Most people think of puppets on strings, or on the hand like a glove. Shadow puppets are flat puppets that throw silhouettes on one side of an illuminated screen, and are viewed by the audience from the other side. Light, color and animation make the characters come to life.

Shadow Puppetry is an ancient art that is said to have originated in China, when the emperor Wu-Ti, saddened at the death of a beautiful lady, commanded the court magician to bring her back. The magician produced Wu-Ti's true love by casting her shadow on a screen, and the emperor's sadness was lightened. Since then, shadow puppet plays have been presented in Asia and the Middle East to tell stories of history, legend and folklore.

HERE IS HOW IT WORKS

A puppeteer is manipulating a rabbit puppet with a long rod. Because the puppeteer stands behind the light, only the rabbit's shadow is visible to the audience.

When a puppet is held in front of a light and behind a translucent screen, its shadow is visible on the other side of the screen. To see the shadows clearly, you must make the room dark, except for the light that you are using for your shadow play, which is directed towards the screen. You can create a shadow screen from a bed sheet, white paper, movie screen -- or anything that will let light come through it. You can create the structure for holding the screen by thumbtacking or taping it in a doorway, on a frame, or over a box. The light source can be a flashlight, standing light, clip-on light or table lamp. You throw different shadows depending on where you put the light source and where you hold your puppet.

Shadow puppets are flat or two-dimensional, and they are hinged so that the parts can pivot, or turn. Rods, or long sticks, are attached and manipulated by the puppeteer. (The long rods allow the puppeteer to stand behind the light and move the puppet.)

Materials: Shadow puppets and shadow scenery can be cut from oaktag or cardboard.You can show colors by using transparent materials such as color tissue papers, cellophane, or clear plastic that you can draw on with ink markers. Use paper fasteners for hinges to create movement. Use sticks, straws or skewers for rods. They can be attached to the puppet with thumbtacks or scotch tape.