Are you fascinated by the workings of a marionette or the play with traditional rod puppets? In this workshop, you will gain insight into the construction of a wooden theater puppet. As a participant, you will learn the basic techniques of carving with sharp knives in linden wood. During this collaborative project, participants will work for two hours on a part of a theater puppet. By the end of the day, the torso, arms, hands, legs, feet, and character head will come together to form a complete figure.

You will gain experience in wood carving: you will carve a small hand from linden wood to take home as a project.

Marc Beuten is a puppet maker and puppeteer at vzw Poppentheater Pierewiet. He has attended workshops and courses with international puppet makers from Belgium, the UK, the Czech Republic, and Iceland. His specialty is making hand, rod, string, and table puppets from linden wood. Besides designing figures for his own performances, he creates theater puppets on commission for puppet theaters and storytellers. Both novice and experienced puppeteers and makers are welcome in his studio in Bruges to explore the wide range of theater puppets or to share experiences.

As a member of the West Flanders Union of Puppet Theaters, Marc, along with Alain Verhelst of Draadpoppentheater Roeselare/Das de Puppe, brings the figurative theater as intangible heritage into the spotlight. The project ‘Das de Puppe’ was nominated as an inspiring example by Immaterieel Erfgoed Vlaanderen.