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Shadow Puppetry Installation Workshop Inspired by A Bucket of Beetles

Term 2

Primary - High School: Stage 1 – 4, Years 1 – 8
Learning areas: Creative Arts, Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia, Intercultural Understanding

In this making workshop, students use branches and leaves to make an imaginative world for shadow puppetry play with the international artists from Papermoon Puppet Theatre in Indonesia.

Leonardo da Vinci would have loved this puppetry performance!

Audience member of 'A Bucket of Beetles'

Useful information:

Create shadow puppets with natural materials

Deepen student’s engagement with the performance of A Bucket of Beetles with this making workshop with Papermoon and their puppetry artists. Students make shadow installations using branches and leaves, to explore the magic of puppetry and the performance’s deep connection to nature and friendship.

In this workshop, students will:

  • Explore ways to bring objects, materials and figures to life using simple natural materials and light to create shadow puppet worlds.
  • Work with artists to create their own puppets using recycled and natural materials, and how these puppets can inform storytelling, set design and the audiences experience of the performance.
  • Learn about Indonesian approaches to puppetry story telling.

This workshop pairs nicely with a ticket to A Bucket of Beetles. Please book both experiences to enjoy your Day Out at the House.

Sydney Opera House presents

A Bucket of Beetles events at the Sydney Opera House received grant funding from the Australia-Indonesia Institute of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

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Plan your visit

Excursions at the Opera House

A Day Out at the House

Offer your students to an unforgettable day out at the Sydney Opera House with our new curated program. Students can attend a Creative Learning Performance or Workshop onsite accompanied by a Walking Tour of our internationally renowned performing arts centre, all in time to back by the final school bell.

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Arts Assist

Does your School need financial assistance to attend a Sydney Opera House excursion?

Schools Tour

Filled with stories that demonstrate the power of creativity, students join a guided tour to learn how architect Jørn Utzon created a sculpture on Sydney Harbour that changed the course of 20th century architecture.

A young girl wearing a school uniform stares out a window in a Sydney Opera House foyer. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is seen in the background.

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