shadow puppet
Backlit hand figure
A shadow puppet is a flat figure, usually cut from leather or cardboard, manipulated behind a translucent screen with a light source behind it.
The audience sees only the silhouette.
Shadow puppetry is an ancient art form across Asia, particularly Indonesia, China, and Turkey.
The term extends to anyone controlled by another: The general was merely a shadow puppet of the regime.
Javanese shadow-play narrator
- gamelanIndonesian percussive ensemble
- RamayanaSanskrit heroic verse narrative
- MahabharataSanskrit war epic
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
ceremony · mythology · folklore · legends · oral history · cultural heritage · ancestry · customs
Display or barrier
- silhouetteFilled-in outline shape
- backlightIllumination behind a display
- projectionSomething that extends outward
- manipulationUnderhanded control of others
narration · storytelling · audience · stage · curtain · spotlight · rehearsal · script
Filled-in outline shape
- cutoutShape removed from material
- profileSide-facing outline
- outlineSummary of key elements
- contourBounding line of shape
figure · shape · articulated · jointed · rod · stick · leather · parchment
Underhanded control of others
- articulationClear vocal expression
- rodThin rigid stick
- stickThin piece of wood
- backlightIllumination behind a display
lamp · screen · transparency · movement · gesture · voice · improvisation · timing
Total absence of light
- lightVisible electromagnetic radiation
- contrastNotable difference between things
- umbraComplete shadow region
- penumbraRegion of partial illumination
flickering · glow · illumination · twilight · dusk · monochrome · dreamlike · ethereal
dalang
Javanese shadow-play narrator
- gamelanIndonesian percussive ensemble
- RamayanaSanskrit heroic verse narrative
- MahabharataSanskrit war epic
ritual · ceremony · mythology · folklore · legends · oral history · cultural heritage · ancestry · customs · epic
screen
Display or barrier
- silhouetteFilled-in outline shape
- backlightIllumination behind a display
- projectionSomething that extends outward
manipulation · narration · storytelling · audience · stage · curtain · spotlight · rehearsal · script · dialogue
silhouette
Filled-in outline shape
contour · figure · shape · articulated · jointed · rod · stick · leather · parchment · translucent
manipulation
Underhanded control of others
- articulationClear vocal expression
- rodThin rigid stick
- stickThin piece of wood
backlight · lamp · screen · transparency · movement · gesture · voice · improvisation · timing · coordination
darkness
Total absence of light
- lightVisible electromagnetic radiation
- contrastNotable difference between things
- umbraComplete shadow region
penumbra · flickering · glow · illumination · twilight · dusk · monochrome · dreamlike · ethereal · mysterious
- puppetryhand puppets, marionettes, finger puppets, string puppets, sock puppets
- Southeast AsiaVietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia
- homemade toysrag doll, wooden blocks, paper airplane, play dough, playdough
- Puppetsventriloquist dummy, bunraku, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear
- shadowspenumbra, umbra, silhouette, shading, shadowy
- silhouettestree silhouette, body outline, side profile, running man, bird in flight
shadow puppetmarionette
String-controlled theatrical figure
string puppet · hand puppet · finger puppet · ventriloquist dummy · glove puppet
shadow puppetlive actor
Human performer, not animated
animatronic figure · hologram · neon sign · projection mapping · mascot
shade, shadow, puppet, obscure, shadows, overshadow, shadowing, puppetry, marionette