MARIONETTES.
BY F. CHASEMORE.
These funny little people when well managed will afford great amusement
at holiday and Christmas-tide gatherings. To see these little ladies and
gentlemen dancing and singing and even lecturing on the miniature stage
is very laughable, especially as they are only eighteen inches high. The
following hints will enable any lad to make the figures, as well as a
portable stage, for this entertainment.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 4.]
For the stage you must get some deal strips 1-1/4 inches square, and cut
into four lengths 3 feet 6 inches long for the front and back
cross-pieces; four 3 feet long for the uprights; and four 2 feet 6
inches long. These are to be fitted together with a mortise and tenon at
each end of the cross-pieces, as in Fig. 2. The uprights are to have
plain ends, with a screw-hole in each end. A screw-hole is to be made
right through each corner of the top and bottom frames to screw them to
the uprights by. Fig. 3 will show how the corners are fitted, in which A
is the upright, B is the top front cross-piece, and C is one end
cross-piece. The stage is formed of some half-inch board cut long enough
to rest on the back and front bottom cross-pieces, as seen in Fig. 1,
which is a view of the stage when finished and ready for use. You may,
if you would like it more ornamental, put on a cardboard proscenium, but
it would be in the way of portability, as when removed to take the stage
to pieces it would get broken. The top, ends, and back are closed in
with curtains, each curtain fastened by hooks to the cross-pieces, so
that they can be taken off for packing purposes. The back curtain is to
be long enough to hang down about one foot below the stage, and is to be
put on very full, with numerous pleats. In the middle of this back
curtain, cut a vertical slit about one foot long and about nine or ten
inches above the stage, and round this slit stitch some elastic cord.
This slit can be seen in Fig. 1. The front of the stage is closed with
two curtains which meet in the middle, and can be drawn up to exhibit
the figures. Fig. 4 is a back view of these curtains, with a part of the
upper frame to show how they are drawn up by the cords.
[Illustration: Fig. 5.]
[Illustration: Fig. 6.]
The curtains are fastened permanently to the inside of the front top
cross-piece. The cords are sewn one on each, at the edges that meet in
the middle when the curtains are down, at a distance down from the top
equal to the width of the top of each (as in Fig. 4). Six small rings
are sewn on the inside of each curtain in a diagonal direction to the
top corner, and the cords are threaded through these rings. On the
inside of the cross-piece and at each end and in the middle are screwed
small picture-rings (as seen in the figure); and underneath the back
cross-piece at the left-hand corner is screwed another picture-ring. The
cord of the left-hand curtain is passed through the left-hand ring; the
right cord is passed through the right-hand ring, and led through the
middle ring, and then through the left-hand ring also, and then the two
cords are knotted together and passed through the ring in the back
cross-piece. A loop is made in the end of the cord to pull the curtains
up by. At the bottom of the left-hand back upright a brass hook or screw
is screwed in to hook the loop on to, to keep the curtains up. Now the
stage is finished and ready for the figures. The curtains at back and
sides must be of some dark material. The figures must be about twelve
inches high without the head, and must be made headless. The body and
limbs must be made of some light material, and yet solid. Virgin cork is
a very good material to make them of, and is easily worked. Fig. 5 will
show you how the body and limbs are made. The arms have no joint at the
elbow; the legs are jointed at the knees. The arms and thighs are hung
to the body by tapes, and the knee-joints are also made of tape. All
these joints must be very loose and free. The upper end of each arm and
the upper ends of the thighs must have a hole bored into them about two
inches deep (as shown by the dotted lines in Figs. 5 and 6). The
fore-fingers of your hands are to be inserted in these holes through the
curtain at the back, and through holes in the clothes of the figures
left for that purpose, and by moving your fingers you can make the
figures gesticulate or dance at pleasure. Fig. 7 will show you how this
is managed. Fig. 6 is a back view of the body and a side view of the
limbs. The body has a recess cut in the upper part of the back (as in
Fig. 6). This is to allow of your neck fitting into it to let your head
take the place of the head of the figure. The shoulders of the body are
worked out to project a little over the arms, and the lower part of the
body is cut away (as in Fig. 6) to allow of the legs fitting in their
places. The hands can be made closed or open, but a good plan is to have
the right hand closed and a hole bored through it (as in Fig. 6), when a
stick can be placed in it. The body and limbs should be carved
carefully, and to as good a shape as your anatomical knowledge will
allow. The figures must be dressed in fancy costume--in coat, waistcoat,
breeches, stockings, shoes, etc. The female figures must be dressed in
light materials. In all the figures the clothes are fastened up the
back, and the collar of the coat and the necktie are prolonged into a
band to fasten round your neck with a button (as seen in Fig. 7). You
must make this part of the dress very carefully, so as to disguise as
much as possible the junction of the real with the artificial figure.
This will be aided by the curtain at the back being very full, as the
folds will hang closely round your neck. You must paint your face to
suit the character of the figure, and put on fancy hats, also in
character.
[Illustration: Fig. 7.]
To use the stage and figures. First put your frame together and screw it
securely. Then put on your curtains and put in the stage-boards, which
need not be fastened. Thread the cords through the rings, and see if
they work properly. When all is right, place the stage on a table with
the back towards you, and flush with the back edge of the table, and
hang a tablecloth over the table, hanging to the ground at the front and
sides to hide your legs. Place your figures on the ground underneath the
table, and have a chair to sit down on behind the stage. Now choose your
first figure, make your face up, put on a suitable hat, and hang the
figure round your neck, as in Fig. 7. Now push the figure and your head
through the slit in the back curtain, and your fingers in the holes in
the legs and arms; and, while some one is playing a lively air on the
piano, pull the curtain up, and commence your performance. If you can
have help in pulling the curtain, do so, as it will leave your hands
free. The legs can be worked with one hand, but the arms must have one
hand each; but while the figure is gesticulating his legs will be still,
so that you will have both hands at liberty. And if you use your left
hand for the legs (using the two first fingers, one to each leg), you
will be able to make the figures move one arm at the same time it is
dancing. Of course you will have to learn one or two songs to suit the
characters of the figures. You need not have more than two figures, as,
if you have an assistant he can be changing the clothes of one while you
are exhibiting another.
With this stage and figures, a lad with a good voice and plenty of
comicality will be able to give from half to an hour’s entertainment.
When the performance is over, take the stage to pieces and pack it up,
rolling it up in the curtains. It will go into a very small compass.