Quelques artistes de - Unima

document it all. Please join our facebook group so you can also see what we at Puppetry SA have been up to
in and around Cape Town.
Creative Hands started at Battswood Schpreparing, the body and working with objects. We look forward to
seeing what the trainees will take away from the workshops and what they will create and present at the
ProActive showcase weekend on April 21 st & 22 nd, he Puppetry SA Giant Puppets have also been extremely
busy this year and have so far made appearances at two City of Cape Town events; one in Ottery in January
and recently at the Free family concert in Delft. The other appearance was the Artscape’s launch of the Skills,
Development and Education programme, where they appeared as supporting dancers for a live band! As
usual everyone loves (or is terrifieool in Grassy Park two weeks ago with their "Helping Hands" project. We are
working with groups of differently abled learners from the surrounding areas who come to Battswood for their
fine art, drama and dance lessons; and have the priviledge of working with a diverse crowd of creatives eager
to learn and express themselves through the medium of puppetry and mask work. The 2012 programme
focusses on identity and reimagining oneself through object theatre: a rich site of exploration and articulation
for unseasoned performers, manipulators and construction artists. We have classes with over 100 learners a
week and have showcases for parents, caregivers, educators and community leaders planned for the
beginning of June in Grassy Park. For more information and photo s, please access our facebook page. Our
"Outstretched Hands" programme in the winelands area - in collaboration with the University of Stellenbosch
and Breughel Theatre in Cloetesville - will be starting in the second semester. This project involves a creative
exchange between university students and school learners and hopes to precipitate active dialogue between
tertiary and primary institutions in Stellenbosch, whilst engaging new participants in the discipline of puppetry
and mask work. We also hope to broaden our borders as theatre makers and spread our reach further into the
Western Cape and beyond. Creative Hands is also pursuing an active partnership with Assitej SA in the
Vrygrond municipality where Yvette and Pieter and their fantastic team are hard at work in establishing a
growing dynamic and dedication to theatre and performance in the community. We will be helping them by
presenting puppetry modules and, hopefully, contribute in their final showcases with the "Vrygrond Players»
towards the middle and end of the year.
Congratulations!
We'd like to give hearty congratulations to Janni Younge (former chair of
Puppetry South Africa and current board member) for her nominations for 3 Fleur
de Cap Awards this year. Janni says“it is a great honour to be nominated and
wonderful that puppetry has it's own category for the first time and is no
longer combined with props. This represents a breakthrough for the art form and is
a reflection of the standard of puppetry productions being created in South Africa
and abroad”. Janni's in collaboration with Handspring) production Ouroboroshas
been nominated for 3 awards this year in the categories Best Puppetry Design
(Janni Younge), Best Sound Design and / or Original Score (Daniel Eppel) and
Best Lighting Design (Mannie Manim). Our own festival, Out the Box, can boast to
have hosted 2 of the nominated productions this year, namely Ouroboros and
After Cardenio, and we are extremely proud of the association with this standard
of artistic excellence. Thank you for honouring us with your work - we're delighted
that your contribution in the industry is finally being appreciated! We'll be
holding thumbs for you!
Rainbow Arts Organisation
We're also very, very proud of Active graduates, Rainbow Arts Organisation, who have been granted
substantial funding from the National Lottery to finance the start-up of their company in offices in Delft. Janni
and Cindy mentored them in the application process and it's a testament to the hard work the whole team put
in that they are establishing themselves as a leading voice in the community. The last few weeks have been a
flurry of purchasing computers, office equipment and furniture and setting up phonelines (all the nitty-gritty jobs
of setting up an admin hub) but their workshops began just a few days ago and they already have 20
committed participants. We are so encouraged to see the rhizomatic growth of graduates who are staking their
claim for puppetry and mask work throughout the province. We'll be following their progress in the next
few newsletters; so keep an eye out to see how they're doing.
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