November's Puppet of the Month - 'Worker Puppet'

What are you made of?

White muslin or calico, stuffed with wadding! 

How big are you?

Personally I'm 2 foot 6 inches tall, but I also come in various shapes and sizes

What show are you from?

Actually I'm not in a show! I'm used in workshops to help train new puppeteers and in R&D to experiment before Blind Summit build the final puppets. 

Does it make you sad you've never been in a show?

Yes. 

Are you jealous of the more detailed puppets?

Of course not! My strength is in my versatility...(Plus I can go in the washing machine)

What have you been up to recently?

Last month, I was in 3 places at once!
I trained performing arts students at Fourth Monkey in London, introduced film students to puppetry at UCA Rochester, and have been spending time with the lovely Hijinx Theatre in Cardiff on their new puppet show Meet Fred (which you can read about in our previous blog)

And since it's Bonfire night, do you like fireworks? 

I'm not allowed near fireworks - my skin is highly flammable! 

'Meet Fred' - a show about what it's really like to be a puppet...

Two weeks ago, we went to work with Hijinx Theatre during R&D for their new puppet show Meet Fred. 

I wanted to find out more about the project from Artistic Director Ben Pettitt-Wade...

Who are Hijinx Theatre?
We are a professional theatre company based at the Wales Melliennium Centre in Cardiff, who tour small scale theatre throughout the UK and Europe. What makes us different is that our casts always include actors who have learning disabilities.

What is Meet Fred about?Meet Fred is about a regular guy that just happens to be a puppet and the difficulties he faces living as a puppet in the real world. 



Where did the idea come from?
It all started with a weeklong residency led by Blind Summit in 2013, this experience made me want to create a show with a puppet. Afterwards we asked Blind Summit to make some cloth puppets for our training courses for learning disabled performers. We spent another year exploring puppeteering with our students, before we did 2 days of R&D in April this year. At the R&D the character of Fred started to appear: a very self aware puppet that lives in the real world. We had a lot of fun exploring the various difficulties this might encounter - going on a date, or to the job centre. 

What made you decide to do a puppet show?
The relationship between the puppet and his puppeteers is a really interesting metaphor for issues that are pertinent within the learning disabled community: support, dependence, interdependence and ultimately independence. 

We're thrilled that one of our cloth training puppets have ended up in the show. What inspired you to use him?
I love the simplicity. I love that he is naked and therefore vulnerable in the world. I love that he is literally a blank canvas. 

What has been the main focus of the R&D last week?
In the first 3 days we focused on creating a story arc for Fred. We used big bits of paper, mapping out the potential plot and stuck them up around the room. In the last 2 days when Tom Espiner from Blind Summit joined us, we focused very much on the puppetry. The effect this had was that Fred suddenly seemed to wake up in this room which had his life all mapped out, without him having any prior knowledge of it. This seemed to work rather well. 

What has been the most challenging aspect of the project so far?
Being able to adapt and change as we progress - not being afraid to let go of ideas in favour of others. 

What is the next stage in development for the project?
We now go into rehearsals at the end of January. We then have a short two week tour in South Wales. We hope to take it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next year followed by a national tour.

www.hijinx.org.uk/meet-fred          

Happy Halloween! Here's our pick of the Top 10 scariest Puppets...

In reverse order...

10. Punch
Comically violent and over the top at times, Mr Punch may not be the biggest baddie but he certainly is no Mr Nice Guy! At least not to his wife...

9. Skeksis from The Dark Crystal

The most terrifying Jim Henson invention, these guys are definitely not new to conjuring evil master plans...

8. Audrey 2 in Little Shop of Horrors 

Do not come too close otherwise you'll be his next meal...

7. Cryptkeeper in Tales of the Crypt

Unsettling with a hint of comedic elements, the Cryptkeeper is a scary yet intriguing character...

6. Plague Doctor Marionettes

Gritty and utterly grim, if this doctor is treating you then expect the outlook to be gloomy...

5. 'Ghost of Christmas yet to come' in The Muppets Christmas Carol

Definitely the scariest Muppet of them all...

4. The White Rabbit in Alice

Not your usual childhood adaption of this famous book - this taxidermy rabbit by Jan Svankmajers is truly disgusting...

3. Giant Praying Mantis from Sarruga 

Of all the Spanish company's giant outdoor puppets we think this is the freakiest...

2. Ghost puppets in Kwaidan by Rouge28

Currently to be seen at the Suspense Festival, these puppets are inspired by Japanese horror movies...

1. Billy from Saw

Ruthless, unforgiving, stubborn yet intelligent, he stands firmly among the most evil master minds of modern horror...

Have we missed your scariest puppet? Let us know! 

So what is Animo?

Next week, Mark will be a special guest in Improbable's Animo at Suspense Puppetry Festival. I had a chat to Improbable's Co-Artistic Director, Lee Simpson, to find out what actually goes on...


