Every Saturday, Wang Weifang puts on a play with his friends in a small town near Xi'an. The audience (观众) can hear them, but they cannot see them. That is because they are putting on a shadow puppet (皮影) play. Shadow puppets are made of hard leather (皮革) . The leather is cut out in the shape of a person, an animal or an object. Each puppet is painted in bright colors and put on a stick. Some puppets have movable arms and legs.
During a shadow puppet play, Wang stands behind a white screen with lights behind it. The audience sit in front of the screen. Wang and his friends hold the puppets very close to the screen so that the audience can see the puppets' shadows clearly. Then they move the puppets around and do the voices of the different characters.
Shadow puppet play is a kind of ancient Chinese art. Now with TV and films, shadow puppet plays are not as popular as before. Wang and his friends often work very hard for little money, but they do not mind. They want to keep this traditional art form alive.
