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Puppet Portal Hospital C Day 10 | Puppet Portal Project Hospital C
2009-06-23
Puppet Portal Hospital C Day 10
Two teenage girls were enticed by the teacher to join the puppet workshop today as `a favour to us` which was a pretty funny and ingenious way get them involved when they were very reluctant. Luckily ,the staff puppet project appealed to them as an opportunity to give makeovers to familiar faces on the wards.
Interestingly, one chose a nurse she knew, the other chose the porter who wheeled her to her operation. Instead of a puppet show, we created a simple stop animation with the puppets. The girls used photoshop to make several frames and iMovie to make a looped animation. Both recorded their own voices and altered it with simple filters using Audacity, then layered them onto the animation. They really enjoyed this, especially the touch screens on the monitors and voluntarily returned to the workshop after lunch. They were proud of their final pieces and their feedback was really positive about the technology but a `maybe` about making puppets again.
The words they chose for their audio were really interesting "I`m just taking your blood pressure`. "Its time for your operation. Hop on the Trolley. I`ll see you soon." - obviously these words and relationships made an impression on them, so I`m interested in how to develop this format and further explore these experiences with young people in a positive way.
A third little boy who attended the workshop the previous week was too sick to come to school so the teacher worked with him at his bedside on several staff puppets. In fact one nurse arrived into the classroom saying she had been sent to have her photo taken so he could make a puppet of her! Its really encouraging that the the participants are taking control of the process, and enjoying being a part of it - its also great to see it expanding outside the walls of the classroom....I`d like to get out on the ward a bit more myself in the future.
Near the end of the day, a little boy and his sister were gently coerced by my puppet and pirate patches (never go anywhere without them!) to make puppets. The little boy performed a Happy Birthday song for his aunt. His sister brought to life a wonderful creature - `The Secret Lizard` and we had a lovely laugh with their parents watching her story unfold in her video in the late afternoon.
Needless to say, the past 10 weeks have been a massive and fantastic learning experience and the teachers and I have lots of ideas for how to develop the project going forward. Its a compelling environment to work in and tremendously positive. Among the last comments left by our `audience` (pretty balanced ration of parents and staff at this stage) on the puppet window were "This is real medicine. Great therapeutic tool." "Absolutely magnificent. A real eye-catcher!` "Excellant Show" Great Work. Lovely and Colourful." The teacher told me that she has been making on average 4-5 puppets a week with children who come to the school to look first at the window and then see what they can do too. I`m looking forward to the next phase and working further with Anna, Helene and Emma; inspiring collaborators, and all of the partners providing great support. Happy Holidays!
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