How to perform shadow theatre

1. The light，the shadow，the show

According to ancient legends, shadow theatre first was performed in China 2000 years ago. All you need is a light, some thin cloth or paper and some figure. In the past, these figures were made from animal skins, Nowadays because we have brighter lights, we can make even bigger shadows and we ourselves can become a shadow. If we are close to the light or far away from the light we can become bigger and small on the screen. You can create a magical world all by yourself.

2. Endless creative Possibilities

In the stories you will find there are many very special characters that you can make in a very creative way. You can use many different types of paper to make the characters, as long as the paper is strong, but not too thick. The thicker papers, such as cardboard, should be used for making weapons. Sometimes we can fix a stick of wood behind the character or prop to make it stronger. The colour of the paper is not very important as the shadows will be black.

3. How to make a shadow puppet

Tools: encil, scissors, cutter, medium strength paper, translucent paper,brads, tape, sticks and wire.

★Draw the shape of the puppet on the paper. If there are moving parts,like a head or hands, draw them separately.

★ Cut out the drawn part or parts. Make sure that with the separate parts you leave room to fix them together.

★ Make a hole in the parts that need to be connected. This can be done by cutting an X in the places that need to be connected. Place the two parts that need to be connected on top of each other and connect them with a brad.

★Fix stick to the body and the moving parts of the figure. The stick can be fixed with a brad or tape. The stick for the body is to control the whole figure, the other stick(s)control the moving part(s).

4. How to make a shadow puppet mask or hat

Tools: pencil, scissors, cutter, good strength paper, translucent paper,double-sided tape, translucent plastic sheet

★When we make a shadow mask we first draw the shape of our own heads on a big piece of strong paper, then we draw the shape of the character’s face in front of the shape of our own head.

★We cut out the whole shape and then we cut out the inside of the face of the character and leave a border of about 0.5 cm. at the edge of the face of the character.

★We fix the sheet of translucent plastic on the part we just cut out with double sided tape. We cut the edges of the translucent plastic and we paste mouths and eyes on it to complete the character. You can also add some translucent paper to make some color effects.

★To fix the mask on the head we first make a long strip of paper of about 5 cm. wide and fix it around the head right above the ears. When the strip fits well around the head fix it with tape or staple it.

★To make a hat you can use a strip as mentioned above and adorn it with feathers and translucent paper etc.

5. Finding the right light

Traditional shadow theatre used to be performed with an oil lamp.The light would be rather weak and the shadows needed to be pressed against the screen in order to be clear for the audience to see. Modern electrical lights are much stronger and result in an improvement of the performance technique. You can use the light of any type of projector or a strong light bulb(over 100 watt). They all provide a great result, but be careful not to burn your fingers.

6. Rehearsals:everybody is a star.

Every performance is the result of many rehearsals. We need a storyteller, people who perform the backdrops, and the shadows and people who are shadows themselves. The storyteller must speak clearly and alter his voice for the different characters. The performers must act with precision, so we know who is whom. The backdrops must be held steady and not move too much. So every person is important for the performance！

7. Let the show begin!

We get a big or small piece of thin paper and set up our stage. We test the music, the sound and the light. Actors are ready and as soon as it's dark the show can begin！