A wonderful presentation of the Christmas story told through puppets! (and 2 live humans)

This is a package product that includes:

• Graphics for all the puppet songs
• Set Designs
• 2 CDs with the music
• One with recorded voices for the puppets (if you choose to use it)
• One with background music and songs (use if you perform the puppet voices live)
• 2 scripts for the sound techs - one for the recorded voices, if used, and another if the puppet voices are done live.
• Scripts for the puppeteers
• Script for the Director

Mary and Joseph (The only humans) enter Bethlehem and discover the difficulty in obtaining a room for the night. 

This is a mixed human/puppet presentation. The set is the town of Bethlehem. 

You have been presented with several ways to produce this puppet drama.

1. No memorization by the puppeteers. One of the CDs included has every line of dialogue, every piece of background music, and every sound effect all recorded for you. The Mary and Joseph characters will need to memorize their lines and learn to give them in the space allowed. The puppeteers can concentrate on manipulation of the puppets. They will need to know the lines well enough, of course, but it need not be memorized. This will eliminate microphones behind the stage or on the puppeteers. This also means the puppeteer can be male of female regardless of the sex of the puppet.
2. Full memorization by the puppeteers. There is a CD with only the background music and sound effects. This is for the puppeteers who enjoy speaking their lines with their own character voice. There is latitude for the puppets and the humans to interact without timing constraints. This also allows for ad lib dialogue (which can be good or bad!). You can use the recorded version as a memorization aide.
3. Mix up the two concepts. Certain scenes can be done with the recorded version and other scenes with the live voices. The caution here is to be consistent. If a character uses the recording once, it is important to use the recording for all of his speeches.

Set Design:

This presentation can be done with a traditional Puppet Stage. I would add various backgrounds to illustrate the different 'shop'. These backgrounds can be permanent or lifted for the particular scene and dropped when not necessary. 

If you have the time, however, the set design given below would be very fun and given a new flair to most puppet presentations. 

The set has to include openings for the puppets as well as the humans. There is a center area that allows for an exit and entrance for the humans (Mary and Joseph) yet allows the puppeteers to access all areas of the puppet stage without being seen by the audience. The humans can enter from Stage Left and Stage Right, as well.  

There are 5 'shops' in the town.

• The Bethlehem Inn
• Momma Naomi's Bakery
• A Roman Tax Collection Station
• Cassie -  Classic Clothes
• Simon's Pewter and Pot Shop

Characters:

The Humans

• Mary --   Pregnant, Kind
• Joseph - Worrisome, Kind

The Puppets

• Caleb, Inn Keeper -- Gruff
• Azubah, wife of Caleb - Patient, Strong
• Momma Naomi - Grandmotherly, caring
• Cassie --  Snippy, Snooty, with a little Southern Belle thrown in.
• Simon --  A little crazy, hyper.
• Roman Soldier/Tax Collector -- Bossy, blustery, but deep down a nice guy. Sweet on Cassie
• Angel Gabriel - 'nuff said! 

You need 5-7 assistants to help with the props during the songs. This is in addition to the puppeteers and Mary and Joseph who can help with signs/props.

The Lighting

Though the songs are performed in black light the dialogue is in regular lighting. If you have the capability you may want to light the stage left and stage right sides separately, but this is not a requirement. 

The Music

There are 4 songs presented during the drama. These are presented in black light. See the addendum for more information on the setting up of the black lights. 

During the songs some of the puppets sing (or mouth the words) while others use props and signs to illustrate the song. All of these events are illustrated line by line and each prop/sign is diagramed for you. You will need to paint them with black light paint. Check the addendum for more details and pictures to use as suggestions for the props. 

Music is also used during the dialogue to enhance the drama. The script will indicate when these tracks are used.