Petrushka doll is a very ancient character of fair booths. Any folk festivals and festivities could not do without his cheerful invocations. Performances were often invented on the go, it was pure improvisation, which the audience really liked.
The Petrushka doll is essentially a glove doll that is put on the puppeteer's hand and consists of a head and a three-fingered glove, which is the torso and hands.
The fingers under the glove can be located different ways:

The glove should fit snugly on the hand. To sew Petrushka with your own hands, you first need to outline your hand on a piece of paper, folding your fingers in a “playing” position (a pattern will be cut out of it). Of the materials, preference should be given soft tissues(coarse calico, flannel). We make the head from papier-mâché. We pre-sculpt a form of plasticine with a nose, lips and neck, which will include the index finger to the end of the second phalanx. Lubricate the plasticine blank with petroleum jelly and glue the form with pieces of paper (newsprint or wrapping) dipped in paste: several layers of paper, then a layer of gauze and more layers of paper. We let it all dry out (it will take 2 days to dry). When the head dries, cut it in half into the front and back of the head and remove it from the plasticine. Then we glue both halves with PVA glue. When it dries, cover the head with paint (water-based or watercolor). We draw the eyes, mouth and cheeks. You can stick hair from wool or tow.

We sew a glove on a pattern. Doll size should be 30-40cm for adult hand. The head takes 6-8cm:

We sew palms from knitwear and fill them with cotton wool or padding polyester, but leave an empty space in the wrist and sew them to the glove. The finger should go inside the palm to the middle:

The fingers on the hand are arranged asymmetrically, and therefore, in order to make the doll's hands of the same length, we make cardboard cartridge tubes. The thumb chuck will be longer. We put on the costume of the Petrushka doll on the glove. We sew the costume from soft fabrics so that they do not impede the doll's gestures during the presentation.

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Introduction

“Petrushka Theater” is a theater whose puppets are worn on three fingers of the hand - like a glove. The birth of the Petrushka Theater dates back to 1589. This beginning was laid in Florence, gradually wandering around all states. Parsley is moving to our country. The comic figure Petrushka was born in Russia in the 17th century.

Whole "actions" have been established all over the world for a long time, which in ancient times gave magical significance. With the help of dolls, they influenced the gods so that they would send a rich harvest, help in the fight against the elements.

In Russia, everyone knows, for example, the ritual of burning a straw effigy - this symbolizes the arrival of spring, where a doll also participates. Each nation had its own rituals, its own games, where dolls participated. Before baptism in Russia there was idolatry, paganism, all sorts of buffoons were forbidden in order to avoid “sacrilege”. And playing with a doll was, according to the church, a great sin. And only at the end of the 17th century, under the humane rule of Tsar A.M. Romanov was allowed at court and buffoons to perform with Petrushka.

But years passed and Petrushka was again removed from the stage - the tsarist government banned it. But no persecution, terrible decrees could destroy the people's love for the puppet theater. The persecuted Petrushka became a folk hero. Therefore, probably, he always wears a red cap on his head and wields a club.

Nowadays, there are a lot of puppet theaters, especially in large cities. Honored Artist of the Puppet Theater S.V. Obraztsov laid the foundation for this great work.

Dolls can be various types: puppets, cane and shadow theater, but the simplest in its composition for children is a glove puppet. Such a doll can be made by yourself or with your parents.

How to make a parsley doll yourself

Where to begin?

The most simple doll consists of a body - a shirt, a head and handles. Taurus - the shirt is cut according to the hand of the puppeteer from matter (Fig. 1). The head can be made from different materials: from wood (it is best to use linden), from bread or plasticine, from a plastic ball. But usually they make the head out of papier-mâché. Not everyone can carve a head from a tree; here you need to have the skills of a professional carver.

balloon head

Any plastic ball or ball will do. It is only necessary to cut a hole so that the ball can be easily put on the index finger of the puppeteer's hand (Fig. 2).

The head is stucco

You can sculpt a head from bread or plasticine. It can be not only the head of a person, but also the muzzle of a dog or a fox. Children very expressively sculpt all sorts of animals.

A cardboard cartridge is attached to the head so that the puppeteer's index finger can easily enter it. Such a head is worn on a body - a shirt. Handles for puppets are made of cloth or leather, as, for example, with the Dog in Figure 3.

paper head

Making a paper head is the fastest and easiest way. Thick paper is cut into strips and wound around the index finger of a hand wearing a glove or glove-shaped shirt. A strip of paper is wound in several layers and a cylinder head is obtained (Fig. 4). In this case, each layer of paper must be glued, and the tip of the strip should be fixed with the back side with glue. A cap or a wig is made of thread, foam rubber or paper on the cylinder (Fig. 5). The head is painted; this is Petrushka himself, then the nose is glued (Fig. 6). Then the head is painted with paints or felt-tip pens or and applied with colored paper.

papier mache head

To make papier-mâché, you need to have:

Flour paste and PVA;

Wrapping and newsprint papers;

white calico;

Board with a peg.

