The Puppet

Marotte

The marotte is the most elementary form of rod puppet. Originally, the word marotte referred to a jester's stick: a wand topped with a head that was trimmed with particoloured ribbons and bells. Today, the term marotte refers to a puppet controlled from below with a single central rod. In French, the term marotte can be used even when other rods are added to control the arms, as long as the head and limbs of the marotte are fixed to the central rod and move on the same axis as the stick (see also Rod Puppet).

Marotte à main prenante (Alternate name: Human-Arm Marotte)

This French expression à main prenante is the equivalent of the English "human arm", and is used when one of the puppeteer's hands becomes the hand - and thus an integral part - of the puppet. The French term marotte à main prenante is preferred whenever the puppet is a marotte. The puppeteer controls a central rod with one of his or her hands, while the other hand becomes a hand of the puppet itself. Sometimes two puppeteers share animation of the marotte, thus giving it two "human" hands.