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Puppets as Storytellers (THTR20042)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Southbank)
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January
Overview
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A puppet allows alternative modes of authorship not easily achieved with live actors. This subject will initially examine the history of puppetry as a story telling language including the methods of construction and operation of various styles of puppet. The outcome of allocated research topics will be used to formulate ideas for a specific puppet character. Students should then apply this research to the design/making process required to make a puppet. The emphasis will be on the animation of the inanimate through the discovery of a “soul”. The puppet must have a purpose for being “alive” a reason to exist, a world to occupy, and a history of experiences to define the character that emerges
Some materials will be provided as part of a materials levy ($50.00 per student) however students will also need to supply specific materials for the realisation of their individual designed puppet in addition to this fee. Costs will vary depending on materials selected.
Intended learning outcomes
This subject will expose participants to the history of puppets as a storytelling vehicle and explore the nature of transforming the inanimate to the “living” character through the design and making of an operable puppet character.
Generic skills
Students should come away from this study with an understanding of;
- The historical context of puppetry as a storytelling vehicle
- The concept of imbuing an inanimate object with life.
- The performative theory’s surrounding puppetry and their influence on the design and realisation of a puppet.
- The process of developing and problem solving a design from concept to completion around the fundamental premise of “character”.
Last updated: 15 February 2025