Starting in summer 2024, we will be taking a closer look at the work of some members of our Artist Network, to celebrate the variety of work that is happening here in Scotland across the eclectic range of disciplines that we support. This month we meet puppeteer and puppet-maker Ella Mackay, founder of Nudge Puppets.
Tell us about yourself and your creative practice
I’m a puppet-maker and puppeteer based in Glasgow. I studied at the Glasgow School of Art and then the Curious School of Puppetry. I have two puppetry companies: Nudge Puppets, taking puppet making commissions and creating small scale performances, walkabouts and engagement work; Hopeful Monster Theatre, a three women ensemble making playful Visual Theatre inspired by the natural world and science. Highlights of my practice so far have been performing ‘Hopeful Monsters’ a hand show inspired by evolution at the World Festival of Puppet Theatre in Charleville-Mézières, and walking around as a life-size unicorn swarmed by skipping children at the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. I’m interested in non-verbal work, playful images, visual connections and emotive movement. I’ve collaborated with companies including theatre Gu Leòr, Children’s Classic Concerts and Tortoise in a Nutshell. I’ve made glove puppets, rod operated people and animals, and large scale wearable creatures. Every puppet is a unique challenge and I love seeing them come to life.
How did you first discover a love for puppetry?
I was studying Painting at uni but chose a short elective called ‘performance anxiety’. We had an evening to make a video, tasked not to think too much. I recorded my hand dancing to music in the pub. It felt weirdly natural. Surprised, I watched my hand walk away from me and move with its own alien confidence and swagger. Later that year I saw Visual Theatre for the first time (‘Go’ by Polina Borisova) at Manipulate Festival and was blown away that something could be so funny and deeply emotional at the same time. I discovered a love for moving things and a drive to make and take silly things very seriously. I meandered into Theatre through Fine Art, I’m quiet and an introvert so don’t fit the stereotype of what I imagined a ‘performer’ should be. I’ve discovered that creative voices in Theatre aren’t all the same and Puppetry is an artform where I believe that’s especially true. You don’t have to be the loudest in the room, listening and observation are incredibly important. I’ve seen puppetry’s power to bring shy children out of their shell too. Puppets are fantastic intermediators and ways in to diverse worlds. I particularly love non-verbal work: there’s a lot that can be said when we don’t say anything.
What has your previous relationship been with Manipulate Arts?
When I started out in Puppetry, I reached out to Manipulate Arts and felt really supported by the organisation to take my first steps into the industry. They connected me with an established company, Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre, who kindly let me shadow them to learn about touring. Manipulate Arts gave me my first platform to share work through a children’s festival programme which connected my small scale show and workshop to a network of venues; This was an amazing first experience where I learnt so much. I’ve performed at Manipulate Festival, a cabaret piece, a show, and this year a walkabout at the Opening Party. Last year, I worked with Manipulate Arts as a facilitator for Early Years play sessions using puppetry at Cumbernauld Theatre at Lanternhouse. I’ve benefited from receiving the Creative Fund to learn about larger scale making and prototype a wearable cat puppet, which allowed me to experiment and push myself as a maker. I’ve also utilised the support Manipulate Arts offer through their producing surgeries, gaining advice for funding applications, project planning, evaluating and company development.
What has the impact of working with Manipulate Arts been on your practice?
I feel very grateful for Manipulate Arts. It’s so valuable to have an organisation that champions your specific artform, especially when it’s a niche one. They are a central point for the Visual Theatre community and a support system vital in a freelance industry. I’ve benefited from opportunities to present my own work and to see interesting and varied work by other artists. They’ve helped me to continue to develop through engaging workshops and funded experimentation. I really value the supportive environment they create as an organisation, I feel like their door is always open when I need to talk things through. Times when Manipulate Arts have expanded my network has been particularly beneficial, making introductions and linking me up with venues, other artists and companies to work with.
What are you working on next?
I’ve just started working on a puppet making commission which will be the largest I’ve created so far. It’s the Cheshire Cat for a production of Alice in Wonderland that will be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer. The puppet will be operated by five people and I’m really excited to get stuck into making something this scale and expanding on the skills I previously developed thanks to Manipulate Art’s Creative Fund.
Also this year, my company Hopeful Monster is planning the final phase of development for our second production together, a physical theatre show called Mini Beasts. In Mini Beasts the audience will witness humans attempt an odd feat of empathy: crawling inside insect skins, limbs and sensory things in the hope of better understanding some of the smallest and strangest creatures we share our planet with.
