From: Rolande Duprey <puppetpro-AT-aol.com>
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:17:38 -0400
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] moving statues


Thanks, Robert.

But, my point is, actors and puppeteers have a lot more in common than  
not. If it were not for my "acting", I probably would not be a  
puppeteer.

There's a book called "Acting is Believing"  -- and this, too, is what  
puppeteers can do:  The first step towards animating an object is  
believing it is real, that is has breath, and can express character.

It is so difficult to express all of these interconnections that  
puppeteers and good actors can bring to the table. I'm talking about  
that quality of creativity that children and artists have....

Sometimes I think that when a puppeteer/storyteller is in full view  
with the puppet, the audience's focus is split: you need to read into  
the puppet what the performer does -- and vice versa.

It is not the type of disassociation as we see in ventriloquism, which  
boosts the presence of the performer equal to that of the object  
(probably due to the needs of verbal communication).  --   
Nevertheless, the style has that same quality. The performer  
(puppeteer/storyteller/actor) is a guide, allowing the audience to  
understand the character of the object.

I am presently re-mounting an older show with a new person playing the  
part I played.

Thankfully, the new puppeteer is a creative one, and I am seeing much  
more in it than when I did it myself. There will always be differences  
-- after all, no two performers are exactly alike.

In this production, the puppeteers are not visible. So, the presence  
of the objects/ puppets must be elevated, the manipulation more  
planned, practiced, etc. The shadow scene is a totally different idea  
-- it is more like a living painting, and one must understanding  
composition as well as movement and character...

Ultimately, however, we are people moving statues. Some of the statues  
are articulated. Some are not.


Rolande








On Apr 21, 2008, at 8:58 AM, robertrogers-AT-robertrogerspuppets.com wrote:

> I think that you are a person who was trained to give the illusion  
> of life
> to otherwise inanimate objects.  You are doing more than just moving  
> them
> about.
>
> Robert
>
>> Who am I but an actor that moves 3d statues?
>>
>> Rolande
>>
>>
>> On Apr 21, 2008, at 7:27 AM, robertrogers-AT-robertrogerspuppets.com  
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I know that some will disagree with me, but I don't consider that
>>> puppetry.  It looked like a terrific production, and the fact that  
>>> the
>>> actor performed with a live musical ensemble made it even more
>>> impressive,
>>> but it's still mainly about a storyteller moving 2 dimensional
>>> statues.
>>>
>>> Robert Rogers
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
>>> Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit
>>> Archives: http://www.driftline.org
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
>> Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit
>> Archives: http://www.driftline.org
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
> Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit
> Archives: http://www.driftline.org

_______________________________________________
List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit
Archives: http://www.driftline.org