30 K-12 teachers from three islands experienced a rich line-up of trainings at the “Puppetry in the Classroom”workshop on April 5-6. Hands on and interactive sessions led by experts guided teachers on a puppetry“tour” throughout Hawaiʻi, India, Indonesia, Japan, and other destinations and cultures of the Asia-Pacific.
Teachers observed various uses and benefits of puppetry, such as storytelling and the ease of depicting different viewpoints through performance. They also learned traditional and modern ways to make puppets, discovering the craft can be easy and affordable.
One teacher exclaimed, “Puppetry has no boundaries! Love how you can use anything (pieces of string) to perform with.” Others thought about how puppetry could benefit students in their classroom, “Shy students don’t need to stress about the performance if they’re not the one performing because of the puppet.”Teachers realized puppetry could be easily integrated into the classroom across many subjects.
Workshop presenters from the Honolulu Theatre for Youth treated participants with an invitation to the dress rehearsal of their play, “Pinnochio,” that Saturday evening. Mahalo to the East-West Center Arts Program and our guest speakers and presenters for collaborating with PAAC to make this workshop a success.
Guest Presenters:
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* Aulii Mitchell, Kumu Hula of Halau o Kahiwahiwa, Eric Johnson, Chesley Cannon, Nathaniel Niemi, Honolulu Theatre for Youth
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* Bonnie Kim, Artists in the School Program
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* I Made Widana, Pasupati Balinese Performing Arts
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* Mark Branner, University of Hawaii Department of Theatre and Dance
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* Dr. Michael Schuster, Dr. Annie Reynolds, East-West Center Arts Program