Imagination is the only limitation when bringing cloth, paper, glue and felt ears to life. Storybook Theatre invites young and old to participate in a puppet-making workshop this summer. Home of “Russell the Rooster Show,” Storybook Theatre is the premiere
Imagination is the only limitation when bringing cloth, paper, glue and felt ears to life. Storybook Theatre invites young and old to participate in a puppet-making workshop this summer. Home of “Russell the Rooster Show,” Storybook Theatre is the premiere creative learning center in theatrical arts on Kaua‘i, and the only school that offers classes in puppetry. With workshops offered in two unique techniques, Mark Jeffers, producer and director of the theater, plans to cast new characters from these sessions for his celebrated television show.
The first workshop will be conducted by Laurel Petterson and Jeffers on June 23. “We will be sharing our own ‘puppet recipes’ for the participants to follow in the creation of their own puppets,” writes Jeffers.
Learning to use foam to shape and sculpt hand-puppet animals or creatures will be the focus of this workshop — kids of all ages (especially those over 25) are encouraged to participate.
From Egypt to England, Vietnam to Finland, the art of the puppet is one of the oldest recorded “entertainments” of all civilization. Used to animate cultural mythology, bringing to life morality plays of God and of man, humans have energized the inanimate into engaging characters that can transmit the ethos of society through the veil of imagination. While puppetry has been shared through every advanced civilization, the unique styles and specific aesthetics are as diverse as the cultures that created them.
In the sand buried corridors of Egypt’s 4,000-year-old pyramids, hieroglyphics illustrate the historic performing of puppet shows. Two-dimensional wooden puppets, with sticks attached to hands and feet, indicate how ancient Egyptian religion was translated into visual passion plays by the people themselves. Akin to children who ‘play’ with dolls or soldiers, the art of puppetry echoes a psychological need to ‘practice life’ or communicate the real through the fantasy, and vice versa.
Vietnamese puppetry has a unique style derived from the tradition of rice farming. Green, flooded rice paddies cover the land from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, and wading in water is a vital aspect of farming the Asian food staple. Borne from this environment is the elegant and remarkable ‘water puppetry’ of Vietnam. A typical stage is made from a tank of water, where the puppets float and glide — like skaters on an ice rink — performing a story that relates to farming life and religious mysticism. Highly skilled puppeteers stand behind a curtain that grazes the surface of the water, wearing gaiters as they stand in the tank. Long sticks submerged under the water control the movement of the puppets, and elaborate choreography and live music allows for a water ballet of dragons, fishermen in boats, young women picking rice and families of ducks.
Masked drama in ancient Greece was a cornerstone of the high culture that formed Western civilization as we know it. The use of costume and mask and some hand-controlled puppetry allowed the complexities of psychology and philosophy to be digested by the wider population. Those “commoners” who would not have had access to Plato’s lectures at the Acropolis benefitted from the society’s vibrant theater. Masked performers were an evolutionary step in the art of the puppet — an ethereal authority was inherent in these “inhuman” actors whose disguises helped elevate the magic of make-believe.
In ancient Rome, puppeteering was left to the nomadic and marginalized Gypsy and Jewish communities, drawing large crowds whose prejudice couldn’t help but attract them to these interesting and talented strangers. Puppetry was adopted and developed to an artful stature in early Europe, and by the 1700s, marionettes and their masters were considered skilled craftsmen, used to illustrate Christian ethics. In fact, according to the Ballard Institute of Puppetry in Connecticut, the word ‘marionette’ refers to Mary, the mother of Jesus, often depicted during a medieval puppet show.
The Russian tradition in puppetry is among the most respected in the world. The State Central Puppet Theater in Moscow was founded in 1931 as an attachment to the Central House of Artistic Education of children and, from the very first days, was directed by the prominent Russian artist, actor, director, painter and literary man Serguei Obraztsov. The architectural ensemble comprises several buildings with a unique garden and a one-of-a-kind mechanical puppet clock. The Serguei Obraztsov Theatre has turned into the world’s biggest Centre of Puppet Show Art, where about 300 specialists currently work.
Contemporary American puppetry can claim some of the most creative and interesting artists working in theater — Jim Henson, Frank Oz and Julie Taymor among them. Henson’s Muppets were made famous by “Sesame Street,” and remain embedded in our cultural memory. With technological advancements in feature film, Frank Oz’s Yoda in George Lucas’ “Star Wars” is reminiscent of the sage-guru who imparts the mystic’s knowledge, harkening back to puppetry’s traditional role. Taymor’s study in Indonesian shadow Wayang Kulit puppetry and Japanese Bunraku influenced her work in Tony Award winning “The Lion King” and “Titus,” a film adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Titus Adronicus.”
The second workshop offered by Storybook Theatre, with special guest artist Kumu Mauliola Cook on Saturday, July 14, will focus on the traditional form of puppetry from our own Hawaiian culture. Called Hula Ki‘i, this is “Hawaiian style image puppets that are used with hula to tell stories,” writes Jeffers. “Each Hula Ki‘i puppet is made from a baby coconut that is costumed to become its own character.”
Jeffers encourages hula students to participate in this special workshop to expand Hawaiian cultural knowledge, and anyone else who is interested in local tradition.
Puppet auditions for new characters on “New Russell the Rooster Show” will follow the puppet making workshops on July 21 and Aug. 11. “The performances will be critiqued, ‘American Idol’ style, by a panel of illustrious local personages and the best puppeteers will be invited to perform for the show,” writes Jeffers.
To participate in one of the world’s most important and ancient forms of theater, call the Storybook Theatre in Hanapepe at 335-0712.
