Can a puppet help discover a true value that is important to you?

Holding a puppet and interacting with it can be a great way to bring some playfulness to your life. It can also give you some answers to the big questions that can help determine what you want to do and want to be.

If you can't try this next idea with a puppet, use a toy or an object you can fiddle with. While you are interacting with your puppet (or object, but from now on I will refer to it as a puppet), ask yourself;

"What is important to me?"

Try not to over think it and go with the first thing that pops in your mind. If your mind goes blank, stroke the puppet and look at it's face and see if that inspires you. Try not to overthink it and breath deeply. Then ask yourself;

 "Why is ... important to me?"

Once again focus on touching and interacting with your puppet while you answer the question. I find that replying quickly and speaking out loud makes it even easier to go with whatever comes to mind first. Next, use the answer to create the following question;

"Why is ...important to me?"

 For example, if your important thing is money and your second answer is,

"Money is important to me because it gives me security when I have it."

Next ask,

"Why is a sense of security important to me?"

All the time, focus on your puppet and use the answer to each question to ask again why it is so important to you? Usually by the sixth ask, you have got something that feels like an important value for your life. It seems as if each question moves you closer to something simple and truthful and you may even have an emotional response to it. If you stick by this value, you are likely to remain true to yourself. It could be something you try to live by and stand up for. It's a great feeling when you gain self-realisation in this way. It seems that the more you can stop overthinking by focusing on the puppet, the quicker and clearer your true value will be. Give it a go and see what happens for you.

Puppets Need Space to Grow

Trying to find somewhere to put puppets while they are being made is tricky. I have visited two art centres looking for making space, but as the fur needs to be kept clean and dry, its proving difficult. I was pleased to find this hat and coat stand to help with storage. All the puppets hanging up are still missing heads, but the ones below just need tweaking or labelling. They make a lovely welcome as I walk into my small, but perfect puppet room - well, perfect until something better comes along.

A Summer of Festivals

The reason my grin is so cheesy in this picture is because I love nothing better than a festival on a sunshine day. This photo is taken at Covent Garden Puppet Festival where I was sharing my new Slobbit puppets with other puppeteers and puppet lovers.

I had a minute to look around and appreciate the fun and laughter being generated by so many Punch and Judy shows, alongside marionettes and larger walk-around puppets. There really is something very special about puppetry and not just as entertainment. I saw people being stunned by the beauty of the puppet movement and drawn in by personification and good story telling. Some of the traditional Punch and Judy shows were a bit iffy, but the hinted at anarchy and pure silliness can still be appreciated and celebrated as a part of the art form. I know we'll see feminism in poor old Judy one day very soon!

I'm working on a couple of puppet orders at the moment, but as soon as they are done, I'm going to make some more of these Slobbit chaps to take to other festivals this summer. I can't wait.

The Hands-On Team

I feel so lucky to have so much support with running my small business. Recently I have been working with Tash, Mike and Brad on a project in London. We all jump on trains and meet in the middle - perfect! I am so inspired by these actors, who started working with me when they were seventeen/eighteen and now are in their mid-twenties. The skills and talent they bring to the work is astounding and I'm privileged to be able to work with them. I have also travelled back to Berkshire recently to run some drug education workshops with Laura and Jack. With very little rehearsal, all of these actors jump into the work with an honesty of character that comes from an understanding of the issues faced by these students/delegates, alongside respect and no judgement for what they share with us on the day. My aim is to pay these guys a good fee while I watch their individual careers take flight. The photograph above is an older photograph of some of them making puppets and the one below shows Tash and Mike role playing in London this month.

Puppetry Skills for All

I've been working with a group from the Tricycle Theatre making puppets ready for their performance in April. I thought I would share some notes about simple ways to bring puppetry to life.

The best way to make fantastic character expressions is to believe your puppet is real. By doing this, it will react to any situation like a person or animal would.

Make the expressions bigger than they would be in real life for the best results.

Every puppet has its own personality. Will your one be silly, happy, sad, curious or a mix of these? What is its name? Where does it come from? What does it like to eat? All this information will help make it more real.

Puppet eye contact is important. It makes the puppet seem more alive.

Not using eye contact is also very useful. If you ask the puppet something using its name and it looks at the ceiling or away, it is obviously trying to ignore you.

If the puppet turns its head in towards your body, this can express concern.

Bob the puppet up, down and side to side to show excitement and happiness.

 Keep the mouth slightly open to show a small smile. Tight shut can look like a frown.  Open the mouth, tilt the head back and wiggle it to make your puppet look as if it is laughing.

Dropping the head expresses sadness.

If you want your puppet to have a voice, open the mouth when you speak. Generally, people do the opposite and it does not look so effective. Getting the mouth movements right will sustain belief in the puppet’s character.

When the focus is off your puppet, make it fidget a little and gently move your hand up and down to make it look as if it is breathing - a puppet should never be completely still.

Puppets are special and can bring magic to your performance. Try and keep your puppet in character throughout the show.

The most important thing to remember about working a puppet is, if you believe it can be real, everyone else will believe. All the other hints work brilliantly if you try this first.

Feel comfortable with working your puppet. Relax and enjoy!

The Creative Unsticker for Young People.

I started this list as part of my business course, but this weekend, I was working with sensitive teenagers and adapted it. I've had great feedback so far and wanted to share it with you. If you give any of these a go, I'd love to know what you think - whatever age you are.

