I took part in a workshop with members of Smoking Apples Puppet Company and Little Cauliflower Puppet Company, in which we explored the strict disciplines of controlling a puppet and how closely precise details must be paid attention to. I was given the chance to learn some basic puppetry skills as well as how to bring objects to life on stage, however I believe the most valuable skill I developed was being able to build character non-verbally and examining the role of the puppeteer as a performer.

 

The entire workshop was fascinating, from creating our own basic puppets using tea towels and a mug as the head, in order to explore basic principles of movement and focus, to experimenting with the puppets both companies have used/ are using in their shows.

 

I also greatly strengthened my collaborative skills, as with one puppeteer working on the feet, another on the arms and a final on the head, it is extremely difficult to find an understanding of when to move and how to move in accordance with each other. With three of us working tirelessly to make our puppet come to life, we soon fell in to a comfortable means of communicating without speech and by hinting with the puppet's movements, so that those manipulating the rest of the body parts knew what we were thinking.

 

'After being diagnosed with Motor Neurone’s Disease, Ted goes on a trip of a lifetime…and so does his pet fish. CELL is a new collaboration between Smoking Apples, Little Cauliflower and Red Threaders using puppetry to explore a physically degenerative disease.

Cell uses puppetry, physical theatre and an original score to explore a man’s loss of movement. A puppet has a complex relationship with its puppeteers, relying on them for animation and trusting them to always be there, whereas many of us take for granted our ability to ‘self animate.’

As Ted loses his mobility he reflects on the re-animation of his life, rushing to experience a world outside his comfort zone.'

 

“Beautiful and heartfelt” - Everything Theatre