Education Workshops
Whether you're looking to bring a burst of creativity into your classroom, rehearsal space, or professional development day or you're ready to roll up your sleeves and dive into hands-on puppet making at my studio, there's a workshop for you! I love sharing the magic of puppetry with students, educators, and makers of all ages. Most kids classes are for 8 and up, but please let me know if you think your younger kiddo can attend with an adult.
I also can offer any of my studio classes as a private workshop up to 8 people. I provide everything you need, and a puppetry lesson at the end! Contact for info on pricing.
Explore my current workshop offerings where I come to you, or join me in my studio for a day full of imagination, craft, and lots of fun!
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
Saturday, August 16th, 1pm-3pm - Fundamentals of Puppetry.
In partnership with Audacious Immersive Theatre. More info and register at this link!
AT THE STUDIO:
Sunday, August 3rd, 12pm-2pm - Monster Puppet Level 1 all ages. Learn more
Sunday, August 3rd, 3pm-6pm - Monster Puppet Level 2 all ages. Learn more
Puppet Workshop Instructor for Hire
Making and Bringing Sock Puppets to Life
In this fun and hands-on workshop, participants will create their own sock puppet friends using simple materials. Everyone will leave with a unique puppet and some basic puppetry skills!
This class is perfect for kids, adults, or even a creative corporate team-building event.
Ages: 8 and up
Duration: 1-2 hours
Pricing: $20 per participant. Minimum of 10 participants.
All materials and tools are provided.
Please note: We use glue guns in this class. For children's sessions, we require one adult assistant for every five kids.
Monster Storytime with Paper Bag Puppets
Join Morrie the Monster for a lively storytime adventure, then get creative by making your very own monster puppet from a paper bag!
This workshop is perfect for our littlest puppeteers—small hands will have big fun crafting colorful, silly monster friends. After making our puppets, we’ll let the wild rumpus start with a playful puppetry session!
Participants will leave with their own handmade monster puppet and some basic puppetry skills.
Ages: 5 and up.
Pricing: $200 for a one hour session
All materials are provided.
Shadow Puppetry Fundamentals
In this workshop, you will learn the basics of shadow puppetry, its historical significance, and how to create your own puppets. We’ll explore traditional techniques from Indonesia and Turkey, then dive into more modern approaches using overhead projectors and flashlights.
Participants will leave with an understanding of shadow puppetry techniques/physics, basic design and building skills, and a few of their own handcrafted puppets. This workshop is great for everyone, especially theater companies looking to incorporate practical shadow effects into their shows.
Ages: 8 and up. This class is offered either for kids or for adults, but not as a combined session.
Pricing: $300 per hour-long session. All tools and materials are provided.
Viewpoints Movement in Puppetry
Join Katy for her most popular puppetry workshop! Presented multiple times at the National Puppetry Festival and for other leading organizations, this course is perfect for performers and directors seeking a deeper and broader understanding of puppetry.
Viewpoints is a powerful, freeing theatrical technique that helps create dynamic stories and movement onstage, especially in devised work. It’s essential for puppeteers, directors, devisers, and movers who are ready to break old habits and spark fresh creativity.
Participants explore the nine Viewpoints—Spatial Relationship, Kinesthetic Response, Shape, Gesture, Repetition, Architecture, Tempo, Duration, and Topography—learning to move organically and instinctively, without getting stuck in their heads or "performing."
The workshop begins with simple, puppet-free exercises, then transitions to working with blank puppets made from scarves or plastic bags, encouraging pure exploration without any limits on character or form.
As Anne Bogart, creator of Viewpoints, put it: “It was instantly clear that this approach to generating movement for the stage was applicable to creating viscerally dynamic moments of theatre with actors and other collaborators.”
This movement-based workshop is ideal for performers, puppeteers, and even young artists, unlocking new character traits, organic movement, and a deeper connection between puppeteer and puppet. Highly recommended for theatre troupes and companies ready to integrate puppetry into their productions, this workshop can be booked as a stand-alone experience or paired with Katy’s professional puppetry consultation services.
Ages: 10 and up. Please note: Offered either for adults or children, but not as a combined session.
Pricing:
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$200 for a one-hour session,
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$400 for a two-hour session (recommended)
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$500 for a three-hour session.
Willing to travel!
Puppetry for Professional Development
This workshop is designed for educators, teachers, schools, and daycares. In this engaging, hour-long hands-on lecture, participants will learn the basics of puppeteering and how to implement puppets in the classroom.
Puppets are powerful tools for connecting with young children, especially when exploring emotions, compassion, and communication. During the workshop, participants will learn fundamental puppetry techniques, how to use common classroom puppets effectively, how puppetry can support neurodivergent learners, and simple ways to create puppets with students.
Ages: Open to all educators and caregivers.
Pricing: $300 for a 45-minute lecture and Q&A session.
Additional resources are provided after the workshop.
Willing to travel!
Multi-Session Classes: Intro to Puppetry Techniques
I offer a multi-session masterclass in puppetry, ideal for camps, after-school programs, community centers, and more.
