With Shawna Reiter of CLUNK Puppet Lab
Saturday May 14 & Sunday 15, 10 am to 4 pm. Two days for $200 registration plus $20 materials fee
This is a beginner exploratory, hands-on workshop, aimed at people who want to make their own automata, toys, mechanical sculptures, set pieces, or other devices. Participants will lean the basic principles of mechanics, and create simple mechanical prototypes (using a variety of materials and tools). The workshop will begin with an overview of basic mechanical principles and basic mechanisms including levers, cranks, and cams and we will build some of these mechanisms to use for reference throughout the workshop. Working through a design process participant’s will design and build their own automata out of cardboard, foam-core, paper, dowels, small pieces of wood and various fasteners. This workshop is a great opportunity to experiment, and test ideas.
Shawna Reiter is the Artistic Director of CLUNK Puppet Lab a multidisciplinary company that creates original art and theatre work that delves into the minute, intimate moments and connections of shared human experience. She is co-creator/writer/and performer of CLUNK Puppet Lab’s “How I Became Invisible”, “Fin”, “The Uneventful Disappearance of Mr. Ogorki”, and “Gone Fish’in”. Trained as both a visual artist and puppeteer Shawna devised a hybrid practice that integrates her artistic training with her passion for puppet theatre. She has created large-scale sculptures, robotic puppet installations, and interactive video animations, alongside her theatrical productions.
Shawna holds a degree from the Ontario College of Art and Design, and an MFA from the University of Calgary. She studied puppetry at the Banff Puppet Intensive, the Sandglass Theatre Puppet Intensive, Mouth Puppetry for Stage and Film with Mike Petersen; String Puppetry with Frank Soehnle; Voice for Puppetry with voice instructor Paul De Jong; and has apprenticed under Peter Balkwill of the Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Shawna has also studied physical theatre and clown at The Manitoulin Conservatory for Creation and Performance and at Green Fools Theatre.
Shawna has been teaching both fine art and puppetry classes and workshops for over 12 years to children and adults from diverse backgrounds at universities, colleges, art galleries, and school boards across Canada. She currently teaches puppetry at the Humber College Puppetry Intensive and Master Class Series.
Find out more about Shawna’s Robotic Puppets HERE:
