pieces of leather, which are 

 so arranged that the pup- 

 pet is able to imitate the 

 natural movement of the 

 hip. The knees and 

 ankles both have ball-and- 

 socket joints, but in the 

 case of the ankles the 

 movement is restricted so 

 that it is impossible for the 

 puppet to lose control of 

 its feet. 

 The puppets are controlled 

 by a number of fine strings which 

 are attached to a little wooden device 

 which looks a good deal like an air- 

 plane and which is called the control- 

 ler. The number of strings necessary to 

 control the puppet runs from fourteen 

 to twenty. The string has to be very 

 strong, yet fine because it would never do 

 for the audience to see it. After many 

 experiments, Mr. Sarg found that Japan- 

 ese trout line is the most satisfactory 

 material for the purpose. The line is 

 very fine, not as coarse as the thread 

 ordinarily used for sewing on shoe buttons, 



Popular Science Monthly 



IW 



./f^ 



yet it will support a weight < J 



of forty pounds. Although 



all colors and combina- 

 tions of colors have been 



tried, black is the color 



which is least visible to the 



audience. Experiments 



were even made in camou- 

 flaging the string after the 



manner of camouflaging 



submarine periscopes. But 



black has been found to 



have the lowest visibility. 



Two bridges are built over the 

 stage on which the puppets appear. 

 The puppeteers control the puppets from 

 these bridges. Each puppet has an ac- 

 tor who reads the lines. As the puppet 

 moves across the stage, the actor fol- 

 lows it on the bridge. In this way the 

 audience hears the voice always corrlng 

 from the part of the stage on which the 

 puppet is located. 



It is very difficult to train people to be 

 good puppeteers. The new puppets are 

 controlled by girls. Learning to control a 

 puppet is a good deal like learning to play 



The Stage Director and the Alwajs Pleasant Actors 



A scene in one of the plays. Look at tlie stage director wlio is speaking to the puppeteers on the bridge above 

 and you will get an idea of the size of the puppets. When seen alone they appear life-size, so cleverly are the 

 furniture and the stage settings designed. The fearsome skeleton is arranged to fall to pieces on request 



397 



