Bring the Inanimate to Life: A Bold Dive into Contemporary Puppetry
17–21 August 2026 | Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow | £610 | Ages 16+
Our friends at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland are opening the doors this summer to a unique and intensive 5-day puppetry course designed for performers, theatre-makers, and curious creatives aged 16+ who are ready to expand their practice.
This is not a passive learning experience. It’s a deep dive into the craft.
Across five full days in August, participants will work closely with Gavin Glover—an award-winning puppeteer, director, and co-founder of the groundbreaking company FaultyOptic—to explore the technical, emotional, and expressive potential of puppetry in contemporary theatre.
Why Puppetry?
Puppetry occupies a fascinating space in performance. A puppet can walk, run, hesitate, breathe, and react. It can express emotion with startling clarity—and sometimes say far more than the performer holding it.
This course invites you to interrogate that relationship:
Between puppet and performer
Between performer and audience
Between object and meaning
You’ll explore how inanimate materials can take on presence, intention, and even humour—and how that transformation can elevate storytelling.
What You’ll Explore
Each day focuses on a different core aspect of puppetry practice, gradually building towards an informal sharing of work with your peers.
Key areas include:
Gravity and Motion — understanding weight, balance, and believable movement
Character and Communication — developing personality, voice, and emotional clarity
Sharing the Space — negotiating presence between puppet, performer, and environment
Alone With Your Puppet — refining focus, connection, and subtlety
Narrative and Design — shaping stories and exploring visual dramaturgy
Alongside practical work, there will be space for discussion, reflection, and experimentation. You’ll also take part in a project consultation session, where you can bring your own ideas into the room, test them, and receive feedback in a collaborative environment.
Skills You’ll Take Away
By the end of the course, you will:
Build technical confidence in handling a variety of puppetry forms
Develop a stronger understanding of physical performance and non-verbal storytelling
Explore improvisation techniques using both voice and movement
Gain insight into how puppetry is used across small-scale and large-scale productions
Learn basic construction principles for designing effective stage puppets
Feel better prepared to audition for roles requiring puppetry skills
Meet Your Tutor: Gavin Glover
With over 30 years of experience in theatre and visual performance, Gavin Glover is one of the UK’s most distinctive voices in contemporary puppetry.
Originally trained at London’s Little Angel Theatre, Gavin went on to co-found FaultyOptic, a company celebrated for its dark, surreal, and internationally touring puppet productions, including Snuffhouse-Dustlouse, Soiled, and Tunnelvision. Their innovative work—often supported by Arts Council England and the British Council—helped redefine adult puppetry on the global stage.
Now a freelance artist, Gavin collaborates across disciplines as a director, designer, performer, and educator. He regularly leads specialist workshops (including The Darker Side of Puppetry and Micro Cinema Theatre) and has coached actors at institutions such as the National Theatre of Scotland and The Abbey Theatre, Dublin.
Course Details at a Glance
Dates: 17–21 August 2026
Time: Monday–Friday, 10:00am–5:00pm
Location: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow
Age: 16+
Cost: £610
Each day is structured to balance intensive practical training with creative exploration, culminating in a shared presentation of work developed during the week.
Who Is This For?
This summer school is ideal for:
Actors and performers looking to expand their physical toolkit
Directors and makers interested in visual storytelling
Students preparing for conservatoire or drama school auditions
Anyone curious about how puppetry can enhance contemporary theatre practice
No extensive prior puppetry experience is required—just curiosity, openness, and a willingness to experiment.
Ready to Take Part?
Places are limited, and demand is expected to be high.
If you have questions before booking, you can contact the team directly at summerschools@rcs.ac.uk.
Otherwise—if you’re ready to explore what a puppet can do that an actor sometimes can’t—this is your invitation.
Book now and spend a week bringing the inanimate to life.
