Keywords

Puppet, puppetry, puppeteer, design, voice, estill voice technique, animation, voice over, character, characterization

Abstract

Puppets have been entertaining, educating, and mesmerizing American audiences since the birth of our nation. Both in live theatrical events and TV/film, audiences have watched puppeteers bring their puppet characters to life with clever voice quality choices, unique characterizations, and vivid visual designs. This thesis is a case study that first borrows insight from cartoon character designers, animators, and voiceover actors to provide considerations for voice quality choices, characterizations, and design elements when creating a new puppet character. It then investigates the connections that exist between those three elements once a puppet is fully realized. In order to identify these connections, a test was developed in which participants were asked to use a set of blank puppet heads/bodies and a variety of facial features to each build a unique character and then provide their puppets with a unique character voice. The data collected from the test was then deconstructed and analyzed by comparing each included design element to specific Estill Voice Training System™ vocal attributes identified within each individual puppet character's voice to find where connections occurred. The goal of this thesis is to provide a systematic method for creating vibrant and rich original puppet characters.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2015

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Chicurel, Steven

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

Theatre

Degree Program

Theatre; Acting

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0005714

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0005714

Language

English

Release Date

May 2015

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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Acting Commons

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