From: Sophia Michahelles <sophia-AT-superiorconcept.org> Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:27:17 -0400 To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org Subject: [Puptcrit] Pageant Puppetry workshop in Italy Dear puptcritters, 8 years ago we started a midsummer procession in a near abandoned village in the Italian alps, basing all of the giant puppets, banners, lanterns and other elements directly on the stories told to us by the locals of a lifestyle and folklore swiftly disappearing. The procession has grown from involving the 6 year-round inhabitants of the village to over 200 people from neighboring villages who come celebrate this new tradition. New elements are added each year by international participants in a week-long workshop who bring their own skills to the event: the interest and artistic investment shown by outsiders in the village of Morinesio has created a sense of local pride and some hope of cultural continuity, in a region that was historically marginalized and overlooked. The workshop has acted as the foundation for the procession and village festa. Up until now, we have always had sufficient enrollment for the event to take place and remain fiscally viable, even as costs have risen. Unfortunately, this year the economic downturn has made an unprecedented and negative impact on our enrollment. Although a number of participants have signed up this year, we still need a few more to meet even the basic expenses and ensure that both the workshop and the procession will happen this summer. If you can, please help us spread the word to anyone you know who might be interested in a week in the Italian alps learning how to build large-scale puppets and creating a community-specific procession. Below is text you can forward with the appropriate website link. To learn more, please visit www.superiorconcept.org/Morinesio Thanks! Grazie! Sophia 8th ANNUAL PAGEANT PUPPETRY WORKSHOP IN THE ITALIAN ALPS Learn to create large-scale puppets and other visual elements for site-specific community pageant in close collaboration with local residents of a small hamlet in the Italian Alps. The project creates new works each year for the event, drawing on oral histories, local folklore, and regional agrarian rituals. After 8 years, the festival and workshop are still going strong, and are now a much anticipated neo-tradition in the Maira Valley. Beyond the basic workshop in pageant-building, the week includes Occitan step-dancing sessions, trips to nearby Medieval churches and cheese farms, and other unpredictable wonders. The gourmet meals (3/day) are prepared with local "Slow Food" produce. Families/children welcome, no Italian language or puppetry experience required. You can learn more through the Processional Arts Workshop website -AT- http:// www.superiorconcept.org/Morinesio ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sophia Michahelles Superior Concept Monsters www.superiorconcept.org _______________________________________________ List address: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org Admin interface: http://lists.puptcrit.org/mailman/listinfo/puptcrit Archives: http://www.driftline.org
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