Aussie Bloggers

Muppets. Marionettes. Shadow puppets. Glove, finger, blacklight. You’re immediately expecting this to be about some other country don’t you? Puppets in Australia? Not likely. So I’m betting that if I told you Australia had a strong and vibrant puppetry industry, you’d probably not believe me. But we do.

When I talk to people, even in the professional theatre scene here in Melbourne, they’re always surprised to realise that there are puppet makers and performers in Australia. The funny thing is, they couldn’t be more wrong. We’re not just here; we’re large and internationally known. Australia is home to some of the best puppetry in the world. Heard of Walking with Dinosaurs? It’s a huge animatronics dinosaur display, and the puppets were built and designed by an Australian. Do you remember the cult TV show Farscape? Produced right in Homebush, Sydney, with puppeteers and builders from our own country. Ever see Richard Bradshaw on Sesame Street with his shadow puppets? Yep, another Aussie. (I’m not even mentioning a particular Aussie show that is a hit overseas… it has to do with genitalia)

Yet you never hear about the puppetry community here. You’d never know it existed. And I’m starting to change all of that.

I became interested in the art of puppetry while studying theatre at university. After graduating, I started up a small blog, really on a whim, and posted some pictures of an experimental puppet that I was building. I wanted to share with people how I made my puppets, and learn along the way. It’s been a few years now, and I’ve found out a lot. In particular, practically everyone in America who’s into puppets is online. American puppetry companies don’t just sell their products online, they perform online, teach online, everything. It made me think: where’s all our puppet blogs? Where are our puppeteers? Why aren’t they online, talking about their work?

My best guess is they’re too busy; but most Aussie puppet companies, builders and performers don’t even have their own website. To fill this gap, I started posting informational articles on my blog about where to buy puppets, or where to find a puppet show for your kid’s birthday party… I’ve collected and collated information on a range of topics, from finding a puppetry festival to where to learn about puppetry in Australia. You’d be amazed at how many people are actually out there working professionally in this craft; and even more amazed at the number of people who want to know about it. I get emails all the time asking for help, someone’s looking for materials, someone else is wanting to buy or sell a puppet…

Over the past year or so, my blog has become more than a blog. It’s become one of the few places online for Australian puppetry. I’m now one of the few Aussie puppet makers to sell parts and patterns online (hell, I’m close to being the only one!). And my site is becoming a vast resource for the overseas community too. It seems I’ve found a niche.

In March this year, Perth was home to the world’s biggest puppetry festival: a biennial event run by the oldest theatrical organisation, UNIMA. UNIMA is the puppetry union and is made up of branches around the world. Everyone who is anyone attends the biennial festival, and delegates came from South Africa, Korea, Japan, America, the UK… and of course, from around Australia. I was lucky enough to attend the festival, with a small travel grant. I was the only attendee to do a liveblog from the event, and one of only three attendees discussing it online at all (the other two were Aussies).

You wouldn’t have known that for two weeks puppeteers from around the world swamped Perth’s halls. There was barely a sign anywhere. Until open day. In the middle of the two-week event, a large free open festival was provided for, and everyone gathered to see the Million Puppet Project, the largest gathering of puppets in the world. The hope was to break the world record. (I think we did, but missed out on the million puppet mark) Students from schools, people from around the world, all submitted their puppets; all of which went to needy children afterwards. It was hot that day, but the festival was packed, with children, parents, adults, delegates and performers pouring into the Perth Concert Hall. Free shows were presented, along with workshops, displays and other activities.

It was my first time in Perth – being a Melbourne girl – and I spent the entire two weeks taking part in masterclasses, seeing shows, meeting other puppet makers, checking out exhibitions, and enjoyed all of it. I only wish more people would realise that puppetry isn’t just for kids, and isn’t just a classroom activity. We’re a vibrant and nutty bunch. We’re not muppets; we love what we do and do it well. It’s time for Australia to start accepting puppetry as an artform on the same level of traditional theatre, or of film and TV. And it’s time for Aussie puppeteers to start getting online and opening themselves up to a wider audience: we should hear more about their shows, builds and activities. Australia has some of the best puppeteers to offer. So why does no one know we exist?