If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to puppeteer moving-mouth puppets like you see on television, or if you’ve wanted to up your YouTube game or even write your own puppetry musical, this is the workshop for you! I really do hope you’ll join us in discovering just how fun and rewarding puppeteering can be. Learn how to bring the inanimate to life, and you don’t even need to be a level 3 wizard for it!
Already know a little? Then we'll not only reinforce the basics, but also give you the practice you need to build confidence in your performances!
WHAT: In this 2-hour puppeteering workshop, you'll get to learn and practice the basics of moving-mouth puppetry from professional puppeteer, Stacey Gordon. You will be led through skills such as focus, breathing, posture, movement, lip sync, arm rods, and emotion to help make your characters come alive and connect with audiences.
This workshop is perfect for beginning and early-to-intermediate puppeteers, librarians, teachers, play therapists, youth leadership, or anyone who just wants to learn new skills and add to their puppeteering toolbox. (If you come in with skills, we'll to expand on those. If you come in with none, you'll get oh so many skills!)
BRING TO THE WORKSHOP:
A puppet with a moving mouth & good eye focus*, OR a pair of fixed-focus (no wiggle/googly eyes!) practice eyes. We highly recommend using Peepers, which can be purchased here: https://puppetpie.com/collections/all-puppets-1/products/peepers (*Good eye focus means both pupils are aimed in the same direction, without wiggling. If you have the knockoff version of peepers, or a puppet with googly eyes we’ll kindly ask you to leave those aside, since they don’t maintain eye focus.)
WHEN: Saturday, November 16th from 1-3pm Mountain Standard Time. Please consult your favorite internet-robot for your local time zone. Please note that we are based in Phoenix, Arizona, which does not observe daylight savings! Your time zone and DST status may differ! By signing up for the workshop, you agree that you're responsible for checking for the start time in your local time zone and arriving on time. (Pro tip: ask your computer "what time is it in Phoenix right now?" and do the math.)
WHERE: Zoom! Which means ANYWHERE!
**A pdf will be emailed to you after checkout, which will contain the zoom link to the workshop from n oreply@digital-downloads.com. It should also be available by viewing your order after your purchase. From your receipt email, click "View Order" or "View Order and any available downloads," and be sure to check your spam folder for an email from noreply@digital-downloads.com.**
WHO: This workshop is designed for ages 18+. One purchase is required for each person in attendance. If you are or have a student younger than 18 who would like to attend, please contact us before you purchase to find out if this workshop would be appropriate.
TASKS REQUIRED: Holding your arm up for extended periods of time; muting and un-muting yourself when requested; opening and closing your hand; speaking in front of a group (Please test your sound and video ahead of the workshop in your zoom settings menu); changing your name in zoom to match the name of the ticket-holder before you click the zoom invite.
EXTRA DETAILS/TECH SET-UP:
One purchase is required for each person in attendance.
You do NOT need to be in the Phoenix area for this workshop, however you DO need a computer/device with a camera and microphone so your instructor can see and hear what you’re doing and a stable internet connection. Headphones are also a good idea, especially if you have a noisy background.
About the instructor:
Stacey Gordon has been puppeteering for audiences since 1992. She's a skilled instructor who appreciates and teaches to different learning styles. She's the owner/operator of Puppet Pie, and has the incredible honor of performing "Julia" on Sesame Street.
