KAY YASUGI

PUPPET DESIGNER, MAKER & PERFORMER

FOR THEATRE & EDUCATION

 

22A Somerset St.• EPPING, NSW 2121 • SYDNEY AUSTRALIA

WEB: www.pupperoos.com  • EMAIL: info@pupperoos.com

PROFILE

  • Skilled puppeteer and puppet maker with 18 years experience
  • Trained at the London School of Puppetry (UK)
  • Qualified primary school teacher
  • Current General Secretary of puppetry organisation, UNIMA Australia
  • Multicultural Artist (Australian, Japanese and Korean)
  • Australian citizen based in Sydney

 EXPERIENCE

Click here to view detailed CV in PDF format (Last updated 2020)

2020

Event/Production Company/Organisation Role
Creative Leadership in Learning Program Sydney Opera House  Artist
Shifting and Stirring online workshop Sydney Opera House Artist/Workshop facilitator
Randwick Puppet Festival City of Randwick, Sydney Puppeteer/Workshop Facilitator/Artistic Consultant

 

2019    
World Premiere of puppet show ‘Haenyeo: Women of the Sea’ at International FOF. Also ran puppetry workshops for local children affected by the earthquakes in 2016.  International Figura Offida Festival (FOF) in Offida, Italy.  Puppet maker/Workshop facilitator
Monster Puppet Workshop  Joondalup Festival, Perth, Western Australia Workshop facilitator
     

 

2018    
Artist in Residency – ‘Frankenstein’ Manual Cinema, Chicago USA Artist in Residence
Research project:  virtual technology and its application to shadow puppetry  (collaborative  project with artists and researchers from USA and Ireland) University of Washington, Bothell, Seattle, USA. Artist
 ‘The Carnival of the Animals’, a collaboration with Spare Parts Puppet Theatre and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra at the Perth Concert Hall.  Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, Perth, Western Australia.                 Puppetry Assistant
20th Anniversary Twilight Lantern Parade at Joondalup Festival Joondalup Festival, Perth, Western Australia.     Puppeteer/Volunteer                                                                          
Puppetry Artist in Residence (2013-2018) Redlands Preparatory School, Sydney Artist
Presented lectures and seminars on ‘Puppetry for Literacy and Creativity’   University of Technology Sydney Lecturer/Presenter for Teachers

 

2017    
2-day ‘Puppetry for Drama Teachers’ workshops with Katherine Hannaford (Macquarie Fields High School).

2017-2018

The Arts Unit – Courses were fully accredited by NESA (NSW Education Standards Authority). Workshop Facilitator
“Pupa” theatre show/installation –  collaborated with puppeteer, Dr Emma Fisher (Beyond the Bark) to have the designs laser cut and assembled in Ireland. Beyond the Bark (Ireland) Puppet Maker
Presentation: “Connecting Global Puppeteers Through Technology: a collaboration with puppeteers in Ireland, Australia and the USA through digital fabrication and projection.”  The Puppetry and Multimedia International Conference, Bratislava, Slovakia (I presented via web conference from Sydney, Australia).            Presenter (Co-presented with Dr Emma Fisher, Ireland)
The 5th China Quanzhou International Puppet Festival, Fujian, China.                         Dream Puppets (Melbourne, VIC) Puppetry Assistant and UNIMA Australia representative
Schools Spectacular, Sydney.  Arts Unit NSW Puppet designer and maker
     

2016

“Puppetry for Literacy and Creativity” professional development workshop for teachers Hunter Creative Arts Conference, NSW Workshop Facilitator

 

2015    
Shadow Puppetry Summer School : The Art of Shadow Puppetry in Education and Therapy.  London School of Puppetry, UK        Tutor
Creative Development for  “The 52 Storey Treehouse”, Sydney

CDP, Sydney Australia

Artist
     

2014

Creative Development for  “The 26 Storey Treehouse”, Sydney Mission Australia  Puppeteer
Cane/bamboo puppet workshop, puppet show for Family Cabaret.    Maldon Puppet Carnival, Maldon Victoria  Puppeteer/Workshop Facilitator
Featured in the “Through the Windows” segment for Play School’s ‘Making Puppets’ episodes. ABC4Kids “Play School” television program Puppeteer
Paper puppet workshop/”Coffee and Dessert” puppet show Les Festivale de la Marionnettes, Estampes, France Puppeteer/Workshop Facilitator

 

2013    
‘Creating Puppets for Plays” at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney, the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney, and Griffith University in Brisbane.  “War Horse Australia” Arts Learning Programme, NSW/QLD. Workshop facilitator
“The 13-Storey Treehouse” Sydney Opera House, Sydney Puppeteer/Puppet Maker
Harmony Day Puppet Project Concord West Public School, Sydney Puppeteer/Workshop Facilitator

 

