Traditional puppetry generally depends on standard puppet forms - marionettes, hand puppets, rods, shadows, and Bunraku puppets. With these, the puppet script must conform to the limitations of the puppet type.
Contemporary puppetry changes the rules of the game as it passes the creative wand over to the puppet-maker. Here, the invention of original puppet types is the critical ingredient to creating new puppet plays. Huge, specialized puppets take the stage and shadow puppets are integrated with slides. Actors assemble puppet sets on stage as part of the script. In this way the puppetry is tailored directly to the needs of the story themes, action, and characters instead of making the story adapt to the limitations of the puppet type. All in all, contemporary puppetry can lead to a richer and more meaningful use of the medium.