At the November 2023 meeting, Helyn Latimer informed the members of Whitchurch WI that becoming a puppeteer combined her three passions: drama, art and craft, and teaching.
Helyn explained that puppets are found in all cultures across the world.
She invited members to remember experiences of puppets in their lives, and this led to a lively discussion of childhood memories of puppets, and of their use in theatre and television.
A wide range of different types of puppet were shown. These included:
- simple puppets made during workshops with children, built on a stick with two more sticks to manipulate their arms
- puppets with strings
- glove puppets
- flat shapes, like shadow puppets
- and also detailed and complicated examples used in professional productions.
The puppets, ranging from an exquisite tiny mouse to a little horse nearly the size of a Shetland pony, all came to life in Helyn's expert hands. Her skills as actor, artist and teacher were indeed demonstrated as she spoke through the personality of the puppets. She was perfectly correct when she said that the puppeteer disappeared as the audience interacted directly with the puppet as a character in its own right. It was a most enjoyable and informative talk.
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