The term Mana is used in the South Pacific to mean spiritual power, growth and cultural inheritance for both individuals and society. Ros and Hugh Childers, the founders of Mana Puppets, believe strongly in the power of puppets to provide an educational message, as well as to entertain. In a rapidly changing world, the ancient art of puppetry still has enormous power to cross language, cultural, age and class boundaries.
Puppets in Education
Puppetry is one of the oldest performing arts, and the use of puppetry in education is not a new concept. Puppets have been used to entertain, to satirise, and to explain the inexplicable, to depict historical events, folk tales and myths. Puppetry has also been used extensively for educational and therapeutic purposes. It provides students with educational experiences, while promoting their understanding of self, their own feelings, attitudes and behaviours as well as those of others. {Arepp (African Research and Puppetry Programme)}.
Puppetry has also been proven to be a valuable tool in language teaching because puppets provide multi-sensory experiences through language skills, folklore, music and storytelling. It has been demonstrated that students more readily express ideas in visual ways before they make a linguistic statement. {Akerman, Brooklyn College School of Education, 2003}.
Profile on Ros and Hugh Childers
Ros and Hugh Childers bring to their work as puppeteers extensive experience from previous careers. They have also travelled widely and worked overseas. Ros has over twenty years of teaching experience, mainly in English as a Second Language. She also has expertise in Language and Literacy and Speech and Drama and has taught in both primary and secondary schools in Australia, England and Germany. While working as an education consultant, she wrote learning materials for a wide range of content areas. Hugh has worked in a variety of education settings as an administrator and has taught English classes in Germany. He is also an historian and political scientist, who specialises in Australian Studies and has been involved in historical and social research for museums. His particular interests are in the outback and the story behind "Waltzing Matilda", Australia's national song.
Ros and Hugh have been offering their innovative educational programs since 1999. The contribution of their work to German language education has been recognised by organisations such as the Goethe Institut Inter Nationes Sydney, which has assisted them with tours in Australia over the last few years. The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service has also recognised the importance of their fire safety program. QFRS has licensed Mana Puppets to use the character of Blazer, the Firefighting Koala, as a puppet in the show.
Ros and Hugh have toured their educational puppet shows to metropolitan and regional areas of Queensland and New South Wales. In 2003 and 2004, they completed very successful tours to Germany with their Australian-themed English language puppet show. They performed their puppet show and gave presentations on Australia in youth hostels and schools in Bavaria, Westfalia, Lower Saxony, Hessen and Hamburg.
In Ireland in May-June 2006, Ros and Hugh performed a very successful run of the "Three Little Pigs Go Bush", both in primary schools and in Ireland's newest theatre, The Mill, in Dundrum.
* Download THREE LITTLE PIGS IN AUSTRALIA and PRESENTATION ON AUSTRALIA brochure in German
Roy McNeill - Master Puppeteer
We want to acknowledge and thank Roy McNeill for his advice and assistance in all that we have attempted to do in puppetry. He has been a mentor, an exemplar and a friend. Roy trained Ros in all aspects of this marvellous art form and Roy and Ros together designed and made most of our puppets.
Roy is a puppeteer/writer/designer/director and producer of 30 years professional practice, unique in Australia for his knowledge and skills in all styles of puppetry, and with a wonderful ability to communicate with and entertain all ages and communities. From his apprenticeship with the Marionette Theatre of Australia in the late 1960s to his work in television with Rubbery Figures in the 1980s and school and community-based puppet performances more recently, Roy has demonstrated his mastery of this art form.
Roy may be contacted on 07 5426393 or by E-mail at
His postal address is:
Lot 1, Marburg-Fernvale Rd, M.S. 1020, FERNVALE, QUEENSLAND 4306.
11 Hogan Court,
Camp Mountain, Qld.,
Australia 4520.
Phone/Fax: +61(0)7 3289 2047
Mobile: 0413 816 789
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Today is Jul 05, 2008. Page last updated: Mar 21, 2008. |
