PAPERCRAFT RESOURSES FOR TEACHERS

When you include papercraft mask making in your curriculum, you are not only creating an opportunity for a fun, multi-faceted learning experience, you are opening up a discussion about recycling, conservation and the importance of using waste materials to make incredible new things. You could use a variety of materials, such as 250-300gsm cardstock of your choosing, or, you could make masks from old cereal boxes. Creating the masks is just the beginning, you could scavenge for leaves, twigs and acorns and continue through decorating and storytelling. Here are just a few of the many benefits of creative craft in the classroom:

• When a child makes something, they take ownership of their creation
• Creative craft is empowering and proactive, building general confidence and opening up new possibilities for children to explore
• Papercraft is a great alternative to expensive, pre-made theatre masks/props
• Children become immersed in a narrative when they've made a part of it
• Opens up wider conversations on the importance of conservation



We're excited for you to get started, so here's a collection of quick and easy first-time builders' masks, perfect for the classroom. Or, you can check out the whole collection.

Sustainable clothing made from natural materials, using renewable energy and delivered in plastic-free packaging. With a traceable supply chain from 100% organic cotton farmers, on-demand inventory and direct delivery, our clothing line represents the cutting edge in sustainable fashion.

Lifecycle

When you place your order, your shirt will be printed in a wind-powered factory and sent directly to you. When you have worn out your well-loved tee shirt, you can send it back to become a new garment. This circular manufacturing process is a positive step toward a healthier planet.

 MASKS DESIGNED FOR DRAMA

This special collection of masks represents Steve’s take on the classic 16th Century Italian caricatures that have endured for centuries on stage. They represent a stereotypical hierarchy of society that provides a great mechanism for storytelling be it comedy, tragedy, or an infusion of both. When Cheryl Stapleton of Learning Through Theatre highlighted that a papercraft Commedia Dell’ Arte Set would make a useful toolset for drama students to learn with, we were excited to help out and grateful for the information Cheryl provided along the way. This popular form of drama usually involves hand-crafted wooden masks that can be expensive to make, so this set will enable drama students and departments of all sizes and budgets access to the form without exhausting valuable resources. With the Pantalones of our time cutting off funds to the arts at every opportunity, we hope this proves useful to drama teachers around the world.

Dead Animals of the Fleshless Forest

Thundering drums rumble and crack amongst calls of unseen creatures echoing over the hills. The call is carried on the edge of a still night from the glowing heart of the Fleshless Forest. Shadows flicker in front of the flames where the great fire burns, warming the bones of those brave enough to dance with the animal dead.

There are stories of a sanctuary amongst the trees. A forest for the skinless where flesh is unwelcome. On All Hallows Eve, the animals of the earth rise to dance, shaking the earth with pounding strides and howls from deep in the wood. Dancing around the Pyre of Luminescence, they bleach their bones of flesh-form restrictions in the moon-rays of immortality. In revelry they thrive at the spiritual oasis of the fire dance, free to be wild and protected from mortal interference forever.

As practice follows tradition, on the darkest night, the bravest of mankind will disguise their form with paper masks to traverse the Fleshless Forest and join the carnival of the animal dead. Obscuring their humanity from the skeletal souls that prowl the darkness, they will leap, stride, stalk and pounce to move as animal undetected. Take your place in the great dance, but leave by dawn. Soft and pale, weak and frail, exposed in first light you will be. Mortal intruders beware of the sharp bones and claws of those who wait to stretch skin over drum.