6:30pm BST / 10:30pm PKT / 1:30pm EST
'Always look on the bright side of life...'
The Positive Impact of the Pandemic on the Global Puppetry Perspective.
A Panel discussion.
'Always look on the bright side of life...'
The Positive Impact of the Pandemic on the Global Puppetry Perspective.
A Panel discussion.
An interactive panel conversation exploring what positives came out of the pandemic for puppeteers and puppetry companies around the world.
Join a host of international panelists to learn more about their work during and after the pandemic as they take a positive look at the impact of the pandemic on the world of puppetry.
With a live Q & A you can join in, broaden your global network and find out more about puppetry around the world.
Fagner Gastaldon (Wales / Brazil )
Fagner Gastaldon is a multi award winning Puppeteer and the Founder and Director of PuppetSoup. Now based in Wales, UK, Fagner is originally from Brazil where he began is career in puppetry.
After moving to the UK and founding PuppetSoup, Fagner studied and achieved an Honours Degree specifically in Puppetry from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
Fagner now teaches up to postgraduate level in Puppetry at Universities and institutions across the world and has founded Create Puppetry School which offers courses and classes both online and in person. Fagner continues to create and perform puppetry in a wide variety of styles through his company, PuppetSoup and with collaborative partners across the globe.
Fedelis Kyalo
Fedelis Kyalo runs Krystal puppeteers, a Kenyan / German puppetry and performing company established in 1995 in Mombasa, Kenya. Combining traditional and contemporary puppetry techniques with live music and dances, Krystal puppet shows are not only captivating and creative but also transfer the audience to another world where puppets come alive and become one with the audience. The company has taken part in numerous puppet festivals all over the world including, Spain, Germany, Austria, Poland, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil among others.
Dr. Leigh Lafosse (USA)
Leigh is an active duty military musician in the United States, serving the last 15 years as a clarinetist in the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own". She received her undergraduate and masters from Texas Tech University and her doctoral degree from Indiana University, Bloomington. Actively involved in education and community, she served as Association Director of the MD/DC chapters of Odyssey of the Mind, a volunteer for Ameri-Corps Reading Partners in DC, and is the current President of The National Capital Puppetry Guild. As a puppeteer, Leigh created & produced a two-person puppet production of "Hamilton" that Lin-Manual Miranda sent a personal letter of regret for not being able to attend. She was also responsible for developing a puppet feature for the 2019 U.S. Army Birthday Ball, which included caricatured puppets of the Army Senior Leaders; an event that required her to escort the puppets through Pentagon security for likeness approval by the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Army.
Alena Peezada (Pakistan)
Alena has graduated with a Masters in Media and Communication from the University of Westminster, London (2005) and also trained at Central Saint Martins, London in Film making (2005).
Alena Peerzada is the Director Programs and Operations at Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop since 2001.
Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop has hosted and curated over 80 festivals including The World Performing Arts Festival, The International Folk Puppet Festival, The Youth Performing Arts Festival, The International Mystic Music Sufi Festival, The International Film Festival and the Saanjh Amritsar Lahore Peace Festival.
Alena also launched Rafi Peer Global Entertainment, one of Pakistan’s largest artist management companies aiming to promote cultural artists and legends of Pakistan through festivals, tours and cultural exchange.
She is the Co-founder of The Creative Academy that focuses on creative learning through a digital platform.
Peter Court (South Africa)
Peter was born and grew up in Swansea, South Wales. His parents moved to Nigeria in 1968 and there, Peter was exposed to all the colours, sounds and smells of Africa. He returned to UK in 1973 and remained there until he was 11. He arrived in South Africa in 1975 and remained there until 1980, when he went back to UK to explore “O” & “A” Levels in Theatre, Art & Design and Art. He was a member of the West Glamorgan Youth and Dance Theatre and various professional companies. After completing a BA(Hons) in Theatre Arts & Design and Design Arts at the University of Plymouth, he returned to S.A. in October 1995 for a three-week holiday. He never went back. Since then, he has written, directed, or performed in too many productions too remember. He’s been involved in everything from Shakespeare to puppetry, from pantomime to farce and diversity has always been the name of his game.
He received the Durban Regional Vita Award for “Best Director” in 2001 for his work on “King Kong”, and a KZN Fools Award in 2002 for being a “Theatrical Conveyer Belt”. In 2003 he was awarded “Best Costume Design” and 2004 for “Lighting” and “Best Director” for “The Complete works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)”. Several of his productions have received Vita / Durban Theatre Award nominations and he has created productions for Ushaka Marine World, Unilever, the ICC, PAIN Benefits, various Corporate Production Companies & KickstArt