The picture at the left is an example of Czech Black combined with an actor and marionette in Other Hand Productions' Pinocchio. I am in this photo as a puppeteer standing directly behind Lampwick, on the left. If you look in the extreme upper left of the photo you can see where my hand crosses the strings. Since I'm wearing a black glove it causes the string to drop out.

This form of theater can be used with many styles of puppets, although it is most commonly used with tabletop puppets. The puppeteer dresses from head to toe in black velvet. There are black velvet curtains behind them and on both sides. A sharply focused curtain of light shoots across the playing area. It is generated by carefully shuttered lamps on Stage Right, Stage Left and a bank of instruments above. When the puppet is placed in the light they can be seen clearly as if under normal stage lighting but the puppeteer becomes invisible.

We have used this technique not only with our tabletop puppets but also with marionettes, actors, and dancers. It is a wonderfully cinemagraphic effect creating a world where puppets can float, dance, and disappear.