"Puppet Play" project @ HSC Bensonhurst Senior Center.8 9/30/2021

 

HSC Bensonhurst Senior Center

Puppet Project

Blog 8 9/30/2021

Scaffolding students’ learning is an effective tool in teaching new techniques and consolidating previously taught skills. This week we began making a human headed puppet, so we reviewed crumpling paper and molding it as you would clay to form the basis of the head. Seniors referred to the sketches they made last week when building features. 

We warmed up our faces by isolating eyes, mouth, nose, eyebrows and ears, wiggling, stretching, and scrunching them in different directions. Finally, we massaged our faces and heads, such a great way to get invigorated. Before deciding on the type of human head they would make, we shared a reference grid which showed the body proportions of a typical human from infancy to adult, noting that the head became smaller in proportion to the rest of the body as we age. 

Our seniors took wonderful photos of their animal puppets, often with accompanying scenery and sometimes a prop and shared them via WeChat. I screen shared them to acknowledge their creativity and as a segue to discuss scenery, props, and character. Lao Yu actually painted backdrops for her puppets. The cow carries a milk pail, signifying it’s milking time as it stands in a field with a twisted tree in the background. This same scene is used for her monkey puppet, but this time she attached little monkeys she drew and cut out, to the ropes hanging from the tree. Her monkey stands looking bemused in the foreground. Pun’s rabbit and dog stand together as two friends, ready to play a game. Jing We’s tiger is placed in front of a wooden background, suggesting a cabin in the woods, while Hui Fen’s tiger is laid against a green cloth representing the forest.

Ru Ping’s horse is in front of a lace cloth, enhancing the costume, and her rabbit stands beside a pot of bamboo and a vase of red roses. He looks like he’s about to step out to a fancy dinner. This setup was the only 3D background. So Sim made two changes of clothing for her rabbit. The first features it in a white costume with green trim in front of a traditional Chinese screen - very elegant! In a lilac costume, the rabbit holds an active pose as though he’s saying “TaDa!” I’m ready to perform, with my big gold bow tie.

Sook Fong’s rabbit stands in front of a large green plant and has two tiny dolls in traditional Dutch costume at its feet. Sook Fong says the rabbit goes out to play every day so needs many friends. Stella sent us photos of her puppets in different poses. Goat is accompanied by a small dog and when the pig joins him, they stand in front of a lace curtain with a large pink plant shading them. Both look like they are about to have some fun. 

Our students worked quickly to make a human head and add features to it. Each one was unique, featuring a large chin, big ears, strong nose or arched eyebrows and a heavy forehead. We can’t wait to see how each human puppet evolves!