Master of puppets

The inaugural meeting of the first Puppetry and Props class at Exeter is short but inspirational. Gathered in a ground-floor classroom in the Goel Center designated specifically for stagecraft, Theater Instructor Rob Richards, eight students and a creepy collection of characters only a puppeteer could love get started.

“Step outside your comfort zone,” urges Richards, the chairman of the Department of Theater and Dance. It’s a pep talk Big Red coaches next door in Love Gym could envy.

“Unlock your imagination. … Say, ‘yes, and’ not ‘yeah, but.’ Watch out for ‘yeah, but.’”

The first full day of a term is never overly productive, but the 26-year veteran instructor leaves his charges with plenty of motivation on this sunny December day. The topic of day one: Shadow puppets.

Explaining the simplicity of the ancient storytelling form, Richards tasks his students with conjuring up a short story — “a moment” — and some sketches of what their puppets might look like.

“So, maybe you have a man. … yes, and? What happens to the man?” he asks, coaxing a story from his students.

“A ghost appears? OK … oh, it’s the man’s wife? Good.

“What does she say? Why’d you kill me?!

“What’s he reply? … I found the love notes … OK … the love notes to his best friend?!”

Sensing a narrative darkening by the moment, Richards steers the brainstorming session back onto the rails with a laugh. “Or … maybe your story is about a butterfly!”

“There are no limits. Maybe a knight enters, then a dragon swoops in? Sometimes, you can show more in a moment than you can tell with a lot of dialogue.”

Richards sends the students off to work on their ideas and sketches for the next day’s class. Before they go, however, he reveals the secret to a successful term in THR 205: Puppetry and Props.

“Your willingness, your participation, that engagement — that’s the thing. Because, that’s when you’ll make discovery.”