Oz Puppetry Email Newsletter - Dream Puppets

Kay Yasugi (Pupperoos Sydney) recently ran a 2 day giant puppet making workshop at Shopfront
Theatre for Young People in Carlton, Sydney. Puppeteer Kay Yasugi workedwith the Junior Ensemble
group of 8-15 year olds to devise and create a giant sea monster puppet for their end of year production
(directed byHoward Matthew & Luke Kerridge). The workshop involved experimenting with various
materials (including umbrellas, fans and cardboard rolls) to brainstorm ideas of what their sea monster
could be - including how it moves, what it looks/sounds/smells like and how it thinks. A twist
to this process was drawing the character of the monster from within the participants’ own selves (the
monster representing the side of themselves that people don’t see, e.g. loneliness, anger, fear).
Needless to say, building the monster was a lot of fun. The children used cane, masking tape, paper
and glue to create 2 beastly heads, 2 long necks, 2 tentacle-like arms and 2 ferocious claws. After the
various parts were joined together, some of the group had a go at operating the puppet. For many it was
their first time working with puppets (let alone giant ones!). Pupperoos will be returning to
Shopfront to help finish off the puppet and work with some of the ensemble in operating it.
Shopfront is a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity foryoung people aged 8 - 25. It is a
cultural network and production co-operative where all young people, regardless of their background or
ability, can create themselves. For more information about this organisation, please visit http://
shopfront.org.au/