Strathcona Puppet Theatre
One of the original Arts & Health projects, the Strathcona Puppet Theatre Group created original puppet performances for 13 years, working with glove puppets, sock puppets, humanettes, bunraku, rod puppets, pop-up puppets, shadow puppets, and toy theatre. In 2019, they embarked on a process of digital storytelling with Catrina Longmuir to celebrate their time together.
While it appears simple, puppet manipulation requires a great deal of concentration and focus. Physically coordinating hand movements with voice is one of the many weekly physical theatre exercises the group practices in order to ready themselves for performance, while keeping physically fit at the same time.
Preparing for performance requires a great deal of forethought and preparation. There is the creation of the puppets, the design and building of the backdrop for the set, and learning and rehearsing for the performance. It is a long process ‘from here to there’, requiring patience, memory, and focus. Everyone needs to be flexible, especially when working in different languages. Over the years the relationship between the artists and the group members has developed into one of trust. “The challenge we experience through language barriers is also a gift,” says former lead artist Sharon Bayly, “We all need to pay very close attention in order to be understood and we learn from each other.” Each year the Strathcona Puppet Performance Group looks forward to offering their work in performance for family, friends, and the public at the Arts & Health showcase and exhibition.
If you are interested in participating in seniors arts programming at the Strathcona Community Centre, please contact Adrianna Teoh.
Strathcona Community Centre
601 Keefer Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 3V8
Timeline
2006 - 2019