Making Connections Through Puppetry and Theater:
Residency at the Charterhouse School
Double Image Theater Lab brings their new show, "Pousette and the Pirates" to Virginia. The puppetry production of “Pousette and the Pirates” docked at The Charterhouse School and performed June 4th for the elementary school students. Puppetry Artist Margot Fitzsimmons, receiving her Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Theater for Young Audiences with a concentration in Puppetry, collaborated with Charterhouse School’s art teacher Rachel Fitzsimmons to create an interactive residency experience. The residency consisted of four pre-show workshops and a performance. Through the workshops, the students familiarize themselves with the performance by introducing them to the characters, the story and the aesthetic of the piece.
The workshops began and ended with a ritual. They greeted and said goodbye to Pousette the puppet by singing her song “Yo ho Yo ho a pirate’s life for me.” Margot and Rachel used this ritual as a classroom management tool and it was also an element of the show. The first workshop introduced Margot. She began by asking the class, “what is a puppet?” The students then created their own paperbag puppets and got to meet the main puppet character from the show named Pousette.
The set and puppets in the production are entirely made out of newspaper. To familiarize the students with the aesthetic of the show, Margot and Rachel brought in a huge stack of newspapers. Out of newspaper, the students created objects from the show like pirate hats, swords, and ships. They also constructed objects unrelated to the show such as dragons and crowns. The following day Margot and Rachel brought flour and yeast into the classroom. In the story of Pousette and the Pirates she makes donuts that are filled with too much yeast, and after the pirates eat the donuts they float away. As a class, they created dough and then each received a piece of dough to create their own donut.
The day before the show, Margot and Rachel told the story of Pousette and the Pirates while, from their chairs, the students acted out the elements from the piece. The students made the sounds of the wind, ocean waves and pretended to be pirates. Familiarizing the students with the show, allowed them to interact and discuss the themes from the story. The following day the production debuted--with a few surprises.
The day of the show, the students connected with the moments in the piece previously experienced in the workshops. The students were extremely engaged when the life size version of Pousette jumped out from under the table and introduced herself to the audience. The class had only been familiar with the puppet version of Pousette, but when she actually entered the classroom, it was as if they met a celebrity. They loved seeing Pousette creating dough right in front of them and watching the puppet version of the Pirates float away. One of the students humorously exclaimed as they floated away, “They are flying yeast!” It was a magical experience.
Seeing a show can have great impact. However, when the artistry goes beyond the performance and into the classroom, the students engage with the story in a hands-on, interactive way. It not only prepares them for the performance, it also gives them communication and critical thinking skills. An example of how this residency encouraged creativity, a student created a paper ship independently after one of the workshops. One hopes that the combination of workshops and performance will enhance the students’ theatrical experience and encourage creativity.
Residency at the Charterhouse School
Double Image Theater Lab brings their new show, "Pousette and the Pirates" to Virginia. The puppetry production of “Pousette and the Pirates” docked at The Charterhouse School and performed June 4th for the elementary school students. Puppetry Artist Margot Fitzsimmons, receiving her Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Theater for Young Audiences with a concentration in Puppetry, collaborated with Charterhouse School’s art teacher Rachel Fitzsimmons to create an interactive residency experience. The residency consisted of four pre-show workshops and a performance. Through the workshops, the students familiarize themselves with the performance by introducing them to the characters, the story and the aesthetic of the piece.
The workshops began and ended with a ritual. They greeted and said goodbye to Pousette the puppet by singing her song “Yo ho Yo ho a pirate’s life for me.” Margot and Rachel used this ritual as a classroom management tool and it was also an element of the show. The first workshop introduced Margot. She began by asking the class, “what is a puppet?” The students then created their own paperbag puppets and got to meet the main puppet character from the show named Pousette.
The set and puppets in the production are entirely made out of newspaper. To familiarize the students with the aesthetic of the show, Margot and Rachel brought in a huge stack of newspapers. Out of newspaper, the students created objects from the show like pirate hats, swords, and ships. They also constructed objects unrelated to the show such as dragons and crowns. The following day Margot and Rachel brought flour and yeast into the classroom. In the story of Pousette and the Pirates she makes donuts that are filled with too much yeast, and after the pirates eat the donuts they float away. As a class, they created dough and then each received a piece of dough to create their own donut.
The day before the show, Margot and Rachel told the story of Pousette and the Pirates while, from their chairs, the students acted out the elements from the piece. The students made the sounds of the wind, ocean waves and pretended to be pirates. Familiarizing the students with the show, allowed them to interact and discuss the themes from the story. The following day the production debuted--with a few surprises.
The day of the show, the students connected with the moments in the piece previously experienced in the workshops. The students were extremely engaged when the life size version of Pousette jumped out from under the table and introduced herself to the audience. The class had only been familiar with the puppet version of Pousette, but when she actually entered the classroom, it was as if they met a celebrity. They loved seeing Pousette creating dough right in front of them and watching the puppet version of the Pirates float away. One of the students humorously exclaimed as they floated away, “They are flying yeast!” It was a magical experience.
Seeing a show can have great impact. However, when the artistry goes beyond the performance and into the classroom, the students engage with the story in a hands-on, interactive way. It not only prepares them for the performance, it also gives them communication and critical thinking skills. An example of how this residency encouraged creativity, a student created a paper ship independently after one of the workshops. One hopes that the combination of workshops and performance will enhance the students’ theatrical experience and encourage creativity.