Live Workshop Details

'A World of Paper' - an intensive puppetry workshop is being presented by internationally acclaimed master-puppeteer, Gary Friedman and Occupational Therapist, Sharon Gelber, from Melbourne, to share skills and life experience.

The Participants

The workshop is designed for community leaders & workers; educators; therapists; artists; theatre practitioners, as well as anyone interested in using the puppet to communicate a message to change their world.

The Content

This workshop teaches puppetry skills with an emphasis on skilful story telling, delivering a message and a tool to explore emotional trauma, using the most subtle and basic elements of breath, movement and characterisation, with minimal need for words. This tool is therefore ideal to work across any language, culture or age group.

It is packed with hands-on practical applications for transferring skills into the classroom, community, therapy or theatrical environment.

The workshop explores the power of raw materials. Paper and every-day objects are created into characters and transformed into animated beings. These materials are eco-friendly and cheap; allowing puppetry to be used in any setting.

Participants will explore various ways of moving into a calm and centred head-space, with their senses and brain activated in order to tap into their innate power and creativity. Tools will be taught to overcome stress and creative obstacles.

A primary focus will be using the puppet as a tool for inspiration and change. This is ideal for gripping drama, satirical reflections of socio-political environments and uncovering profound insights within educational or community settings.

Participants will learn how to create compelling performance pieces, and develop images, stories and content; drawing on a trauma-informed approach and techniques from surrealism, shamanism and performance art, clowning, improvisation and vaudeville.

Our Aims

To develop skills and confidence to be able to perform or communicate spontaneously.
To provide participants an opportunity to ‘give life’ to stories or messages that are important to them.
To trust the puppet in its interpretation of one’s message.
To develop masterful ways of activating creativity and processing trauma.

Outcomes: Walk away skills:

An in-depth set of skills in using the media of paper puppetry, found objects, improvisation and movement as tools to use:

With any age, culture, language population
To process emotional trauma and/or conflict resolution
To enrich the school syllabus
To enhance narrative storytelling
To slow down and be in the moment with brain activation and stress reduction tools.

The Pre-requisites

An open mind and an eagerness to learn
No previous performance experience is required. The approach is simple, efficient, empowering & fun.

The Power of the Puppet

The power of the puppet triggers something primordial in an audience. Not being ‘human’, the puppet is one step removed from the real world. It can therefore suspend the audiences’ disbelief and get them enticed into the magical world where anything can happen. It provides a safe space for exploring issues, often too sensitive to be uttered with words or to be embodied by the person themselves.

The Facilitators

Although Gary Friedman hails originally from South Africa, he has been based in Australia for the past 23 years. After training with the late-Jim Henson in 1987, he dedicated the majority of his career to social, health and political activism using the medium of puppetry. He is now an international Puppetry-in-Education consultant, workshop facilitator and animator. He teaches animation as well as puppetry-in-education, puppetry for theatre and television across the globe and is a keen film maker: Currently producing a broadcast documentary film on ‘Puppetry and Politics’ and numerous short animation pieces, reflecting politics, health and social commentary.

www.garyfriedmanproductions.com

Sharon Gelber is an Occupational Therapist, workshop facilitator and Learning-Movement consultant. She has a private therapy practice in Melbourne, Australia where she combines OT with some of the latest break-through alternative healing modalities. Her workshops motivate and empower participants with profound tools to relieve stress, enhance creativity and performance; activating the brain and senses for optimal creative and physical/mental functioning in the work and home space.

For LIVE workshop bookings, click here!

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