First session at the MACC and TelusTV
On Monday, March 4th our class had our first session at the Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre or as we call it, MACC. After our gym class, we walked down to the MACC and met Ms. Winston AND two representatives from TelusTV. How exciting! As Ms. Winston led us through an introduction to puppetry, TelusTV rolled film.
After reviewing standing and walking in neutral and engaging the class in a get-to-know you activity, Ms. Winston talked about the “bunraku” (Japanese) style of puppetry that we will be taking inspiration from. She showed us how to give “life” and “breath” to an inanimate object. Ms. Winston used a crumpled up sheet of brown paper to demonstrate how important a puppeteer’s role is in moving any puppet through a space.
Then to get us moving, Ms. Winston had us “flock.” “Flocking” is a technique where 4 people stand on the cardinal points of north, south, west and east. One direction leads, while the other 3 directions follow. When the leader turns, then the flock follows the new direction. It was a great new way of moving, working together and discovering space.
After flocking, Ms. Winston had us do some group work. She gave us some vocabulary words to act out. As a group, we had to move our bodies to create the the word. We worked together to make a group elephant, hockey stick, monkey bars and the SkyTrain.
Finally, we paired up and were given our own piece of brown paper to crumple. We created our own puppets and with Ms. Winston’s guidance gave breath, movement and life to them. It was another FANTASTIC workshop with Ms. Winston!
Please enjoy our photos!