In this dynamic and exciting course, students will learn the core basics of puppetry and the essential skills to become effective puppeteers. We’ll work together to bring the inanimate to life! This class can be structured as a 3-10 session series (about an hour per session), and based on the length of the class, we’ll explore various types of puppetry including: Basic hand/sock puppets, teamwork-based Bunraku, traditional shadow puppetry, front-facing shadow puppetry, basic marionettes, found object puppetry, crankies, and large parade-style puppets.
The class will focus on two main styles: basic hand/sock puppets and teamwork-based Bunraku. Students will also learn how to create puppet voices and explore a bit of puppetry history. By the end of the class, students will have a solid understanding of puppetry as an art form, the skills needed to be a puppeteer, and their very own puppets!
Ages: 8 and up. This class can be tailored for both older students and younger ones.
Pricing: Varies based on the number of sessions.
Puppet Workshops at
the Katy Williams Design Studio
Monster Puppets Level 1
Join Katy for a fun, hands-on two-hour class designed for adults or kids, where you’ll design and create your very own monster hand puppet! We provide all materials, tools, and even snacks to keep you fueled.
In this Level 1 class, we’ll cover the basics of puppet design, how to use patterns, hand and machine sewing, and basic puppetry to bring your monster to life. By the end of the session, participants will take home their custom hand puppet.
No experience is necessary, but if you're familiar with a sewing machine, you’ll have the chance to use it. And if not you will learn a very basic stitch. We'll be using a needle and thread, scissors, razor blades, and hot glue. If you think your child might not be comfortable on their own we can pull up an extra chair for you, (it might be tight!). Just please let us know. If you have any accessibility needs, please inform me beforehand, and I'll do my best to accommodate.
The class will be held at my studio in Colorado Springs.
There are 6 spots available per class, and they will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. And keep your eye out for ”After Dark” versions of this class which is a BYOB drink and craft event.
Pricing: $60 (all materials, tools, and snacks included).
Ages: 12+
Monster Puppets Level 2
This workshop is designed as an extension of the knowledge gained in Level 1 or for those with some previous puppet-building experience. In this session, we’ll fabricate another monster puppet using a more complicated pattern that includes both a body and arms.
The class will last four hours, and I’ll provide all materials, tools, and a snack to keep you going.
We’ll be using a sewing machine, needle and thread, razor blades, scissors, and hot glue. If you have any accessibility needs, please let me know beforehand, and I’ll do my best to accommodate.
The class will take place at my studio in Colorado Springs.
There are 6 spots available for each class session, and they will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ages: 12+ or younger with experience.
Pricing: $100 per participant (all materials, tools, and snacks included).
3D to 2D Pattern Making
Join Katy for a hands-on 4-hour workshop where you’ll learn how to take a 3D object and turn it into a 2D pattern—an incredibly useful skill for any puppet builder! With this technique, you can use an existing object or one you've sculpted, then transform it into a foam fabricated replica. We’ll also discuss how to change the size and dimensions of your sculpt.
We’ll start with a simple object, like a cone, to learn the basics. Then we’ll move on to sculpting our own heads from clay, masking tape, and foil. After that, you’ll learn how to create a pattern from your sculpt, and use that pattern to cut pieces from foam. Finally, we’ll put it all together in foam, and you’ll leave with your very own original pattern and foam head!
The class will last 4 hours, and I’ll provide all materials, tools, and a snack to keep you energized.
No experience is necessary, but this class is only for ages 12 and up. We’ll be using sculpting tools, razor blades, scissors, and contact cement. If you have any accessibility needs, please let me know in advance, and I’ll do my best to accommodate. Please note that the shop may be a bit chilly due to periodic ventilation, so bring layers!
The class will take place at my studio in Colorado Springs.
There are 8 spots available for this workshop, and they will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ages: 12+
Pricing: $100 per participant (all materials, tools, and snacks included).
Puppeteering 101
Join Katy to learn the basics of bringing anything to life! In this class, we’ll explore the fundamentals of puppetry, including breath, focus, and weight. You’ll also learn how to properly lip-sync with puppets and discover how to play with emotional indicators to let your puppet express a wide range of emotions.
This workshop is a perfect addition for anyone who has taken a monster building class—you can bring your monster puppet with you, bring your own puppet, or use one of the many available at the studio.
The class is offered at the studio in Colorado Springs, or I can travel to you!
Ages: 6 and up or adults
Pricing: $50 per person
Creating Crankies! (Moving Panoramas)
In this one-of-a-kind class, you’ll take a deep dive into the art of crankies—moving panoramas popularized by Peter Schumann of Bread and Puppet. Crankies feature a long scroll that is cranked to tell a story and can also incorporate shadow puppetry. We will start with a crankie show featuring two of Katy’s professional suitcase crankies.
In this class, you will learn how to plan your crankie story, create a crankie box, frame your scroll, install the crank, and add shadow puppets to enhance your narrative. By the end of our two-hour session, you will have completed your crankie box and started your scroll. Participants may not finish their scroll during the class but will have the knowledge to complete it at home.
There are only 6 spots available, and they will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
The class will take place at my studio in Colorado Springs.
Ages: 12+ or adults
Pricing: $150 per participant (all materials, tools, and demonstrations included)
