Guest Author - Terrie Lynn Bittner

In the previous article, we discussed how to create a puppet theater and puppets for our children. In this article, we will talk about putting on the show. Puppet shows are an outstanding enhancement to our family home evenings. When the children have spent the week making puppets and building a show, they look forward to the big event. You won’t have to fight to get them to the meeting.

Let’s pretend, since puppets are about pretending, that you want to use the story of Noah’s ark in your family home evening lesson. This is a fun puppet story to tell. Your first step will be to present the story to your children. You might read it during your family scripture study on Saturday or Sunday. Then ask the children if they would put together a puppet show to present at Family Home Evening in one week. The children will need to read and discuss the story a number of times so they know it well.

Give them as much freedom as possible in creating the story, although you may want to insist on a respectful presentation, since Noah was a prophet. Ask them what puppets are needed and who might do each part. If they argue, suggest a different person play each part at each rehearsal—you can create a rotation chart. Then they can draw names on the day of the performance. Let them choose which puppet each child wants to make (again, you may have to draw names) and how the puppets will be made. That can be the activity for Family Home Evening the day you present the idea.

If there are not enough people, children will need to double up. Remember that it is best to choose people who aren’t on stage at the same time. Noah should not double up, but two smaller parts can be played by one person. If you are doing Noah, the children may want to put pictures of animals on sticks or on flannel boards to keep the numbers down. The animals don’t have to be played by anyone, just placed on a flannel board or shown marching across the stage attached to Popsicle sticks.

Let the children create their own script. If they are young, the script doesn’t need to be written or memorized. Simply tell the story many times. Check the Friend for simplified versions. The magazines are online at LDS.org in the gospel library. Let them tell the story back to you until they know the important details well. Then they can make their puppets, the ark, and any other scenery they want and just act out the story in their own words. As they practice, a routine will naturally develop. You may, of course, be in for a few surprises this way. A best friend might get repent and get invited onto the ark or dinosaurs may appear in the animal parade, but that just makes the show more memorable. You can discuss the reality later.

Older children may enjoy writing a script and doing a more professional performance. Older children might enjoy doing a show for the younger children in their family, so you needn’t let all the children be in each show. In return, the little ones might like to do a show for the big children the following week.

If the children have difficulty getting along during rehearsals, meet with them to help them establish rules. This is a good learning opportunity for them, and they should practice their team skills.

Remember that this is supposed to be fun. Their performance, done with minimal assistance, may not be as professional as yours would be, but this is their show. If you have great ideas, put on your own show for them another time, but this week, let them be the cast, the crew and the management alone as far as possible. The learning opportunities are endless when we resist the temptation to become too involved.