Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
It normally takes considerably longer than a day to build a marionette from scratch, explains Dug Feltch, vice president/puppeteer at Bob Kramer’s Marionnettes. But when producers of the Science Channel’s How It’s Made journeyed here to film an episode, the puppet-making at Kramer’s Marionnette Theater (kramersmarionnettes.com) kicked into high gear.
The TV crew shot eight hours of film over the course of a 12-hour workday, says Feltch. The reward: capturing the entire puppet-building process, from idea to working puppet. The resulting How It’s Made episode is set to air in spring 2012.
The film crew was giddy with excitement when the puppet—a “middle-aged man, balding, with big eyes, dark eyebrows, gray slacks, a white sweater, and a white scarf”—finally came to life, says Feltch. It’s a response the puppeteers are used to. “The joy one sees in the audience’s eyes when they see the show is what makes this special,” he says. “The puppet is more than the sum of its parts.”
