By Trash Puppets and Packed House Productions

Theatre | Puppetry | Sustainability 

Join the Trash Puppets team as they navigate the depths of our waterways battling whirlpools, exploring marine life’s living conditions, cracking jokes with a walrus and learning how to reduce our impact through everyday actions. With a wonderful cast of trash puppet characters including Crabs, Sea Slugs, Penguins, a Sea Horse, a Porpoise & a Puffer Fish, audiences will be mesmerized by the diversity of sea creatures and the stories, songs and jokes they share. 

Trash with a Porpoise has the format of a sketch comedy show with short, punchy, sometimes hilarious sketches whilst exploring the themes of marine waste, and how we can take positive steps to help it. Sketch Comedy is effective in breaking down language barriers and can deliver strong messages in a light-hearted manner. This show is a fun and digestible education for kids on ways that they can help our environment, while enjoying a beautiful and funny piece of theatre that will inspire them to get creative with their trash at home! 

The show includes participatory elements, wherein the audience will be called upon to help the characters, including call and response and even inviting some to help in the show! 

As in all Trash Puppets work, everything in the show was created using reclaimed, repurposed, recycled materials. Trash Puppets want children to witness how everyday household items have been used to create this work and to feel inspired to create at home. 

This fun, sketch comedy show is appropriate for children from Foundation to Grade 6. The stories, puppets, jokes and messaging inspired has also been generated through workshops with students across Victoria! 

Trash Puppets are strong believers in not underestimating children, in their humour, their depth, and in their understanding of the world. This show will provide actionable ways that we can all make a difference for our environment, empowering the children to take small steps in their everyday lives that all-together can make big change. 

Additional offerings

Puppet Making Workshop

Compliment the performance of Trash with a Porpoise with a Trash Puppet making workshop! The workshop teaches children how to make their own unique trash puppet using 100% recycled materials. Creating something new and completely unique from what others deem as “trash”, demonstrates the importance of recycling. Trash Puppet workshops: 

• give hands-on experience of core sustainability messages (waste less, recycle right)  
• align with key learning areas and capabilities  
• offer a positive experience for kids, building confidence through creative expression. 

Online Workshops 

Trash Puppets offer three professionally filmed online workshops suitable for lower primary, upper primary and lower secondary school aged children. Complete with your own exclusive web link for easy access for teachers and participants, these packages include: a step-by-step ‘how to’ puppet making video, a worksheet with step-by-step instructions and a list of materials needed to make the puppet, as well as useful Information and discussion questions about sustainability and puppetry performance and styles. These online workshops are a perfect addition to your school’s online arts program, or as a supporting activity for before or after a performance of “Trash with a Porpoise”. 

Other details