Leather silhouette and puppet shows are the earliest and most popular stage plays in Chinese puppet theatrical art. At all custom occasions such as holidays and festivals; flower fairs or temple fairs; spring worship and autumn requital; chasing away disasters and inviting fortune; red and white celebrations; child birth and career promotion; a stage is set up in the village to put on shows, singing
and dancing. Theatrical troupe is usually headed by someone who owns the costume; or a family troupe consisting members of the same household. Some shows are series shows that can go on for 7 or 8 nights, even as long as two weeks;others are single show or the highlights from series shows. Some troupes would set up puppet shows during the day and make shadow shows at night. There is
always a pre-show episode to salute gods. On wedding ceremonies, celebrating child birth or first lull month of the newborns, the show on will be "sending off proliferation fairy;" birthday celebration for the elderly is the "three stars - fortune, wealth and longevity;" erecting roof beam for new houses is "Lu Ban carpenter show;" and at Rev. Guan's temple fair or at prayer time to seek protection against disasters and pestilence, it is "Rev Guan Yu, the all-time evil conqueror." The size of shadow show tro
upes average from 5 8 members, some with only two. Shadow show actors are still involved in field work. The), travel around the neighboring villages when field work is idle, carrying costumes on their shoulders, or on donkey backs, to set up temporary stages. Traditional screen is a wooden
frame about one meter high by two meters wide, covered over with white sheet. It is called the "shadow window" or the "bright spot" by the folks. With oil lamps hanging over the screen box, actors and actress manipulate the post of silhouette figures against the cloth screen window, singing along to the music accompaniment. With brilliant skills and amazing techniques, and through those shadow figures, stage settings and costumes cast on the screen by the Iamp light, they present various roles and plots with vivid performance. Action scenes have intense fighting between warriors, reining horses before falling swords; drama show is unfolded with genuine emotions, singing in tearful voices at highlights. Audience under the stage is deeply captured by the plot and the performance.