The head of the doll molded from plasticine is fixed on a board with a peg (Fig. 7).

They cover the head with petroleum jelly and begin to paste over it with small pieces of paper, alternating layers of newsprint and thick wrapping paper.

The first layer is laid without glue from a newspaper soaked in water. Pieces are placed in small strips so that the edges of the strip are on top of each other.

The second layer is from wrapping paper- also put in small pieces, but already soaked in paste.

Usually six layers are laid, but more is possible - for strength. In order for the papier-mâché head to dry, you should wait a day.

The dried head is divided into two halves: the front and the occipital. Mark a line with a pencil and cut the papier-mâché with a sharp knife. Carefully remove the halves from the plasticine mold, if necessary - with a sharp knife, and glue them with strips of coarse calico. PVA glue is used for gluing.

Pieces of coarse calico are cut into even strips 4-5 cm long and 1 cm wide. These pieces are glued from the inside of the mold along the edges of the back of the head so that the strips, when the halves are folded, come together “in a lock”, like the fingers of two hands (Fig. 8). When the glue dries, you can paste over the head with coarse calico and apply.

Head applique

Application of the head of a person or animal is an artistic and very responsible work: the image of a doll is born.

Figure 9 shows the general shape of a person, but who is a girl or a boy, or maybe an old grandmother? It all depends on the imagination of the artist, whom he wants to create. Let's say it will be a boy's doll. Then the head should be pasted over with light knitwear color pink. Apply hair from light velvet. Pick up buttons for the eyes blue. Mark the lips with a scarlet ribbon. You get a face as in Figure 10. We dress the boy in a blouse - the doll is ready. Thus, a human doll is created. Now let's move on to the animals. Let's try to make a fox.

For work you need:

Prepare a papier-mâché head;

Sew a calico glove for the calf;

Stock up on red and white fabrics (velvet or fur, any fleecy fabric will do);

For the muzzle, you need to take buttons (eyes), pieces of black velvet, strips of white satin, for the nose - pieces of black leather.

II order of work

The papier-mâché head is fixed on a loom with a peg and pasted over with white calico. If the fox is dressed in a bright sundress, then its entire muzzle is applied with an orange or red cloth. The nose is pasted over with leather or black satin. The main thing is the expression of the eyes. To give the eye expressiveness, it is necessary to place a gasket under the buttons of the eyes. Cut out eyeliners from paper and attach to the muzzle - thus, it is determined right size. White undereye pads are glued onto black satin - this is how a black border around the white undereye is obtained. This gives the eye clarity and expressiveness.

The cut of the eye is very important: the eye is round - stupid, narrow - crafty, elongated upward - naive (Figure 11). Instead of buttons, you can use leather, then paint it with varnish. The skin is convenient in that you can cut out the pupil of any shape and size. When working on the make-up of the head, some animal, try to “humanize” it. Here, for example, with a wolf, arrange the braids on the head in such a way that it looks like a hairstyle. The bear may have sideburns and eyebrows - it will resemble an old man. “Humanization” of animals in the puppet theater is a common occurrence, because they speak like people. The naive children's eyes and forelock make a little bear cub look like a boy. For the fox, to make the muzzle more expressive, black is added to the tips of the ears, and white is added to the forehead and chest.

head on gapit

The dolls mentioned above (“Upcoming” dolls) are usually made without legs. They are called "Gloves". The backbone of such a doll is three fingers of a human hand. On the finger is the head of the doll, and the thumb and middle fingers are the handles or paws of the doll. If the head is small, then it is very easy to control the doll with three fingers. But a papier-mâché head, and even a very large one, like, for example, a bear, will not hold on to a child's finger, even if a paper cartridge is used. Gapit comes to the rescue. This is a wooden rod with a comfortable rounded handle. It is easy for a puppeteer to hold a puppet on such a gape (Figure 12). But the paws of such a large doll are not controlled by fingers, but stuffed with cotton, they simply hang on the sides of the body.

Conclusion

As has already been said. Parsley can be made from any material that is at hand. This includes paper, various flaps, cotton wool, leather, wool, etc.

The desire to play is inherent in the child from the very beginning. Filling up a child with beautiful foreign toys is good, but it is not enough. There is a simple doll wrapped in a blanket that is more expensive than any luxurious doll.

Thus, having this material at hand, you can teach the child to make puppets - parsley and put them into action, that is, to perform on a screen with a performance in a circle or at home, improvising in front of their parents or playing out fairy tales.

