The World Association of Puppetry and Storytelling Arts is excited to launch a new series of on-line workshops: Puppets for Peace 2024! Free to current WAPASA Members, thanks to a generous donation, each month we will feature stories and puppetry that creatively inspire compassion and conflict resolution towards a more peace filled planet. Workshop sessions will last an hour and a half, filled with performance art demonstration as well as time for discussion and sometimes also hands on crafting!
You can register for these Free Webinars in the Members Portal!
If you are not yet a Member or need to renew, you can do so HERE!
We welcome members who may wish to present a workshop on this theme to submit proposals to jping@hawthornevalleyschool.org. Selected workshop leaders will be paid $250 for leading a session. We will be publishing our schedule of workshops in quarterly segments every 3 months. Check out our offerings below!
Puppets for Peace 2024 Schedule
The White Dove with Mindy Upton
Sunday April 28th, 2024
5 - 6:30pm ET
Materials Needed:
Felting needle, Felting pad, White roving, Small sponge
White doves are symbolic of new beginnings, peace, luck and prosperity and harmony. In Mythology the white dove is associated with the gods and goddesses of love. The goddesses Inanna Astarte and Atargatis are all depicted with doves. In the epic of Gilgamesh the dove was released to search for the end of the deluge. In Slavic folklore, doves were believed to conduct the souls of the dead to heaven. The dove was considered a sacred animal and they have been released at the Olympic games as a symbol of peace among the participating nations. The dove remains to be the emblem of peace to this day.
It is believed to be a peaceful and loving message from the universe if you see a dove flying in the sky.
Join me in creating this loving dove to radiate peace throughout our kindergartens and beyond. We will use dry felting technique to create a marionette or finger puppet.
As we say in our kindergarten when we snuff our candles “The world needs love, let us spread Peace to everyone in the world.”
The supply list for the making of one of the puppets will be provided when attendants register for this free class.
Please register here for this free members’ workshop HERE!
Puppets and the Story with Laura Simms
Sunday May 19th, 2024
2 - 3:30pm ET
Master storyteller, Laura Simms, offers this session that is a delicious visual feast of engaged practice in the art of living pictures. How can stories provide children with an abiding sense of peace within themselves? The actuality of storytelling is the foundation of peace making into the world, even in the midst of chaos. Laura will explore the difference between the image that is depicted and enacted through a puppet, and the image that is spoken and imagined, leading toward the empowerment of the puppeteer to create a performance that best inspires and delights children of all ages.
Please register here for this free members’ workshop HERE!
Laura Simms is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, writer and humanitarian dedicated to compassionate action in the world. She is renowned for stunning performances combining true life story and ancient myth. Laura performs, teaches, coaches and gives keynote addresses worldwide on the profound benefits of engaged storytelling and mindfulness awareness. Most recently she appeared at the Conference on Contemplative Practices in Higher/education at the U of Kentucky and the Women's Storytelling Festival. Her most recent book OUR SECRET TERRITORY was called "the best book ever written about storytelling." www.laurasimms.com
Honoring Indigenous Wisdom; the Peacemaker Tale with Wahsontiio Hill
Sunday June 23rd, 2024
2 - 3:30pm ET
Join us for this inspiring on-line circle led by Mohawk Teacher Wahsonti:io Hill, from the Everlasting Tree School, who explores the powerful images of the Haudenosaunee story of The Peacemaker. A presentation of the beginning of this story, depicted in silk marionettes, was brought to the WECAN Early Childhood conference in February of this year. Artistry of storytelling, music, and puppetry wove a humble but moving soul journey into this wisdom tale...
We hope you will take a step further into this essential work, as we deepen our understanding of the teachings that we can all take up together.
A copy of the Haudenosaunee story and short video of the offering will be available on our website at the beginning of June for those who register.
Please register here for this free members’ workshop HERE!
