Puppetry Skills Workshops

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It’s whatever you want it to be in our puppetry workshops!

Learn how to bring emotion and life to the stage in a unique and visually intriguing way, as part of a team or as an independent puppeteer.

An incredible workshop lead by the wonderful Daisy Franks (Olivier Award Winner for Life of Pi)!

Over the three days we will be learning the core principles of puppetry, through object manipulation and banraku style puppets – both papermen and the real deal!

We’ll dive into the physics and anatomy of movements and learn how to apply this knowledge to objects and people.

By devising and envisioning worlds and environments, we’ll be working to create a short showcase at the end of the course, applying all the skills and techniques we’ve worked to master. You will not only come away with an understanding of how to bring the inanimate to life, but you will also be able to critique and note one another to further your comprehension of this amazing skill.

Let’s breathe life!

DAY ONE

  • Core principles of puppetry
  • Object manipulation, movement exercises, objects in space and transitional puppetry
  • Muscularity and physics of movement
  • Make your own paper men puppets and bring them to life

DAY TWO

  • Discuss ‘communication through breath’ for both puppet/character and puppeteers
  • Character specific movement work with papermen 
  • Setting scene and environment, emotional and physical responses to space
  • Acting with puppets – becoming the ‘4th puppeteer’
  • Working with multiple puppets in one space
  • Devising scenes

DAY THREE

  • Working with text
  • Creating a movement language
  • Showcase – watching what each other has learnt and created over the 3 days!
  • Q and A to finish

Delve into the exciting world of puppetry on this three-day course, with the incredible Sophie Turner, the Deputy Head of Puppets at My Neighbour Totoro!

DAY 1 

  • Learn about the different types of puppetry and explore the core fundamentals of how to bring a puppet to life
  • Discover how to emote a story and work together to create narratives
  • Find out how to work in an ensemble using multi-person puppets

DAY 2

  • Develop skills in action and reaction, presence and filling the space, awareness, believability and relationships
  • Play with how to vocalise a puppet
  • Explore other forms of puppetry, such as animals, hand and rod, wearable and mechanism based puppets 

DAY 3

  • Choose which form of puppetry you wish to explore further
  • Devise a short piece in your chosen form of puppetry
  • Share your devised puppetry piece with the group and capture it on film with a professional videographer 

We can’t wait to see you there!

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Workshop Director

Puppetry Skills Workshops Director - Daisy Franks

Daisy FranksActor, Puppeteer and Physical Theatre Specialist

Daisy graduated from the BA Physical Theatre course at East 15 in 2019. Since then, Daisy recently made her West End debut as a puppeteer for Richard Parker in Life of Pi at the Wyndham’s Theatre, earning an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor with her fellow puppeteers. She has also performed a self devised dance theatre show at The Place Theatre merging contemporary dance, mime and German Expressionism, as well as puppeteered for the show Rocket Girl. She also completed a USA tour of Dinosaur World in early 2024. As well as her theatre work, she’s appeared as hero roles in three commercials.

Sophie Turner Puppeteer

Sophie TurnerActor, Puppeteer and Puppet Maker

Sophie graduated from the BA World theatre course at East 15 Acting school and later extended her studies, attending Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where she gained a Master degree in Puppet Design. As a puppeteer and puppet maker, Sophie found herself truly immersed in the world of puppetry. Her first post MA puppeteering job was with Sega Amusements, followed by a puppet technicians role, on the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of ‘My Neighbour Totoro’. This show won six Olivier awards in 2023 and five WhatsOnStage awards in 2022. When returning for the second stint of 'My Neighbour Totoro', Sophie took on the role of Deputy Head of Puppets.

Chris and Meg from Fleur de Lis Theatre Company gave several absolutely brilliant unarmed stage combat workshops for us at Associated Studios. They are energetic, professional and very positive. The students had a wonderful time and we will definitely ask them to come back.
Unarmed Combat Workshop - May 21
UNARMED COMBAT INTENSIVE with Christian Reid & Megan Barnes-RolfStage Combat Workshop ~ Leontine Hass - Principal/CEO of Associated Studios
Working with Fleur de Lis at their puppetry workshop was amazing! There was so much jam packed into just two days, but they created an environment that was really safe and supportive, so it wasn't completely overwhelming. Absolute teaching wizards!
Introduction to Puppetry Workshop - May 23
INTRODUCTION TO PUPPETRY with Daisy FranksPuppetry Workshop
Five stars, bloody fantastic! It was so inspiring and went home from the first day absolutely buzzing. The workshop was very exciting and led by high energy, supportive and positive facilitators.
MIME AND PHYSICAL THEATRE with Michael Lynch
MIME AND PHYSICAL THEATRE with Michael LynchPhysical Theatre Workshop
Chris and Meg pack in an insane amount of information in the three days and make it hugely fun to learn! Thank you for a lovely time and an amazing skill you've given us. It was class!
Sword and Shield Beginners Course - March 23
SWORD AND SHIELD BEGINNERS with Christian Reid & Megan Barnes-RolfStage Combat Workshop
This was an amazing workshop, even better than I expected! Daisy had a fun personality and was very helpful. She was very inspirational and allowed us to explore different ideas with fun exercises. It was such a good atmosphere and I really enjoyed it. I look forward to joining another puppetry workshop soon!
Introduction to Puppetry Workshop - May 23
INTRODUCTION TO PUPPETRY with Daisy FranksPuppetry Workshop
It was great, I learned a lot. Susie was fantastic and explained everything very clearly. I recommend joining one of Fleur de Lis' physical theatre workshops if you want a supportive environment to try (and fail) in!
THE EXTRAORDINARY BODY with Susie Coutts
THE EXTRAORDINARY BODY with Susie CouttsPhysical Theatre Workshop
I had the best few days learning sword and shield with Fleur de Lis! The teachers were fantastic and I learnt so much more than I ever thought I would be able to in the time we had. The days flew by and I just wish it had been longer, as I didn't want to leave! Thank you so much, I loved every minute!
Sword and Shield Beginners Course - October 21
SWORD AND SHIELD BEGINNERS with Christian Reid & Megan Barnes-RolfStage Combat Workshop
From the get go, it was a safe and friendly space to play and experiment with ideas in. We got to try lots of different puppetry styles which is a rare opportunity to get. And cost wise it was very good (especially for London). I'd highly recommend to anyone looking for a chance to learn new skills, or play and develop pre-existing skills.
PUPPETRY IN PRACTICE with Sophie Turner
PUPPETRY IN PRACTICE with Sophie TurnerPuppetry Workshop
I got so much more out of the workshop than I expected to, Susie covered a lot of ground. I feel totally energised after this course and I'll definitely be going back for more!
THE EXTRAORDINARY BODY with Susie Coutts
THE EXTRAORDINARY BODY with Susie CouttsPhysical Theatre Workshop
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  • All dates/venue for our puppetry workshops are to be confirmed. Please use button below to enquire and join the mailing list for updates.
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