Puppet designer: responsibilities within a performance

Role and Responsibilities of a Puppet Designer in Performance

A puppet designer is responsible for creating the appearance, movement, and size specifics of any puppets used in a performance.
They often work closely with the production design team and director to ensure the puppet’s design fits within the overall aesthetic and creative vision of the performance.
The puppet designer must consider the function and practicality of the puppet for its operators, ensuring the puppets can be manipulated to carry out required movements and expressions.

Puppet designers need to have a strong understanding of the puppeteer’s movements and the way in which they operate the puppet, in order to design a puppet that’s convenient to handle.
They’re expected to create differing puppet designs - while some performances may call for human-like figures, others may demand mythological creatures or abstract, non-humanoid forms.
They may be required to handle repairs and alterations during the run of the performance, hence an ample knowledge of quick fixes and material properties is needed.

The puppet designer may also determine the materials used to construct the puppets, making selections based on the durability required for scenes and the overall visual effect.
If necessary, the puppet designer might also need to provide sketches, models, or instructions to a puppet construction team or artisan who will physically build the final product.