A key element of a shadow play is the screen. The screen is where the characters "come alive" and the shadows are displayed. Depending on your location, your screen doesn't have to be a literal screen; it could be a clear wall. Screens vary in price and complexity however, it depends on your needs and how much of an investment you want to make. Purchasing a screen from a specialty retailer is typically more expensive because they offer screens designed for consistent and regular use in shadow puppet shows.
Without lighting, there is no shadow puppet show. Shadow puppets come to life when the room's lights are turned off and the play lighting is turned on. Like screens, the lighting for your shadow puppet show can be relatively inexpensive, such as using a clamp light that you can attach and detach to the screen. Free-standing lights are often more expensive and require some technical knowledge to assemble and arrange.
Like all puppet shows, a shadow puppet show must be built on the foundation of a good story. Without the bells and whistles of television or a movie, a shadow puppet show requires tall imagination to develop and portray an engaging story. You can use a wide variety of story types. However, mystery or scary stories lend themselves well to shadow puppetry.
Learning how to make shadow puppets is a task that requires concentration but once you master them, then what? This is where audio plays a role. In addition to knowing what story you want to tell, you must create a script to tell the story and decide how you want to portray the story. Choose voices that are entertaining and varied to follow the progression of the story.