In this arrangement the puppet is suspended by the head. The puppet may be suspended by two extra strings at the shoulders. When this is done the back string at the nape of the neck may be dispensed with. Some times these two back strings are converged into one at a point somewhat over the head. If it is necessary that a puppet look up, an extra string may be attached to the end of the nose or middle of the waist in front.
Strings are black fish-line or heavy linen thread or carpet thread.
Black has been found to be the least conspicuous color even against light backgrounds for it does not catch and reflect the light as do lighter colors. The way to keep the strings from showing is, not to try to match them to the backdrop, but to keep direct light off of them as much as possible. This is a feat of lighting which has never to my knowledge been carried out with absolute satisfaction though it has been approached in Ellen Van Volkenburg s production of A Midsummer Night s Dream. In this production the strings were totally invisible almost all of the time. In Attaching the strings to the frame, the frame should be held horizontal to the floor, the height above the upright puppet that it will be held in production with the cross piece over the face of the puppet and the tail of the T pointing back.