Bibliography

1. Ablynin, B. Director of the amateur theater [Text] / B. Ablynin. - M., 1991.

2. Belyushkina, I.B. Theater where children play [Text] / I.B. Belyushkin. - M., 2001.

3. Demeny, E. Theatrical puppet and its device [Text] / E. Demeny. - L., 1991.

4. Karamanenko, T.N. Puppet theater - for preschoolers [Text] / T.N. Karamanenko, Yu.G. Karamanenko. - M., 1982.

5. Turnover, G.I. Homemade products from textile materials [Text] / G.I. Turnover. - M., 1990.

6. Smirnova, N.I. And dolls come to life [Text] / N.I. Smirnova. - M, 1982.

7. Smirnova, I. Amateur theater [Text] / I. Smirnova. - M., 1995.

8. Solomonik, I.M. Puppets enter the stage [Text] / I.M. Solomonik. - M, 1993.

Master class on needlework from waste material. Making a fun doll "Parsley in a bag"

I'm not green from the garden at all,
Even though I'm called Petrushka!
I will be for you guys
Doll toy!

Tsypurina Antonina Ivanovna, teacher of technology and fine arts. Place of work: MBOU secondary school TsO No. 5, Suvorov, Tula region.
Target: To intensify interest in arts and crafts. To introduce children (adults) to the basics of Russian cultural traditions through the manufacture of dolls.
Tasks:
- Develop Creative skills and labor skills in the manufacture of dolls.
- Develop sensory motor skills while making dolls.
- To develop independence, creative imagination, accuracy, the ability to bring things to the end.
- To consolidate the knowledge and skills of safe work.
- Raise respect and interest in the traditions of their ancestors.
Description:
The master class is designed for parents, middle school students, teachers, educators. Both schoolchildren and adults can make this craft for a gift to kids. Fun toy. It is interesting to have fun even for an adult. Can be used in puppet theatre.
cognitive information
Often at school we make toys of varying complexity with children. Many will say that the toy is a trifle. If only there was something to occupy the child. But this is far from the case! A toy made by the hands of a child (and an adult too) "comes to life". She has her own character. It has soul and desire. The doll is the first among toys. The history of the doll can be traced from the time of the construction of the pyramids to the present day. The doll is almost as old as humanity. But she remains forever young. Children have always found time for games and fun. Because such is the nature of children - playing with a doll helps not only to throw out the accumulated energy, but also develops and teaches. In the manufacture of our toy, not only the ability to work with tools is developed, but also taste, accuracy. With such a toy you can at home and with younger brother or sister to play, here you have the ability to communicate with each other. Willpower comes in handy too. If we bring the work we have started to the end, then we will play with you.

Patterns:
1. The bag can be of any size, as desired. Depending on the size and purpose of the doll. In my case, for playing with a children's pen, the following dimensions .. To make a pattern for a bag (like mine), use the A-4 sheet format. Draw an arc with a radius of 17 cm. Subsequently, cut off along it. When cutting out on colored cardboard, make an increase of 1-2 cm (you can see where in the drawing) on ​​both sides for gluing when twisting the bag. I also secured it with a narrow adhesive tape narrow for strength.

2. To make a shirt pattern, also use the A-4 format. And further construction is visible in the drawing.

Cook:
1. cardboard for a bag. You can use the colorful part of the candy box;
2. pieces of fabric for a shirt and a cap (arbitrary);
3. stick for the base (you can use branches when cutting bushes);
4. tennis ball or foam;
5. leftovers: lace, ribbons, braid ... for the collar and shirt decor;
6. glue gun or glue moment or stapler;
7. a bead for convenience to hold on to a stick;
8. adhesive tape;
9. if the bag is made of plain cardboard, you can use the remnants of wallpaper, corrugated paper for decoration.

Working process

We make a bag out of cardboard and fix it with thin tape. The height of my bag is 16cm. This size is just right when used for tennis ball head

If necessary, decorate the bag using wallpaper. Drawing a segment according to the size of the bag.

Cut-out detail from wallpaper for decoration.

We wrap the bag with a beautiful piece of paper and the "house" for the doll is ready.

On one side of the stick, we fix the ball with glue, having previously made a hole in it.

We cut out 2 details of a shirt of arbitrary shape, maintaining proportions with respect to the head and the bag. The size of the head can be different for everyone.

We sew along the cut line on sewing machine or seam "back needle".

We put the stick with the head into the hole (for the neck) of the shirt and glue it along the neckline. We decorate the place of gluing at our discretion. I have a braid assembled for assembly. It can also be glued for reliability.

We attach the shirt to the bag in a way convenient for you: a stapler, glue, glue gun.

