The Wee Giant Puppet Company was conceived by Andy Gaukel in late 2005 and made its debut during the Inspiration Festival 2006 at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow. The company is rapidly gaining a reputation for it’s high quality, highly entertaining and educational productions and workshops.
Creator and founder, Andy Gaukel, is a director/actor/drama outreach coordinator/puppeteer originally from Kentucky. He has over fifteen years experience in the arts working with audiences of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Andy is a 2003 graduate of the Trinity Rep. Conservatory in Providence, RI, (now called the Brown University/Trinity Rep. Consortium), where he received a Master in Fine Arts Degree (MFA) in acting.
Before moving to Scotland, Andy toured and worked with many organizations ranging from The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati (where he performed for large audiences and taught drama workshops for homeless children) to Madcap Puppets (a U.S. based touring puppet theatre which performed in primary schools, museums and libraries).
Andy has also worked as a professional actor and puppeteer in New York City where he worked in Television, Off-Broadway and Regional Theatre. Andy’s love and work with puppetry began with the late, great Jerry Handorf (Former Artistic Director of Madcap Puppets). Puppetry has since taken Andy to performing in the strangest places. In 2004 and 2005, Andy appeared in Basil Twist’s Off-Broadway underwater puppet-play Symphonie Fantastique that ran for eight months at Dodger Stages in New York City.
Since moving to Scotland, Andy has been working with a variety of arts organizations. Along with directing The Wee Giant Puppet Company, Andy has taught both puppet and drama workshops to young people at the Tron Theatre Company and TAG Theatre Company in Glasgow. He also teaches weekly classes in drama at Theatre NEMO, a theatre company aiming to promote the education of those affected by mental health issues.
