Good puppeteering is much like good ball playing, the interest is in the ball but the ball always moves. It goes from player to player. Any player who holds the ball is the center of interest, some longer and some shorter. Your skill and cleverness can keep this sense of movement and interest in your puppets and their play. This smoothness is accomplished by your quickness in watching for the last words spoken by the speaker before you, which is called your cue; and also by your cleverness in planning ways to help out a puppeteer and his puppet who has difficult things to do. When the bear trainer, for example, commands his bear to stand on his head, the boy who is holding the bear’s controller must have time enough to make the difficult manipulation of the strings. If the puppeteers who manage the squires make their puppets lean forward and call out in surprise to each other, “What? A trick?” “The bear can do a trick.” “Look.” “Bravo!” “Bravo!” (as the bear succeeds in standing on its head), they will be of great assistance to the bear puppeteer. Here is an illustration of the way in which you can avoid awkward pauses. The Knave of Hearts, in the play by that name, steals some tarts and climbs out of the window. Now you can see that his puppeteer would need plenty of time in getting the knave through the window. Lady Violetta, who helps him steal the tarts, shows great excitement and cries to him to hurry, then she runs to the door, saying that she hears someone coming. Then she runs back again. She repeats this until the knave has made his escape. You can easily imagine how this clever trick excited the audience. Getting your puppet off the stage is just as important as getting it on. Time your exits so that there is no awkward pause between the last word spoken and the exit. You have imagined yourself sitting in the audience seeing a picture. Now can you imagine your disappointment when you cannot understand a single word the puppets say? Inexperienced puppeteers are apt to think that it is the high, loud voice that will reach the people in the last row of seats. Experienced puppeteers know that it is the clear, full, rich voice that carries. Address your words to those farthest away from you. Keep in mind that your voice must travel down and out through the proscenium arch. If your head is not lowered, your voice will strike the curtain, which will deaden it.