Diversity in the Arts

On Friday, I attended an interesting conference at East Anglia University, concerning diversity. The question of how to create art for all was asked in many ways and by experts in their field, but the overwhelming feeling was to be welcoming and to make your art accessible for the audience. Within business, I am often asked 'who is your audience? I am advised to have a perfect customer in my head in order to market to that person. Who will buy my puppets or/and attend a workshop? I would love to say, 'anyone who will gain value by what we do', but is that enough? How can we make everyone feel welcome and know that the value is for them? How do we create that value?

I remember working with teenage girls where we were creating shadow puppets for a performance later in the day. It was a community festival and the theme was to explore culture through traditional stories. Interestingly, while we were making the puppets, the discussion was all about empowering women through story (linked to the performance) and we openly discussed the participants' own experience because our attention was on puppet making. The workshop became a place to express opinions and feelings that we wanted to share, where we could discuss actions and ideas to help other people and ourselves feel empowered within our communities. An element of this was brought into our story which we told with passion and a feeling of togetherness that wouldn't have happened without the discussion that preceded it.

We didn't start the day knowing that the process of creating story would lead to such a worthwhile and open discussion and the feeling that we all gained value through this shared experience. These girls taught me so much about their beliefs and where their feelings and views sat within this framework. Hopefully they felt I had something to contribute too. Is this art through diversity, or just people coming together and sharing something special? Is there a difference between the two? Respect, consideration and accessibility are surely starting points, with open dialogue and understanding coming a close second. Creating art that explores parts of us and our cultures, enrich our lives and remind us that we are not so different after all. I like the idea of having a universal audience where everyone is welcome - now that's something to aim for.

December Dogs and Puppet Shows

It has been a real pleasure to make dogs for Christmas this year. I was able to spend more time on their design and the fur is so soft. We had one Christmas show this year: 'Where is Rudolph' where I was a head elf and enjoyed the company of  both puppets and children in my quest to find Rudolph. As always, we included a scary character - this time a large snowman with a missing nose. To begin with, he could be heard grumbling and growling from behind the puppet theatre. Next we used scary music as we climbed the mountain to meet him, in the hope he could help us. When he was revealed, the children were relieved to find out that he was only grumpy because of his missing carrot nose which we could replace for him. Once again, we overcame a scary problem and were able to rejoice with Christmas songs and mince pies. ...And as for Rudolph, well, he was in the Elf Farm all along, preparing for full fitness to pull the sleigh. It is all a bit silly, but within our stories we include the joy of being kind and helpful, alongside overcoming problems by working together. The Hands-On Company believe these sentiments make a good resolution as we move into 2017.

Preparing for a Tudor Workshop - Melissa Waldron

Last week I was very lucky in being able to attend a talk by Lucy Worsley at Hampton Court Palace. A new BBC series will be launched soon exploring the roles of Henry VIII's wives and the talk focused on the role of each of the women in Tudor England. It was an entertaining and inspirational event.

We will set our Living History workshop in Elizabethan England. But the talk on Henry has really set the scene especially in considering the fate of Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth's ill fated mother.

Work is now being carried out to prepare a lively and interactive workshop for young people in schools. Set in a stately home outside Stratford-Upon Avon, we ask how the household will prepare for the arrival of the Queen...and Mr Shakespeare who is showing off his new play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. We are very excited about launching this hour and a half workshop at a primary school next week.

Puppetry For Sensitive People.

Recently, I’ve been working with sensitive children and young people. In fact, all of us are sensitive in some ways, but when children are sick, or going through trauma, their sensitivity is much more visible.

Puppetry is a lovely medium to use where laughter, silliness and care are wanted. The energy being focused on the puppet takes away the emphasis that this is about the participant’s needs and issues. Instead, it is the puppet that has our attention. It is similar to giving yourself permission to do something enjoyable such as eat cake or watch a good film. A puppet can give the same light relief with the added bonus that it is something we can enjoy together. If there is an issue to be discussed, we can make the puppet into a coat hanger, of sorts, by putting the issue onto the character and trying to help him/her. We use our brains differently when we focus outside ourselves, and this opens up options and solutions that are harder to come by when the process just remains in our heads!

