"When you get rid of the masking, then even though the mechanics are apparent, the whole effect is more magical. And this is where theatre has a power over film and television. This is absolutely where its magic works. It's not because it's an illusion and we don't know how it's done. It's because we know exactly how it's done."
-- Julie Taymor
The principle applies beyond puppets. Showing "how" also becomes part of the "what" in director Katie Mitchell's multimedia productions of Waves and ...some trace of her at the UK's National Theatre, with video design by Leo Warner:
This interview with Mitchell explores how she came to this unusual staging for ...some trace of her, an adaptation of the Dostoyevsky novel The Idiot:
The National Theatre's website also has an interesting video on designing animation for the stage.