Simon Danilson turns desk clutter into a theatre puppet

Simon Danilson won second place in the Puppet Theatre Museum’s contest to invent an “impossible” theatre puppet, with an idea inspired by the clutter on a school desk, ERR reported.

Danilson told the television programme Ringvaade that he imagined a puppet that could assemble itself from objects on a table. Although it was not difficult to bring the puppet to life, it takes a team of three people to perform with it. He has entered the contest for three years and is considering a future in theatre as a puppet-maker or actor.

Museum director Iti Niinemets said the jury liked the idea of making a puppet from clutter. She said each part could also work as a separate puppet, prompting ideas about how it might be used in theatre.

The contest was open to pupils in grades 1 to 12 and attracted 145 entrants, Niinemets said. Heigo Kõvaski won first place with a small puppet that moves using magnets. Third place went to Riho Kusti Kurg, whose dragon used old bottles and 3D-printed parts, with pieces of an umbrella forming its wings.