Marianne’s puppetry
Marianne Mettes is a professional puppeteer, artist, musician, performer and registered ACT teacher and has been working as a professional puppeteer for over 15 years.
Marianne literally became a puppeteer overnight, while she was working in and finishing her degree in radio broadcasting. She was forced to make a decision which would change her life and instead - she decided to become a puppeteer so she could combine what she truly loved: the arts, music and telling stories.
Photo by Sealegs Photography
After making her bold decision, she travelled, trained and worked in Europe, USA and Australia to continue learning and growing her skills. She was able to have been professionally trained by master puppeteers and puppet builders from across the globe. Over the years, she’s won several awards, scholarships and grants in support of her endeavours. One of her biggest passions is teaching young people the art of puppetry to help the dying art form of puppetry live on in new generations.
Notable organisations Marianne has worked with include: Sesame Street Workshop (New York), National Museum of Australia, Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra Symphony Orchestra, CAPO, Belconnen Arts Centre, National Folk Festival, Australian National Botanic Gardens, National Archives of Australia, Australian Literacy Educators’ Association, Ainslie and Gorman House Centres, ACT NOWaste, Canberra Youth Theatre, Canberra Street Theatre, Bucks Rock Creative Arts camp (USA), children’s TV show Possum’s Club and more.
Photo by Andrew Sikorski
Photo by Ben Mettes
Notable awards, prizes and grants include: Project Funding (artsACT 2018 & 2015), Artist in Schools grant (artsACT 2011 & 2015), Second Scene residency (Street Theatre 2015), Artist in Residence (Belconnen Arts Centre 2015), Project Space (AGAG 2015), The HIVE residency (Street Theatre 2014), Sustainable Art Award (CAPO 2013), Scholarship Marionette training (USA 2013), Scholarship Ventriloquist training (USA 2010), and more.
