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Visit this post for an explanation of rod puppets.

In terms of designing and building a rod puppet, you must of course think of the guidelines of puppet design. Once you have thought of what the puppet must do and look like, you should then consider the mechanics of the rod puppet, and the placement and attachment of the rods. 

Size is important

An important thing to remember is that the longer the rod, the less precise the puppet's actions will be. Rods should generally be no more than 30cm (or from your fingers to your elbow) long; the shortest length will depend on how much distance you need between the puppet and puppeteer, without making things difficult for the puppeteer. If you are unsure of how comfortable a length you need, make the rods a lot longer than you need them to be: then chop off the excess as you rehearse with the puppet. 

There are some instances where rods will need to be longer than the limit given above: if you are using the puppets in a film or TV program, you will have to hide the puppeteers with a lot more difficulty than if you were on a stage. 

You will also need to account for where and how to attach the rods to the puppet - think this one out ahead of time, because this will greatly impact on the range of motions the puppet can make. 

What to use for rods

I find that the best rods are black plastic-covered coathangers. They are not only cheap, but very easy to find. You don't have to worry about painting them or covering them with a dark material, and they are very pliable. You will need some pliers (two will help better than one!) to straighten the coathanger out - I cut off the hook end, and if the other end is wound around the first, I also cut off the spiral part. Note: you may want to keep the scraps - a puppeteer always keeps scraps just in case! 

If you need something that isn't going to need to take a lot of weight, and is more for imprecise movements for something small (ie. not a 'muppet'-type rod or something that will hold up a heavy puppet), then I find florist's wire to be an excellent material for rods. The wire is used to bend around flower stems and keep them in shape; it is usually sold in Spotlight in a coil, and is very sturdy, lightweight and is easy to bend. I have used it before as a rod for a cat's tail, which needed to 'wag'; it only works well for similarly basic puppetry purposes. 

How and where to attach them

You may want to curve one end around in a loop, and sew this to your puppet - you can also try wood glue or superglue, hot glue, or other suitable glues. If you plan on gluing the rod, try creating a small hole in the puppet if you can, and inserting the glued rod there, as it will provide more stability and will require fewer repairs. 

For animals and human-shaped puppets, it is advisable to add a rod to the centre of the back of the puppet (to hold the body weight) and one rod in the back of the head. To make the puppet walk, put a rod at the back of the heel of each foot. For the hands, you can either install rods in the bottom of the palm, at the outer side of the hand (ie. opposite the thumb), or you can install rods into the elbows. It depends on the kind of movements you want to make with the puppet. 

Naturally, any limb or area of the puppet that you want a specific movement out of, you will need to consider adding a rod for ease of manipulation. 

Handles for rods

You will also need a handle for the rods. You may find that the balance of the rod is different depending on which end you hold, so be sure to add the handle to the end that is most comfortable for you. You can make a handle a number of ways: 

1. Curl the end of the rod into a loop, and wrap the end around the rod where they meetl glue the wrapped end to ensure it doesn't unwind. This is a very simple and easy way to do it, but you may want to add some padding around the wire to ensure comfort during performances.
2. Insert the end of the rod into a short piece of dowel, making sure to slightly crimp the end of the rod to ensure it doesn't come out or spin on the wood. You will also need to glue it in place.
3. Curve the end of the rod and add a large bead to the end; glue the bead in place. This is more useful if you have small
   puppets that don't require a lot of precise movements.

How to operate rod puppets

Rod puppets, if large and require a number of simultaneous movements, may need up to three people to operate each. Generally speaking, one person will operate the head and the right arm, another does the left arm and body, and the last will do the feet. This of course is interchangeable according the performance's needs, but you will find that this arrangement is the easiest to coordinate. The Japanese puppeteers have used this arrangement for hundreds of years to great success with bunraku puppetry. 

Naturally, the larger the cast required to operate each puppet, the larger the stage you will need. 

Final thoughts

You should additionally read about the light curtain staging effect, which incorprates more information about how to perform with rod puppets, and how to design lighting so that the puppets are seen, while the puppeteers remain 'invisible' to the audience. 

Because rod puppets are so widely defined, it is difficult to give precise information on what you need to know about them. So if you have any questions, please leave a comment on this post. You should also read the post on burnaku, which is a form of rod puppetry.

Want more? Help build a puppet!