It's magic to transport the audience into a story by awakening their senses.
We can evoke senses by just telling the audience about them or we can play with the lights, the colors of the scenic design and the clothes of the puppets to create a magical experience but I always like to add something more, also because I like to experiment :)
Do you remember my big nose? I love smells so much and I am a bit of a freak when it comes to nice soft smells: they can carry me to another dimension faster than the speed of light. The fire of a witch house could seem very real and you would be dragged in the room with her if I light some Christmas incense smelling like deep pine woods; some natural flower water sprayed in front of the stage could be a perfect introduction for a bunch of butterflies flying around flowers; there is a spray that smells like fresh cookies for the house of Hansel and Gretel: these are just some examples of my personal tricks and I believe it is very easy to find smells that fit a story.
The smell of mushrooms and moss in the forest: can you smell it?
I give also a lot of importance to the sounds and I collect the most incredible strange instruments to be able to provide that special sound: it can be just a doorbell or a wind blower (my very last entry) and I am so fortunate to have a great and curious musician whose music accompanies the shows!
When we are well coordinated with puppet movements and sounds it is really magic!
Also letting the children touch the wooden marionettes at the end of the show it's really nice: they thought until the end that the puppet was made of skin and flesh! And when they take the puppet in their hands they realize how heavy it can be they are so astonished and ask so many questions (which I love to answer)!
And what about taste!?!!! Has anybody tried that during a puppet show?