Author Identifier
Harrison Lorenz-Daniel: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0249-8369
Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Bachelor of Performing Arts Honours
School
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
First Supervisor
Vahri McKenzie
Abstract
This study interrogates the impact that digital technologies and digital mediation have on creative learning workshops run by arts organisations and delivered by teaching artists. It responds to a wave of new creative learning initiatives supported by arts organisations, state governments, and schools following the COVID-19 pandemic. Situating the research primarily in the investigation of Puppet Lab, a new digital workshop developed by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre in Walyalup (Fremantle), qualitative data was collected over a series of 5 semi-structured interviews with Western Australian teaching artists. The study found that digital technologies did not meaningfully impact the standard delivery of creative learning workshops, simply providing another tool through which similar outcomes to traditional workshops could be achieved. However, some participants observed that these technologies could potentially inhibit the existing outcomes of creative learning approaches, requiring young people to have additional levels of digital literacy to participate. Despite this, research participants consistently affirmed Puppet Lab’s success, attributing this to the pedagogical approach of arts-based learning. Implications extend beyond the Puppet Lab workshop, highlighting the value of educational departments in arts organisations in creating a more sustainable and vibrant arts sector for young people, artists and arts workers.
Recommended Citation
Lorenz-Daniel, H. (2026). Puppet Lab: Investigating digital technologies in creative learning. Edith Cowan University. https://doi.org/10.25958/mvr3-yc51