On 6-10 January 2025, puppetry enthusiasts from across Australia gathered at Into-Arts Studio in West Ryde, Sydney, for an unforgettable 4.5-Day Puppet Building Masterclass led by the incredible Katherine Hannaford (@misskhannaford). This sold-out event brought together participants from Melbourne (VIC), Sydney (NSW), Central Coast (NSW), Bathurst (NSW), Adelaide (SA), and Sunshine Coast (QLD) to create their very own foam and faux fur bunny puppets.

Watch this 10 minute video showing highlights from each day:

With Katherine’s expert guidance and the support of UNIMA Oz committee members, the workshop was a perfect blend of creativity, craftsmanship, and community. Here’s a recap of each day:

Day 1: Designing Characters and Starting Patterns

Katherine kicked off the workshop by sharing her puppetry journey and explaining the process behind her bunny puppet design. Participants chose faux fur through a fun lucky dip and some “trading time” to swap colours. They sketched their characters, explored a nearby charity shop for inspiration, and began cutting the patterns for their puppets.

Day 2: Sewing the Fur Pieces

Sewing day was a deep dive into hand-stitching techniques, as participants tackled the task of assembling their fur pieces. Katherine and “fairy godmother” Kay Yasugi (@kay_yasugi) provided expert tips and much-needed assistance. Though time-consuming, this step was essential in bringing the puppets to life.

Day 3: Foam Cutting and Puppet Arm Rods

On foam day, Katherine introduced participants to different types of foam used in puppet construction. She taught bevel (angled) cutting techniques and demonstrated how to assemble foam pieces. Participants also crafted their own professional puppet arm rods.

Day 4: Armature Hands, Details, and Creative Accessories

As the puppets neared completion, the group worked on assembling armature hands, attaching wire to bunny ears, and gluing foam pieces together with contact adhesive. Katherine performed “nose surgery” to bolt on bunny noses, while Kay opened a “puppet salon” for decorating eyes with long lashes and zombie features. Each puppet’s personality began to shine, from a Taylor Swift-inspired bunny to a punk rabbit with safety pin earrings.

Day 5: Finishing Touches and the Bunny Birthday Party

The final day was a whirlwind of activity as participants raced to complete their puppets. They inserted suede-lined mouth plates, arms, and legs, added polyfill stuffing, and attached finishing details. Katherine ensured everything came together beautifully, while Kay worked magic in the “puppet salon.”

Two participants, Hugh and Matt, completed their bunny’s head and ears before leaving for their flight, taking cupcakes for the journey. After lunch, the group pushed through to finish their puppets and celebrated with a bunny birthday party. Snacks, carrot-themed treats, and heartfelt thank-you cards made the finale truly special.

Acknowledgments

This workshop would not have been possible without the incredible efforts of Katherine Hannaford (@misskhannaford), Kay Yasugi (@kay_yasugi), and our UNIMA Oz committee members Alex (@oneorangesockproductions), Tahlia (@brain_eating_cosplayer), and Susie. Huge thanks to Christopher Ragg for the initial idea and support, and to Into-Arts Studio (@intoartsstudio) for providing such a wonderful creative space.

We also acknowledge the Wallumettagal people, the traditional custodians and first storytellers of the land where this workshop was held. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging.

Join UNIMA Australia

This workshop was proudly supported by UNIMA Australia, an organisation dedicated to connecting and supporting puppetry practitioners and enthusiasts in Australia and worldwide.

As a UNIMA member, you’ll enjoy:

• Access to a vibrant puppetry network
• Invitations to events and workshops
• Discounts on workshops and programs
• Access to the Members Only digital archive of recordings
• Puppetry job opportunities and eligibility for scholarships and grants

👉 Become a member today! https://www.unima.org.au/membership/

Follow Us Online

This journey was documented on our social media platforms, where we’ve had over 22K views in the last 30 days! Follow us to see more puppetry magic:
📸 Instagram: @unimaoz
🌐 Facebook: UNIMA Australia

We hope to see you at the next UNIMA Oz event!

In October 2024 I travelled to Yogyakarta on the island of Java to undertake a residency with Papermoon Puppet Theatre with Jesse Hamilton from Pico’s Puppet Palace. In total the residency went for 3 weeks instead of 4 as originally planned as this is what worked with the logistics of everything involved and my budget. I was headed there to work on a creative development of a new show using a new style of puppetry that I didn’t normally make and work with in my company Pico’s Puppet Palace. We were also booked to perform our show ‘Pico and the Golden Lagoon’ at the biennale international puppet festival ‘Pesta Boneka – Seeds of Hope’ that took place at the end of the residency. I had chosen Papermoon for a variety of reasons but mainly because I was interested in their neutral palette they used in making the puppets, their use of natural materials and fibres and their non-verbal shows.

During the residency I worked on making masks and two smaller rod puppets. I started the foundation with terracotta. I then covered these moulds with cling wrap and papier-mâché. After the papier-mâché was dry I dug out the terracotta. I also started to make details on the faces with paper clay. It was a very time consuming project (of course) and in hindsight I think I was a little too ambitious it what I could achieve in the time I had. Even though I was at the studio 6 days a week for most of the day, time just flew.

Inside the Papermoon studio there were collections of all their different styles of puppets made over the years. You were welcome to pull them out and study them and play around with them. During the residency Papermoon were also rehearsing themselves and making new puppets and sculptures and so it was great to also take time out from my own project and just sit back and observe their process.

