Adapting Your Puppet Script

Right at the start of my time working with puppets I purchased a book of skits and was very eager to read them and see how they could be put to use in our ministry. To my surprise, not one of those skits was usable for our audience because of too many props, characters that we didn’t have, length of skits, vocabulary, and other reasons.

Thankfully, there are simple ways to make those changes. First, take a good look at what the script is saying. If it calls for a frog puppet and you only have a dog, ask yourself, “Does it really matter if I use a frog or a dog?” If not, you can substitute one puppet for another by eliminating words that clearly refer to one, replacing them with phrases suitable for the other.

There are plenty of things that you can change if needed. Change one animal character to another type of animal. In most cases you could even change a mother in the script to a father with some minor wording changes, and vice versa.

There may be times when you want to use a script, but it has a doctrinal message that is not appropriate or correct. Because children learn so much from puppet shows you should be very careful with the messages that are presented. In most cases you can change the wording so that it teaches a proper message.

Other times you may find a great script that teaches the message that you want, but it may be too long or too short for your situation. If the script is too long, look for lines or parts of lines that can be removed without altering the message of the script or the story line. If it is too short for your use, look for places in the script where you can expand and add some lines.

Perhaps you will find it more convenient to use the script as is and spend several minutes afterwards discussing it. Watch the vocabulary used in a skit. Often adult writers forget children have not yet learned the meaning of such words as omnipotent and sovereign. Simplify when you need to, or have one of the puppets give a definition. You can even upgrade vocabulary if necessary for older children. What ever you do, make sure its suitable for your listeners.

Not only does vocabulary need to be appropriate for the audience, but so do the situations portrayed. A story about a little boy stealing candy from a friend’s school desk could be adapted for pre-teens or teens by depicting a young fellow stealing magazines from another person’s locker. For preschoolers, the puppets might show a young child taking a small toy from someone else’s house.

The idea is the same, but the action is appropriate to the age group. While props are wonderful, they may not always be necessary. Read the script carefully. Is the prop essential to the action of the play? If not, you can easily do without it. The teacher or narrator can set a verbal scene as the action begins or wherever needed. Use the puppets appropriately, and let the children’s imagination do the rest.

A script should never be a mold into which you must squeeze. Instead, it should be a spring board for using your God-given creativity to meet the needs of your audience.