Puppets and education

After attending a workshop for year 10 girls during February 2003, which doubled as an INSET for drama staff, Mrs Judith Brown, Head of Drama at Woldingham School wrote:

“…thankyou… for a really fascinating and stimulating workshop. The girls really enjoyed themselves and learned so much, even in just a day. That was largely due to your careful structuring of the sessions which provided them with a sound basis to begin their own work on Puppet Theatre. The music also created such a wonderful atmosphere in the Studio. It has certainly inspired many of them and we can sense already that some really exciting work will be generated for our own production of ‘Arabian Nights’.

“Quite apart from what the girls got out of it, it was a wonderful day for Jess, Lyn and me. We always say when we come back from an INSET how it refreshes our approach; for all three of us to see what is possible within our own Studio space has opened up many ideas. We all came into work this morning enthusing and talking of ways we can “use” what we learned yesterday.”

Why puppets?

Making and performing with puppets creates a natural link between creative and expressive arts and can develop a wide range of skills for the practitioner.

The puppet, when jointed, strung, given rods or fitted to the hand as a glove becomes the actor, controlled by the puppeteer, and takes on an extraordinary life of its own.

• Everyone, regardless of age or ability can participate in puppetry at some level.
• Many benefits are to be gained by including puppetry in the syllabus, and it offers particular scope for language development and communication.
• Puppetry provides positive intercultural input into the school, and its own transcultural nature is further extended when it is used to portray stories and events important to different cultures.
• Puppetry is cross curricular, particularly across the expressive arts of Art, Drama, Music and Dance. Science and Technology are included too, for example through jointing, pivots, forces, the use of different materials and their properties or the use of shadow and light. It is also a useful tool for speaking, listening and writing.
• The construction process can create problems of a technical and artistic nature which students have to solve. Often this produces some wonderful creative work.
• Making puppets involves decision making about size, relationship to the human body, weight, balance, using the best tool for the job, safety, aesthetics …puppetry can be geared to develop any particular skill required, and workshops can be tailored accordingly.
• Performing with puppets involves physical manipulation skills, scripting, direction and presentation, working as a team using stages and sets, performing in front of an audience and other theatre skills such as music, special effects and lighting.
• Puppetry can be an excellent form of expression, boost self-esteem and confidence, and has possible long lasting effects on the education process as a whole.

See workshops for what Indigo Moon can offer children, and training for adults, (particularly suitable for teachers and students of Drama/Expressive Arts or Teacher Education courses).

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