Representing others is the occupation of both anthropologists and puppeteers, though their end results differ. Both observe human interaction and represent some version of it to an audience. The puppeteer's representation takes the form of an orally presented puppet show while the anthropologist produces a written ethnography. At the base of the puppeteer's oral presentation, however, are written texts while at the base of ethnographies are spoken words. This text examines the social construction of puppeteers at a short-lived puppetry school, as the young puppeteers learn how to transpose text into performance. Topics include: cultural discourses; speaking through puppets - genre, tradition, and style; connection to the past through stories, books and puppets; voices of the master, or becoming a puppeteer; script to performance; the sociolinguistics of performance; ethnic and regional differences; religion and war in official discourse; and religion, race and war in the puppet theatre.