Puppet Building & Performance Training
A regional workshop for East African puppeteers and artists
Organised by UNIMA- Kenya
Led by Allison Duddle
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Dates: 22nd – 27th September 2025
Duration: 6 days
Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Format: Hybrid (In-person in Nairobi and digital participation)
Language: English
Participants: 20 (including online participants from various countries)
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Course Description
This intensive course will focus on constructing two life-sized animal puppets — a wildebeest and a cheetah, based on designs by Ukwanda Puppet Theatre’s The Herds, along with a small hummingbird puppet. These puppets will serve as the foundation for a devised performance inspired by Prof. Wangari Maathai’s Hummingbird parable, emphasizing individual action in climate change.
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Workshop Overview
This project aims to foster artistic collaboration, cultural exchange, and creative skills development among East African artists and communities through a vibrant puppet festival and workshop. Led by UK puppeteer Alison Duddle, the program will focus on creating and performing animal puppets, specifically, a cheetah, wildebeest, and a small humming bird, and culminate in a regional festival showcasing performances in Nairobi’s theaters and schools.
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Artistic Goals and Benefits
This workshop aims to create outstanding puppetry art that seamlessly blends traditional craftsmanship with innovative, contemporary techniques. Participants will develop the skills to craft compelling, life-sized animal puppets approximately two feet tall, utilizing cutting-edge methods pioneered by Alison Duddle.
Through this process, participants will not only enhance their technical abilities but also explore storytelling through puppetry, fostering artistic expression rooted in environmental awareness and social impact.
Throughout the week, participants will engage in performance styles and interactive responses to puppet movement, incorporating arts and science to raise awareness about climate change. The experience promotes teamwork, cultural exchange, and inspires future community-based projects.
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Target Audience
- English speaking African puppeteers
- Professional artists
- Emerging artists
- Amateurs with strong practice
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Trainer Profile
Allison Duddle
Allison is a freelance visual artist, puppet and mask designer, maker, and director. She runs A Bird in the Hand Theatre, creating imaginative outdoor performances for family audiences, with a focus on the natural world. Her notable works include The Bewonderment Machine, a cycle-powered carousel for children, and large-scale lantern puppets for winter festivals.
With over 30 years of experience, Alison specializes in creating art from sustainable, natural materials, ranging from small theatre puppets to enormous figures made from paper mache, coconut matting, and rattan. Her international projects include teaching puppet-making in Iraq, China, Sweden, Austria, France, Madeira, and the Czech Republic.
For more information, visit: www.abirdinthehandtheatre.co.uk
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Application Process
Artists interested in participating must complete the Form (to be provided) before August 15, 2025. The application should include samples or materials that showcase their artistic work.
Mobility support will be available for selected participants, upon request.
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Puppet Construction Details
Built around a lightweight plywood skeleton, covered with brown paper/PVA mache for strength and waterproofing.
Moving parts hinged with cotton webbing, tensioned with nylon line and recycled rubber tunnels.
Heads sculpted in paper mache over clay molds, finished with torn cardboard skins.
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Daily Schedule Highlights
- Sculpting animal heads and hummingbird bodies
- Constructing wooden structures and joints
- Applying paper mache and strengthening structures
- Creating moving parts and mechanisms
- Attaching heads and assembling the puppets
- Painting, detailing, and finishing touches
- Puppet movement training, devising, and performance practices
- Participants will work in small groups to progress through different build stages, culminating in a performance and movement workshop.
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About Pro-Vocation: Roots and Wings
Pro-Vocation: Roots and Wings is a dynamic event dedicated to exploring, celebrating, and promoting the rich traditions and innovative potential of African puppetry. Spanning three phases, three training courses, international meetings, and a puppet festival, followed by an inter-African seminar, this initiative serves as a platform for fostering international cooperation and advancing puppetry arts across the continent.
In today’s artistic landscape, puppetry seamlessly blends tradition with innovation, creating vibrant new expressions. Recognized as a powerful tool for social cohesion and artistic impact, puppetry has increasingly found a place in higher education and cultural development.
This workshop continues the momentum from the Puppeteers’ Meeting in Cape Town (November 2024), supported by UNIMA and UNESCO, with activities in Nairobi, Kenya, and Mali.