You determine the junction of the shirt with the bag yourself.

Preparing hair for a yarn toy.

Glue to the head.

The ancestor of all varieties of riding puppets is the so-called parsley puppet, that is, a puppet that is put directly on the actor's hand and does not have any additional devices to control it.

She got her name from the hero of ancient folk puppet shows - the merry mischievous Petrushka.

The parsley doll does not have a body: it consists of a solid head and a costume attached to this head. When the actor inserts his hand into the doll's costume, the doll acquires a torso.

The puppeteer's hand can be located inside the doll in different ways - this changes the device, and with it the expressive possibilities of the parsley doll. The most common are two ways to control a parsley doll:
1) the index finger enters the head of the doll, the thumb and middle finger enter the sleeves of the costume, the little finger and ring finger bend down to the palm ( rice. one);
2) the index and middle fingers enter the head, the thumb - into one sleeve, the ring and little fingers - into the other ( rice. 2).

Comparing even the simplest control systems and the constructions determined by them, we see that the "life" of these dolls is somewhat different. At the doll rice. one a very mobile neck, but the turn of the head is associated with the turn of the body. doll on rice. 2 does not have such a flexible neck, but it freely turns its head without turning the body. To do this, it is enough to move the fingers embedded in the head.

You can control the doll as shown in rice. 3. Such a doll appearance closer to the human figure. Flaw this method control lies in the fact that a bent ring finger with a little trained hand makes it difficult for an actor to play.

On the rice. 4 the puppet is depicted, which is less constraining the movements of the actor's hand than the previous one, since the ring finger is bent to the palm along with the middle one.

There are different ways to control the doll with both hands at the same time ( rice. 5 and 6 ). Each of them is determined by certain functions of the doll. For example, the doll depicted in rice. 5, has a very mobile left arm, which can rotate even in the hand.

There is also such a rare variety of dolls ( rice. 7), which top part the body forms a single sculptural whole with the head, and the arms move only from the elbow. These puppets are controlled as follows: the thumb and little finger of the actor are the hands of the puppet, and the other three fingers support the body.

The puppeteer's fingers can sometimes go not directly into the sleeves of the doll's costume, but into little cases attached in turn to the sleeves of the doll. Such a doll requires a special cut of the dress ( rice. eight).

And, finally, among the puppets worn on the hand, group puppets, sometimes used in mass scenes in the background, should be noted. In such cases, a small doll is put on each finger of the performer ( rice. nine) or all five characters are connected on one common glove ( rice. ten). This helps to put on the dolls faster and control them more confidently. Character costumes are created by appliqué or coloring individual parts of the glove.

Rice. eleven shows a group puppet uniting three characters. Thumb and the actor's little finger control the left hand of one of the extreme characters and the right hand of the other. The remaining four arms remain motionless (they may even be absent altogether).

This, of course, does not exhaust all the possibilities of controlling a puppet worn on one or both hands of the actor. New tasks give rise to new varieties of theatrical puppets. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages and is used depending on how much this type of doll helps the actor and director to fulfill the tasks that they set for themselves when embodying this or that image.

torso

The body of the parsley doll is the actor's hand, inserted into a three-fingered glove attached to the head. The size and cut of the glove depend on the puppet control system and on the size of the puppeteer's hand. It is clear that each variety of dolls requires a different cut of the glove. The glove should tightly fit the puppeteer's hand, at the same time not binding her movements. Therefore, the glove is sewn with fitting, and during the fitting, the actor keeps his fingers in the “working” position, that is, as if he were actually controlling the puppet. It is better to take the material for the glove durable, but soft enough so that it does not impede the movement of the hand. Such material can serve, for example, calico.

If the glove is also a doll costume, then the material for it is selected in the appropriate color and pattern; often, an appliqué is sewn on the material from which the glove is sewn, or a drawing is applied with paint. Such a glove-suit is cut not close to the hand of the puppeteer, but somewhat looser in order to disguise the shape of the human hand inserted into it ( rice. 12).

This is a primitive way of costume, found, as a rule, only in amateur circles. In professional theaters, a special costume is usually put on over the glove, which hides the inevitable "crookedness" of the parsley doll, associated with the asymmetry of the human hand. In some cases, with the help of a costume, they try to bring the shape of the doll closer to the shape human body, padding with cotton wool shoulders, back, chest. It should be warned against excessive passion for such thicknesses - they impede the movements of the puppeteer's fingers and reduce the expressiveness of the doll.

