Thinking Puppets
This video highlights this idea about the puppeteer and the puppet being as one thought. This idea of that connection between the puppet's mind and the puppeteers' mind so that each knows the other's train of thought.
One interesting rehearsal score the do is placing one thought or idea with the puppeteers and seeing how that effects the puppets movement. They change and add thoughts to determine how the movement develops. They use positive and negative ideas to work the puppeteers through the puppets.
Some of the puppeteers an director were actually saying the thoughts out loud. Seemed that it being voiced helped the movement become more alive. The more people who channel that thought the easier the movement became to portray. It seemed important that each puppeteer was on the same trail of thought as each other and not just each one being connected to the puppet with their own trail of thoughts.
They start discussing their relationship with each other as puppeteers, explaining that some are natural leaders and some natural followers. A puppeteer may 'propose' something silently and the other will be lead by the proposer to follow through with this movement. But as they delve deeper into this understanding of proposals, it changes when more puppeteers enter the movement. As each body part that is being puppeteered can offer a different set of proposals within the movement. This development of proposals mixing together can offer an interesting sequence.
I think that it's important to always ask yourself, when performing with your puppet, 'would i be able to answer the question What is he thinking right now?' The connection between your thoughts and the puppets is so vital. If you are not in tune with your puppet the performance or movement will not be relatable or authentic i feel. It's that idea of thinking through, for and with a puppet.
They describe the body as thinking all the time. your feet may think, your hands your face etc. Within the puppeteers puppetry they can use this to discover and portray a more truer human being then an ordinary actor may do. With each body part being puppeteered differently with their own separate objective you get this conclusion of 'body of thought.' This kind of puppetry may highlight the multi brains in our bodies and our nature of thought.
