Iqaluit (Dec 20/04) - Fledgling puppeteers began work last week on six new characters for the popular children's show Takuginai.

Montreal-based puppeteer Jose Babin visited the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation in Iqaluit to help the five recruits - none of whom had worked with puppets before - learn the ropes.

"I think they know now that it's more difficult than it looks," said Babin. "You don't just take a puppet and shake it."

Chris Henderson, one of the puppeteers in training, said the puppet development process was more complicated than he expected, but he was enjoying the creative buzz at the TV station.

"It's really fun," he said.

The IBC program uses puppets for storytelling segments in the Inuktitut children's program. The show aims to teach children Inuktitut numbers and syllabics, while also presenting Inuit cultural values.

New characters being worked on last week included a dog, a walrus and a lady hunter. Henderson is working on a shaman puppet. He appreciates the show's focus on Inuit culture.

"Some of the kids today know a lot about pop and chips, but don't know much about being Inuk," he said.

Henderson and four other potential puppeteers constructed the new characters mainly from foam, though they included anything else that worked, such as t-shirts for skin tone, wigs and even marbles.

Henderson imagined his shaman as an old man with grey hair and a grey goatee, who sees visions through his drum.

Because the puppets are being made for television, they have to be manipulated from below. That requires stamina and co-ordination on the part of the puppeteer.

"You have to have it above your head and know where it's looking," said Henderson. "Your arm gets pretty tired."

Babin is the artistic director of Theatre Incline in Montreal. The theatre company began including puppets in their shows in 1997. She first saw puppets being used in theatre for adults while visiting Europe.

"Now we always have a puppet or two in our productions," she said.

Babin believes puppets are for all ages and can be very versatile. "You can do many more things with a puppet than you can with a real actor," she said.

Puppets are also suited for cross-cultural performances because they can have meaning as symbols without needing words.