Our Puppet design and construction workshop wrapped up with some frantic safety pins and flying scraps of fur. There’s never enough time to finish a puppet just the way you’d like, but at least these makers have peered into the bewitching rabbit hole that is puppetry.
On the last day everyone took turns to puppeteer under lights, and we filmed a small trilingual odyssey in search of a missing hat. Over ten days, we’ve gone from pulling apart a story to find the nature of the characters, embedding those qualities into a 1:1 scale design, to building a structure with working mechanisms. We barely skimmed the surface on sculpting and skinning, but spent some time on setting the gaze – often the moment when the puppet first looks at you, and takes on life. Then everyone experienced the demands of puppeteering to a brief, and learned first-hand how important ergonomics can be.
Such wonderful people to share a room with! Starring Linda on Owl, Fran on Deer, Edith on Fox, Greta on Turtle, and Mads on Rabbit, with thanks to Dave on Camera. Thanks too to Terrapin, for upskilling the state with the new Stride training program.
