Theater teacher Veronica Mullins has been busy finding virtual creative outlets for her students’ stress during these uncertain times. Recently, students had a chance to get off their screens and use both sides of their brains through a new Group Puppet Project.
Veronica had the students make puppets using only things they could find in their homes. “Students had a chance to use their entire brain for this project—using their left side to build and design the mechanics of their puppets and the right to give them a name, voice, and personality,” said Veronica.
They introduced their puppet to the class and explained their making process. The students then performed monologues of their choice (Shakespeare, Shel Silverstein, commercials, Wikipedia articles, and Star Wars opening crawls) and broke off into groups and were given a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail to perform. In 15 minutes, they were able to work together to find props, sounds, music and characterization for their performance.
“I am immensely proud of what they accomplished in so little time. They did quite well, adding in music, props, and sound effects,” said Veronica. If anyone is interested in making their own puppets, visit Veronica’s Project page, which includes links to simple puppet making, as well as YouTube videos on famous puppets/puppet makers.