Abstract
<JATS1:p>Drawing on thirty years of making theatre with objects, this field-defining book maps the terrain of applied puppetry.</JATS1:p> <JATS1:p>Through a range of case studies both personal and practical, Matt Smith offers a reflective and engaging study which provides makers, thinkers and students alike with a toolkit for thinking about and making puppetry in community settings.</JATS1:p> <JATS1:p>Through eight chapters, Smith muses on the nature of creativity, explores approaches to puppetry through ecology, and considers how puppets and objects affect the act of making and – in turn – how they affect those who make, use and experience them in performance.</JATS1:p> <JATS1:p>Along the way, Applied Puppetry offers practical exercises in theatre-making, demonstrates the political power of puppetry beyond borders, and interrogates the limitations and possibilities of puppetry and object theatre in local communities, volatile contexts and difficult circumstances.</JATS1:p>