How to Puppeteer Anything: Workshop for Adults age 13+
Instructor: Ingrid Hansen
DATE: SAT Mar 2nd: 2-5pm
Fee: $25 - 75 sliding scale (Pay What you Can Afford)
HOW TO PUPPETEER ANYTHING. Puppetry Workshop For Adults.
Instructor Ingrid Hansen puppeteers on television for The Jim Henson Company (Fraggle Rock), Sesame Workshop (Helpsters), Miss Persona (where she got to direct Fred Penner!) and Tiga Talk on APTN. She teaches puppet workshops for actors, dancers, adults, children, and prison inmates.
In this workshop we will puppeteer scarves, clothing, and objects, uncovering their hidden characters, and creating short pieces, and trying to stretch the limits of what these objects can do. There will be an emphasis on courage, breath, movement, creative abandon, and sharing our discoveries as a group.
You are invited to bring any objects or materials you are fascinated with (old blazer? Broken telephone? Cereal box?) and also work with the materials provided. (I will have lots of fabric here.) Together we will delve into the relationship of the object to the puppeteer, object to audience, and puppeteer to audience. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes and come ready to laugh try fail flop. ALL WELCOME. If anyone needs any accessibility support or has any special considerations please email us before the workshop: ingrid@snafudance.com
This workshop is all performing and playing, no building or crafting. (Crafting takes a very long time.)
On the first floor of Artscape Youngplace, right across from the elevator.
Wheelchair Accessible, with accessible washroom. The room has a small lip at the door, please ask and we will lift chairs over it.
Testimonials
“I was blown away by [Ingrid’s play] Little Orange Man so when I learned that Ingrid was offering a masterclass in Toronto I just had to fly across the country to participate. I was not disappointed. I particularly liked how we explored dramatizing aspects of ourselves through objects, how we developed story sequences and worked with feedback from the group to enhance them. I had expected getting to animate objects, but I really appreciated working on story development, both individually and with others. Plus, Ingrid is such an inspiring ball of energy and enthusiasm. No wonder she can raise the dead, um, objects…” - Kris Fleecrackers, Student in Ingrid's Puppetry Masterclass 2015 at Humber College
"Ingrid Hansen is a genius performer, and a darned-good teacher, too. I have been a professional performer for over 45 years. I found Ingrid’s puppetry workshop to be well-organized and -delivered, insightful, fun and inspiring. Highly recommend!" - Trent Arterberry, workshop participant
Instructor Biography: Ingrid Hansen (she/her)
Raised by gregarious Danish immigrants, Ingrid is a television puppeteer and theatre creator.
She’s currently on tour with Epidermis Circus, the weirdest puppet show you’ve ever seen. Ingrid puppeteers on television for Sesame and Henson. She plays Heart, a lovable agender orange monster on Helpsters, Sesame Workshop’s Emmy-Award-Winning series for AppleTV+. She also puppeteers and voices characters on Henson’s new Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock series. For the TreehouseTV/Amazon show Miss Persona, Ingrid puppeteers Melissa the Dog, and also choreographed and directed on several music videos, including getting to direct scenes with Canadian TV legend Fred Penner and choreograph ballet for ‘Letterkenny’ comedian K. Trevor Wilson. (Both as magical in person as you would expect.)
In 2006 Ingrid co-founded SNAFU Society of Unexpected Spectacles. With SNAFU, Ingrid has co-authored and co-produced 21 live shows including Epidermis Circus, Little Orange Man, Kitt & Jane, Interstellar Elder, Table Top Tales, Snack Music and The Merkin Sisters. SNAFU’s work has been presented by the National Arts Centre, The SummerWorks Festival, The Great Canadian Theatre Centre, The Centaur Theatre, the International Festival of Animated Objects, and festivals across Canada.
Hansen earned her BFA in Theatre at the University of Victoria, and studied clown with Sue Morrison, Viewpoints with the SITI Company in New York, and with the Old Trout Puppet Workshop at the Banff National Arts Centre.