Teeny Tiny Toon

Teeny Tiny Toon is a celebration of Newcastle and its people, told through puppetry.

Teeny Tiny Toon Commission by Judith Hope Puppet Maker

toon

Geordie: 'town', specifically Newcastle

Moving Parts Arts aims to create a city of puppetry by telling the stories of Newcastle residents. We begun this journey in 2022/2023 with residents living in Benwell and Scotswood before moving around the city to reach more people in the years to come.

188 residents from Benwell & Scotswood and 3 local artists were be paired up in workshops to co-create puppets to share stories and experiences of living in the area. This resulted in a community exhibition which toured around the West End of the city, finishing at Newcastle Puppetry Festival 2023.

2023 team

Project Engagement Coordinators: Audrey Cook and Vicky Tate

Lead Artists: Alison McGowan, Chloe Rodham, William Steele

Community Partners: Action for Children, Denton Library, Pendower Good Neighbours, Healthworks, Scotswood Natural Community Garden, West End Schools Trust, Ashton Court Care Home, Allan Court Care Home, Brook House Care Home, Community Safety

Exhibition Venue Partners: John Marley Centre, Newcastle Arts Centre, Riverside Community Health Project

Funders: Community Foundation Newcastle Cultural Investment Fund, Garfield Weston, National Lottery Community Fund, Sir James Knott Trust, Fogo Fund, Hadrian Trust, Arnold Clark Community Fund.

Postcard Illustrator: Becky Musgrove

Postcard Designer: Steven Hodges

Box Theatre Commission: Judith Hope

Film credits: See below

A huge thank you to the 188 participants from Benwell & Scotswood who attended puppet making and storytelling workshops, resulting in the community exhibition!

"an afternoon of joy which was really lovely to see and experience."

– Teeny Tiny Toon workshop participant

Postcard Stories

A key part of the workshops was encouraging people to tell their Benwell & Scotswood story on one of our postcards. Stories could be anything from how long they have lived in the area, to their favourite place in the neighbourhood. The postcards were specially illustrated by Becky Musgrove. You can flick through the story archive below...

"This is wonderful! I laughed and cried reading the postcards. It is clear how important the parks are to young and old. It looks like the project has been a lot of fun. Thank you for sharing this."

– Exhibition visitor feedback

Community Exhibition

All of the incredible stories told by workshop participants and photos of their puppet creations were collated into a touring community exhibition. The exhibition toured around the West End of the city, with its final stop at Newcastle Puppetry Festival 2023. The exhibition also featured puppets and automatas made by project artists Alison McGowan, Chloe Rodham and Will Steele, inspired by participant's work.

Commission

We commissioned Judith Hope Puppet Maker to create a working box theatre featuring a city scape of Newcastle and some puppet residents who live in this teeny tiny toon world. We then turned this into a short film, featuring resident stories and voice recordings. You can watch the results below.

Puppet theatre commission created by Judith Hope Puppet Maker

Animations and edit by Chloe Rodham

Sound design by Chloe Rodham

Filmed by Kraken Cinematic

Puppeteers: Calum Bruce and Chloe Rodham

Directed by Kerrin Tatman