Honorary Memberships

WAPASA from time to time recognizes and gives honorary memberships to those in their elder years who have contributed a lifetime of work to the puppetry and storytelling arts through the lens of Rudolf Steiner’s indications. 

We all have learned so much from these puppeteers and storytellers and are inspired by the beauty, truth and goodness that they created in their life’s work. 

Estelle Bryer

Adola McWilliam

Nancy Mellon

Estelle Bryer

- honorary member since 2021

Estelle was one of the founders of the Constantia Waldorf School in Cape Town, South Africa where she worked as a kindergarten teacher, puppeteer and both artistic and curative Eurythmist. Her puppetry has been seen by more than a million people primarily through her hand puppet fairytale performances she created and performed in schools, shopping malls, birthday parties and the Rainbow Puppet Theatre she helped found in Capetown. Estelle is now in her 90’s, a nonagenarian, and continues to share her love, warmth, humor, and enthusiasm for puppetry through her story aprons and her sweet little monkey hand puppet named Suzu. Estelle lives in Capetown, South Africa and she is an inspiration to all her know her.


Estelle is the author of several books including:

  • The Rainbow Puppet Theatre Book – 14 Plays (WECAN)

  • Movement for the Young Child a handbook for Kindergarten Teachers and Eurythmists (WECAN)

  • Advent and Christmas Stories (Hawthorne Press)

  • Whispey (Wynstones Press)

Films made by Green Renaissance about Estelle Bryer when she was 88: 

Because it Helps

Love Life

‘BE KIND’ - It’s The Size of Your Heart That Matters. (short clips of Estelle in the video)

Adola McWilliam

-honorary member since 2023

I was born in Amsterdam, Holland , in 1933. My father was Polish, my mother Dutch. They both were devoted anthroposophist’s. My father was a wonderful artist, composer, painter, writer. He gave lectures on Spiritual science. But also was a consul, to earn money. My mother was quiet and shy. Their marriage was a very happy one and harmonious. We had a happy childhood. I had a younger sister, Mila, very gifted musically and artistically. I lacked these gifts. She was also highly intelligent.

My father was transferred to France at the beginning of the Second World War. So we grew up in three languages, Dutch, Polish and French. I did my whole lower school in France. Later, back in the Netherlands I went to a Waldorf School. I loved it. I was very connected to all three countries and later also to Scotland.

As a child I was very connected to swans and still am to the image of the swan. I am now working on the puppet show of Lohengrin, with Hannah Hidson, she is the producer.

My main interest in life was the HUMAN BEING. I wanted to study medicine but instead ended up in Camphill Scotland and became a devoted student of Dr. Karl Koenig .

I gave my whole life to living with special needs children and later also adults. It was the gift of the special needs person that helped us understand what a human being is and how to build up Community. By living in Community, serving anthroposophy we prepare for the future, the 6th post Atlantean period.

I discovered the healing effects of puppets especially when working with Autistic children. The classical autistic person shies away from the light that we all shed as humans. The puppet has the human form and is brought to life by the puppeteer, it is an expression of what Rudolf Steiner calls the Spirit germ. And thus the whole world is opened up to the child by taking in a puppet show. Even if you use your own voice, it is screened by the puppet. I could have whole conversations with a severely autistic child via a puppet. It was a miraculous experience.

I married the only Scotsman that worked in Camphill at that time. We had three sons and moved to the United States. Later to start a Camphill initiative on the West coast of Canada.

So this is my life in short and my relation to puppetry.

 

Nancy Mellon, MA

-honorary member since 2022

Nancy Mellon, MA is a counselor, mentor and former Waldorf teacher whose work specializes in storytelling as a healing art which awakens the goodness, truth and beauty of the spoken and written word.  Beginning in the 1980’s Nancy began following the path of storytelling deep into physiological processes, pioneering new awareness of the relationship between language, imagination, and well-being. Nancy’s early interest with puppetry was inspired by puppeteer, Gisela Biddleston. Nancy offers many workshops and courses during the year.

Nancy is author of:

Please check out Nancy’s website http://www.healingstory.com for a delightful podcast series where Nancy speaks about the storytelling arts. Plus much more.