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Dear John

How do I interact with puppets as a presenter?

Question:
I've got an audition for a children's presenting job, which involves working with puppets. I'm quite good at working with people but how do I interact with an inanimate object without looking stupid?

Answer:
My own stint as a children's TV regular gave me the chance to work with some very talented puppeteers - one of whose head I nearly stepped on because I had forgotten that the furry creature was being operated by a human lying on the floor. I think this week's query is more relevant than ever in this era, since if you do find yourself working with a puppet which is actually on set with you, at least have something tangible to interact with. With the increased use of visual effects, bluescreens and matter effects, even in low-budget productions, performers often find themselves being asked to perform with 'co-stars' who are not only not human but often entirely non-existent, except for a few pieces of tape or a ping pong ball indicating the place where they will be digitally added to the finished production after the actors have gone home. As our guest experts point out, the key to doing your best work when surrounded by technology, whether in cartoon, puppet or doll form, is to tap back into the core skills which performers have been using since theatre was young.

What the experts say:

Sally Preisig

Over the years Sally has made, puppeteered and voiced many puppet characters for children's TV as well as making some weird and wonderful props and costumes for TV and theatre. Her credits include Playdays, GMTV's McDonald's Farm, CBeebies and, perhaps her best known character, Bella of the Tweenies.

"On behalf of whatever puppeteer is involved in the audition, the first thing I would like to remind you of is John's point that we are often crouched on the floor, stuck down the back of a sofa and in great pain from having our hands up in the air for long periods of time - so while it is important to develop a rapport with the puppet character when you are on air, it is equally important to develop one with the person working the puppet so you can help each other out.

"If it's a new show you are auditioning for it is always possible the puppeteer is auditioning too and what they will be looking for is the right chemistry between you and the character.

"It certainly helps if you are good at improvising and since most puppets, even the monstrous ones, are usually 'naughty child' characters at heart, to get the balance right between being too school teacherish but also not allowing the puppet to take over, a mix that works very well for children's presenting in general.

"It goes without saying that it won't help if you 'talk down' to the puppeteer whether or not they are physically below you on set. This is not just because it's disrespectful - it's also because usually the puppeteer, being out of camera shot, has a copy of the script to hand and many a floundering presenter has been saved by a puppet 'reminding' them of the next line or item on the show just before panic sets in."

Chris Bylett

Chris is a hugely experienced ventriloquist and magician who together with dolls, Desmond and Charlie, has made many TV and radio appearances worldwide including Casualty, TFI Friday, The Big Breakfast and Guys'n'Dolls. He has also appeared (as himself) on The Weakest Link, where he demonstrated his ventriloquist skills by providing a voice for Anne Robinson.

"I should start by politely pointing out that ventriloquists' dolls and puppets are two different things and that working with each requires different sets of skills.

"I think it's important to make that distinction, because having worked with many different types of performer and on many different types of show, I feel the major challenge for many younger performers is not so much that they don't have experience - we all have to start somewhere - but that they sometimes assume they know it all.

"So the first piece of advice would be simply that whatever the profession of the person you are working with at the audition, be it a ventriloquist, a puppeteer or another presenter, you need to realise, as Sally also mentioned, that they will have skills and experience which may well help you do your own job better but only if you take time to understand the job they are trying to do.

"In terms of working with my own dolls, I think my acting skills are just as important as my vocal skills since, without wanting to go to the same extreme as the Anthony Hopkins character in the film Magic, if I don't treat my doll like it is a real person with a real personality, I can't expect the audience to do so either.

"That's the same approach you need to take. In other words, place the responsibility on yourself, not the technology to create the effect that the characters you are working with are real and then if the puppeteer, ventriloquist or animator is also good at what they do, the end result will definitely take on a life of its own, as hopefully will your presentation career."

John sums up

One of the stories I've heard most often from puppeteers and ventriloquists is that when someone does start to believe that the animated character is a real one, they will often tell things to the creature that they would never dream of telling the puppeteer. One thing you don't usually need to be a puppeteer or a therapist to work out, though, is when someone is auditioning for children's work in theatre or on TV, not because they want to but either because they think it's easier than grown up stuff or because they are using it as a stepping stone to get somewhere else. Neither attitude works well for the audience or for most serious children's production companies. The degree to which you treat it as a real job says more about your attitude than the 'realness' of any characters you are working with.

* Sally Preisig runs Mimics productions and Crafty Kids Ltd. Details of both companies are available from www.mimicsproductions.co.uk or on 01329 661161.

* Chris Bylett is available as a performer and also as a provider of circus skills workshops at his website www.ventriloquist.co.uk or on telephone/fax: 01733 8443646

* Feedback/queries are welcome to dearjohn@thestage.co.uk

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