Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2004 09:42:50 -0800 (PST)
From: Gretchen Van Lente <gretchen-AT-dramaofworks.com>
Subject: Re: PUPT: Re: Thoughts on Avenue Q


I totally agree. But, I think I'd reiterate - "to each his own." I fell in love with puppetry for use in the larger theatrical make-up. How it can be used to tell a story using metaphor, theme and manipulation, as a tool for making performance art. Not how well-made and intricate a marionette can be. I will prefer Paul Zaloom making a profound statement with a milk carton he found in the trash over a beautiful-well-crafted cabaret act any day. But again - "to each his own" - this is simply my preference. And I think that's important - puppetry is a wide and expansive art encompassing many different facets from each far side of the spectrum. There are those that choose to focus on the instrument: the design, building and mechanism of the puppet itself. And there are those that focus on the musicality: the notes, dynamics and performance. You might say the greatest puppetry pieces are those that focus equally on both, but again - "to each his own." Sometimes the instrument just isn't
 as important, and sometimes the musicality isn't. It depends on what is right for the specific piece.
 
My 8 cents.
- Gretchen

Robert Smythe <robertsmythe-AT-mumpuppet.org> wrote:
> Yes Robert, true. But the big difference between puppeteers and 
> musicians
> is that the puppeteer has to design a new set of instruments for every 
> new
> work. Can you imagine if Vivaldi had to write the music and then 
> design and
> build the quartet of string instruments to play it on?
>

This is true of classical music, yes, but in today's world of sampling 
and electronic music, percussion and advances in modern music, there 
are many musicians today who are creating the instruments they need to 
play the music they hear inside their heads. Puppetry is not unique in 
this. People have made music out of instruments they have made 
themselves, whether it is reeds, washbasins or rubber bands strung over 
cigar boxes. Today technology has caught up to the needs of many 
musicians so they no longer need to possess the skills of a luthier 
just to hear the tune they want to create.

It is also true that many puppeteers use the instruments that already 
exist, whether they build themselves or buy them from others, to create 
new work. The composer of Gurenlieder (I think it is Wagner) included a 
note for the flute that is not found on the standard instrument and so 
today when it is played the flautist must construct an instrument to 
play it. Percussion players in many orchestras are called upon to 
create instruments to create certain sounds and pianos have been 
"prepared" for decades to give certain sounds. And let's not forget the 
Theremin, dating back to the '20's.

There are many puppeteers who believe that they must have the skills of 
a master cabinetmaker/sculptor before they can begin to explore the 
performance side of puppetry, and that every new production requires 
building a new set of instruments. By limiting the idea of puppetry to 
the creation of the object, I believe puppetry is not making the 
contributions to the larger world of theater that it can and should.

If we look a puppeteer who made huge contributions to the larger world 
of performance, Jim Henson, I think it is possible to consider the 
Muppets as a collection of ready-made instruments with known 
characteristics, voices, qualities, etc., each played/performed by 
someone who knows how to bring out nuances of performance based on 
their own talents and their interaction with other players, their 
relationship to their instrument and their understanding of the 
material they are playing.

Why does it seem so hard to accept that puppetry might have a lot in 
common with other performance forms?


Robert Smythe
Artistic Director
Mum Puppettheatre
115 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
T: 215.925.7686
F: 215.922.5184

robertsmythe-AT-mumpuppet.org
http://www.mumpuppet.org



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