In search for a different approach to drama and theatre, I was lucky to have
chanced upon
The Finger Players' Puppetry Masterclass 2019 by Tan Beng Tian. The crux of the week-long masterclass was focused on building our puppets
from scratch with a brief introduction to various puppets and an introduction to
manipulating the puppet we had created.
Working on the saw machine to produce the wooden frame of the
puppet.
Highlights
One of the bigger challenges was to be exposed to different materials in
order to make the puppet. While I had the machine for Design and Technology
(D&T) lessons, they were a long time ago in secondary school! Not only
was I revisiting my D&T days, I was reacquainted with sewing from Home
Economics classes in order to put together my puppet’s clothing. It was the
first time I would work with wood, wires, Styrofoam and papier-mâché.
However, it was through hands-on interactions with these materials that gave
me tools to realise ideas tangibly.
A rough sketch of someone whom I care most about, the theme of the masterclass. In hindsight, I am amazed I materialised my puppet, Popo, from scratch under the guidance and patience of Beng Tian.
Making the puppet’s head was a tedious process of shaving off Styrofoam and layers of Papier-mâché
The puppet’s skeleton made of wood and assembled together by wire and nails.
Wires used for different joints and to put the puppet’s wooden frame together.
Areas for Improvement
An attempt at manipulating the puppet in a simple exercise of
following a moving object. With instructions from Beng Tian. Video taken
by fellow participant, Raquel.
We spent the final afternoon with a basic manipulation class in the
workshop. We had a try at manipulating the puppets we made from scratch.
There seemed to be too many limbs for a novice puppeteer! There was some
way to go with being one with the puppet in terms of breathing and seeing
from the puppet’s line of vision. I am thankful that I took the plunge
into a different form of theatre and drama. Coordinating the puppet with a
co-puppeteer would take a lot of practice and I wish that I would be able
to do that one day. I also hope I would get the chance to experiment more
with different materials and perhaps even puppets from everyday objects.
Appendix
Poster of the Masterclass.
Retrieved from The Finger Player’s Facebook Page.