Would you like to join our Thrive Puppet Team?
Thrive are looking for 6 – 10 budding puppeteers who would love to join our brand-new team. No previous experience necessary as training will be given.
The only requirement is that you need to be an adult or young person aged 10 or above.
Our puppet ministry will be lots of fun and a chance to learn new creative skills. Plus, we will have opportunities to witness to others as we perform.
Each puppeteer that joins our team will be given a brand-new puppet (on loan from Thrive) to have at home to use and to practice. We meet on the first and third Monday of the month, 5.30-7pm. If you would like to come join us.
Our plan for the team is to perform at other churches and outreach events across our local area and inspire others in using puppetry within their worship settings.
Why do puppets?
It’s a fantastic way to witness to others, to have an amazing impact from performing and touch many lives. When planning puppets, you have the opportunity to be really creative, to think outside box, to bring something to life and in working together as a team, you can take a piece of music and turn it into a powerful performance that helps to share God’s love to many. You can get a real sense of achievement from performing and great feeling of using your skills and time to serve God in this ministry. Puppetry is also a fun ministry to be a part of. Rehearsals are relaxed and can be a laugh as we work together and try brand new things.
What can you expect from the training?
We will start by learning the five basics of puppetry including lip synchronisation, puppet manipulation and arm rod techniques. We will go step by step having fun together as we learn new skills in bringing our puppets to life.
Fiona’s Puppetry experience
The Thrive Puppet Team will be led by Fiona Stutton, Thrive’s Children’s Ministry Adviser, who has vast experience in puppetry:
I first got involved in puppetry when I was living in America. I joined a church puppet team out there and loved it. It was then that I decided to bring puppets back to my home church in England. Since then, I have set up several puppet teams over the country. I also direct One Way UK’s ‘Puppet Academy Team’ for a week in the summer, where I choreograph the songs and teach to puppeteers from across the country who join us for the week. The academy team them perform at the Puppet and Creative Ministry Festival that takes place in Rugby in the October half term.
Rehearsals will be once a month, at a time that everyone can make. The day and time to be confirmed depending on availability of the team. So, whether you’re an extremely experienced puppeteer, or you’ve never worked with them before, if this is a passion of yours, please do get in touch, we would love to hear from you.
Moving forwards, we may put a puppet video together for churches to use, or perform in person at churches or events. We look to perform a maximum once a month.
Also, if you know any young people or adults that would love to become a Puppeteer, please do let them know.
For more information please contact Fiona.