2012    
Memorial Day Parade Puppet Project Greenwood School, Mill Valley, California USA Puppet maker/Workshop facilitator
Puppetry Workshop for Teachers

‘ESL:The Way Forward!’ Conference, South Western Sydney;

Blacktown Childcare Centre;

University of Sydney

Workshop facilitator
“The Amazing House” Children’s TV Show Series 2 The Amazing House Puppeteer/Production Assistant

 

2011

     
Junior Ensemble Shopfront Theatre for Young People, Sydney Puppet making/operating workshop leader
Giant Puppet Project Globalteer, Siem Reap,Cambodia Volunteer puppet maker/operator
Marionette Summer School London School of Puppetry,UK Visiting Tutor
“Enchanted” Children’s Puppet Show Ripon Yarns Storytelling Festival of the Dales,UK Puppeteer
Spirit of the Marsh Music/Arts Festival,UK Pupperoos (in collaboration with Poppenkast) Puppet making/operating workshop leader
“Coram Boy” High school production Saint Ignatius’ College, Riverview, Sydney Custom puppet maker/workshop leader

2010

 TV Commercial “Hush for Homelessness”, Sydney Mission Australia  Puppeteer
 “The Whirlwind” (rod/glove/shadow puppet show), Sydney Wentworth Galleries/Wesley Institute  Puppeteer/Puppet Maker
 Life for Kids Puppet-making workshop  Life for Kids Charity, Sydney Puppeteer/Workshop leader
 Jeans for Genes Denim Charity Dinner/Art Exhibition Launch, Sydney Jeans for Genes Charity (supporting the Children’s Medical Research Institute)  Puppet maker/Puppeteer

2009

Avenue Q Cast Interview, Sydney Corporate Creatures (Gary Friedman) Assistant Puppeteer
Future Directions in Literacy Conference, Sydney Sydney University Workshop leader for “Creating a dynamic literacy classroom with puppetry”
Australian Business Events Expo, Sydney Corporate Creatures Puppeteer
“Dark Island” Film/Animation Project Jöns Mellgren (Director) at the Royal College of Art, London UK Puppeteer
TV interview to promote Copenhagen Puppet Festival “Brunch” (Danish TV2/Lorry) Breakfast Show Puppeteer
“Memento Mori” (Glove/Body Puppet show) Copenhagen Puppet Festival (Denmark), Rosemary Branch Theatre (London,UK) Puppet Maker/Puppeteer
“Scooter Grandpa” (Marionette show) Bradford Playhouse (UK) Puppet Maker/Puppeteer
“Wooltzing Matilda” (Glove show)   Puppet Maker/Puppeteer

2008

Indian Rajasthani Marionette show/workshop for children (7-12 yrs) Accenture, London UK Puppeteer/Workshop leader
Documentary “Looking for a Monster”, Sydney Gary Friedman Productions/Change Focus Media Puppeteer

2007

Glebe Community Development Project (for Grade 5/6 students) University of Sydney Puppetry workshop leader

2005

“The Thing Under the Bed” (Lip sync puppet show) University of Sydney Verge Arts Festival Director/Puppet maker/Puppeteer

2004-2007 School shows: Performed values-based puppet shows and ran puppet workshops for several schools. Festivals and /Holiday/Church Programs: Performed street puppetry for a number of festivals including Katoomba Winter Solstice Festival.  Performed at holiday/church programs including the ENTER Fundraiser at Fox Studios (Sydney) and Bathurst Kids Club.  

TRAINING AND EDUCATION

Training in Czech-Style Marionette Carving (15 day course)Puppets in Prague School, Prague, Czech Republic 2011
Master’s Level Diploma in Professional Puppetry London School of Puppetry, London, UK 2009
Training in Puppetry for Television (8 week course on making/performing with Muppet-style puppets)Gary Friedman Productions, Sydney, Australia 2008
Bachelor of Primary Education (1stClass Honours and University Medal)University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, Australia 2007

AWARDS

2018 Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation Grant for Individual Performing Artists 
2008 Outstanding Graduate Award (Australian College of Educators NSW)
2008 Primary Pre-Service Teacher Award Scheme for Maths & Science (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations)
2007

 

Handspan Visual Theatre International Study and Travel Grant (Awarded through UNIMA Australia)
2007 Thomas T Roberts Education Fellowship (University of Sydney)
2007 G.S. Caird Bachelor of Education Year 3 Award (University of Sydney)
2006 Tertiary Student Judge for National Excellence in Teaching Awards (NEiTA)
2005 Sydney University Cash4Art Grant

SKILLS Puppet design, making and performance; Carving, Polyfoam puppet construction, Painting, Illustration, Photography, Needle Felting, Computer Graphics, Wiki (set-up and administration), DVD production, Basic Film and Sound Editing. Conversationally fluent in Japanese. REFERENCES

 Available upon request.