How would you describe Animo in one sentence?
The bastard child of improvisation and puppetry

Where did Animo begin and why?
It was a way for the different aspects of Improbable to meet onstage: Julian's mask and puppet making, Phelim's experimental theatre, and my cheap impro comedy. 

How does the show work?
The short answer is that it doesn't always. What does happen, is that we meet onstage, meet the audience and take it from there. There's no structure or shape in mind. We find out what kind of show it is as we go along and at the same time as the audience. 

How do you decide on the range of everyday materials and objects used in each performance?
There are some regular things: newspaper, sticky tape, sticks, usually some foam rubber and cardboard. Other than that it's pretty arbitrary. Whatever catches our attention or whatever is lying around the theatre! 

What is the most challenging aspect of performing the show?
Trusting the not knowing.

What else are you looking forward to seeing at Suspense Festival?
Rouge28 Theatre's Kwaidan - they are also performing at the New Diorama. Christopher Leith's piece should be very special too. 

www.suspensefestival.com/whats-on-shows

6 questions in 6 minutes - puppetry company Humanish on their rehearsals this month...

Supported puppetry company Humanish are rehearsing their new show Holy Presents - a puppet sketch comedy about Christmas Day in the house of the Holy Trinity, at Blind Summit this month. I spoke to Artistic Director Tara Boland to find out more about the show...

Where did the idea for Holy Presents come from?
It began as my final project at LISPA, using scenes from Les Mis. I had seen Humanette puppets used in other shows and just really loved the image and idea of making big things small. 

Who are the characters in Holy Presents?
Jesus - the prodigal son who is quite righteous and earnest
God - is senile and considering other career choices he never had (mainly being an actor)
The Holy Ghost - he likes drinking, farting and the female body (as well as his own!) 

A Humanette puppet is...
...a table top puppet, with a body about the size of a 9 month old baby attached to the head of a performer. 

What have you been focussing on during your rehearsal time at Blind Summit?
We're mainly focussing on the structure and the detailing of the narrative.

What's your top puppetry tip that has come out of rehearsals so far?
Slow down! Take your time - let the puppet do the talking. 

And most importantly, when can we see Holy Presents?
We are doing a half hour showcase at the Warwick Arts Centre on 7th November, as part of China Plate Theatre's Bite Size Festival. 

Our London premiere and run is from the 15 - 19 December at Camden People's Theatre. 

For updates on Holy Presents, head to Humanish's Facebook page www.facebook.com/humanishcompany

A huge thank you to our Edinburgh donors...

We would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated towards Citizen Puppet in Edinburgh!

By ensuring we could make the puppets and keep them up and running in Edinburgh, you helped us to:

- Be seen by 3,880 audience members
- Take the puppets onto the streets of Edinburgh to build new audiences
- Win a prestigious Scotman's Fringe First Award
- Be picked as one of the recommendations for the British Council international showcase
- Have the work seen by 150 programmers from around the world

Without you, we couldn't have done it. So thank you from Mark, Steph, Brittany, the cast, company and the puppets! 

We will keep you all up to date with the future of the show. But if you'd like to see more ways you can support the company, please visit http://blindsummit.com/supportus.htm

Love Blind Summit x

Stories from Edinburgh...

Now that our time in Edinburgh has come to an end, I take a look back at some of the highs & lows from the festival... 

Sunday 2nd August
We've arrived! A walk around Edinburgh to get our bearings and we spot our first advert on The Mound! 

Monday 3rd
Tina is found having a cheeky fag break by the fire exit during our tech time... 

Tuesday 4th 
11 hour script writing party to get the show ready for our first preview tomorrow!

Saturday 8th
We did it! Opening night was a success... DI Clive perches himself at the bar all night to celebrate... 

Thursday 13th
The reviews are in! 
**** "Fear not their awesome puppet powers"-The Scotsman

Tuesday 18th
Tina gets herself into a bit of trouble on The Royal Mile whilst flyering for being a bit too flirtatious...

Friday 21st
We seem to have gone and won ourselves The Scotsman Fringe First award! Daz accepts it on behalf of the team

Later that day...
The Citizens are invited onto STV's Edinburgh Festival programme. Suki does a beautiful rendition of 500 miles, whilst Tina asks the presenter out on a date (in front of hubby Howie)

Monday 24th
Citizen Puppet is featured in the British Council's late recommendations for the festival...

Thursday 27th
The cast of Familie Floz's Hotel Paradiso and the Citizens join on stage for a photo. We just love those giants...

Saturday 29th
Suki meets Spillikin the Robot, they fall in love & he proposes...

Sunday 30th
The last day is here! It's been a busy month and the show has changed in so many different ways. A huge thanks to our team at the Pleasance for all of the support!

If you want to see more from our trip to Edinburgh, check out our Facebook & Twitter pages