Pupp-acting

Pupp-acting is an innovative form of performance which fuses acting and puppetry. Performers are able to simultaneously animate a Bunraku-style puppet and interact with it as a different character. Our workshops range from the learning of the core principles of pupp-acting to the construction of puppets and the creation of short individual pieces.




Introduction to pupp-acting

Participants train with the company’s specially designed puppets and learn the three core principles of pupp-acting: body, gaze and speech.
Suitable for people with some experience in performance.
Duration: from 3 hours to one day.
Maximum number of participants: 16

Complete workshop: the other Self

Participants create a short performance using pupp-acting, from conception to performance. The intensive workshop is divided into three phases. The first phase consists of the participant designing and constructing their own Bunraku-style puppet. The puppets are made in papier-mâché by casting body parts of the participants. In the second stage they train in pupp-acting with their puppet. During the final stage they devise and perform a short piece.
Suitable for puppeteers, actors and designers
Duration: 5-10 days
Maximum number of participants: 12



Paper theatre

The tradition of paper theatre can be found in both European and Japanese cultures. In Japan, this form of live 2D animation is known as kamishibai, and is the ancestor of Manga.
The aim of this workshop is to gain the necessary skills to build your own paper theatre including box, set and puppets in order to create your own short performance. Participants are asked to bring a piece of writing from any genre (short story, novel, poem, myth) as the starting point of each individual piece.
Suitable for people interested in visual arts (collage, painting, drawing) and performance
Duration: 2 days minimum
Maximum number of participants: 15



Puppet making workshop

Participants learn to construct a Bunraku-style puppet in papier-mâché by using cast of their own body parts. This technique of puppet making is inspired by the work of acclaimed German puppeteer Ilka Schönbein.
Suitable for puppet makers, prop makers and theatre designers.
Duration: 3 days.
Maximum number of participants: 12


workshop urashima taro rouge28



Introduction to puppetry

This workshop is an introduction to puppetry. It covers a range of techniques from the animation of everyday objects to a simple table-top puppet.
Suitable for anyone interested in puppetry and performance
Duration: from 3 hours to two days
Maximum number of participants: 15

Lectures on puppetry

Paul Piris (PhD /Artistic Director of Rouge28) offers lectures on the questions raised by the visible presence of the puppeteer in contemporary performances. His research starts from a questioning about the relationship between the puppeteer and the puppet through alterity, imagination, perception, acting and puppeteering. His lectures include the following subjects:

The co-presence of the puppeteer and the puppet
The ambiguous ontology of the puppet
The puppet as an absent Other
The interplay of imagination and perception in puppetry
The gaze of the puppet
History of the visible presence of the puppeteer in contemporary theatre


If you are interested by our workshops or lectures but you need something more specific to your needs do not hesitate to contact us. We can always adapt them to your requirements.