A popular Lake Cowichan teacher is putting her puppets in the spotlight this month in an exhibit at the Cowichan Valley Arts Council Annex gallery in Duncan.
Raised in Vienna, Austria, local talent and teacher Astrid Notte, along with her parents, left on the last train from Berlin in 1945 after the Second World War at the age of four. By 1954, after settling in Honeymoon Bay, she attended school in Lake Cowichan. As an adult, while her teaching career began in Haida Gwaii (one of her pupils being Robert Davidson, who would later become a famous Haida Gwaii carver), Notte would return to Vancouver Island in 1968 to teach in Lake Cowichan, where she would remain until her retirement in 2001.
Popular with her students and fellow staff alike, Notte, having attended multiple conferences with the Puppeteers of America beginning in 1974 (where her signature puppet Wolfgang was born), over the years rubbed shoulders with the best of them — Jim Henson, Carol Spinney (Big Bird), Bill Baird, Luman Coad and the like — and was well equipped to implement puppetry with her distinctive teaching technique.
Notte embraced the opportunity to introduce her students to the magical world of puppetry and ultimately use puppets as an educational tool in the classroom.
“I’ve always believed that students can develop a greater awareness and appreciation of themselves and their world with a good art program,” said Notte. “Puppetry can contribute to enriching life experiences because the activity involves creating, performing and responding to art. A puppet is a unique three-dimensional art form.
“Back then, while we teachers had a strict curriculum to adhere to, we still had the liberty to add our own personal touch to the classroom.”
Having the freedom to incorporate the use of puppets as part of her teaching method allowed her ordinarily shy and introverted students to literally take the stage behind the theatre; while the outgoing, less shy students preferred to perform in the spotlight. From a teacher’s perspective, this art form allowed Notte to connect with her pupils on a completely different level, and everyone benefited from the experience.
“A lot of students exhibited such passion for puppetry, that Palsson Puppeteers was formed, and we performed at local music festivals, other schools, hospitals and hospice. In 1986, we performed for the Puppeteers of America, where we had the absolute thrill of meeting Big Bird, in the flesh,” Notte said.
Notte received her Masters of Education in 1993 with her thesis “Puppetry: A Studio Exploration of Technique and Images”, and continued her education by training under renowned puppetry instructors throughout North America and joining the local Toastmasters club, even after retiring from the classroom.
Now in her later years, Notte has decided it’s time to pass the torch, and in celebration of her illustrious career invites everyone young and old to enjoy her swan song exhibit, “Puppets Alive” at the CVAC Annex, 2687 James St. in Duncan, from April 10-29, including a special reception on Friday, April 11 between 1 and 3 p.m.
“While of course everyone is welcome,” says Notte, “It would be amazing to see some of my former students.”
