Date: Sat, 3 Oct 2009 08:44:52 -0700
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Nightingale in Toronto: Lepage and Curry


In my experience actors are often poorer puppeteers than most because  
they focus on themselves a lot to rather then the puppet. Their ego  
gets in the way. There's a good reason why we see a lack of puppetry  
training in theater departments.. Actors don't want the competition.  
A good puppeteer allows the puppet find to itself and as a result the  
puppet takes the stage not you. I remember Alan Cook and I going to  
see Wayland Flowers and Madam with the express purpose of watching  
Wayland as we admired his technique. Madam wouldn't let us do that.  
She was not going  to be ignored.  Frank Paris, on the other hand  
wanted you to watch him and the puppet. That's why on the Muppet show  
the actors who were most successful working with puppet were those  
that accepted to puppet as an actor, a personality in its own right.  
Betty Davis was lost among the puppets because they upstaged her  
where as Milton Berle took them on as actors. Watch his inter action  
with Waldorf and Statler. They always got the better of him and he  
used that to upstage them. Gorden Craig was right when he theorizes  
on the Ubermarionette. I saw one of Curry's  early extravaganzas  
without benefit of Julie Taymor's ideas and the puppets were  
marvelous but without content.  He has learned something since those  
days. The opera puppets are really expressive. I have done four  
baroque puppet operas with the Carters an I was always amazed at how  
much the singers learn from the puppets in terms of expressing their  
characters vocally. They would sing and coordinate with them  
unconsciously as they watched them.

Bruce Chessé







On Oct 3, 2009, at 5:38 AM, Hobey Ford wrote:

> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGu_mwN8v3A&feature=player_embedded
>
> Yes Bruce your right, Curry says in the youtube link, that he "doesn't
> use puppeteers".  That is an odd statement. He says he prefers the
> actors and dancers,  .  I have heard statements along these lines from
> Julie Taymor as well.  I do think actors and dancers can be wonderful
> puppeteers, but  I think it is unfair to assume that "puppeteers"
> aren't qualified to operate puppets in the big leagues of theater.
> Its a pretty broad assumption.  "Puppeteers" as a group range from
> novice to expert.  It is the same with any artform.  Orchestras don't
> hire dancers because there are novice musicians.  Curry and Taymor
> have done alot for the artform of puppetry, but their careers wouldn't
> exist without the artform and all of "Us" who have brought it down
> through the ages.  They didn't invent it after all.  They seem to
> almost snub puppeteers saying things like that.
>
>
> On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 8:36 PM, Bruce K. Chesse
> <brucec-AT-chesseartsltd.com> wrote:
>> Yeh,
>>
>> But I don't know about puppeteers not acting. He doesn't seem to be
>> the puppeteers friend.
>> On Oct 2, 2009, at 5:32 PM, Mathieu René wrote:
>>
>>> I'll try to go see it!
>>>
>>> Curry's work is amazing, and I've never seen any of his creations
>>> up close.
>>>
>>> Thanks a lot for letting us know, Jamie.
>>> I do hope you go see the opera, and write us a few words about it!
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