Last night I started a new course at the lovely Little Angel Theatre in Islington. I love the Little Angel Theatre, their claim to being the Home of British Puppetry is not taken lightly. They truly are quite a fantastic theatre, with their very intimate theatre space that really emphasises the magic of puppetry. I’ve never seen a bad show there.
I participated in their Adult Performers Course last year, where I was lucky enough be taught by Ronnie LeDrew (Who has worked with the Jim Henson Company and puppeteered Zippy from Rainbow) and where I was spotted by Raven Kaliana from Puppet ®Evolution.
So when I saw that there was a Adult Makers Course focusing on rod and table-top puppets inspired by the piece A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings (A beautiful show that I saw early this year) I jumped at the chance.
I love performing with puppets, but I struggle a lot with making puppets, which sometimes fall apart. I especially love using table-top puppets. So this was my perfect chance to learn a skill that would hopefully eventually lead to many of my projects progressing at a much smoother pace.
Last night included a small introduction and some artistic inspiration when creating our character. I decided on using a photo of a very dear friend of mine, especially using the strong lines of her eyebrows, nose, her beautiful eyes and her hair. I decided to have her mouthless to show a slightly non-naturlistic side to the puppet, as well as wanting the explore the idea of being silenced, which my friend sometimes feels like.
We concluded by starting the basic construction by sticking the head onto a doweling rod neck. But before too long it the evening was over! Much too soon! How the time flied!
I already feel very inspired and tempted to gather the materials to create puppets at home at the same time.
But there’s something brilliant brewing and I can’t wait to get back in there.
I hope to update every week on my progress, as I gradually make and get to know my new puppet.
Joni-Rae Carrack 