Hand in glove: understanding the hand puppet’s life and liveness as a precursor to its application in education and therapy

Abstract

Hand or glove puppetry is one of the oldest and most common varieties of puppetry, appearing across the globe. While there are variations, the inexpensive, portable, and responsive medium has commonalities derived from its morphology, its relationship to the human hand and body, and its direct animation technique. Found in many educational, recreational, and therapeutic settings for children, recently more research has demonstrated its effectiveness in applied puppetry, in particular when working with students with autism spectrum disorder or ASD. Despite this, many important aspects of the hand puppet and best practices for its usage may not be widely known. In this article, Dr. Felice Amato discusses the hand puppet as a medium, and the specific qualities and techniques that make it a powerful tool for child development. The author explores the way that it connects to the human body through gesture and affect and its sensory properties and the connection to assisting in supporting social interaction. She summarizes findings and describes a variety of insights from puppeteers who work in applied puppetry, specifically with students with exceptionalities. Amato offers insights and recommendations for ways to integrate puppets in a way that is grounded in subtle understandings of the medium while being flexible, responsive, and strategic.