Caroline Partridge, Course Leader

Slot Machine Theatre’s mentoring and training projects spring from our collaborative roots as theatre makers, and the desire to share skills and support fellow practitioners. We are passionate about puppetry as an art form and working with theatre makers and performers to ensure that it is accessed as diversely as possible.

In the Summer of 2025 Slot Machine Theatre, in association with Birmingham Repertory Theatre, and supported by Little Angel Theatre and Black Country Touring, ran an intensive Puppeteering Course for performers from the global majority.

For one week, twelve West Midlands-based practitioners came to the Rep Theatre Studio to learn the techniques of puppetry and to share ideas. Each participant had either no previous experience in puppeteering, or wanted to build their confidence with this art form.

Course leader Caroline Partridge (Improbable, Little Angel Theatre, Puppet Centre Trust) collaborated with Co-Artistic Directors Nick Tigg and Nicola Blackwell to create the course and convene a raft of wonderful supporting tutors.

Carolene Yawa Ada, Guest Tutor

Caroline then led the week’s live training, supported in the room by SMT Artistic Director Nick Tigg, with guest tutors including Toby Poster-Su, Carolene Yawa Ada and Phil Okwedy adding depth and perspective to the experience.

Participants learnt object manipulation, breath work, finding your voice, communicating with the puppet, physical warm up, audition tips, how to tell a story with your puppet. And the week culminated in a live sharing to partners, funders and friends. A joyous experience.

As with all our development work SMT worked closely with our key delivery partner/s. We were supported in the course by Little Angel Theatre, Black Country Touring and gratefully received an Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant.

We also wanted to support the Rep’s own aims in Talent Development and with its commitment to its audiences. Madeleine Kludje, Deputy Artistic Director and Project Commissioner, at the Rep had this to say:

‘It supported The Rep’s aims with Talent Development – allowing theatre makers to develop new skills, nurturing artists and giving them space to share with an audience to build confidence. It helped us to understand how including these specialist workshops can feed into the wider talent development programme and start to build relationships with new artists’.

What participants had to say

Slot Machine Theatre’s The Boy, The Piano and The Beach (2018)

‘I really felt as if I had been opened to another world within the industry’

‘My practice has been totally advanced; a room full of artists was held, encouraged and seen’

‘An incredible workshop, even beyond my expectations! I learned how to trust myself and confidently present my ideas in a simple and impactful way’

‘I feel confident enough to attend any puppetry audition’

‘It was inclusive for people of all skill levels and brought everyone to the same level of performance’

‘The project exceeded expectations in content and delivery, both for us, the participants and those who attended the sharing.’
Madeleine Kludje, Repertory Theatre Birmingham

‘I only have positive feedback in relation to what was shared – the [participants] had covered so many different techniques and really seemed to grasp them; and obviously gained a real insight into the breadth of possibilities when working with puppets. I think that opportunities like this are really important and BCT would be supportive of any similar work in the future’
Black Country Touring

‘It was clearly led with a high level of expertise. Fantastic to have a global majority artist leading the puppetry course and to have other practitioners working in the field attend and share skills and knowledge.’
Lateesha Johnson, Talent Development, Repertory Theatre Birmingham

Following the live course SMT have remained in contact with the participants. The cohort bonded strongly, some have begun making work together and a number of alumni from the course have subsequently been involved in further projects at Birmingham Rep, as well as being offered audition opportunities via SMT and other partners.

We filmed six modules of training content in parallel to the live course which we are putting together to share more widely across the industry and performers.

At SMT we always work in a bespoke way with our partners – taking time to understand the landscape of their offer and their aims and objectives. We’d love to talk with other partners and venues about creating training opportunities for your cohorts – and those you don’t yet know you have.

Please contact Producer Emma Dolman on emma@slotmachinetheatre.com