Mireille, a puppeteer from France, worked with the children to teach puppetry. The sessions were held on Sundays and sometimes during our summer camp. In this class, students were learned to make their own puppets using art paper and sticks. They had so much fun drawing the characters and painting them.
The main theme of the puppet show was a part of the Ramayana, where Sita is abducted by Ravana. Ram and Lakshman along with Hanuman’s warriors, go to Sri Lanka to rescue her.
The students really enjoyed creating the paper art puppets of kings and queens, monkey warriors, demons, and more.
Working on the puppet theatre was something new for the students. They experimented with voice-over techniques using different modulations, syncing their puppet movements with the voices, and even changing the backgrounds—it was a big challenge and needed perfect teamwork.
After practicing for a few weeks, they were ready to perform. They first did a show at Thamarai in the sports ground for friends and family. Then, they performed at the Youth Centre in Auroville and are now planning to take the show across Auroville and other places.