🪆Puppets

Setup and launch

Pick two performers and place them center stage. Invite two audience volunteers to be their puppeteers. Give a clear safety briefing before anything starts: puppeteers stand behind their performer, move them by the shoulders, elbows, torso, and hips only — no touching the bathing-suit area, no pulling on clothing, no forcing joints. Remind everyone that "Stop" is always available. Once the rules land, get a suggestion (location or relationship) and launch the scene.

Flow

1. Set starting poses. Puppeteers gently position their performer into an opening stance. Performers lock in, breathe, and get ready to speak from whatever picture they find themselves in.

2. Move in small, readable steps. Each adjustment should be a clear impulse — shift a limb, hold the pose for a beat so the performer can justify it with dialogue, then move again. Rushed fiddling reads as noise; deliberate choices read as comedy.

3. Manage focus. Only one puppet should be in active motion at a time. The puppeteer controlling the speaker keeps them stable; the other puppeteer can reposition during pauses. If both puppeteers manipulate at once, the audience loses track of the story.

4. Keep telling a story. It is easy to get lost in the physical gimmick and forget that a scene still needs narrative. Performers should build relationship, stakes, and emotion through their lines — the weird physicality becomes funnier when it contrasts with a real scene.

5. Wrap up on a button. As soon as a strong visual picture or a punchline lands, the host calls it. Puppeteers freeze, performers hold the final image, applause. Rotate pairs if you want more rounds.