The emotions that can be provoked through puppetry are perfect for sensitive people. It is possible to play around with feeling safe or threatened by creating an environment where both can be expressed openly. Finding solutions for difficult scenarios in real life can be acted out through make believe with truly effective results.

Take this example for younger children. A dragon flies into a story session and roars at the group while threatening to hurt them all, but he quickly is spluttering and coughing because he has run out of fire. He asks the group where he can go and get fire in order to breathe it all over them. It is up to the children to decide if they will tell him, help or trick him. For the puppeteer, it is a fine line between scaring the children and appearing too harmless. The aim is to take their power away initially, through being a bit scary, and then to judge when the fear becomes too much for any member of the group. At this point, the dragon’s body posture changes and his voice becomes whiny and softer as he asks them for help. The group gain their power back as they decide what to do. The puppeteer can use the dragon’s body and voice to diminish the fear and to provoke either empathy or humour (depending on the aim of the story). If the puppeteer can interject with the initial scary voice and body language to again threaten coming back and breathing fire, this can help keep the energy fresh and exciting. The fear is still there, but the group are keeping on top of it through decision making. Depending on the group’s decisions, the puppeteer can help implement the action of running away or tricking the dragon or maybe the group will decide to try and help him be kind and stop his behaviour. The puppeteer can lead the story forward, but the participants can be empowered to make the decision. When the dragon is dispensed with, the group can reflect on their decisions. How can this be used in everyday life when something is scary? Was working as a group helpful? If you have fearful feelings in real life, who can you tell? Are there dragons in real life? Why was the dragon being unkind? What else do we find scary? And so on.

Puppetry can be gentle, humorous, encouraging or unnerving, but all these emotions and more can be expressed in a safe environment. It allows us all to reflect on how we will deal with various scenarios in everyday life and helps us find solutions to problems. For the sensitive souls among us, that can only be a good thing.

The Ancient Egyptians - Melissa Waldron.

When I was young, my mum insisted we visited museums and art galleries in the school holidays. She thought it would be good for me. And she was right when it came to The British Museum and the Egyptian rooms. The artifacts were interesting, but it was the mummies in glass cases that were truly fascinating. A few years ago I was lucky enough to visit Egypt and I headed straight to The Valley of The Kings. I rode a camel and visited the Pyramids. My interest in the Ancient Egyptians, their culture and fantastical beliefs in the After Life, is still as strong today as it was when I was a child.

This is the first era I have tackled in exploring the history workshops. It's chronologically the first civilisation in our new repertoire.

The grisly and the bizarre is a great starting point for the content of this workshop. I am currently becoming a bit of an expert on mummification and dramatic rituals. I'm going to have the opportunity to wear lavish make up and play an intriguing character. I am really looking forward to finalising the details of the new workshop for Primary Schools.

Bringing our new Living History Workshops to life.

Launching the new one woman history workshops is Melissa Waldron -  lead facilitator at The Hands-On Company.

So...how do I feel?

It's very exciting and a bit daunting. We have been in negotiation with Gill Whitten for nearly a year, concerning taking over her wonderful primary workshops for exploring specific historical eras. And  now it is real.

Gill has been an inspirational presence in schools for the past 25 years. I have shadowed her and witnessed her impact on young people. There is a real sense of occasion and excitement when she arrives in a school from children and teachers. Can I fill her shoes?

I have spent a lot of time with Gill and her generosity in sharing her philosophy on interactive learning and her creative approach to history has been impressive. I know I'm gushing about Gill, but she is a force to be reckoned with.

This summer I've researched different eras, visited museums and made new artifacts. I am anticipating an awfully big adventure when I take on this work.

Back to the books.

Puppy Play

To follow the doggy themed photo from July, we have welcomed a little rescue dog to our team. He has enjoyed the summer holidays settling in and begins modelling for new dog puppets on Thursday. If I can manage to recreate his fluffy ears, I'll be onto a winner I'm sure. We are training him using a dog listening system which suits our work ethos perfectly. Learning happens through play at a level that he innately recognises. We are taking the cues from him in the same way we do with the children we work with. We ignore the behaviour that doesn't work in this environment and congratulate the good stuff. As with children, we believe it is impossible to say - "well done" too often. With the new term approaching fast, we are all excited to share new workshops and puppets with our customers. In the meantime, Alfie needs a little snooze after such perfect photo posing.