Theatre Festivals and Conferences I have Loved

The puppet must breathe to live.  It doesn't do any good to huff and puff oneself if that breath isn't transferred down the arm to the hand. Start with the breath.
 The puppet must see.  It shouldn't just turn and go.  It needs to have a gaze.  Figure out where its eyes or antennae are and let it follow its gaze.
Every movement must have meaning.  Acting is reacting.  The puppet will 'see' and then react.  Turning and running has no meaning if the puppet isn't seeing and reacting.
The armature and material from which the puppet is made is both limiting and liberating.  Embrace the limitations of what the puppet can do, and that will lead to greater creativity.

"Don't be interesting; be interested," Faye Dupras says, quoting one of her teachers.  If the puppet is focused on and reacting to something, WITH BREATH, the audience will focus on the puppet.