A Peg for Your Imagination
Masks may be a type of puppet.
Have you ever wanted to run away to Australia, live in a secret cave, be a powerful magician, or just tell that mean old so-and-so exactly what you think of them? When life gets tougher than we’d like it to be, most of us, children as well as adults, have most likely sought some sort of relief.
The arts can offer us an imaginative, emotional, albeit temporary, “island” from life’s frustrations. Puppets, in particular, allow us to express things we might not otherwise say or do. For some, the word “puppet” may conjure images of Jim Henson’s well-known character, Miss Piggy; others may read it as a word from a foreign language.
One concise and catchy definition of a puppet is: “A peg on which to hang your imagination.”
Universal Appeal
Puppets seem to have a universal appeal and are found in cultures all over the world–from Japan to Java, to Australia, Africa, South America, Mexico, Europe, as well as the United States. Their use in religious rituals and ceremonies dates back to Greek and Roman times. Although in most world cultures puppets have a long tradition, it is only in the past 50 years that puppets have become more widely used and accepted in the United States, not merely as entertainment, but as a tool in education and therapy.
For entertainment, education or therapy, puppets can be used in many roles, among them: to discipline, to get attention, to teach a concept, to provide a group learning experience, and to role play. The puppet is an especially useful tool in education used as an aid or medium for telling stories.