For the doll shown in rice. eight, the glove is not sewn. In order for the suit to keep its shape, it is made of dense matter or placed on a lining. The suit is attached to the neck. The shoulders are made from bags tightly stuffed with cotton, and arms are sewn to them, made from cardboard tubes or from a cloth tightly stuffed with cotton. The arm has a free bend at the elbow. For the thumb and little finger, two covers are sewn to the suit (in the color of the dress) approximately at waist level. Their ends are attached to the doll's wrists.

The material for a doll costume can be even more dense than for a glove. However, here, too, certain boundaries must be established. For dolls worn on the hand, the use of such heavy materials as brocade, satin, thick velvet should be avoided - they make it difficult for dolls to gesticulate, bristle, lie down in rough, ugly folds.

Head

The head of a parsley doll is made in an average size of 8-10 cm(in children's amateur circles, this size decreases accordingly and can reach 5-6 cm).

head large sizes should not be done: it will not only not increase, but, on the contrary, will reduce the expressiveness of the doll. The fact is that the body of the parsley doll cannot be enlarged - it corresponds to the size of the actor's hand. And exorbitant big head on a small body makes an unpleasant impression. In addition, the large head obscures the hands of the doll and hinders their movements.

The head of the doll is usually molded together with the neck, and with a slight forward inclination. It is especially necessary to ensure that the head in relation to the neck is not pulled up: otherwise, the viewer who looks at the doll from below will see her face in the wrong direction.

When a doll with a flexible movable neck is required, it is recommended to sculpt the head without a neck; it is replaced directly by the puppeteer's finger, inserted directly into the head and covered with cloth or knitwear. In this case, the doll is controlled as shown in rice. one. Animal dolls (dogs, hares) are usually molded without a neck. This is due to a different arrangement of their heads in relation to the body than that of dolls depicting people.

The head can be made with a greater or lesser degree of conventionality, up to the point that a ball with glued or painted ears, nose, mouth and eyes can serve as the head. If puppets with ball-heads are applied to the place and executed with talent, they can have great expressiveness (as, for example, pop puppets by S. V. Obraztsov).

It is difficult to give exact instructions on the sculpture of the doll's head. Nevertheless, there are some rules that have been tested by time and theatrical practice.

In the doll's head, only the main, most characteristic features of the face are worked out: small details, such as wrinkles, the viewer will still not see.

The doll on the screen is almost always turned to the viewer in profile. Therefore, the profile of the doll should be clear and expressive. If the doll is “non-profile”, it often remains unclear to the viewer in which direction it turned and in which direction it is looking.

Creating a characteristic expressiveness of the face (mask) corresponding to this or that image in a doll, one cannot give it a frozen expression of any particular emotion, so to speak, “the facial expressions of a given moment”. You can make a doll cheerful, but you can't make it with a frozen smile. A character who constantly smiles throughout the play quickly gets bored.

The doll's head is most often made of papier-mache, as well as wood, fabric or knitwear stuffed with cotton.

The process of carving wooden heads is complex and requires the skilled hand of a specialist craftsman. In addition, a wooden head is much heavier than a papier-mâché head. For these reasons, wooden heads are rarely used. They are preferred only in cases where a complex mechanism must be mounted in the head of the doll, which is difficult to strengthen in papier-mâché.

To prepare a wooden head, they take seasoned dry linden. Wood is processed with sharp knives and chisels. To make the head lighter, it is made hollow, choosing a tree through the back of the head and neck (the hole in the back of the head is then covered with a wig). Or, having sawn the head in half, they choose a tree from both halves, and then connect them together with thin carnations and carpentry glue.

Dolls with a head made of cotton, covered with cloth or knitwear, are used mainly in amateur circles, and even then relatively rarely. With this primitive method of crafting, doll heads usually do not retain the desired shape, and paint does not fit well on them.

Most often, in the practice of puppet theaters, papier-mâché heads are used. There are two ways to make them: 1) pasting a clay or plasticine cast on the outside with paper and 2) gluing on a plaster mold from the inside.

First way much simpler, but gives a strong distortion of the model. It is better to resort to it in cases where the head is so large that it makes it difficult to cast a plaster mold; in addition, at large sizes, distortion will be less noticeable. External gluing is also used in the manufacture of individual decorative details and props from papier-mâché.

The model, that is, the original sculptural form, is recommended to be molded from plasticine, since the necessary degree of humidity must be maintained in clay all the time.

When the model is ready, the paste is brewed. To do this, rye or wheat flour is diluted in cold water to the density of sour cream. The paste is boiled over low heat, stirring all the time so that it does not burn.

While boiling, a little very liquid wood glue is added to the flour. When, after a short boil, the paste thickens, it is considered ready.

You should not use carpentry glue in its pure form for gluing papier-mâché - you will get a fragile head, which is also difficult to paint.

For the manufacture of papier-mâché, any kind of unglued paper is suitable - newsprint, wrapping, etc. Glossy paper is not suitable for this.

