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Sometimes, new puppet shows present themselves in surprising ways. You may staple together cardboard and devise an unbelievably hilarious clown, or be given a new object or material that presents possibilities previously unknown.
A few months ago, Out of a Box Puppetry was offered a set of six wood-crafted construction vehicles, along with the express wish that they become puppets in whatever way we deemed fit. It took some time to give the vehicles the attention they deserved as we busied ourselves with events and active puppet shows.
We began by simply taking the trucks out to play.
I made engine noises and used an excavator to pick up magnetic tiles to help children build. I took time to animate each object before the eyes of a child, then passed it to them once their interest was fully sparked.
I encouraged the other puppeteers to do the same. This process allowed the team to become familiar with the objects, explore their possibilities, and cultivate a relationship with them. That relationship became the motivating force for developing a new piece of puppet theater.
Soon we gathered blocks, a pencil sharpener, a drill, a hammer, and other bits and bobs that could support the puppet show making process. After some time in exploration, a simple story structure emerged:
- There is a place
- People come there
- They work together to build a home
I shared this sequence with the puppeteers and invited them to explore these ideas with the objects for about forty minutes.
From this time, Constructing Care emerged.
I joined fully in the process of play alongside them, refining stage pictures and shaping moments to strengthen visual clarity. The piece has since become part of our current variety show.We begin by wheeling in our puppet cart and transforming into a junk band using an electric pencil sharpener, a can on a string, tape measures, and other found objects, including a delightful toy crane.
One of my favorite moments is inviting children to help stretch out a tape measure while I climb atop the puppet cart. When they release the tool, I shake it violently, turning the yellow strip into a cantankerous lightning bolt as it retracts.
A wooden truck arrives filled with blocks, which the children help deliver to the crane while the puppeteers call out to one another in playful gibberish, mimicking the tones of construction site walkie talkies.
Another tote beside the stage is opened with the audience’s help, revealing wooden excavators inside. We parade them around the audience before positioning them onstage.
The stage is intentionally wiped in circles to pull focus.
A place to live.
Two puppeteers use their hands to create people. Fingers become legs. Thumbs become arms.
People to live there.
The hand people explore the open space with curious, delighted sounds.
Then comes the weather.
I wave my hands and make rushing sounds to conjure the wind, encouraging the children to join in. The hand people sway and struggle against the storm.
And so, the people build.
The puppeteers use their construction vehicles to move blocks and form walls.
The people build walls.
The wind settles. The builders admire their work.
However, the rain arrives. We look upward and create the sound of falling rain, drawing the children into a shared soundscape. The hand people use their vehicles to place the largest block atop the structure, forming a roof.
We summon the wind.
We summon the rain.
The people have built a home.
The puppeteers take a deep breath, look to one another, and offer a collective thumbs up before presenting their work to the audience with a joyful “Ta da.”
The experience is largely nonverbal. It centers on the exploration of wooden objects, staged curiosity, and the presentation of a shared human experience of collaboration.
Audiences delight in the playful tone, the novelty of adults engaging fully in imaginative play, and the relationships that emerge between the construction vehicle objects as they interact in space.
At first, we were unsure how we would relate to this set of wooden vehicles. They were unlike our usual performing objects. Yet through earnest exploration and sustained play, they inspired one of our most joyful pieces, a work that families cannot help but lean in for.
Constructing Care reminds us that building together is itself an act of care.
