marionette, Jester
Report a Mistake- Date Made 1960's
- Event --
- Affiliation English Canadian
- Artist / Maker / Manufacturer Kyle, Nancy
- Object Number 94-1677
- Place of Origin Continent - North America, Country - Canada, Province / Territory - Ontario
- Place of Use Continent - North America, Country - Canada
- Category Recreational artifacts
- Sub-category Public entertainment device
- Department Folklore
- Museum CMH
- Earliest 1960/01/01
- Latest 1969/12/31
- Materials Papier-mâché, Cotton, Wood, Metal, Nylon, Mammal leather, Textile
- Measurements Height 66.0 cm, Width 22.0 cm, Depth 10.0 cm
- Related activity Puppetry
- Caption Nancy Kyle
-
Additional Information
Dancer and display artist Nancy Kyle (née Hazell) discovered puppetry by accident. She first made puppets for a design assignment, and became so interested in them that she began training with the Toronto Guild of Puppetry and with George Merten. She later assisted puppeteers George and Elizabeth Merten in their productions, and was a frequent puppetry instructor at the Guild and through the Ontario Board of Education's Community Programs Branch. Kyle specialized in cast papier-mâché, and many of the photographs in George Merten's books feature Kyle's hands at work. She produced puppetry variety acts to classical music, which she toured throughout Southern Ontario. Kyle was deeply involved in the Ontario Puppetry Association, and was director of the organization's Puppet Centre from 1984 to 1987. She also served as vice-president of the Puppeteers of America.
Adapted from Figuratively Speaking: Puppetry in Ontario by Ken McKay, copyright 1990. Courtesy of the Ontario Puppetry Association and Ken McKay.
- Caption Marionette
-
Additional Information
(Alternate name: String Puppet)
This category of puppet is controlled from above using strings. Marionettes are usually fully articulated, with strings linking the different parts of the body - head, torso, arms, legs - to a hand-held "control". Several different types of controls exist, with various degrees of complexity (vertical, horizontal, angled). Marionettes can be made of a wide range of materials: wood, paper, fabric, foam rubber, etc.
Tandem Marionette
Marionette combining two characters - sometimes more - which are usually placed side by side and attached to the same control. This type of puppet is most often used when similar characters must make identical movements; e.g., a corps de ballet.
Trick Marionette
A marionette constructed and strung in a way that allows it to perform precise and intricate activities (e.g., juggling, performing complex manoeuvres on a trapeze), or to transform (e.g., when one character changes into another). In the latter case, it should be noted that the term "transformation marionette" can also be used.