Puppetry is the art of bringing puppets to life through movement and performance. A puppeteer makes an inanimate object, a puppet, seem alive by controlling its movements while often providing its voice and personality.

Puppetry takes many forms. Hand puppets slip over your fingers and hand like a glove. Marionettes dangle from strings, with the puppeteer pulling different strings to make arms wave or legs walk. Shadow puppets create moving silhouettes on a screen using light. Rod puppets are controlled by sticks attached to their bodies. Some puppets are huge constructions requiring several people to operate them.

Puppetry appears in entertainment for children, like Sesame Street with its beloved Muppets, but also in serious theater and traditional ceremonies around the world. Japanese bunraku puppeteers train for decades to master their craft. Indonesian shadow puppet shows tell ancient stories that can last all night long.

The challenge of puppetry is making the audience forget they're watching an object. Skilled puppeteers coordinate movement, voice, and timing so precisely that viewers respond to the puppet as if it were real, laughing at its jokes or feeling sad about its troubles. When you see a puppet that seems truly alive, you're watching puppetry at its finest.