1. ·         Write a journal. Write thoughts that come to you, stories that you experience, goals, daydreams, ‘thinking out loud’ ideas. You could add intentions for the day, speculations for the future, or/and how you are feeling.
2. ·         Change your space. Look around you and see what colours there are and the level of light. Try shaking things up to suit your mood and style. Can you add art, inspirational quotes/pictures or a music source that helps with how you feel?
3. ·         A fresh perspective. Look outside your usual network for advice and a different frame of reference. Brain-storm your work and life objectives with someone, or research from different sources. Sometimes a complete change of environment can help too.
4. ·         Daydream. Sit back, breath deep and imagine an ideal scenario. A holiday you can go on when the work is done, a mental image of you achieving an accolade, your life running exactly as you wish it a year from now. Put yourself in the picture and daydream about how it would feel and who would also benefit from this. Often when we see what we want, we enable it to become a reality.
5. ·         Celebrate creative diversity. Listen to unfamiliar music. It can make a difference to your mindset and get things flowing. Look at art that doesn’t appeal and try to see what others may see in it. Go outside your comfort zone by trying different reading material, films and theatre performances. Listen to different languages and enjoy how they sound. Visit exhibitions, go to festivals and keep your mind open to find wonder and curiosity through creativity.
6. ·         Play. There is a big difference between being ‘childish’ and being ‘child-like’. Compare some country leaders to some spiritual leaders - I am guessing there’ll be no shortage of examples here. Play can be through sport, being with children, time with friends or even time alone. Being playful, light-hearted and carefree can be life changing.
7. ·         Find your creative passion. Open your heart to one thing you love. When you feel stuck, allow your emotions to freely experience a favourite song, watch a segment from your favourite film or comedy sketch or an actor’s monologue. Read a passage from a favourite book, look through some photographs or art collections and feel an emotional response down in your core. Within a few minutes you’ll feel different.
8. ·         Create a greeting card poem. Turn a problem or sticking point into a daft rhyme with the aim that the last line will give you the solution.
9. ·         Practice a creative endeavour. Ten minutes a day on something creative can be a life changer. The added bonus is that you can become rather good at your chosen subject within a year if you do this. Do something that you will enjoy and have a desire to get better at.
10. ·         Walk the walk. When inspiration has left you, do a different task in the mindset and style of a future you. This ‘future’ version is confident, is on top of all jobs and is ‘on it’ in every way. Make a drink, pop down the shops or make a call. Be your authentic self, but a more brilliant and accomplished version. Have the ability to laugh at yourself. The more you ham it up, the more unstuck you will become.
11. ·         Inspiration text. Pick up a book or magazine and open it on a random page and put your finger on a random line. See if this piece of text can answer your inner question and get you moving again.
12. ·         Scary unsticking. Do something that gives you a healthy level of fear. Go outside and pick up a spider then set it free again. If that doesn’t bother you, walk down the street wearing something unusual or write to someone you admire. Do something that fills you with excitement and see what comes behind it.
13. ·         Rehearse your mission statement. Either in the mirror or in front of trusted others, stand tall and clearly state who you are and what your values are. A good stance is to stand like wonder woman or super man and then soften by putting your hands in front of you and lessening the power legs. Announcing to the world who you are, can be really helpful.
14. ·         Unstick a person. If you are struggling with another person, ask someone else to role play with you. First, ‘become’ the difficult person while the other role player plays you. See how it feels to step into the shoes of this person. Then run the scenario with the roles reversed. See if you can practice what you might say and do to overcome this difficulty. It is helpful to remember you can only really change your response to someone and not how they may be.
15. ·         Breathing Techniques. If you are feeling anxious, work through the breathing techniques you have learned. You can use your fingers to breath up and down each one while saying helpful words (for example, up the finger while breathing in ‘I am…’ and down the finger while breathing out ‘relaxed’).
16. ·         Express Yourself. Without disturbing too many people, sing really loudly, dance your heart out, laugh and run around. Use your body to express who you are. Smile as much as you can to feel good about yourself (remember the 30 second smile).
17. ·         Puppet mascot talk. If you've been on one of my courses, you will have one of these. if not, choose something that can be your personal cheerleader that represents your values in life. Put it somewhere you can see it and use it as a sounding board. Bring it to life and talk to it. If you feel brave, make it talk back or whisper in your ear. Even if it just moves its head it will remind you of your positive inner voice. Keep a note of the values that it represents and use these values to move forward with an issue. For example, if you value love, find a loving solution to the issue that is bothering you.

The Joy of Puppetry

I can’t help but have a positive feeling when it comes to puppetry, but sometimes world events and politics creep in to take it away. The joy of puppetry is its ability to help us see the world as light-hearted, full of joy and love. In my work I see children having a good time, young people reflecting on life with curiosity and thoughtfulness, adults allowing themselves to ponder on their values and the older generation are given a safe place to discuss their feelings. From this vantage point, I am reminded that most people are kind and funny. I feel it is important to remember that.

Puppetry can also give us space to highlight issues that all ages may be concerned with. We can bring them into the open, examine them, reflect on them and form an opinion as to what action we can take to make a difference. That is truly inspiring and empowering. The unpleasant side of life can seem more bearable when doing something positive about it in some way.

Personal responsibility, for this amazing place we share, can make all the difference. My daughter suggested doing something every day for five minutes that helps the Earth and/or other people. I’m up for giving it a go. Are you?