Theatre Craft 2009

Three weeks ago Irena Stratieva and I gave a 45 minute introductory Puppetry workshop to about 35 students at the London Colliseum's Theatre Craft day. Things started off a little sketchy - the teenagers were crammed into a tiny space, a lot of them had been put on the workshop by their schools and 'disinterested' would be a good adjective for the general mood...... however, we set out to show them the serious side of Puppetry and it wasn't long before people really started throwing themselves into our exercises, which included working on developing a strong centre (vital for puppeteers, who often contort themselves whilst holding heavy objects) and tai chi-inspired work for improving hand-eye co-ordination, focus and 'inner stillness'. When we got out our puppets we were amazed by what a talented bunch of improvisers we had in the room...!...and things risked getting a little out of hand, until we challenged everyone to do one thing, and one thing only with their puppet - make it breathe. Pretty soon everyone was sitting in a circle watching each puppet come to life, one at a time, stirring to life via the simple illusion of inhaling and exhaling. That seemed to be the point when our students realised that there is more to puppetry than Punch and Judy and Avenue Q...there was an heightened atmosphere in the room as the chatting stopped and eyes became fixed on the breathing puppets. Afterwards we asked for peoples' thoughts - before the workshop I didn't think it was worth allowing time for this, not expecting anyone to volunteer anything - but we were inundated. People told us they had no idea there were so many dimensions to puppetry, and that they felt inspired. A very rewarding first experience of teaching.

Thanks to Stuart Allen for the beautiful photos.

Theatre of Small Moments

Readers, as I write this update on Christmas Day 2009, I feel like I'm returning to my roots. This started out as a blog to document my journey within the realm of puppetry, but as 2009 draws to an end I'm realising that I was never meant to sit within any particular niche and the fact that I'm doing a degree in Puppetry doesn't make any difference. I have always been just as much of a painter, illustrator, etc etc as anything else, and finally I feel I'm reaching a point where all these things are coming together. So it's time to stop goddamn pretending that this is a blog about puppetry, because it's not.......it's about creativity. My impulses are definately leading me in some kind of direction but from now on I don't want to put them into any bracket or attempt any definition....it'll be much more fun that way.

So with that in mind, here is the Theatre of Small Moments - I gave these as Christmas presents this year, each theme is relevant to each recipient. I was going to make moving scenes but decided in the end to go for a static ones. Seems that as time goes on the puppets I make want to move less and less.

Shop Window Paper Theatre

This window is my canvas.
It is the window of Kilburn and Willesden Green's loveliest (only?) independent wholefoods shop, The Olive Tree, and Costas, its owner for sixteen years, has uttered to me the sacred words: "Unleash your creativity in my window display" ...
I'm working on a jigsaw puzzle of various pieces of reinforced cardboard, which will somehow come together within the frame of his window...the main element being, of course, the olive tree.