Puppets in Prague An Intensive Master Class with Czech Puppet Artists Since 1999, Puppets in Prague has taught students from around the world the craft of creating wooden marionettes based on Czech traditional methods. This is the only puppet course in Prague offered in English; at our workshop, students have the unique experience of meeting and working with leading figures in contemporary Czech puppetry and theatre.

Course content: Working under Czech puppet masters, students go through the whole design and construction process. They learn the techniques of designing puppets, making technical drawings, woodcarving, painting, and puppet costume design. The course also includes lessons on how to manipulate the brand new puppets and lectures on Czech puppet history.

At the end of the course, each student has an original hand-carved marionette - plus the skills to make more. In the evenings, students visit puppeteers' studios, attend puppet theatre performances, and see the best animated Czech puppet films. All in a beautiful European city with a rich puppet tradition still very much alive.

The teaching team: The greatest strength of the course is the teaching team. Many of the instructors have taught for the puppet department of the prestigious Prague Theatre Academy; all have extensive experience as artists in the Czech Republic and abroad. During each phase of the workshop, students work closely with artists with different specializations (woodcarving, design, costumes, painting...). Guest artists also visit the workshop to speak about their work. The whole course is led by Miroslav Trejtnar, expert woodcarver and puppet artist.

Daily Schedule: The daily schedule is intensive: students work eight hours, with morning sessions consisting of short lectures and afternoons for practical work. Evenings include visits to the theatre, screenings of Czech animated films, and visits to the studios of Czech puppet artists.

Who is the course designed for? It is an ideal opportunity for artists, theatre makers, and puppeteers who want to learn the craft of creating a wooden marionette. In the past, we have had students from Europe, America, Asia, Australia and Africa.

Miroslav Trejtnar
Course leader

Miroslav Trejtnar graduated with high honors from the puppet design department of the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. He has trained with Institut UNIMA in Charleville - Mezieres in France and the Bread and Puppet Theatre Company in USA. In 1989 he started the KID Company, designing and producing wooden puppets, toys and sculpture.

Recently, Miroslav's puppets and sculptures were exhibited at the UNIMA 2000 World Festival of Puppet Theatre in Mageburg, Germany. His art work has been exhibited in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, the USA, Japan, Hong Kong and Macao. He has designed puppets for numerous productions in the Czech Republic and internationally, including "The Baroque Opera" by the Forman Brothers. He has also produced puppets for the Jiri Trnka animated film studio in Prague. In 1996, he was awarded the prestigious Bayerischen design award at the Munich International Crafts Fair.

Miroslav has taught puppet-making and scene design for the Prague Academy of Performing Arts, St. Martin’s College of Design in London, New York University in Prague, Chapito Circus Academy in Lisbon, Portugal, and in Macao and Hong Kong.