There were two other artists at the residency house and studio at the same time as us from the U.S.A and from New Zealand. This was also a great sharing opportunity, because although we were all working on individual projects we lived together and worked together at the studio and so were able to share ideas and experiences and also learn from each other. This relationship also ended up in a performance collaboration at the festival as part of one of their performance installation pieces.

As part of the residency there was a condition to do some kind of exchange, workshop or presentation to the public. We were invited to a local village to perform with Pico’s Puppet Palace at the Ngaran Kite Festival called ‘Humans on Planet Earth’. This was a great experience and the local community loved Pico. We also got to see some amazing traditional kites flying in the air, watch a Gamelan performance and play a Javanese traditional bamboo instrument with Government Officials for the opening of the festival, on a stage that was set up in the middle of the rice fields.

We also did a field trip to a local Wayang Puppet Masters Studio and House. Here we were introduced to the Gamelan and shadow puppets and history of his family and artistic experiences balancing both modern and traditional approaches. Later in the week we traveled to the Yogyakarta Museum to see a 2 hour performance of the Gamelan and shadow puppets, normally an overnight experience.

I think one of the highlights of the residency was the festival Pesta Boneka. Originally we were just going to be spectators at the festival but after applying we were later invited to perform ‘Pico and the Golden Lagoon’. This festival was amazing. 25 countries were represented at the festival and over 100 artists from all over the globe came together to perform, part take in workshops and live and breath all things puppets. Our performance went great, but I also found it invaluable the experience of seeing so many different styles and approaches to puppetry that my head is so full of ideas and inspirations. It was also a great opportunity for networking and I do believe future things will come out of this experience, as there are conversations in the pipeline.

The residency supported me to reach some of my goals I had towards the creation of my new puppetry piece. I was able to try out some new making techniques as well as trialling new manipulation techniques too. However, I didn’t get as much done as I had anticipated as I mentioned before. Before embarking on this residency I had so many ambitions and goals I wanted to achieve, but practically when in the studio and in the making process I was humbly reminded that these discoveries take time and to be patient and have a longer vision. After seeing so many shows at the festival I did gather a bunch of ideas I want to include in the new performance. This new show still has many more creative developments ahead but this experience in Indonesia definitely boosted the depth and experience of creation for me as an artist. It was great to be out of my own personal studio at home and be surrounded by other creators and artists in a multicultural context. The Yogyakarta culture reminded me to be patient but also at the same time willing to jump into spontaneity and make anything work in any situation despite the obstacles. That community and group work are the strength. To not stress too much but keep working until the dream is created. This is something valuable I was reminded of during the residency that definitely helped me with my new show.

Overall it was a very enriching experience and the first official puppet residency I had done overseas with a company. Thanks so much for believing in me and supporting this with the scholarship.

Thank you Thank you Thank you.

BUDGET

Residency cost $1800

Flight $1250

Materials $50

Visa $50

Travel Insurance $120

Food $100

Incidentals $100

Total = $3370

INCOME

UNIMA scholarship $2500

Own contribution $870

TOTAL = $3370

*notes

The budget altered slight compared to the original draft. The visa ended up being cheaper as I needed a different visa than I first thought. Materials and incidentals were way cheaper than I had budgeted. Most of the materials were supplied by Papermoon and the few extra things I bought were in expensive.

On 18th August 2024 at our UNIMA Australia Annual General Meeting, we were pleased to award Life Memberships to Richard Hart and Julia Davis from Dream Puppets. They recently relocated from Melbourne to South Australia and zoomed in, with a special appearance from their camel puppet, Kassius Kamel.

Richard and Julia have made significant contributions to the puppetry community and UNIMA Australia.

Richard Hart joined UNIMA Australia in 1994/1995, quickly assuming the role of Treasurer from 1995-1997 and Secretary from 1997-1999, then again in 2002-2008. He was President from 2014-2020, which means he has served on the Committee for 17 years! 

He played a crucial role in maintaining Australian puppetry media, contributing to the production of the Manipulation magazine before transforming the UNIMA Australia newsletter into a magazine. His efforts helped increase membership and sustain regular puppetry publications, including the first email newsletter, UNIMA OZ. He was the Artistic Director of Tarrengower Puppet Festival 2012 and Maldon Puppet Carnival 2014 (VIC). Richard continues his role as the UNIMA Australia Representative for the UNIMA Asia-Pacific Commission, further supporting our regional connections. 

Julia Davis worked on the Australian Puppeteer Magazine from 2002-2009 and was a major contributor for her editing and proof-reading. Alongside Richard, she was instrumental in establishing the independent O.P.E.N (Oz Puppetry Email Newsletter), which operated outside of UNIMA and gained notable success. 

Both Richard and Julia’s dedication to supporting puppetry and navigating the challenges of arts organization politics has been invaluable.

Their contributions, including their work with Dream Puppets, have significantly enriched the puppetry landscape in Australia. Their life memberships are a testament to their longstanding commitment and impact on the field.

Dennis Murphy was our special guest speaker for UNIMA Australia’s World Puppetry Day on 21st March, 2024.
At the end of his Artist talk, we awarded Dennis with a Life Membership to UNIMA
Australia, in appreciation of his contribution to Australian Puppetry.
Congratulations Dennis!

His gift to us was an incredibly extensive bibliography of Puppet Character Comedy, which you can download here below. Thank you so much Dennis!

Download Bibliography of Puppet Character Comedy compiled by Dennis Murphy