Shadow Puppetry Class for Adults!

Advanced Shadow Puppetry Workshop
Five sessions, May 6 - June 3
Monday nights | 6:30 - 8:30 pm

REGISTER

We invite you to advance your skills with us! Unleash the storytelling powers of darkness and light! Learn to build and perform a complete shadow puppet show in this rigorous and supportive class.

Image from "Trash: A Love Story" designed by Matthew Woellert, a PST shadow puppetry class alum

ABOUT THE CLASS

Participants will explore advanced mechanisms and building techniques using hinges, rivets, springs and slides crafted from durable materials to create professional quality shadow puppets. Then participants will focus on performance skills and visual storytelling to create an original short piece.

This is an advanced-level class: "Introduction to Shadow Puppetry" or equivalent experience is highly highly recommended.  If you have questions, please contact bshur@puppetshowplace.org.

SHADOW PUPPETRY

Shadow Puppets

Shadow puppetry began 1000’s of years ago in China and India. Now it is regarded as the oldest form of puppetry in the entire world! Traditional shadow puppets are flat and made out of leather in which holes are punched out in order to imply features and clothing. Contemporary ones can be made combining a multitude of materials including: paper, plastic, wood, found objects, scarves, almost anything really! Puppeteer’s use flat articulated figures in order to give the appearance of three-dimensional moving objects with the assistance of light.  




YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Artist in Residence Brad Shur

This workshop is led by PST’s own Artist in Residence Brad Shur. Brad performs almost every month at PST as well as teaches classes and workshops to students aged 3 to adult. For nearly 15 years he has been professionally involved in puppetry since he began as a performer with the Providence puppet and Mask Company Big Nazo. He has worked in various capacities with Wood & Strings Theatre (Tennessee), and Vermont PuppetTree, and as a builder has designed and fabricated puppets for American Idol, Dollywood, and other theaters and performers from Austin, Texas to Boston, Massachusetts. 





SEE BRADS SHADOWS IN ACTION!

Have you seen Brad's newest production at PST? In January of 2013, Puppet Showplace Theatre presented the world premier performance of "Yankee Peddler: Songs and Stories of Old New England" created and performed by Brad Shur, and musician, Chris Monti.  This exciting adventure through local New England Folklore features incredibly beautiful and intricate shadow puppets made by Brad Shur, and live folk music performed by Chris Monti.

If you missed the January performances, you can see "Yankee Peddler" on our stage this Spring: May, 23  through 26.