Marionettes, masks and shadows — John Stuart Mill — John Shaqi
Marionettes, masks and shadows
John Stuart Mill · en
It is not at all difficult to make a shadow play if one knows what the
requirements are. The first requirement of either a cut-out shadow play
or a human play is that its story shall have action. In this it is like
a movie. You will recall how keenly you enjoy the action in such movies
as _Robin Hood_ and the _Black Pirate_. The second requirement is a
dramatic plan or problem. This is necessary in order to hold the
attention of the audience. For example, the dramatic plan or problem in
the _Black Pirate_ is the struggle of the hero to free himself from the
pirates. Your attention is held by this struggle. The third requirement
is the selection of the most important and interesting characters in the
play. Since the success of a shadow play depends upon interesting
silhouettes, each character must have individuality. No two silhouettes
should be alike, either in appearance or size. As an illustration of
this, notice that the shadow figures at the top of page 215 are of
different appearance and height. Lastly, the settings of a shadow play
should be very simple and suggestive and help to tell the story.
Nursery rhymes and fables, folk and fairy tales are delightful material
for cut-out shadow plays. They are vivid, humorous, and fanciful. They
are full of direct conversation which can be carried on by the
puppeteers behind the screen or by a reader in front of the screen. In
the following list you may find a story to turn into a cut-out shadow
play. Nursery rhymes such as: _Little Bo Peep_, _Old King Cole_, _The
Knave of Hearts_, _A Frog Who Would A-Wooing Go_, and _The House That
Jack Built_. Fables such as those of Æsop, La Fontaine, and Bidpai. Folk
and fairy tales, such as: _Cinderella_, _Beauty and the Beast_, _Jack
and the Beanstalk_, _The Three Little Pigs_, _The Elves and the
Shoemaker_, _Seven at a Blow_, _Snow White and the Dwarfs_, _The Three
Bears_, _Red Riding Hood_, _Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp_, _Sleeping
Beauty_, _The Mermaid_, _Just-So Stories_, _Three Billy Goats Gruff_,
_The Traveling Musicians of Bremen_, and _The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Town_. Bible stories can be turned into beautiful shadow plays. For
example, David and Goliath, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, Jonah and the
Whale, and Joseph and His Brethren.