Projektrückblicke

Designelement

ENAP - Projektrückblick

ENAP – Everybody Needs a Puppet - An inclusive, participatory puppet theater project

Objectives

  • Traditional puppet and marionette theatre and puppet making as an integrative experience.
  • New ways of storytelling that incorporate international experiences with the target groups.
  • Traditional manufacturing combined with new technologies from the maker scene.
  • How to appeal to a new audience.

Partners & Roles

  • Carolene Ada (Swallow’s Wings Puppetry, UK): Inclusive puppet theater, work with neurodiverse children and refugees.
  • Ingeborg Weinberg (DE): Traditional puppet carving (Hohensteiner Kasper), woodcarving workshops.
  • Pavel Rudzyak (CZ): Storytelling, direction, interactive methods (audience participation).
  • Tobias Tauscher & Sandy Pöschmann (Startpunkt Media, DE): Virtual puppet stage (green screen, digital media).
  • Jan Haubensak (Dialogus e.V., DE): Project coordination, social inclusion.
  • Oliver Hoh (Dialogus e.V.): Project implementation, stage construction
v.l.n.r. oben: Ingeburg Weinberg, Tobias Tauscher, Sandy Pöschmann, Oliver Hoh // unten: great helper, Carolene Ada, Pavel Rudzyk, Jan Haubensak, Lianne van de Laar

Methods & Process

Collaborative Story Development

  • In the workshops ‘Inventing Stories’ (Mittweida, 2-5 June 2025), individual puppet theatre scenarios were developed, which were later integrated into performances.
  • we had participants with and without disabilities
  • We used a collection of pre-formulated categories such as ‘drama’, ‘comedy’ or ‘rainy’, ‘location’, ‘background’, “props”, ‘theme’, etc., each with several examples.
  • Main direction: The characters should help each other when they encounter challenges on their way to the cultural capital.
  • Find your story behind these cards.
  • Express your story in a short presentation.
  • Write a complete story and bring it to life in the form of a puppet show.
  • Rethink and revise parts so that they can be better played in the puppet show.

Impact: Participants reported increased self-confidence through the visible appreciation of their ideas.

Puppet Making

Traditional: Wooden puppets with Ingeborg (Hohensteiner Kasper).

Modern: puppets from waste and different materials with Carolene Ada

Puppet Characters

Hohnsteiner Kasper Casper (not Punch!)

  • affectionate
  • persistent
  • honest
  • stands up for his friends
  • looks edgy
  • has loving eyes

Anansi is a legendary spider and trickster figure of West African mythology who achieves his goals with wit, cunning and intelligence. His stories are entertaining, instructive and have influenced generations of people in Africa.

Ehli - the 3. character

task: as a doll or another (task)

  • challenge
  • not perfect
  • special abilities (in each)
  • extraterrestrial creature
  • different
  • amiable special characteristics and abilities
  • makes “mistakes
  • helps others

Stage Design and virtuell Stage

Analog: two level wooden stage, first level suitable for puppetplayer in a wheelchair, second level for Marionettes etc.

Digital: Green screen stage (Startpunkt Media) for virtual worlds.

Inclusive & Interactive Elements

Accessibility: Tactile puppet making, audio descriptions, sign language.
Audience Participation: Children influenced the story live (e.g., fundraising in "First Love").

Themes & Learning Content

Puppetmaking: Woodcarving and from recycled materials, wood scraps, fabrics.

Digital skills and understanding: Green screen stage for virtual worlds.

Everyday Connections: Environment ("Zoo"), health ("Eye Care"), culture ("Kindergarten").

Science: Physics ("Weightless"), craft traditions ("Night at the Exhibition").

Successes & Experiences

Craftsmanship & Digitalization

Traditional wooden puppets (Ingeborg) + digital stages (Startpunkt Media) = hybrid performances.

Children’s Participation:

Independent idea development (e.g., turning blueberries into "giant melons").
Linguistic diversity through Pavel (CZ/DE/EN) and Carolene (EN).

Inclusion

Nonverbal communication (gestures, puppets) enabled participation regardless of language skills.
Accessible methods (tactile, auditory, visual) for children with and without disabilities.

Conclusion and outlook

The project showed that puppetry, craftsmanship, and digital media have the power to build bridges—between cultures, languages, generations, and abilities. The open, participatory approach enabled the children to be confidently creative and to understand complex topics (such as inclusion or the environment) in a playful way.

Funding

Special thanks to our supporter!

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