Before pasting, the model is lubricated with petroleum jelly or some other fat.

Paper intended for pasting is torn into small pieces (approximately 2 x 2 cm). Do not cut paper with scissors or a knife: it is necessary that the edges of each piece be soft.

The first layer, adjacent directly to the model, consists of pieces of paper soaked in water. Starting from the second layer, the papers are lubricated with a paste and superimposed in layers on top of the pasted form. When overlapping, pieces of paper should go over the edges of one another. Each piece is carefully smoothed so that the paper does not gather into wrinkles. In those places where there are irregularities on the model (eyes, nose, mouth), the pieces of paper are firmly pressed with a finger.

Thus, the model is pasted over with four or five layers of paper. If the paper is thin, then the number of layers increases to six or seven. In order not to make a mistake in counting words and not to make it thick in one place and thin in another, they use paper of two different colors: One layer is overlaid with one color, the other with another.

In cases where increased strength is required (especially if the head is made large), the number of layers is brought up to eight to ten.

Even better, leaving the usual five layers of paper, lay two layers of gauze between them. This will not make the head very heavy, but it will significantly increase its strength.

After pasting, the head is dried, but not directly over the fire, otherwise it will warp. To speed up drying, you can use the oven, which is not very hot and always with the door open so that the steam can escape freely.

When the papier mache is dry, cut it with a sharp knife or razor as directed. dotted line on the rice. thirteen, and carefully remove both halves from the clay. If the shape of the nose or chin makes it difficult to remove papier-mâché, then the model has to be destroyed.

If the shape of the face does not allow making an incision in the manner shown in rice. thirteen, it is done as indicated in rice. fourteen. However, the latter method is resorted to only in case of emergency, since a longitudinal seam made across the entire face, with insufficient experience of the master, can disfigure the doll, besides, the head with such a seam is less durable.

Having removed both halves of the head from the clay, papier-mâché is again connected along the seam, first with threads in two or three places, then with a strip of thin cloth on glue, and finally with paper.

With the second method a plaster mold is first cast from a clay or plasticine model. To do this, the model is lubricated with petroleum jelly or, better, with a heated mixture of kerosene and stearin (the latter method is not recommended for amateur children's circles). Then around the head along the cut line shown in rice. thirteen, a “barrier” is made, that is, pieces of tin or cardboard are stuck closely into the clay ( rice. fifteen). Such a barrier helps to accurately cast both halves of the plaster mold - one for the front side, the other for the back (or one for the right half of the face, the other for the left). Gypsum is diluted to the density of sour cream (for one parsley head it goes from 0.5 to 1 kg gypsum). First, only one side of the model (up to the barrier) is poured with gypsum solution, bringing the thickness of the pour to at least 1.5 cm. For greater strength, the thickness of the mold is sometimes adjusted to 3 cm. When the plaster has hardened well, but has not yet hardened enough, the barrier is removed and the second part of the head is poured with plaster. To do this, the upper edge of the first half of the mold is first greased, that is, the surface of the gypsum that was in contact with the barrier of plates. If this is not done, then during the pouring process, both halves can tightly connect, so that it will be impossible to separate them.

When the gypsum has completely hardened, one half is separated from the other with a sharp knife and removed from the clay model ( rice. sixteen).

The gypsum mold is covered with shellac varnish from the inside. This makes it more durable and makes it easier to take out papier-mâché.

When both halves of the plaster mold are ready, the doll head is glued inside the mold in the same way as if the head was pasted on the outside: first, a layer of paper soaked in water is laid, then four or five layers smeared with paste are glued (paper is also taken in this case two colors). After drying, both halves of the head are taken out of the mold, connected to each other, glued together and cleaned along the seam.

This is the easiest way to make papier-mâché. There are more complex recipes that give increased strength. Persons wishing to learn more about this issue are advised to refer to the specialized literature on theatrical props.

Before painting the doll's head, papier-mâché should be primed with gesso. Levkas is prepared as follows: in diluted liquid wood glue (200 G glue for 1 l water) a little drying oil is poured (one tablespoon per glass of glue), then finely sifted chalk or talc (preferably chalk in half with talc) is poured into it so that a not very thick pasty mass is obtained. The gesso obtained in this way is applied in a very thin layer on papier-mâché (a thick layer will chip off). When the gesso dries, the head is treated with fine sandpaper (sandpaper) until a perfectly flat surface is obtained.

Only oil paints should be used for painting the head. Glue, gouache and others are impractical, they get dirty and erased.

To prevent the painted head from shining, it is lightly powdered with talc or chalk until it is completely dry. For the same purpose, oil paint is sometimes applied with the end of a stiff brush to obtain a rough surface.

