Tabletop Puppet

Tabletop Puppetry

The term tabletop puppetry is fairly recent, used to describe puppets worked in ways other than previous methods of being puppeted from above (marionettes, etc) or below (hand puppets). Tabletop puppetry is generally considered to have evolved from the discovery and adaptation of the Japanese Bunraku in Europe and America and so they share several traits- e.g. the closeness and visibility of the puppeteers and methods of manoeuvring the puppets.

Contemporary European/Western tabletop puppets are generally quite small in size, although this can vary. Controls of these puppets are usually rods, one to control the head and then others to control the moveable limbs, which in more complex puppets can be jointed to make the puppet more articulated. The head rod can also have mechanisms inside that allow the face to move, usually and most simply opening the mouth. Other methods can be used, either simply direct handling of the puppet or more complex constructions based around the rods idea.

The set pieces and performance are often done on a raised surface, due to the size and mechanics of the puppets, hence the name tabletop puppetry.