For an art form as old as puppetry, appreciation is an art within itself. If Jim Henson considered his puppets as alter egos, the workshop that will be organised by Arthouse 18 on May 19 and 20 will be creating a number of interesting characters. 

Preeti Golacha, a theatre artist who has worked in puppetry and film in many parts of the country including Kerala, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and New Delhi since 2013 will be hosting the event. Preeti wears a number of hats starting from the role of actor, teacher and puppeteer. She hopes to use her skills in direction, production, art and management departments that she gained over the course of organising various productions in the training process.

Deepthi Gopurathinkal, a member of Arthouse 18 and a major organiser for the workshop says, “Preeti is a stellar performer and an even better educator. She has been organising puppet workshops across India and they have been a huge success. We hope to bring the same level of energy to Kochi with this workshop.

Initially, the programme was intended for anyone between the ages of 9-15. “Once we made the announcement, I started getting a barrage of requests from adults requesting us to extend the programme for older people. Even parents were begging us to allow them to attend the event with their children. So we decided to include anyone over the age of 9. It was very interesting to see the kind of interest people have in the art form.”

The programme is supposed to the first of its kind with an unadulterated focus on the very basics of puppetry. Preeti, who has recently completed a full-time foundation course for puppeteers which has been organised and certified by the Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA, India) is the ideal candidate to spread forward this love for the art. In fact, she reveals that in the pursuit of meaning and magic through her work, she hopes to eventually establish a sustainable, independent and collaborative practice in the future.