As a follow up to my post about how I made an experimental marionette out of KNEX, below are some videos demonstrating the marionette in action after stringing/attaching it to the upright control I made. I was inspired to make it by the Marionette Masterclass I went to at the Harlequin Puppet Theatre as part of the British Puppet Guild Centenary celebrations. The importance of daily practice in order to improve was mentioned so I thought I’d try the KNEX model as a quick experiment.

I feel the process has helped me to learn more about how the stringing and upright controls work. The KNEX does have many limitations for this purpose compared to conventional marionette materials (at present, as I say in the video below) the knees are able to bend in both directions, which is not ideal. It also has helped to reveal what kind of joints are useful on a marionette and which are less useful.

I am looking forward to further learning opportunities when I restring and refurbish the vintage wooden Pinocchio marionette I bought off Ebay, (he currently has no nose and his leg strings are attached to his feet rather than his knees). I think given that Christmas is creeping up very fast now that this will be a job for when I have time in the New Year.