Go ask Alice

I like the idea of the shadows, but then I'm biased ;) You could exchange this easily with normal video projection of course. Another idea might be to use a difference in depth perception. A trick I've seen used a couple of times in puppetry: have a small version of Alice upstage, and as she 'grows', she appears downstage in a larger version. Use a 'hide' (small flat or a rostra) to create different levels in height and split the upstage from the downstage. (In this way, you don't have to have Alice walk on/off stage, you'd just need someone or something to act as a double, and with good timing remove the one for the other) Add some vegetation and other set pieces, and it can look quite good. It's easier to see than describe, so I found a video of one of the shows I've seen it in: http://www.crabgrasspuppets.com/tortillasvid2.html Note the downstage table, and the upstage curtain which hides the puppeteers when they work in 'miniature'. (The video is quite slow in getting to the actual good stuff, so you may want to fast forward) Ignore the fact that it's puppetry, just focus on the fact that they use different staging levels to create the sense of distance. Of course it entirely depends on the creative direction of the surrounding scenes.... Your source for handmade shadow puppets at Puppets in Melbourne