photo Mikiodo
The Theatre History Podcast
Host Michael Lueger chats with Pete about the origins of toy theater and where it is today. And other stuff.
A Tiny History of Toy Theater
"The Miller And His Men" (1850)
WHAT
Toy Theater isn’t as much about toys as it is about theater. And paper. Some call it Paper Theater. Some say Model Theater. Artistic folks like Hans Christian Anderson, Charles Dickens, Pablo Picasso, Terry Gilliam, and Orson Welles have dabbled in it, and Paul Zaloom made a career of it.
Benjamin Pollock (Victorian Era)
WHEN
The Toy Theater movement began in Europe, way before the Tiny House movement. It’s a form of miniature theater that goes back to the early 18th century into the Victorian era. This period saw huge progress and ingenuity - from the world's first Industrial Revolution to the first telephone. Folks were starting to communicate in new ways. Just like now.
W Webb (1834)
WHO
Adults and children assembled these mass-produced replicas of popular plays at home. They were sold as flat kits that included the script, stage, scenery, characters, and costumes. They were usually printed on a cardboard sheet and sold as DIY kits at the concession stands of opera houses, playhouses, and vaudeville theaters.
Shows were performed for family members and guests - sometimes with live musical accompaniment to make the show extra fancy.
Over 300 plays were adapted from London theater and over 100 printsellers manufactured them.
Toy Theater was sorta the TikTok of its time.
Once Realism hit the stage in the late 19th century, Toy Theatre became less popular, nearly vanishing when TV and WW II took over.
Toy Theatre is here, just when we need it - allowing creative puppeteers, authors, filmmakers, scenic designers, and everything in between (raises hand) to share big stories in tiny ways.
Click the button to peek into Toy Theater festivals in the US & Europe.
Check out this timely piece.