Make a Shadow Puppet Theater and Shadow Puppets

Make a Shadow Puppet Theater and Shadow Puppets
SHADOW THEATRE

SHADOW THEATER

MATERIALS FOR THE THEATER:

(1) Large cereal box 13 ½” x 7 ½”

Scissors

Box cutters

Masking tape or packaging tape

White glue or double-stick tape

Colored papers, i.e. construction paper, scrap booking papers, or material like craft foam or felt

Tracing paper or translucent papers

Small lamp

PROJECT:

  1. Measure the large cereal box and cut out the back. Tape down the sides of the box.
  2. Cut out a window in the front leaving 2” width wise and 1” lengthwise.  Discard   cardboard scraps or save them to use for another time.
  3. Select papers or felt or craft foam to cover the front and sides of the stage. Be colorful. The top, bottom, sides and the front of the stage do not have to match. Contrast colors and/or patterns.
  4. Measure the sides, top and bottom of the stage. Measure the front of the stage around the cut out window.  An easy way to measure the front is to turn it over, lay it on a sheet of paper and trace around the outside of the box and around the cut out. Cut the papers and glue them down.
  5. Measure the width and length of the window. Select either tracing paper or translucent paper and measure and cut it a slightly bigger than the window. Glue behind the stage so the ends of the paper won’t show.
  6. Test the lamp: does it work? The lamp will illuminate the puppets from behind.
  7. Add more embellishments such as columns or curtains.
  8. The Shadow Puppet Theater is (almost) ready to go!

BASIC APPROACH TO THE PROJECT OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS: MAKE SHADOW PUPPETS BASED ON STORIES OF THE CHINESE ZODIAC

The next step is to read the synopsis of the zodiac tale and make the shadow puppets. There are twelve stories, twelve animals and other characters that illustrate the stories of the Chinese Zodiac.

When looking for information on how to draw animals and people, select free downloads on the web. I have listed a handful of sites (below) but there are more. Be sure that the clip art is free!!

www.dragoart.com

www.wikihow.com

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/

MATERIALS:

White glue

Popsicle sticks

Dark paper

Scissors

Free clip art websites

PROJECT:

  1. Using free downloadable clip art, look up easy to follow instruction for tracing and cutting out the animals.
  2. Glue to a Popsicle stick and recreate the stories for friends and family. Charge a small fee and open the plays to the neighborhood.
  3. As a challenge, rewrite the endings to the stories or add or drop minor characters to make the stories unique!
  4. Act out the stories for friends and family!

 

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About marion

I first wrote and sketched as a child growing up in Pittsburgh, PA and Brooklyn, New York. I received her first recognition for my creativity when I won the New York City Schools Art Award and participated in my first art exhibit in downtown Manhattan. I was fourteen and a half when I moved to Cyprus with my family. I experienced culture shock but I continued to write about and sketch the sights and sounds of another country and many other things. I am a creative person. I write children's and Young Adult fiction and nonfiction. I write historical and Coming of Age Young Adult novels. I also write picture books and art books for elementary school children. I am in the process of writing a fictionalized biography of a member of the Belgian Resistance who also fought for the US Army during World War II. I worked as a freelance editor for two local companies: College Prowler and SterlingHouse Publisher. I also worked as an assistant literary agent for Lee Shore Agency. I was attending Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction Program at the time and the experience was invaluable. My course work toward my Master of Arts degree in turn helped me at work. As an assistant literary agent, I reviewed all incoming manuscripts, cultivated a relationship with the writers we contracted and marketed our books to book publishers for sale. I “freelanced” my editing skills which included working with the manuscript acquisitions editor, selecting book covers with the art department, writing the book jacket blurb, reading film scripts and executing general office duties as assigned. Oh, by the way, I edited books, too. I even utilized Adobe InDesign for the editing that I did for College Prowler. I’ve also reviewed published books and conducted research. I have published nonfiction articles and books online and in print. As an artist, I have exhibited my mixed media drawings and collages nationally and regionally and have worked as a freelance designer and calligrapher. I have a BA in Studio Arts from the University of Pittsburgh and a MA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University.

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