Book excerpt: A profile of the authors life as a famous Soviet puppeteer and puppet theatre director. He describes childhood impressions, writes of earlier professions as artist and actor, and finally about his personal experiences with puppetry which helped him achieve mastery of his craft.Born in Moscow in 1901, he describes every step he took to his profession, how he worked on individual productions, and an account of all of his productions. In the 1920s Sergei Obraztsov founded the State Central Puppet Theatre in Moscow --- the biggest in Russia, an educational center of professional and amateurs theatre groups. The center houses the museum of theatrical puppets, a library on the theme, manuscript and pedagogical departments, and one of the worlds largest collection of theatrical puppets (about 3000 from 50 countries). Now over 50 years old, The Sergei Obraztsov Central Puppet Show has entertained tens-of-thousands of fans in 50 different countries, with a witty program that parodies slipshod variety performances.