An annual survey of performances and workshops provided by Scottish professional puppetry companies throughout the UK between 1st May 2004 and 30th April 2005.
Companies were asked to complete two forms, one for performances and one for workshops. In them they detailed the number of events thy provided, the type of venues – arts, community or schools – they worked in, the areas of the UK in which they presented their work, and the approximate numbers and ages of children, young people and adults who attended.
The following companies completed the survey:
Blue Boat
Poppy Browne
Chameleon Puppets
Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre
Folding Theatre Puppet Company
Hoodwink
Jack O’ Lantern
Kenspeckle Puppets
Kidgloves Puppets
Mousetale Puppets
Pavla’s Puppets
The Puppet Lab
Purves International Puppets
Shona Reppe Puppets
Ian Turbitt’s Puppets
Yugen Puppet Company
These Scottish companies presented 1,802 productions and workshops for 137,778 children, young people and adults throughout the UK to the 30th April 2005
Of these:
45,467 (33%) were aged 3 – 5; 46,845 (34%) were aged 5 – 7
22,044 (16%) were aged 8 – 12; 23,422 (17%) were adults
.............................................................................................................................................................
Monsters In My Cupboard, The Spookmaster - Blue Boat
Poppy’s Pop Along Stories - Poppy Browne
Shadow Puppetry Workshops - Chameleon Puppets
Finders Keepers, How The Raven Stole The Moon
Jack & The Beanstalk - Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre
The Jabberwocky - Folding Theatre Puppet Company
Rumpelstiltskin - Hoodwink
Michael Scott And The Devil, The Three Little Pigs - Jack O’ Lantern
The Little Lost Dragon, Travels In A Washbasket - Kenspeckle Puppets
Punch and Judy & Other Tales, The Three Billy Goats Gruff & Other Tales - Kidgloves Puppets
Bruno And The Legend Of Hazelnut Forest - Mousetale Puppets
The Paper Bag Princess - Pavla’s Puppets
Each Peach Pear Plum - The Puppet Lab
Goldilocks And The Three Bears - Ian Turbitt’s Puppets
The Magic Horse - Yugen Puppet Company
SUMMARY:
Over the past six years Scottish puppetry companies have provided in depth statistics about their work for these Annual Surveys organised by the Puppet Animation Festival. The Festival would like to thank all the puppeteers who have taken part. Taken together these records demonstrate the great amount of work that takes place all over the UK year on year
This survey does not include work provided in Scotland by English or foreign companies during the Puppet Animation Festival. During the 2005 event alone they presented 68 performances for approximately 5,000 people. These statistics also do not include work performed in Scotland at other times of the year by ensembles from the rest of the UK or overseas at events like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe or the Scottish International Children’s Festival. In addition there are between 7 and 9 smaller Scottish companies who create a great deal of work in the more informal and open air events environments
Over the past six year there has been a remarkable degree of consistency of provision, in terms of the numbers of participants, the amount of performances and workshops presented, and in their overall geographical spread. Of the 16 companies how provided figures for this year’s Survey, 11 have also contributed to the previous five. It is encouraging that 5 new companies have been able to establish themselves over the past five years as part of the Scottish sector, however it is a ongoing concern that there is no recognised practical pathway of quality for would be professional practitioners to develop their techniques and abilities. In addition there are not many regular, relevant opportunities in Scotland for established puppeteers to develop their skills. It may be that the Festival has to begin to develop new roles in order to help ensure that Scottish companies still have the means, support and ambition to continue to provide work of high quality in the years ahead
Every year Scottish puppeteers present their work to significant numbers of people throughout Scotland, and the rest of the UK. They help to fulfil the SAC’s strategic aims of access to and participation in arts activities of high quality, both in terms of Scotland’s more remote geography, as well as the creation of work – often in partnership with social inclusion organisations – in urban areas that have not been traditionally well catered for. The Festival plays an important role in helping to provide this range of work. In addition Scottish puppeteers have developed successful relationships with a large number of schools in Scotland, returning year on year to provide work that informs and complements 5:14 Expressive Arts in a wide variety of ways. Over the next 3 years the Festival plans to enhance this activity through a number of initiatives, the main one of which is an internal reorganisation prompted by the Scottish Arts Council’s recently completed Puppetry Review. As a result of one of the Review’s recommendations the Festival received funds from the SAC to take stock of its activities and strategies for their development in the light of the growing achievements of the whole puppetry sector in Scotland, and the Festival’s significant role in this success. The Festival plans to announce the results of this process during the 2006 event. Prominent among its plans will be the further development of its website to act as an interface between puppeteers and schools, venues and other interested organisations, in promoting the benefits of puppetry in Scotland to existing and new users
Annual Survey 2004-05 Results
