There are many good scenarios for two character skits. A good one is a story teller and listener. The story teller can recite a story to the other character. The listener can involve the children in the skit. This is more effective than an adult telling a story. Children are more likely to listen to a funny and whimsical character. My wife and I have always worked with 2 puppet skits, mainly because we could always count on ourselves to participate. Working in the ministry you may not always have all the hands you need when working with puppets so it is always a good thing to simply plan on working with a 2 puppet skit and work your way up from there. In the audio download section we have several pre-recorded puppet skits that are all 2 puppet skits… you simply download the mp3, burn it to a cd in the order you want the puppet show to go and hit play.
So remember that 2 is the magic number!
Hand puppets are rather inexpensive. You can find them in many toy departments. You may also make your own. It is not difficult to use various types of characters. They can also be purchased online, prices range from fairly reasonable to very expensive. I have found that the more simple the better. Sure the more expensive puppets work even better but if you are simply entertaining in your classroom or Sunday school room the cheaper puppets will work fine. My wife and I over the years have learned to work on little to no budget; we even learned how to make our own puppets. Now having a creative mind really works when you are working on little to no budget because you can create something spectacular out of nothing! I can look at a room full of “junk” and begin seeing things come together. We once built an entire fall festival on a budget of less than $100.00 and it was a total hit. Not only did the kids enjoy it but the adults kept talking about it. I remember once that for a back to school puppet show I wanted to create something new so I designed some pencil puppets, they were a hit. We simply took some foam, rolled into tubes and painted them to look like pencils. The same thing can be used for crayons… simple, cheap and mind blowing!!!
Hand operated characters will work well in their own little stage. You will need room to operate your tiny entertainers, without being seen. A stand may work. Many people use a curtain. We build our stages from PVC pipe and curtains. We have found that using snap-on buttons for the curtain allows for easier setting up and breaking down of the stage. A simple snap and a pair of pliers will work wonders also. The snaps can be bought at any local hobby store. Using hand operated puppets do give more life to your characters and using arm rods you can point, clap and act out with your character… it does take a little practice. The more animated you are with your puppet the more the kids love it. I once in just playing around put a puppet up in the window of the daycare office door and within minutes I had attracted over 35 kids to the door of the gym. They had stopped playing and begin migrating to the floor in front of where I was. I did nothing more than act up and move around with the puppet. Playing a simple game of hide and peek they loved it!!!! For the next 15 minutes I entertained the kids and the daycare providers with one puppet in a doorway!!! Amazing!!!
You have to love the simplicity of it all!!!
You will need to select the stars for you show. This may depend on the size of your audience and its age group. If it is for a classroom size of children, you can use hand puppets. They are simple to operate. You simply place your hand in the character. Your fingers and thumb will be the arms. Practicing in front of the mirror will help you in “creating the attitude” for your character. Remember to always ensure that the puppet is facing towards the kids. Many times puppeteers will grow weary and the puppets find themselves looking skyward and not at the kids. Make it personal for the kids, look at them, talk to them!!! They will love it.
Check out the audio download section for a free puppet audio file that you simply hit play and do a skit right along with it. There are sound effects and voices already done.