By AFPRelaxnews | Mar 20, 2023
[CAPTION]Puppeteers rehearse prior the Snow White fairytale puppet show at the UNESCO recognized Salzburg Marionette Theatre in Salzburg, Austria, on February 14, 2023.
Image: Joe Klamar / AFP[/CAPTION]
It takes as long to train to be a puppeteer at the world-famous Salzburg Marionette Theatre as it does to become a doctor.
The puppets and their startlingly lifelike movements take years to master, which is why the Austrian theatre's work has UNESCO World Heritage status.
"It's like playing an instrument. You can't think about which string to pull during the show," said Edouard Funck, a puppeteer and costume designer.
_RSS_Most puppets have at least 11 strings, so the puppeteer can make them "kiss each other, hug each other, hit each other, (or) whatever we want."
Some complicated puppets have dozens of strings, requiring up to five people to operate them, said the 34-year-old French-born performer.
Their movements are so subtle that audiences sometimes believe a puppet has "moved her lips", said Funck, when it's just "the illusion that is created on stage".
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