Blair and the puppeteers of his company lead a variety of workshops at the adult and at the youth and family level. Here are some examples:

Youth and Family Workshops

The Puppet Tells The Story (2 hour workshop)

This workshop introduces a way to turn a story into a puppet show. Participants write a short picture story that then is translated into 2 dimensional rod puppets and performed as a puppet skit.  Working in small groups participants work with paper, cardboard, ink markers, sticks and hot glue to create the puppets and scenery.

Adult Workshops

Object Theater Design (2-3 hour workshop)

This workshop introduces basic practices of object theater in relation to text interpretation.  Participants will explore concrete and abstract metaphors actualized by formal puppets as well as non-anthropomorphized objects.  The work will lead to the foundations of a theatrical language and it’s potential as a dialogue between the human performer and the non-human performing object.

Staging the Theatrical Metaphor (3 hour workshop)

This workshop explores the use of metaphor in the theater through the unique language of the puppet and the object.  In the course of 3 hours participants will take a non-theatrical text, build simple puppets and objects and then discover the relationship between the performer, the object world and the text through theatrical staging.  The work will conclude with a short performance.

Bunraku Puppet Manipulation ( 3-9 contact hours )

This workshop introduces the principals of traditionally Japanese Bunraku doll technique. Three participants coordinate to manipulate a single puppet as this practice is brought to life.  Also exercises are introduced to explore the rich interaction between the human actor and the animated doll and to explore the integration of spoken text.