If you’re curious about puppetry but have never tried it before, this masterclass is the perfect place to start – no prior artistic experience is needed!
In this two-day masterclass, The Finger Players (Singapore) will collaborate with La Casa di Meneghino (Italy) to present a double-bill workshop on Traditional Chinese Hand Puppetry and Traditional Italian Hand Puppetry respectively.
Led by Tan Beng Tian, Co-Founder of The Finger Players and an award-winning theatre practitioner, she will introduce and demonstrate the fundamentals of traditional Chinese hand puppetry, as well as sharing her research on the preservation and conservation of the traditional art form. In parallel, Valerio Saccà, Founder of La Casa di Meneghino, along with his apprentice Benedetta Pigoni, will also share his practice and expertise in traditional Italian hand puppetry.
During the masterclass, participants will explore the culturally distinct yet similar approaches to hand puppetry, including character archetypes, manipulation techniques, staging systems, and storytelling styles between Italian and Chinese hand puppetry. At the end of the masterclass, the participants will be given the opportunity to devise, and present theirs stories using these two traditional puppetry forms.
Who is this course for?
- Beginners who wish to nourish their minds and broaden their horizons through the world of puppetry.
- Theatre and art practitioners who are keen to be introduced to traditional hand puppetry from the perspectives of Chinese and Italian culture.
- Storytellers eager to create and share stories by blending techniques from both traditions.
This course is SkillsFuture credits claimable.
The minimum age for this masterclass is 18 years old.
Sign up at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfyV28LQ7vsIMTVPyreDdbtya2PeorP05lJ3onm7PGaWYWGpQ/viewform
When: 20 - 21 Sep 2025, 2pm - 10pm
