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.
Puppetry in Practice Workshop
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!
Introduction to Puppetry Workshop
During this course you will explore movement within your own body and apply this to the art of puppetry. You will learn about the core principles of puppetry and–working with a partner–how to ‘bring one to life’.
There will also be the opportunity to work on a scene and experience how to apply this skill to a performance.
You don’t want to miss out on this exciting opportunity to enhance your creative skillset!
Workshop Director

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.

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 is now awaiting a USA tour of Dinosaur World in early 2024. As well as her theatre work, she’s appeared as hero roles in three commercials.