Expressive Puppetry

Communication through spontaneous

tactile puppetry, props & song.

It is an awakening of the imagination.

Laughter, communication, spontaneity, memories; sometimes a quiet and beautiful connection.

Expressive puppetry sessions usually last for about an hour and can be a regular weekly, or monthly activity.

Person Centred Care & Puppetry

My puppets see through the persons condition or disability to the shining heart of them and that is where we connect. Expressive Puppetry can also be a wonderful part of Namaste care.

It is possible for anyone to appreciate and participate in puppetry, you don't have to be a child! It brings out the imagination and sense of fun.

It is often one to one, sometimes two or three will be joining in at the same time, but in one hour session I can interact with a large number of people.

Just as studies have discovered the benefits of music in care (especially Dementia Care), there has also been a move towards puppetry in the care setting and many people are now seeing how puppets are not just for children. Puppetry can be a wonderful, powerful way for adults of all ages and abilities to communicate.

Click this link for more information on puppets for adults

wikipedia-puppetry for adults

I have always loved puppets,ever since I played with my own Pelham marionettes as a child and enjoyed going to shows. Since then I have realised that puppetry is a wonderful form of expression and a communication aid, to the extent that some people will find it easier to communicate with a puppet than with a person.

Carers and relatives often join in with the fun and we all have a good laugh together. It can sometimes aid communication between everyone.

My puppets are also very tactile, so they become a multi-sensory experience, enabling people with sight problems or stage three dementia to join in too.

mermaid puppet

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Unique

A lot of my puppets I have handmade myself and so they are totally unique. They are all very special to me. They each have unique personalities, and the versatility to relate and react to people according to their needs.

I have nearly 20 puppets ranging from large rod puppets like Miranda the mermaid (as seen in the photo) and Ol' Baldy the miming puppet who can change his expression from sad to happy, to the singing glamorous Diva, a range of life size animals and my old Pelham marionette puppets.

I improvise with my puppets, sometimes they will sing, either alone to an audience, or with the people they are visiting, some puppets are silent and will communicate using body language and sometimes rhythmic tapping and clapping. I always take cues from the people I am with, in order to determine how the puppets will respond.

Some of the animal puppets are very realistic and people get a lot of pleasure from stroking them and talking to them, even though they know that they are not real. Sometimes it seems so much like they are alive that our imaginations get carried away!

Workshops and Performance

In addition to bringing in my puppets to socialise, I can run a series of workshops, so that people can:

Create their own shadow puppetry show, with puppets and still artistic images, which I will then perform to them and their family,friends and carers.

I can also lead workshops to:

Make three dimensional glove or rod puppets for a performance, or just for personal use, to keep.

This can be done in an art workshop if you choose to have a weekly ongoing class alongside the puppet visits, or as part of a weekly workshop focused entirely on making and performing with puppets.

I will tailor any workshops to the interests, needs and abilities of the attendees.