From the moment your first figure appears upon the scene, until the last one has made its exit, a continuous flow of amusing dialogue and comment should keep the audience on tenter-hooks of surprise and excitement--shrieking with laughter over absurd remarks or in an agony of wonder as to what will happen next. Dull and stupid as patter may appear upon paper, it should certainly be written down and well studied before beginning the show, for impromptu fun cannot be relied upon.
A lot of extempore humor can be introduced when you yourself have entered into the spirit of the show--but it is imperative that regular patter should be learned by heart. Nothing can be more tiresome than a halting conversation of which one party has forgotten the cues, whilst the other cannot remember the lines.
If you can sing, intersperse a song or two here and there when there seems a suitable occasion, but be rather sparing than otherwise with your music.
It may also be borne in mind that it is not necessary to have dialogue the whole time. A clever and amusing description of what is being done often proves better than a lengthy conversation in which the characters explain themselves. A few crisp remarks are worth a bookful of such speeches. However, when you are once fairly embarked on the play, let your puppets joke and abuse one another as much as they like.
To conclude with a few words as to what is suitable for the Puppet Shadow Theater.
The great object of every entertainment is to be funny without introducing vulgarity. The nature of the show necessitates fairly short pieces, and experience has proved that several short and amusing plays are more appreciated than one long piece, during the performance of which interest is sure to flag.
Choose commonplace incidents of everyday life. An inventive mind will soon adapt the ridiculous side of things to a screamingly funny show. Do not attempt too much. With a smart patter, full of current expressions and allusions to topics of the time, preferably local, which all your audience can appreciate, the most casual events become laughable.
Take, for instance, the well-known family trouble--
Mrs. HOGGINS. Mr. PLAPPER. JIM, the Plumber. ROBERT, the Policeman. BRIDGET, the Maid.