Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:17:42 -0800 (PST)
From: Caro Stewart <papusi_marionete-AT-yahoo.com>
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: [Puptcrit] No difference


Dear Rolande,

I do not know to answer your question; I was trained only by Romanian puppeteers. I read books about puppetry (mostly American, Canadian and English) and about four Romanian books and did not find differences in construction techniques or manipulation between European and US puppetry. Here you could find many new attractive construction materials, but still... it was proved that a sofisticated goodlooking puppet cannot always beat a scarf puppet if the last one has something to say while the first one doesn't. 
Never found anything about teacher twisting wrists in these books :O)))))
My personal opinion is that it does not matter the type of puppet training one gets; practice makes a better puppeteer. Puppetry is hard work and without practice one cannot get far in this field.
Here you could read a few words about that puppet master that I worked with. Her name is Aneta Forna Christu. 
http://www.theatre-centre.co.uk/show_details.asp?showID=33 
A few years ago, she got the Excellency award from UNIMA Romania for her entire activity in theater. In the same article there's another great artist that I worked with, Carmencita Brojboiu, and just yesterday I found out that she got a nomination for the best set and costume designer of the year from UNITER Romania (drama theater).
And... a question of my own: although the puppeteers are behind a screen, it seems to me that your Irish man of The Insect play is "powered" by two puppeteers. Am I right? 

There's no choice for me between being a rebel without a cause or a puppeteer, to comment on Mathieu's remarks. I do not mind having had a twisted wrist by a master puppeteer. These puppeteers were very modest, struggling from one paycheck to another, but passionate about puppetry. Hard not to trust dedicated artists like these. They could have killed me, or do whatever they wanted...because everything offered by the puppet theater was more interesting and more beautiful than perhaps being an accomplished but terribly bored accountant. The teachers knew better what we needed to learn, when we had to shut up. Sometimes for achieving goals we have to sacrifice our ego.
In 1991, we went to Charlesville Mezieres to the festival and an opulent and diverse artistic world opened then to me. I go beyond myself now to stay connected with this art form. Actually, I keep in touch with this lady and she offered to help me make my own puppet company in Romania. At the moment I'm a self-made puppet builder.
Later on I took and exam of aptitudes at the same theater were I was trained. They hired me and I quickly learned that if I wanted to have the privilege of working along with very experienced puppeteers, it was entirely my responsibility to do my best, "to sweat, suffer twist wrists (which happened during "Nutcracker") and shake" in order to maintain the value of the theater at the same level as it was before I was given a role :O) 

Regards,

Caro


       
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