Debrecen4U February 16, 2026

This is how the puppets are made in the Debrecen theatre workshop

When the stage falls silent and the auditorium no longer echoes with children’s chatter, life does not stop upstairs at the Vojtina Puppet Theatre. In the workshop, diligent hands shape the materials so that those special, meticulously crafted puppets can be born – the ones that will soon tell stories on stage.

Creating the figures is sometimes the result of a long and detailed creative process, in which creativity, professional expertise, and craftsmanship all play an important role. During dehir.hu’s visit, workshop manager Richárd Oláh and puppet maker Kati Kissné spoke about the journey from the first sketch to the finished character.

Designs are created based on the script. Once these are approved, the making of the puppets can begin. “Usually, a side view and a front view drawing are prepared, and based on these the work can start,” Richárd said.

The puppet maker also revealed that the material a puppet is made from depends on many factors. “It’s important how they will be used and what the visual concept requires. For example, there are glove puppets that must withstand knocks behind the screen – that’s why they need to be made of wood. Ours is a relatively large stage, and a small head would disappear here, so we often make glove puppets with larger heads. Those, however, are made from polystyrene, and then we cover them with layers. They are usually hollow inside, but even so, some of them are not light,” he explained.

After the technical details, we were also curious whether he has a favorite material in puppet making. “I really enjoy carving both wood and foam rubber. We use the latter when we need a puppet that is light but relatively large,” he said, adding that the advantage of wood is that it requires little finishing work afterward, although it is somewhat harder to carve. Foam rubber remains light, requires little finishing work, and has proper stability. In the case of polystyrene, however, after carving it must be covered with many layers to make it sufficiently hard.

But how long does it take to make a single puppet? “Glove puppets are relatively simple; I can carve two or three in a day. Of course, that’s just the carving – afterward they still need to be sanded and primed,” he said.

Dressing and painting come only after that, and this process also requires a great deal of time. The puppets’ costumes are sewn, among others, by Kati Kiss Antalné, who revealed that she has been working at the Vojtina Bábszínház for more than 25 years, and during that time she has left her mark on hundreds of puppets. “Each puppet is a unique little character; no two are ever the same. It would be hard to choose a favorite, because each one moves me while I’m making it. When Ricsi starts carving the glove puppets, we already begin preparing the basic gloves: the fabric, the top or shirt. From planning to completion it usually takes several weeks; it varies how much time we have to devote to each puppet,” Kati explained.

Looking around the puppet workshop, one cannot fail to notice the props from the recently completed production, Vitéz László és a halál hét leckéje, which premiered on stage on February 1.

In the play, the main character travels across the seven continents, crosses oceans, and encounters devils, demons, and spirits along the way. Richárd was just working on props for the Mexican scene. “Here, Death is teaching Vitéz László that there are places where people remember those who are no longer with us with love, and they approach the whole matter differently,” Richárd explained.

Such exciting stations – and many similar ones – await audiences at the Vojtina Puppet Theatre. By following the adventures of Vitéz László, viewers can not only enjoy the characters and stories seen on stage, but also sense the meticulous work taking place behind the scenes that accompanies the creation of the puppets and props. Each performance thus offers both an exciting journey into the world of fairy tales and a glimpse into the theatre’s creative, handcrafted world.

Source and photo credit: dehir.hu