Summer carving course photos

Weeks 1&2: Carve a Wooden String Puppet and Carve a Wooden Puppet

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Week 3: Make a Complete Puppet and Perform

…Involving a trip into Totnes to perform to passers-by!

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Well it was a busy few weeks but enormous fun and I’m always overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and hard work of everyone who joins us.

Will you be coming along next year?

News round-up

Added 9th February 2011.
We are still touring The Mousehole Cat to great appreciation.
“My favorite show.” “A little gem!” Audience comments.

Tom and Cat web

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Our workshop has been busy making puppets for other theatre companies:

Prof Yaffle

Professor Yaffle the wooden woodpecker was made lovingly out of plywood for a theatre show of Bagpuss which ran at the Soho Theatre, London.
And two large puppets for a large theatre show by celebrated Kneehigh Theatre.

Kneehigh

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Plans are afoot to make a new production … on an African theme…. working with top musician Chartwell.

Chartwell Dutiro

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Making courses have been more popular this year than ever.

Course 2011 2 Course 2011 1

Busy Workshops

Added 31st August 2008

Three weeks of busy workshops took place at Dartington in July and August, with 20 puppet enthusiasts coming from around the world – from USA, Spain, Turkey and Britain.

Busy workshops 1

Two weeks were devoted to carving wooden puppets, with a wonderful range of inventive puppets being designed and created.
Comments from participants:“Brilliant.. don’t think the course could be improved…except too many biscuits!” “Very relaxed atmosphere… spot on… fantastic…exceeded expectations.” ” Emphasis was on producing a puppet of high quality with attention to detail.”

Carving workshops

One week was a “Finishing and Performing” course.
For people who had nearly complete puppets this was a chance to be guided through painting, stringing, wig and costume making and the devising of a short performance that was shared with the public of our local town, and even made it onto BBC TV.
Comments: “Exciting to see my puppet come to life.” “Such fun.. and informative. Gave me the push I needed.”
See GALLERY for pictures from the courses

From BUNRAKU ……….towards a future theatre

Added 25th November 2007

Nori SAWA

A performance-based course with Japanese master-puppeteer Nori SAWA.

25th to 29th March 2008 at Dartington, Totnes, Devon, England.
For Puppeteers, Actors, Designers, Arists, Dancers, Musicians.
A rare opportunity to engage with the traditions of the ancient art of Japanese “Bunraku” puppet theatre…  and to bring these skills up to date and make work relevant to today’s theatre.
10 places are reserved for people living and/or working in the South West.
Grants will be given to allow 3 people from the South West to pay only £50.
Please express an interest as soon as possible, so PuppetCraft can show funders that there is a need to run this course.

Forkbeard Course

Added 14th May 2005

Our director treated himself to an amazing week at Forkbeard Fantasy,
learning new techniques, meeting other obsessed artists and eating wonderful food.
Work was started on filming a short sequence for the Unicorn project, animation
was tried and vacuum forming was encountered for the first time.
Forkbeard Fantasy
Photo is of Ed, Forkbeard’s technician…. with lots of cables!