Hair, mustache, eyebrows, eyes are attached to the head before coloring, as they do not adhere well to the painted surface.

Dolls' hair is made from ropes, bast, silk or paper thread, fur, etc. The choice of these materials depends on the taste of the artist and the general manner of making the doll. In other cases, the hair may simply be drawn or sculpted at the same time as the head, that is, depicted purely sculpturally.

Eyes are made from some shiny objects - pieces of glass, beads, buttons, etc. Or just draw. But even in the drawn eye, a shiny object is often inserted in place of the pupil.

In order to attach the eye to the head, two narrow slits are cut in its place. A piece of cloth with a button or bead sewn to it is glued into the eye socket, and the ends of the cloth, smeared with wood glue, are inserted into the cut slots and sealed from the inside.

If the eye cannot be sewn to the fabric, it is glued into a recess made for this in papier-mâché.

Before attaching the head to the glove, it must be adapted to the puppeteer's fingers.

The puppet's neck should be the same diameter as the puppeteer's finger (or two folded fingers). If the hole in the neck is too wide, it is narrowed by gluing a cardboard tube (the so-called cartridge). The finger should enter the neck to the middle of the second joint. At the head, which does not have a neck, a round hole is cut from below, into which a cartridge for the puppeteer's fingers is glued.

The glove is attached to the neck from the outside so that the glued fabric does not peek out from behind the collar of the suit. The corresponding part of the glove is cut in such a way that it completely wraps around the neck ( rice. 17).

A glove is attached to a head that does not have a neck as follows: a cloth circle up to 2 cm. After that, putting on a glove on the hand, insert a finger into the head, and glue the cloth circle to the bottom of the head ( rice. eighteen).

Arms

Hands - or rather, hands - of a parsley doll are made from different materials and in different ways, depending on the tasks that are set for the doll. Hands can be hard, made of wood or papier-mâché, or soft, that is, sewn from fabric or knitwear.

Rigid hands have two significant drawbacks: during the game they unpleasantly knock against one another or when touching something hard and take the object poorly.

Soft hands are cut in the form of mittens, sewn together, turned inside out, padded with cotton wool and stitched along the lines of the fingers. Sometimes each finger is made separately, and parsley is often limited to a four-fingered hand, since from a distance the viewer does not see how many fingers the doll has.

Soft hands are sewn directly to the glove so that the puppeteer's finger enters the hand puppet hand, reaching approximately the middle of her palm. With these hands, the puppeteer acts with the greatest confidence. He easily picks up objects, as he does it almost directly with his fingers.

However, with a puppet wearing a costume, such a hand is not sufficiently visible, because it is only slightly longer than the puppeteer's finger. To lengthen the puppet hand, it is attached to a cardboard cartridge, which, in turn, is sewn to the glove ( rice. nineteen). But it should be borne in mind that too long cartridge does not help, but, on the contrary, constrains the doll's gesture. The arm of a parsley doll does not have a bend at the elbow, so an overly elongated arm sticking forward or sideways makes an unpleasant impression and the expressiveness of the gesture is lost.

The most comfortable hands on a wire frame. Soft wire (iron, copper, aluminum), curved along the contour of the puppet hand, is attached to the cartridge in one of the ways indicated on rice. 20. Then the frame is covered with cotton wool and sheathed with fabric or knitwear. Such hands can be given any shape by bending and unbending the frame.

Usually, the parsley doll holds the object with both hands. In the presence of a wire frame, the doll can hold the object with one hand ( rice. 21), although she will not be able to take it in front of the audience, this requires special devices.

Legs

Parsley dolls do not always have legs. The doll stands with its feet on the screen only in very rare cases, since the actor's hand is visible. In some cases, the actor's hand can be more or less successfully disguised with a long dress or cloak (the hand passes between the lining and the top). But this is permissible, of course, not in every play and not for every character. In addition, a doll standing with its feet on a screen conveys a person's gait worse than if it does it conditionally, using the movement of the body.

Most often, parsley dolls have legs so that the doll can play with them while sitting or lying down.

The lower part of the leg (up to the knee) is made of wood, papier-mâché or stuffed with cotton. The upper, femoral part of the leg is a cardboard cartridge attached to the lower part and forming with it a semblance of a knee joint. Legs (or pants with legs) are attached to the front edge of the glove (under the shirt).

The second hand of the puppeteer controls the legs. To disguise it, a sleeve is sewn in the color of the costume, wide enough for both hands of the actor to fit into it. This sleeve is sewn to the back of the pants and to the back of the glove under the shirt ( rice. 22).

The legs can also be controlled with the help of wires attached to the heels (heels) of the doll. Such legs can, of course, make slightly different movements than legs controlled from the inside with the help of fingers.

