puppeteers
Marionette operators backstage
Puppeteers are performers who manipulate puppets—figures controlled by strings, rods, hands, or other mechanisms to create the illusion of life.
The term extends figuratively to anyone who controls others from behind the scenes: The CEO was merely a figurehead; the real puppeteers were the board members.
To puppeteer is to control in this manner.
Thin flexible lines
- stageRaised performance platform
- manipulationUnderhanded control of others
- theaterVenue for live drama
- BunrakuJapanese puppet theater tradition
ventriloquists · Jim Henson · booth · curtain · voicing · characterization · timing · choreography
Authority to direct
- manipulationUnderhanded control of others
- mastermindScheme's chief planner
- behind-the-scenesHidden from public view
- influencePower to affect others
power · strings · orchestration · scheming · handlers · operators · shadow figures · directing
Process of building something
- carvingShaping by cutting away
- jointingCreating flush edges
- stringingPassing through sequentially
- woodworkingCraft of shaping lumber
fabric · foam · papier-mâché · articulation · mechanisms · controls · crossbars · painting
From Italy's largest island
- RajasthaniOf a northwestern Indian state
- CzechOf Prague's homeland
- JapaneseOf or from Nippon
- IndonesianSoutheast Asian islander's identity
folklore · storytelling · heritage · guilds · apprenticeship · masters · lineage · ritual
strings
Thin flexible lines
- stageRaised performance platform
- manipulationUnderhanded control of others
- theaterVenue for live drama
Bunraku · ventriloquists · Jim Henson · booth · curtain · voicing · characterization · timing · choreography · Punch and Judy
control
Authority to direct
- manipulationUnderhanded control of others
- mastermindScheme's chief planner
- behind-the-scenesHidden from public view
influence · power · strings · orchestration · scheming · handlers · operators · shadow figures · directing · exploitation
construction
Process of building something
woodworking · fabric · foam · papier-mâché · articulation · mechanisms · controls · crossbars · painting · costuming
Sicilian
From Italy's largest island
- RajasthaniOf a northwestern Indian state
- CzechOf Prague's homeland
- JapaneseOf or from Nippon
Indonesian · folklore · storytelling · heritage · guilds · apprenticeship · masters · lineage · ritual · ceremonies
- entertainerssingers, actor, dancers, actress, musicians
- puppetryBunraku, bunraku, wayang kulit, shadow play, Punch and Judy
- entertainers in artactors, dancers, musicians, comedians, circus performers
- entertainment workersentertainers, performers, stagehands, film crew, dancers
- street festivalparade, carnival, block party, live music, food stalls
- court intrigueintrigue, plots, schemes, plotting, conspiracy
puppeteerspuppets
Figures manipulated for performance
marionettes · pawns · minions · figureheads · mouthpieces
puppeteersaudience
Gathered viewers collectively
spectators · viewers · actors · stage actors · stars