Love of live theatre and love of puppetry came together when the late Gerda Pinter OAM and the late Kay Littler founded the Queensland Theatre of Puppetry (QTOP) in 1971. In the early years they had to show their creations at various locations around the Gold Coast but in 1974 the Gold Coast City Council included special facilities for puppetry in plans for a sound shell to be constructed at Macintosh Island Park, so giving QTOP a permanent home.
QTOP continues to be run by a dedicated group of volunteers and many of the puppets used today are the original handmade creations of Kay Littler. The theatre operates mostly glove and rod puppets with hooded puppeteers in black against a black background. However, the committee is seeking to broaden the skills of the puppeteers to include other forms of puppetry.
QTOP Executive Committee
President
Rita Monteith
Treasurer
June Bassett
Secretary
Marina Jacovou-Johnson
Publicity Officer
Vacant
PO Box 437 - Southport Qld 4215
ABN: 60 080 688 390
QTOP co-founder, the late Gerda Pinter with her glove puppet, Dalrymple