters life.

Work on this. You will soon have your audience looking forward to seeing your character so that they can hear more about him/her.

That is all for now.

Steve and JET