Week Two - Task #11. “Shadow Puppet Show”

[Anne-Marie Gagne]

Darkness. Then a flare of fire as shadows leap to life.

You’re sitting cross-legged beneath a paper lantern, surrounded by quiet watchers. Before you, a curtain glows with the silhouettes of children, warriors wielding long swords, snakelike dragons, and spirits.

A wizened figure narrates, telling a story about a boy who wandered too far and became lost between worlds. A shadow-Pipkin dances across the screen chased by wolves made of hurricane.

This is the story you’re living. Or maybe it’s every story, you consider.
The puppets fight. Fall. Rise again. At the end, the same boy leaves a light behind him, a lantern for others to follow.

You’re handed one too. Small and red. You carry it to the edge of the stage and release it to the wind.

It lifts, joining a sky of floating lights.

Another pumpkin on the tree brightens, its face soft and flickering.

Task:
For this task, in 100+ words, tell us about what your own shadow puppet show would be about.

Alternatively, you can draw or describe in 75+ words your own shadow puppet.

This task is worth 10 beans, with an additional 13 bonus beans for completing all Week Two tasks by end of activity. Deadline is 11:59pm (HOL time) on Friday November 21st.

[Emily Spencer]

I'm on a reading cycle of dark fantasy books, and my current obsession is Frankenstein. With that in mind, my puppet show draws inspiration from Mary Shelley's wonderful novel, with a few added twists of my own, of course.

The puppets would be those of a young girl, an ogre, and a dragon. It is a rather introspective play despite its fantasy elements. The ogre is terrorizing the young girl, and nothing she ever does seems to please him. Repeatedly, she runs away, only to be brought back time and time again. Eventually, however, the young girl runs away successfully and is seen sinking to the ground. In her place, a dragon arises. The dragon stalks the ogre, devouring him at last. Moral of the story: Beware the hidden dragon/beast!

[River Fenwick]

My show would have two ballerinas and a dark blob of darkness, except for a single eye hole. One ballerina sabotages the other to steal the spotlight, with the cycle repeating itself over and over once the sabotaged ballerina recovers and begins to gain attention again.
After the first sabotage, the dark blob begins to follow the guilty ballerina, appearing whenever she turns away, freezing only when she looks at it. Each new act of sabotage makes the blob grow faster and closer, affecting the ballerina's performances. Eventually, in her final dance, the ballerina can no longer escape her own creation, too slow in finding the blob and looking at it. The blob overtakes her, and the two merge into one silhouette as the light fades.
The moral of the show is how greed consumes you, and can come with consequences you may not have considered before.

[Kaylee Oatsong]

Hello,

My show would be about the story of two friends. A little girl sits on a small bench, looking lonely, a dim light around her, and sees another student sitting in the other side of the bench she's sitting on. They start off as strangers, they don't know each other much, and can barely even start a conversation. However, the light around them slowly gets brighter. Slowly but surely, they get closer with experiences, diving deeper into knowing each other, and more. They didn't know they had so much in common. Much longer after that, they become the closest as they can be, having the best time of their lives and being their true self in front of them; no embarrassment, no awkwardness, just them and their freedom. At the end, the light was at its maximum of brightness as they hug. The show highlights the importance of having a best friend always at your side. They can change you life completely in the best way, just like how a dim light could turn at its brightest.

Kaylee Oatsong

[Janne Halla]

My shadow puppet would be a polar bear, made to move like it’s walking through the snow. I’d craft it carefully using dark black cloth stretched over thin cardboard, giving the shape both depth and some flexibility. The cardboard would form the bear’s outline, broad shoulders, rounded back, and thick legs, while the cloth would soften its edges, so its shadow looks smooth against the light.

I’d cut small slits into the cloth near the bear’s chest and muzzle, letting faint glimmers of light pass through. A thin bamboo stick would be attached to each paw, allowing me to make the bear move slowly. When I tilt it forward, the bear would look like it’s sniffing. When I raise the sticks, it would rear up.