Artistic Director of Little Wing Puppets, Jenny Ellis, has been a puppeteer for over 25 years. She has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Puppetry from the Victorian College of the Arts, and was a Researcher for the NSW Minister for Education. Jenny trained with Master Puppeteer Richard Bradshaw through the national Jump mentoring program. She also received a Major Fellowship from the Mike Walsh Foundation and is graduate from the Heilkos School of International Theatre Creation in Italy. Jenny also recently was appeared as a special guest on ABC’s Play School. Jenny continues to work with a team of artists to make exceptional theatre that is compact and ready to travel.
Organisation/Company
Name: Little Wing Puppets
My Role: Artistic Director
Little Wing Puppets makes great theatre, with and for children. We believe that young people deserve access to the arts, wherever they live. We’ve demonstrated our commitment to touring over our 20 year history. Since 2006, we have performed our shows to thousands of children in every state and territory of Australia, in some of its most remote communities, as well as overseas. We’re driven by a love of puppetry and the power of a good story. We have an extensive teaching program, and have co-created work with thousands of young people. We hope we can help shape young people’s lives by igniting their imaginations.
Iwi affiliation
My family have been in Australia for around 175 years. They came on boats as disgraced noblemen, women who were gathered from the streets of London to help boost the female numbers in the colony, and free settlers. They set up a soft drink factory, a dance school, sold farm machinery, and were coal miners and door to door salesmen, as well as writers and dreamers.
Rohe
I come from the beautiful lands of the Gadigal people, of the Eora Nation, in what is now known as Sydney, Australia. I adore its harbour, beaches, sandstone cliffs, heathland and forests. I love where I'm from and feel deeply connected to the land.
How I got where I am today
My childhood dream was to become a puppeteer. I was obsessed with the work of Jim Henson; the Muppets, the Dark Crystal and the Labyrinth. I watched them on repeat; studying every aspect. To me those creatures were very alive. It was only when I met a puppeteer in my teenage years that I started making my own puppets.
Whānau
Little Wing Puppets is the creation of many people. I work with a team of incredible independent artists to create our shows, such as Directors Jacob Williams and Clare Batholomew, and Composers such as Kelly Ryall and Mal Webb. But most importantly the people that stand with me, and who always have my back is my little family, my husband Jeremy Lavender, who performs and co-creates the shows, and our 8 year old daughter, who contributes endless ideas and inspiration. The three of us tour together, and without their support this amazing life we lead would be impossible.
What grounds me?
What grounds me is walking in the bush, swimming in salt water, camping, and the company of good people.
A Little Bit of Blue
Artform: Puppetry
Development Status: Tour Ready
Media Uploads
Trailer
Full Length
Synopsis
A Little Bit of Blue is an interactive environmental detective story, told with puppetry. As well as unravelling a mystery, it involves learning about the unique habits of an extraordinary Australian animal, the Satin Bowerbird, and their fascination for the colour blue. It is a fun frolicking mix of Detective Noir, slapstick, with some interesting learning discoveries along the way.
Mavis’s world is turned upside-down by small disappearances. Something has gone missing and is nowhere to be found. Mrs Hooley has been looking everywhere. But it’s not just today. Every day a new thing seems to disappear. Little things. A $10 note. Clothes pegs. A ball of wool. It’s troubling at first, but the thief then takes it one step too far...
¬¬Mavis calls in a Detective to investigate. The Detective, Harry McGee, an adorable buffoon, makes a mess of the investigation, and the children love always being one step ahead of him. They set a trap for the burglar. A stake out is required. In the dead of night, the Detective indeed finds something peculiar.... The children’s role is to help him solve the case.
Jenny Ellis, a puppeteer of more than twenty years, weaves the whole mystery together, sometimes playing three characters at once. The young audience will gasp with surprise, sigh with sadness, shout in outrage, cheer with triumph, and dance with joy as they follow the sneaky bowerbird on his journey to find love.
Creative Team and Crew
Written by: Jenny Ellis & Anne Brooksbank
Performer: Jenny Ellis
Directed by Jacob Williams and Clare Batholomew
Music: Kelly Ryall
Puppets and sets: Jenny Ellis & Jeremy Lavender
Number of People in the Touring Party
1
Previous Seasons
A Little Bit of Blue - Performance History 2024
2025 – WA Regional Tour – 10 Venues, including Mandurah Performing Arts Centre & Albany Entertainment Centre
Woodford Folk Festival, QLD
Byron Theatre, NSW
2024 - Victorian Tour – 10 Venues, including The Clocktower Theatre, Bunjil Place & Bernineit Cultural Centre
Regional NSW tour – 3 Venues including The Bay Pavilions, Batemans Bay, plus Arts on Tour NSW Backroads tour – 5 Venues
Burnie Arts Centre, TAS
2023 - Victorian Tour - Melbourne Festival of Puppetry & Phee Broadway Castlemaine,
NSW & ACT Tour – 7 Venues including The Jetty Theatre, Coffs harbour,The Art House, Wyong & Bondi Pavilion plus Arts North West NSW Tour – 6 Venues Coonabarabran Town Hall, Tas Hoskins Theatre, Armidale, The Civic Theatre Gunnedah, Tenterfield School of Arts, Royal Theatre Quirindi, The Roxy Theatre Bingara
2022 - Arts on Tour Backroads Initiative tour – 5 Venues
2021 – NSW RISE Fund Tour – 16 Venues
2019 - Regional Arts Victoria Connecting Places Tour – 14 Venues
Reviews and Quotes
“A great puppet show and a fantastic mix of entertainment and education.”
~ David Perkins
Senior Programs Officer, Melbourne Museum
“An amazing one person dynamic fabulous show – super engaging and beautifully creative.” – Kate, Parent, Sydney.
“I’m old and I had a smile on my face from beginning to end” – Audience comment, Portarlington, VIC
"From the lovingly handcrafted puppets to the ingenious staging and the unforgettable characters, every detail feels alive with creativity and care.
Audiences are always swept up in the stories, enchanted by the humour and heart, while quietly absorbing the deeper lessons woven into each tale. The children, especially, light up with excitement. They love interacting with Jenny during the performance, and after where they get to meet the puppets face-to-face, brimming with those wonderfully curious questions that only kids can dream up.
Each show leaves us not only entertained but truly inspired."
~ Andrew Frith, Queens Park Theatre, Geraldton
Or as the technician from the Queens Park Theatre described it “Of all the children’s work we’ve had recently, you were the best! The quickest bump in, the easiest tech, and pulled the biggest crowd!”
Technical Rider & International Touring Info (if applicable)
- View/download document #1 here
Arts Ablaze was a conference and celebration of regional arts in Queensland taking place at Ramada Resort Kooralbyn Valley on Wednesday 2 to Sunday 6 October 2019.