School of Puppetry Workshops

Our School of Puppetry workshops deliver one-of-a-kind creative learning experiences to schools and communities across Western Australia! Ignite the creativity of the young people in your life by connecting them with WA’s oldest and most respected puppetry company.

Hosting a large-scale community event? Chat to us about our free-flow puppet making stations.

Exploring puppet performance in ATAR Drama? One of our experienced teaching artists can take you through the essentials in a speedy 90-minute session.

Learning about recycling? Turn trash into treasure with our Junk Puppets workshop!

For more information about our School of Puppetry offerings, check out specific workshop information below!

Types of Workshops

Puppet Making

Every puppet making workshop includes:

 

  • An introduction to puppetry
  • Time to create a puppet from scratch that every child can take home with them
  • Time to learn to manipulate and play with the puppet
  • Materials provided by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre

Performing

Every performance workshop includes:

 

  • Warm up games
  • An introduction to puppetry
  • A demonstration of various puppetry styles
  • The opportunity for students to use hand made puppets from the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre collection.

Sock Puppets

Suitable for K - 5

Sock puppets often come to mind when we think of puppetry – we elevate the beloved sock puppet with an injection of character and a special Muppet- style mouth.

Skills Focus:

Performing 
Making 
Creativity 
Complexity 

1
4
4
2

 

Provided Materials:

Socks, fabrics, recycled materials

Paper Puppets

Suitable for Year 1 – 9

A whole world of curious creatures can be discovered with a few egg cartons, newspaper and a lot of crumpling, folding and sticking. From a material that usually ends up in the bin comes a menagerie of paper puppets!

Skills Focus:

Performing 
Making 
Creativity 
Complexity 

3
3
3
3

 

Provided Materials:

Paper, cardboard, egg cartons, recycled materials

Hand Puppets

Suitable for Year 2 - 7

Kids make their own hand puppet from scratch using fabric, stuffing and other decorations. This workshop’s difficulty can be adapted for age and skill level.

Skills Focus:

Performing 
Making 
Creativity 
Complexity 

2
5
4
2

 

Provided Materials:

Rods, fabric, stuffing, recycled materials

Junk Puppets

Suitable for Year 5 - 9

Transform trash into treasure! Unleash your students’ creativity and problem solving, as they craft fantastical creature puppets from recycled materials and tools.

This workshop introduces kids to skills in using drills, saws, and hammers – so is best suited for upper primary and high school students.

Skills Focus:

Performing 
Making 
Creativity 
Complexity 

2
5
5
5

 

Provided Materials:

Plastic bottles, cartons, corks, chop sticks, recycled materials

Performing With Puppets

Suitable for Year 3– 12

Our talented puppeteers will teach students to use different puppetry styles in storytelling and performance, including: hand puppets, marionettes and body puppets.

Skills Focus:

Performing 
Making 
Creativity 
Complexity 

5
1
3
4

 

Provided Materials:

A selection of our hand made original puppets

Puppet Lab

A Digital Puppetry Experience
Suitable for Year 1-8

In this innovative workshop, young creators combine puppetry, storytelling, and new digital technologies. Using our custom built iPad app, students design and control their own digital puppets through state- of-the-art hand-tracking technology, unlocking endless storytelling possibilities that connect their puppet creations with the world around them.

 

Skills Focus:

Performing 
Making 
Creativity 
Complexity 

4
3
4
2

 

Provided Materials:

Our state-of-the-art puppetry app and iPads.

Puppet Playtime

Suitable for children aged 3 to 5 and their loved ones

This engaging, hands-on workshop brings beloved children’s books to life through puppetry and play, sparking creativity, curiosity, and collaboration.

Perfect for early learners, each session blends storytelling, puppet-making, and interactive activities to inspire a love of books, imagination, and the arts.

Skills Focus:

Performing 
Making 
Creativity 
Complexity 

3
3
3
1

 

Provided Materials:

All performance materials, workshop materials, free parent resources

Expression of Interest