Drumming Fun

On Wednesday 28th January, we had a treat of spending a whole day with Julie Wright learning the art of West African drumming. We had the oppotunity of trying out the djembe (a skin-covered hand drum that is played with both hands), the dundun (base drums which we played two at a time, with drumsticks) and a wide range of other percussion instruments. We found that drumming is not only wonderful fun, but also develops a sense of rhythm and beat, coordination, and listening skills. We did exercises that involved us learning different drumming phrases that were repeated and blended with other phrases (this required a lot of concentration!)

Here are some photos and a video from the day:

A circle of djembes with various percussion instruments in the centre. There is also a set of dunduns in the bottom left-hand corner.

Drumming together a traditional West African song from Senegal

This is a session we had where one person kept a steady beat on the dunduns, while the rest of us added different improvised sounds using the djembe and other instruments. This exercise required us to listen to each other to keep the overall sound balanced.

'Hatching' Stars in Bradford

On Thursday 22nd January, Kate and Kay performed their Star-themed marionette pieces at the Bradford Playhouse's second 'Hatch' night. 'Hatch' is the theatre's new experimental arts showcase night, with a programme packed with an eclectic variety of performance, film, installation, live art and participatory activity, including:

* A screening of 'Gift of Fire: Nineteen (obscure) frames that changed the world' by US filmmaker Ken Jacobs
* Short films by Lee Canning and Michelle Heighway
* Video installation by Angelo Picozzi and Karl Dallas
* Participatory paper banner project by Jennyanne Smith
* Audio visual performance by Brian Gilson
* Needle felting with textile artist Kate Ryan
* Performative lecture by Simon Warner
* Work in progress dance by Slanjayvah Danza
* Live art boxing by Nicolas Kilby
* Dance Theatre by Victoria Gray and Kip Johnson
* Poetry jazz performance by Nightdiver

There was an unexpectedly large crowd gathered around our marionette shows, and our little puppets were very well received. Here are some photos from the night:

Kate and Caroline setting up Kate's show, "Luni Lou and the Great Escape"


The 'Hatch' Programme

Kate and Kay - feeling very relieved after the show and anticipating celebratory fizzy wine and crisps once arriving back home (which was made possible thanks to a quick drop by Tesco's)

Rod Puppet Playtime Day 2

Today was the last day of our Rod Puppet Playtime course. Here are some photos from the day:


Learning to operate the Ningyo Joruri-style puppets. Each of these puppets require 3 people to operate them. We took turns having a go at operating the head, arms, shoulders and waist (while constantly swapping positions).

Creating a 3 action sequence.

Working in groups for a final performance. We used the puppets to create a scene set in an airport departure lounge. The picture shows a family (with a little child at the end who gets left behind)

Another shot from the 'airport' sequence. Here 3 Otome-style puppets played President Obama with 2 body guards.

A passenger with illegal goods (middle) encounters some quarrelsome air stewardesses and a flush-faced airport security guard.

Rod Puppet Playtime in London

Today was the first day of the 2-day 'Rod Puppet Playtime' workshop in London. For this course we have adapted two special types of rod puppet techniques from Japan. One type needs three operators per puppet (Ningyo Joruri), the other called Otome is operated by one person, with the head of the puppet attached by string to the head of the puppeteer. Otome was once the only type of puppetry allowed for Japanese women to perform and was first introduced to the UK by ex-LSP student Yuki Muramatsu.

Here are some photos taken during the workshop:

Warming up with balloons in the air

An exercise using sails. We explored various movements (and stillnesses) while working on being disciplined as an operator (and enjoying ourselves too!)


Playing with Otome-style puppets. The puppets were attached to a strip of cloth tied around each puppeteer (which we have called the 'obi'). There are also two strings that connect the puppet's head to the operator's head, so that the movements of the puppeteer are mirrored in the puppet. Some of the puppets also had additional feet and hands.

Making masks for our Otome puppets

Working in small groups to create short sequences. It was interesting to explore the breathing of the puppets as well as creating personalities for each character (while maintaining the balance of performing in a group).

Performing a simple nursery rhyme and incorporating actions and pauses.