The Heart of the Puppet: Finding Inner Life and Truth within Puppet Theatre

Abstract

This project is an exploration of my personal journey with puppet theatre and my own philosophies surrounding it. The medium through which I explore these ideas is the final production of a fully realized scene from the play Ubu and the Truth Commission by Jane Taylor. This process is primarily documented through a director's prompt book which includes information on play selection, puppet designs, puppet construction photos, dramaturgical research, script analysis, process logs, blocking notes, and inspirational images needed to conduct the scene. Once I reflected on this process and compiled all of my materials, I decided to share it with others outside of the theatre department at the Undergraduate Research Symposium at Salem State University. This thesis is important to me because it has allowed me to explore my own artistic range as a director and a designer. This thesis is important to my discipline and my community because it exposes people to the art form of puppet theatre which they may not have come across in such a way otherwise.