Sometimes the legs are made separately and only protrude from under the costume in those cases when it is necessary in the course of the play.

On the rice. 23 a doll is depicted that can stand in the garden (the front upper edge of the screen), walk, and also perform various acrobatic numbers: bend in any direction, do “twine”, etc. The costume of this doll is sewn with wide trousers - so that the hand of the puppeteer could fit into each leg.

Parsley dolls depicting animals

With the help of parsley dolls, not only humans, but also animals are often depicted.

The general scheme of the device remains the same, however, each doll has its own characteristics, depending on which beast or animal it depicts.

When the animal doll should look like it is standing on four legs, then the cartridge in the head is not glued vertically, like in a doll depicting a person, but almost horizontally.

The bodies of animals are sewn from fur, plush, velvet, knitwear, baize, etc.

When using fur, it is necessary to choose skins with soft skin so as not to hamper the movement of the actor's hand. If the fur is suitable for a given animal in its pile, but differs in color, it can be tinted with aniline paint.

The use of natural fur of the animal depicted by this doll is not always successful. This is admissible mainly in those cases when the animal itself and the doll depicting it do not differ greatly in size. So, if a doll depicting a bear is one and a half meters tall, then it is better to make it from real bear fur. A parsley 40-centimeter doll from bear fur cannot be made: a long pile will distort the shape, and the doll will no longer look like a bear. In this case, it is better to make a bear doll from cygkey or beaver.

Velvet and plush imitate the fur of animals such as monkey, deer, tiger, etc. well. But, generally speaking, it is not necessary that the material taken for the body of an animal accurately convey natural look the skins of this animal. A well-made knitted dog or cow from a baize also looks quite truthful on a screen.

In some cases, a bike or knitwear is trimmed with pieces of fur or tinted with aniline paint for greater expressiveness. The head of the animal is painted or pasted over with the material from which the doll is made.

Animals such as a dog, a bear, a monkey are most often made with simple parsley. However, there are many animals that cannot be depicted with hand puppets and must be made in a different way (see Chapter 3).

Goose (rice. 24). The doll is sewn from jersey. The beak is made from papier-mâché. The head is lightly padded with cotton to keep the shape better; the body, except for the neck, is completely stuffed with cotton wool. The puppeteer's hand is inserted into the doll's head: the thumb is inserted into the lower jaw, the index and middle fingers into the upper jaw. Thus, the hand of the puppeteer, covered with jersey, gives the impression of a movable neck of a goose.

Snake (rice. 25). The head is made in the same way as that of a goose. The torso is controlled with a stick, which the puppeteer supports with the second hand.

Frog (rice. 26). The body is sewn from matter, best of all from silk, which well imitates the gleaming skin of a frog. The mouth is made according to the same principle as that of a snake and a goose, but in such a way that it can be controlled with the help of the index and middle fingers. The thumb and little finger are inserted into the front paws of the doll. The hind legs are made with a bend at the knee and are connected to the body on hinges, forming movable joints. A wire fork is attached to the hind legs, with the help of which the puppeteer controls them, depicting the jumping of a frog.

Glove puppets and puppets have a long history. The first most ancient plot of the ancient theater is the Legend of the Gods.

Since not all actors decided to portray the gods, it turned out to be easier to replace people with dolls without risking the wrath of the gods. "Also in Ancient Egypt there were traveling puppet theaters that traveled around the villages with a play on the theme of the love of Isis and Osiris. With the advent of Christianity, puppet mysteries were played even in temples. The figurine of the Mother of God in these representations was called Marionette, or "little Mary", hence the word "puppet". The last remnant of this religious theater was the Christmas performances, with which puppeteers-"vertepniks" walked through the Russian villages.

Like live actors, the puppets quickly moved from religious to worldly themes. For this, glove puppets, with their coarse, jerky movements, were much better suited than sophisticated puppets. In ancient Rome, the crowd was amused by the obscene jokes of the Mokkus doll. In the Middle Ages, various histrions and buffoons always carried dolls with them, releasing risky witticisms against those in power with their lips. And in which case they said: "It's not me, but a doll." And they were justified - so strong was the belief in their own, separate existence of dolls. All puppet heroes were cheerful, perky and wore red jester's caps, which is why the Italians called the first of them Pulcinella ("cockerel"). French Polichinelle, English Punch ("kick"), Dutch Pickelherring ("smoked herring") came from him. Yes, and Russian Petrushka, or completely Pyotr Petrovich Uksusov - is it not from a rooster?

"PETROUSHKA is the nickname of a puppet show doll, a Russian jester, a joker, a wit in a red caftan and a red cap; the whole clownish, puppet den is also called Petrushka" (V. Dal).