The Puppeteer: "I Am Me" - How Yamina Peerzada Inspires Through Puppetry
“I spent a lot of time watching them (my father and his brother) design, create, and build puppets and then bring them to life through manipulation and performance. The fact that these inanimate objects were brought to life by puppeteers really fascinated me. It was like a magic power.” Meet today’s woman dreamer, Yamina Peerzada. Inspired by her family to pursue the arts, she first joined professional theatre at the young age of 10; and played the lead character at the 2nd International Puppet Festival in Lahore. A lifelong creative soul, Yamina shares her exciting life as a performer and her passion for puppetry. Enjoy her story below!
1) You are a woman of many creative talents. Acting, Puppeteer, Painting, and more. Tell us your story. Were you always a creative and artistic soul?
I was always a creative soul and loved painting, literature, theatre and dance. The fact that my family is full of artists is probably why I was drawn towards the creative arts. Most of my childhood was spent at my father’s festivals or backstage at events, concerts, or theatre plays, so that is the atmosphere my sister and I literally grew up in.
I consider myself very fortunate that I was always encouraged by both my parents to discover and follow my passions. My first professional Theatre play was at the age of 10, in which I played the lead character, at the 2nd International Puppet Theatre Festival in Lahore. I was exposed to wonderful theatre, puppet, music and dance productions from all over the world that were staged at my father’s festivals from such a young age that it really helped me understand and appreciate the different art forms. As a child I was shy and didn’t open up so easily but on stage or while performing I would totally get into the character and become uninhabited and unaware of my surroundings.
There were no acting schools in Pakistan so at 18, I went to India for a few months and studied Acting for Theatre at the Dramatic Art and Design Academy under Amal Allana. Later on I did my Masters in ‘Acting for Screen’ from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
2) For South Asian heritage month in August, you hosted an event, I am Me. For women, it can be hard to just be themselves and feel comfortable in their own skin. What are your three biggest tips on getting self-confidence?
The Workshop was titled “I am ME “as I wanted young girls and women to feel comfortable in their own skin. I chose Body Image as a specific focus for my workshop so women can celebrate their uniqueness and also embrace the beauty that is inside them rather than focus on what society tells them about their bodies and physical appearance.
Therefore, my first tip for self-confidence would be that of owning and celebrating the uniqueness of our bodies and of accepting and loving oneself, just as we are. The way God made us.
My second tip would be, that by loving ourselves we can shift the focus from outward beauty to the beauty that lies within us, which is what truly matters. Looks will eventually fade away but the strength of character only gets stronger, the more one polishes it the more it shines.
And my last tip would be that try and be a first-rate version of yourself, rather than a second-rate version of someone else. Focus on your own abilities, skills, talents and attributes and develop and hone those. Self-confidence should come from working on yourself so you can reach your full potential rather than trying to emulate someone else or comparing yourself to others. I feel comparisons rob us of joy and add no value to our lives.
3) You are also a puppeteer. That is so cool! Tell us a bit about that! What was the most exciting project you have worked on?
My father Saadaan Peerzada and his twin brother Faizaan Peerzada were both puppeteers and set up the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop which started out as a Puppet Theatre Company. Their office was a Theatre and a Workshop Space, so growing up I spent a lot of time watching them design, create, and build puppets and then bring them to life through manipulation and performance. The fact that these inanimate objects were brought to life by puppeteers really fascinated me. It was like a magic power. At 14 I was part of my first professional Puppet Theatre Play with my father’s company which toured in India.
As I got older I trained under them and performed with the company internationally along with my sister and cousins in a lot of festivals. However, I’m the only one who pursued it and took it professionally as I am also an actor and I love performing. I specialize in Rod, Bunraku, table top, and muppets.
The most exciting Puppet Project I’ve worked on has to be “Sim Sim Hamara” which was a Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop and Sesame Workshop collaboration. It was a Television Series in which I manipulated a 6 year old Muppet called “Rani”.
Other puppet projects that have been very close to my heart are “The Magic Paint Brush” and “The Border”. The Magic Paintbrush was a theatre production in which I manipulated a table top puppet called “Liang” (a 7 year old Chinese boy). The play toured to different Festivals in Pakistan, Turkey and Norway. “The Border”, was a co production between Teatret Lampe and Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop. It was a two-person theatre production, in Urdu and Danish with puppetry and live music. I played a 16 year old girl and also operated two table to p puppet characters. It premiered in Copenhagen and then we performed at the April Fest in Holstebro, which is the largest Children’s Theatre Festival in the world.
4) As a platform for women dreamers, we have to ask, what is your next big dream?
Firstly, I want to create thought provoking and inspiring digital content and short films. I feel there are so many different stories to tell, yet there is a dearth of good scripts for actors. Our storylines generally revolve around domestic problems and household politics where as there are so many other aspects to one’s life. I would like to try and shift the narrative through simple storytelling.
My next big dream is to do a Grand Puppet Musical Theatre which Pakistan has never seen. Our company has done quite a few puppet theatre productions with live music and actors but I would like to take it to the next level. I want to create a Theatre Production with actors, dancers, singers, musicians, puppeteers and circus acrobats. A larger than life magical experience!
Thank you Yamina for sharing your story with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!
WHO WE ARE