workshops
Pickled Image offers comprehensive workshops in puppetry skills and character development to theatres, schools and venues. The company have extensive experience in delivering workshops to people of all ages and abilities, the workshops concentrate on puppet manipulation skills, hand to eye co-ordination and improvisation exercises with puppets.
In the autumn term of 2003, Pickled Image worked with over 60 children from Years 5 and 6 with two local Primary Schools in Bristol. The project began with the broad aims of raising speaking, listening and writing standards and set about to explore the scope of developing English through puppetry and theatre skills.
The aims and objectives of the workshops were to: raise self-esteem amongst harder to reach children; develop confidence in children to help them fully express themselves; raise speaking, listening and writing standards.
One of the most valuable effects of the workshop was that they provided new ways of looking at children’s abilities. The puppetry skills they acquired enabled them to express themselves through a medium which was non threatening and playful. The workshops were such as huge success Creative Partnerships commissioned a documentary to be made about the work, a DVD is available of the workshops on request. The company also work with computer animators at Bournemouth University; the sessions are designed to help animators look at movement and performance in real time. The workshops teach eye line and lip sync techniques, which can be filmed and used as a learning tool for the animator’s work. Puppet workshops are also taught at Birmingham school of Art for their BA (hons) theatre design students and are available for bookings in other art colleges and institutions.
