The Importance of Line of Sight

We would like to address a very simple issue. Line of Sight.

Every now and then we see a performer making a potentially big mistake with their character. When you are talking to someone, it is an important part of the conversation to
look directly at the person you are talking to. Make eye contact. This will let the person know that you are in fact “alive”.

Just as importantly, when you are letting your puppet talk to your audience, it is important that you the Vent are aware of the way that your character is looking. We all
know that the character is not “alive”, but it is your task to create and maintain the illusion of life in order to engage your audience.

When we see a Vent using his/her character and the character is just looking all over the place, or more commonly just staring that the floor or ceiling, effect is lost. The puppet just becomes a doll with a moving mouth. How do you overcome this problem?

When your puppet is either speaking or listening, it is important that both the head and THE EYES are pointing in the correct location to validate the dialog. If the puppet is speaking or listening to the Vent, its head and eyes should at least for a moment be looking at the Vent. The puppet can continue to look around the room, but should return to looking at the object of the conversation a good part of the time. When the puppet is talking to or harassing an audience member, make certain the puppet is maintaining eye contact with the person he/she is talking to.

Make sure to keep this in mind every time you practice or perform. It will soon become second nature and wont’ require the same level of concentration from you.

That’s all for now folks.

Steve & JET
The Dummy Shoppe | Puppets by JET