Making Incredible Puppets

Soft Puppet Making

Kafeneio has been a perfect venue for running Soft Puppet Making on Saturday afternoons. Although advertised as running for a couple of hours, the workshops often ran for five and longer as the days got sunnier and we relaxed over the road in Plato’s park. They have been a delight to run and a treat to see people happily create their beautiful puppets.

Young children, adults and parents of adults came to make, bringing interesting fabrics and resources to share. It was great to see young children mastering the hot-glue gun, but also taking time and care to do lots of sewing. Some of the puppets have developed personalities and stories are being written. Vagelis has written a great, fun song about a hippopotamus! We are looking at performing some shows with the puppets in the near future.

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Postcards from puppets!

Theatre Improvisation

 Some of us have been going to Improvisation Theatre workshops, run by Felix at Embros , Free Self-Theatre in central Athens. This is proving a great way to overcome anxieties and be extrovert and play with performing!

From Pitsmoor to Athens

Martin Currie, founder of the Cheap Thrills, Zero Budget Film Festival and organiser of the Pitsmoor TEDx Talks, visited me in Athens this spring. On his return, he wrote this article, From Pitsmoor to Athens – published in Sheffield’s Now Then magazine, which you can read on-line HERE

 

Puppets for Refugees – Continued!

Lizeta came to one of the workshops at Kafeneio and we got talking about working with refugees. She invited me to run a workshop at the ‘Welcommon Hotel’ where she volunteers; a new place providing accommodation and support for refugees in Exarchia. Together with Katerina, who I also met through puppet making – we have started running puppet making and craft activities with a group of young children. The first session was very lively! But from a pile of old clothes, they conjured up some superb creatures.

Returning the second week, we were met by the same children, a lot calmer and all ready to get making. Butterflies, houses, figures and a bed were made out of scraps of foam and fabric. Children just love to be creative! In the coming weeks we will work together designing and building a puppet theatre using cardboard and paints for a performance for the children.

Shadow Puppets in Dionysos

I was invited to run a shadow puppet making workshop for the Sea Scouts at Dionysos, about 25km outside Athens. We had a lovely time drawing Jungle Book characters and playing with the puppets in the sunshine and having little shows in the scout hut.