WOODLAND — Actors always have to work closely with each other on stage, but the youthful puppeteers in “The Sword in the Stone” are particularly chummy.

That’s because two people team up to operate each puppet in the show. One puppeteer may work the puppet’s left hand and mouth, while the other person controls the feet and body.

The puppeteer teams work more than one puppet during the production.

“It takes incredible amounts of teamwork,” said puppeteer Laurel Anderson, 14. “Sometimes, I’ll whisper an idea into her ear,” Anderson said, referring to her partner, 19-year-old Melissa Mitchell.

All that teamwork will culminate in seven performances of the children’s play about King Arthur next week.

“The Sword in the Stone” is the first puppet production for director Melinda Leuthold at her Loves Street Playhouse, which opened in 2007. She and her husband, Jeff, bought an old church and renovated it into a cozy theater. She’s since done several plays for audiences of children and adults.

“I’ve always loved puppets since I was little,” Leuthold said.

For this production, she chose to work with 3-foot tall hand puppets, rather than marionettes controlled by sticks and strings from above the stage.

Leuthold made the puppets herself, and taught a class in puppetry to break in the cast.

Preparation for a puppet show is the reverse of a typical play, Leuthold said. Usually, a director starts working with actors, then adds props and sets. “With this, you have to work on the puppets first,” Leuthold said. “There’s lots of technical stuff that has to be done in advance.”

She decided it would be more interesting to have two-person puppeteering teams, allowing more young people to take part in the production. “The Sword in the Stone” has a cast of nine, including six puppeteers.

The hour-long play is a children’s version of the legend of King Arthur. The main characters are Merlin, Arthur, his step-brother Kai and Guenevere. Also making an entrance is a 9-foot long dragon that Leuthold promised will breath fire come show time.

Leuthold’s son, Christian, 10, and 9-year-old Savannah Upson propel the Arthur puppet.

“It’s challenging,” Christian said. “Sometimes you’re not able to move much because you’re in a tight space.” As for coordinating footwork with Savannah, Christian said, “sometimes I have to shove her around.”

Chrystal Anderson, 25, and 10-year-old Kole McQuivey team up for the roles of Kai and, later, Guenevere.

“You have the easy part. You have the hands,” Kole said. “I have the mouth.”

Well, not quite, Anderson responded. “You get tired” holding arms out in puppet position. “It takes lots of endurance.”

One thing the puppeteers don’t have to deal with during performances is reciting lines.

Leuthold recorded the lines in advance, for the most part using the children’s voices. The soundtrack of voices and special effects is played during the show.

Christopher Cleveland, an experienced Vancouver actor who appeared in the 2008 Loves Street production of “Night of January 16th,” recorded Merlin’s lines with a booming voice.

Leuthold also brought in a professional actor, Brad Batten, to choreograph the puppet’s sword fights.

IF YOU GO

What: “The Sword in the Stone,” a children’s puppet play.

When: 5 p.m. May 13-14, 7 p.m. May 15, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. May 16 and 2 and 4 p.m. May 17.

Where: Loves Street Playhouse, 126 Loves St., Woodland (behind Big Deals).

Tickets: $10 adults, $8 youths 12-16 and seniors, $5 children.

Information: (360) 263-6670, www.lovestreetplayhouse.com