Procession scene at the theatre at Dao Thuc. Backstage area behind the bamboo screen. Curtain call at Dao Thuc. agriculture. The Red River Delta region in North Vietnam is the cradle of the Viet people's wet rice-growing civilization. With a culture so dependent on one element-water-it is no surprise that the folk art reflects this dependency. Since water puppetry is a folk art and originated among the peasants, it is unclear exactly when and how the water puppet tradition started. Records show that puppet performances were part of village celebrations, most likely those at 50 theatre design & technology S P R I N G 2008 the planting and harvest seasons. In Hon Roi (Puppet Soul), Phan Huyen Thu speculates that the farmer, as he was plowing, watched his reflection on the water and from this the idea of a puppet theatre with water as a stage was born. Since a good harvest depended heavily on a seasonal rainfall, much of the early religious activities focused on water related rituals such as a water procession, washing the statues of the Buddha, and ritual cleaning of the pagodas. Water was all around so it was