PTC Weekly #3: Kids Make Their Puppets Come To Life.

Last week, the marionette madness continued, with the children creating their very own puppet shows and stop-motion films!

As a triumphant finale to our amazing two-week puppet series, the children at the Spandau and Pankow shelters used the puppets, that they had created the previous week, to make their own stop-motion films, and puppet theatre shows.

As we discussed in our recent post, puppetry as an art form can help bridge the gap between visual and performance art, and for children in particular, this can provide an important outlet for non-verbal communication which can be incredibly powerful! With their avatar puppets and hand-crafted backgrounds, the children were given a window for self-expression and emotional release- puppetry allows them to do this in a way which is safe, supportive... and a lot of fun!

PANKOW

The week before, the children made their very own mechanical puppets, using paper and pins. By attaching the limbs separately, and giving them joints with the pins, their puppets had the flexibility to move any way they wanted! With cameras, we then took multiple photos of each puppet, arranged them in different positions, which we then looped together, to create a short stop-motion film.

Their puppets, combined with their hand-painted backgrounds, allowed the kids to create a short expressive video which represented themselves. As you can see from some of the clips, the kids really embraced this task, and came up with incredibly unique puppets, which really showcased their individual personalities- this allowed us to see deeper into their world, and also gave the kids the chance to tell their stories.

SPANDAU

In Spandau, instead of stop-motion, the kids produced and performed their very own puppet shows! This was a joyful experience for everyone involved, and similarly to the Pankow session, allowed the children to express themselves and share their stories in quirky and creative ways.

It also gave them a safe outlet in which to emote or re-live certain memories or feelings which might be painful, or sad. By doing this through puppetry, we gave them the framework and safe-space to express these complex emotions, without fear of judgement. Here is a short clip of the kids performing their puppet show.

*** We hope you enjoyed this week's edition of PTC Weekly. If you would like to find out more about last week's puppet workshops, then click here. Don't forget to 'like' our post, and share it on social media! :) ***