Puppet foot explanation...

This is for Sarah and anyone else who is confused. The puppeteers are fully visible to the audience (a little akin to Japanese Bunraku puppets). They are dressed in black and it is an audience conceit that they are "invisible", which honestly after watching the performance only once it is an easily made request as your eye is certainly drawn to the puppet and not the performer. This is helped by the idea that all of the actors on stage address the puppet directly and not the puppeteer. The puppets are between three and four feet tall. They have a hole in the back of their head which allows the puppeteer to manipulate the head with one arm, leaving their other hand free to manipulate an arm. They also have a strap around their neck which attachs to the puppet's neck, which allows them to drop their hand out of the head and pick up both hands, when necessary. So... the metal pieces just attach the puppet to the puppeteer so that they are standing just in front of the puppeteer. Does that make sense?