Puppet Construction
Dead Puppet Society
Booking Details
Event details
This workshop takes Puppetry manipulation skills to the next level by allowing students to design, craft and build their very own tabletop sized puppet. Using simple brown paper techniques, students will follow our process of design prototyping, resulting in the construction of a one of a kind creature, ready to be included in a scene or show they happen to be working on.
Students will:
– Learn about the biomechanics of movement and grow their understanding of manipulation and functionality
– Explore design and form
– Build a tabletop puppet
– Create costume and external design features
Students will be introduced to the hierarchy of manipulation and have the opportunity to bring their character to life using the Dead Puppet Society principles of puppetry.
Workshop content includes:
– Character design with a consideration of form and symbol in visual design
– Construct articulated puppet skeletons
– Form an understanding of different joint and hinge styles
– Experiment with simple puppet mechanisms
– Explore puppet manipulation skills
SUITABILITY
Secondary Year Levels 7-12
CAPACITY
Up to 30 students
TIME
Single workshop (90-120 minutes) or full day workshop
COST
$550 + GST for a single workshop
$900 + GST for two workshop sessions in a day ($450 per session)
$1,100 + GST for a full day workshop
All materials included.
Please note a travel fee may be applicable and can be outlined on quotation.
Extend your session: a single workshop can be extended for an additional $200 + GST per hour.
Key learning outcomes
Drama Assessment Units
Unit 2 – Share, Dramatic Concept, Unit 4 – Transform, Exploring and responding, Developing practices and skills
Dramatic Forms & Styles
Visual Theatre including Object Theatre, Contemporary Theatre including Design-Led Theatre, Puppetry, Children’s Theatre, Devising, Ensemble Performance
Dramatic Conventions
Design Elements, Puppetry, Openness of form, Hybridity, Ensemble, Fluidity of Space, Surreal Transformations, Shadow Screen, Poetic Imagery
General Capabilities
Critical and creative thinking
Additional Information
All materials provided.
Room Requirements
- Classroom large enough for all participants
- 5 x trestle tables/desks
- Chairs for all participants
- Enough space for participants to move around the space
- 45 mins set up time
Contact Helen Stephens for Puppet Construction
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About the Artist
Dead Puppet Society is a production house based in Brisbane, offering a variety of theatrical productions and activations, alongside a well established education program.
Our program of workshops and residencies has grown to reflect our evolution as a company of theatre makers, and the changes in drama classes and curriculums. All of our offerings can be tailored to suit your needs, wherever your school is based, and whatever your classroom size.
Our suite of workshops options include:
– Puppet manipulation
– Puppet construction
– Shadow puppetry
– Object puppetry
– Visual theatre
All of which are suitable for groups of up to 30 students in Primary and Secondary school.
These workshops offer students a foundational learning of Dead Puppet Society’s principles of puppetry and instant devising techniques, available to them when building scenes with puppets. No matter the style of theatre, these workshops will demystify the form and allow for students to create moments of wonder and poetic meaning.
Throughout the workshops students will be introduced to puppet manipulation skills, learn about the biomechanics of movement and the core principles of puppetry (focus, breath and gravity), explore design and form, and build language and performance skills specific to the workshop’s theatrical form.
Our workshops are also available digitally on the Digital Stage streaming platform. Designed to provide meaningful arts experiences for students and educators all over Australia, these unique workshops allow participants to learn at their own pace, and be guided through a series of exercises using common household and classroom materials to gain skills in both design and performance that are fundamental to visual theatre practice.
In addition to one-off workshops, our artists can work with schools and theatre programs on longer, more intensive projects. We can tailor a process that provides a deeply insightful experience, whether this be through devising a new work, designing and building custom puppets, or rehearsing and presenting an existing text using visual methods. If you have a unit of work, theatre project, play or musical where a long form collaboration would suit, we’d love to talk about how we can help..
Dead Puppet Society has productions available for hire through QPAC’s Digital Stage platform, including The Wider Earth, which is one of the QCAA prescribed live performance texts. For more information, go to https://digitalstage.qpac.com.au/home.
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