It took a team of eight to build the puppets and a week for the puppeteers to get used to them. The project could have gone badly wrong. On its voyage to the stage, a hallucinatory tale of 227 days at sea could easily have drifted off course. “I had no idea how to do it,” says designer Tim Hatley. “And that’s what appealed.” NB: There’s something very exciting about making life-size puppets. Often, when you’re watching puppetry, it’s a smaller version of something. What really gives the tiger, or the zebra, that sense of reality is putting people inside to power them. Now you’re getting the pleasure of animals you wouldn’t normally see outside a cage and you enter into the imaginative game. That’s thrilling. A group of puppeteers have won a Laurence Olivier Award for the time in history on a successful night for Life of Pi at the Royal Albert Hall. Take the white tiger's muzzle and glue it in between the tiger's eyes. Optional: Use the hole punch to cut out two circles from the white paper. Glue these to the tiger's eyes. You can also use a white out pen to draw in the whites or leave them off altogether. Adds Akash: “They’ve given us the structure, but they’re open for us to explore. I think about what my tiger would be like if they were human. I even have a Spotify playlist for my tiger.”

Place the tiger's ears and glue them to the top corners of the tiger's face. Glue the pink inner ears to the middle of the outer ears. You mentioned the audience finding them realistic. I definitely felt that — I got far too emotionally invested in the doomed goat… Lion Name Craft– Get ready to roar! Kids of all ages will have a blast putting together their lion name craft. Our free template makes assembling the colorful lion and arranging letters to spell your kid’s names easy. It’s a fun and educational activity that encourages hand-eye coordination and letter recognition!

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FC: They work in teams — we have three tiger teams. If one person goes down, inevitably the teams start to mix. A big part of their training is listening to each other: I value that more highly than choreography, even though the whole show is choreographed. They have to be almost telepathically connected, super in tune. Glue the smaller tiger stripes all around the top and both sides of the tiger's head. Use scissors to trim off any of the excess paper that falls off the sides. Life of Pi won a further four Olivier awards, which were presented at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, London. Barnes and Caldwell, along with Tim Hatley, won the award for best set design. NB: Around 345 days. You can lose days just trying to sand down the surface to prepare it for painting, and there are so many nooks and crannies. At least five or six people will have worked on each puppet [at Barnes’s workshop in Hove], doing the armatures, the sculpting, the painting, and the assembly.

The Tiger Sensory Bag activity is a fine motor activity suitable for toddlers and preschoolers. It allows children to decorate a tiger and strengthen their finger and hand muscles. This hands-on sensory activity is perfect for zoo animal-themed units, providing a fun and engaging way for children to learn and explore. Are there more puppets than actors on our stages at the moment? Well, perhaps not quite, but this is certainly a golden age of puppetry in British theatre — from Life of Pi, Frozen, The Ocean at the End of the Laneand The Lion King in the West End to Animal Farm on tour, and the upcoming 101 Dalmatians at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. Crucially, puppets can make the impossible seem possible. Print one copy of the template per student. Get your colouring materials ready to decorate the beautiful designs on the tiger body before cutting it out and assembling! Follow the instructions on the print-out to put your masterpiece together. Glue the smaller tiger stripes all around the top and both sides of the tiger’s head. Use scissors to trim off any of the excess paper that falls off the sides.This paper bag craft is a perfect fit for wild animal themes, zoo animal themes or for T is for tiger crafts! Animal Project Ideas FC: Yes, we always think about what the puppet’s narrative function is — and top of the list for the tiger is that it has to be scary. Puppets aren’t traditionally scary in England. So we thought about its anatomy, and that’s why we needed someone inside the puppet: they move much faster than if they’re outside it. The audience has to believe that the tiger could be on you from across the room in a second. Making crafts with your kids offers a whole world of benefits beyond simply passing the time. Crafting teaches children important life skills such as problem-solving, communication, and teamwork – all while having fun and making something special together! FC: Puppets transport us. I also worked on The Ocean at the End of the Lane [the stage adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s fantasy novel], and that has these supernatural interdimensional monsters which take us into a magical world. Puppets remind us of the miracle of being alive because they bring something to life. We really need these transformational shows right now. Learning doesn’t have to be boring with these zoo animal worksheets! This set of worksheets features a variety of animal-themed activities, such as letter mazes, flashcards, number strip puzzles, and silhouette matching.

FC: You tend to get a core team of puppeteers — on Life of Pi we have six — and then actors with some puppetry skills, and inevitably some who have none. We have a week at the beginning of rehearsals just doing puppetry training: it takes that long for even our highly skilled core team to get their heads and bodies around the puppets. You don’t want to teach puppetry technique — going over how to sit, lie, jump — while also creating the show. The latest live adaptation includes show-stopping puppetry by Finn Caldwell, the Puppet and Movement Director known for their work on War Horse and various National Theatre productions. The show features a life-sized Bengal tiger puppet. Picture: Johan Persson She told The Telegraph: "Shout out has to be given to Warhorse - three of us in this team were in Warhorse. It helped put puppetry in the realm of a character that the audience can relate to. Teamwork is vital, says Romina: “Each puppeteer brings a different energy and you have to tune in with them. I did the show for 15 months in London and we were still finding new things in the last week. We keep learning from each other. We have a rotating system because it would be too physically demanding to play the tiger every night, so we get to watch each other. When you’re in the puppet you can’t tell if what you’re doing looks good so you have to rely on your teammates to tell you. It’s very collaborative and a lovely way to work.”

'It has a mind of its own!' Puppetry team bring Bengal tiger to life in Alhambra show

What’s really important, and what’s capturing people’s imagination in Life of Pi, is that the animals aren’t just there as eye candy — they have a really integral role in the plot and in the psychological narrative of the piece, so you can really engage with them as characters. That’s the kind of theatre with puppetry that becomes really interesting Use this printable template to create a fun Year of the Tiger puppet when learning about Lunar New Year! This teaching resource also lends itself to lessons focusing on animals of the Lunar zodiac. How to Create this Year of the Tiger Craft This appealing Hansa Tiger Hand Puppet has a story to tell, about his jungle experience. Ideal for interactive play, hand puppets can be story tellers, adventurous friends, confidantes or an educational tool and more. It’s now up to the guiding puppeteer, that means you, to work your magic.

The animals, including the large Bengal tiger, will be depicted by these life-like puppets throughout the play. I think that’s what makes puppetry so compelling. They say don’t work with children and animals, because they’re constantly unpredictable. But with three people operating one character, even if they do the exact move as choreographed, it’ll be slightly different every time. That makes it exciting to watch – and to perform. Glue the white tiger’s belly to the center of the bottom part of the paper bag. Glue the tiger’s body stripes on both sides of the tiger. Use scissors to trim off any of the excess paper that falls off the sides.

FC: I think part of bringing a puppet out on stage on a subconscious level is when you’re saying to the audience “Shall we all believe this is real?” Then they’re playing with us; adults remember how to be kids, playing with their toys. They’re emotionally invested in the characters because they’re taking part in the process. So when those characters get hurt or die or feel joy, the audience feels like they did as a child when their toy succeeds or fails. Sensory play, such as this activity, is important for early childhood development as it engages all the senses and promotes brain development. Sensory Play Kits are available to further enhance your child’s engagement and learning through sensory play. The Life of Pi, which was first a novel by Yann Martel then a 2012 film directed by Ang Lee, tells the story of a young boy who is stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days with a Bengal tiger. 'Animal magic' Keep reading to find some creative activities that are perfect for both classroom and home learning! Zoo Books For Kids