File spoon-archives/puptcrit.archive/puptcrit_1999/puptcrit.9908, message 439


Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 23:24:53 +0000
Subject: PUPT: Try out this theory... something for everyone
From: "Robert Smythe" <78rsmythe-AT-andover.edu>


Okay. Here's something that I have found works as far as a methodology for
talking about puppetry.

This was advanced to me by Jean-Claude Laportier of Coatimundi while in
Seattle. We have talked about teaching puppetry for a long time and once he
brought this up nothing else made as much sense.

I must also say that Bart Roccoberton says that Albrecht Roser also uses
this idea to talk about puppetry.

Now, try it yourself.

Think of puppetry like music. Literally. 

There is a performer, an instrument and material to be played.

The performer could be quite skilled, or quite artistic; hopefully both.

The instrument should be appropriate to the skill of the performer and/or
the material to be performed.

The piece to be performed is the bridge between the performer and the
audience. It should be appropriate to the skill of the performer and reflect
the performer's artistic sensibilities as well as the performer's ability to
choose material appropriate to time, place, people.

We have all seen performances by people who are technically skilled yet have
no soul. 

We have seen beautiful instruments as well as plain ones but have no way of
knowing their value until we hear them. (Think of the piano sitting in the
living room, mute until someone who knows how, calls forth Chopin, Bach or
Joplin and not "Chopsticks.")

Perhaps you've seen the PBS specials that showcase great performers
assembled in fantastic surroundings to play the work of... John Tesch.
Children can play Mozart on a kazoo and it's still Mozart. Itzhak Perlman
can play Mozart on a kazoo and it's pretty damn good. Give the man a
Stradivarius and stand back.

What's the point here?

I think that puppetry often looks at the instrument and little else. Imagine
a Steinway set center stage. Someone comes out and depresses the keys and we
ooh and ahh about the smooth action of the hammers, the beauty of the ebony.
We applaud, get up and go home. 

Yet, often, in the current state of puppetry, we expect little more of a
puppet performance than just that. Give us an instrument, super-engineered
if possible, and that's all we need. Given our choice of harpsichord we'll
take the one with the mother-of-pearl inlay over the Shaker-plain model,
thank you, without asking who's playing and what. We celebrate the
technician who can completely tame the monster he has created. Rarely, if
ever, is there a discussion of the effect of all of this. 

When we read of the heartfelt reactions to new music (either today or at any
time past) they rarely focus on the tools or skills of the operators: the
attention is paid to the emotional reaction to the intellectual material
presented. We take for granted that the flutist could play the flute or that
the harp has all those strings. What is the most common reaction by
puppeteers to a puppet performance? What are we teaching our audiences to
look for? 

So, when we talk about puppetry let's try this:

Realize that we can teach the skills that a puppeteer might require but all
the discipline in the world will not make an artist out of a sow's ear. 

Realize that the luthier may not be the best player on his own violin, but
that the virtuoso should seek out the best instrument s/he can find. If that
instrument is plain or ornamented, well-made or spontaneous, all that it is
important is that it bring pleasure to the performer as it is used. 

Above all, realize that none of this matters unless what is being
communicated to the audience is worthy of the talents of the performer, the
sensitivity of the instrument and the time and attention of the audience.

I like this idea because it is incredibly inclusive. If you feel really
comfortable playing a gorgeous instrument and feel that your skills and
talents are up to the challenge, great. But, are you playing "Chopsticks"?


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