{"id":551,"date":"2019-06-10T20:10:31","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T20:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/?page_id=551"},"modified":"2019-07-02T20:38:47","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T20:38:47","slug":"special-topic","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/special-topic\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Topic: The Art Form of Contemporary Puppetry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Guest Editors: Margareta S\u00f6renson<\/strong> and Jean-Pierre Han<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Margareta <\/strong>S\u00f6renson<\/strong>*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sacred or vulgar, preachy or entertaining, fine art or amateurism? World Heritage or contemporary art? Experimental, maybe? Puppetry, an art often neglected, marginalised and swept away into the children\u2019s toybox , still has its place within the vast landscape of performing arts, but is difficult to define. It is an elusive art. A hybrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The multi-layered history\nof puppetry seems to block the way we can talk about it; even the very\nterminology used \u201dimprisons\u201d it,  setting\nup barriers around an art form which from a historical viewpoint has been\nliterally everywhere, multiformed and elastic as the shadows described by Plato\nin ancient Greece. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the first generations of modernists in the Western world, artists have kept an inventive eye on the possibilities of puppetry. This special issue of Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques <\/em>will not deal with the fascinating history of puppetry, but will focus on its contemporaneity. Giant figures and tiny objects, body masks turning the puppeteer\/actor into a human figurine: puppetry might be seen as a sister of the plastic arts, an old grandmother of the technological solutions that our era of programming is offering. Not least, shadow theatre is as classical as it is contemporary, close to the seventh art form: cinema. In all forms of puppetry, anywhere in the globe, music and dance are vital elements on stage. It is, in fact, difficult to imagine puppets without music, stressing the movement, more or less dancing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s puppet artists are\nusually educated in conservatoires and universities specializing in puppetry.\nThey are encouraged to work with literature, with other art forms and make\npuppetry melt into the performing arts. In this special issue the reader will\nmeet writers who have been educated or are teaching at l\u2019Institut\nInternationale de la Marionette in Charleville-M\u00e9zi\u00e8res, France or in London’s\nRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama – two of many schools of great\nimportance for a young generation of puppet artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Popular culture and\npuppetry have always had a close relationship; the heritage of political satire\nfrom the days of Punch has continued into the era of Jim Henson and the\nMuppets. Today, the language of images is translated from comics into puppetry;\nand the distance between animated film and puppetry is diminishing more and\nmore – in fact puppet artists and their figures are often drafted in for more\nrealistic  motions in animated films.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there a risk that a\nspecial profession, centuries old, will be swept away by this new, general wave\nto integrate puppetry or at least puppets in \u201danything\u201d? The special skills of\nartists capable of handling marionettes with 18 strings or more – will they\nsurvive? We cannot know. Free arts have the right to pursue their own paths and\nmust be free to develop. At the moment we follow with great interest the\ntrajectory of the art form of puppetry and how this course affects the\nperforming arts as such. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what about the critics? It would be\nmost honest and simple to confess: far too many of us know far too little about\na theatrical form as rich, classic, daring and avantgarde. This special issue\nof Critical Stages<\/em> invites its\nreaders to gain a more profound  picture of contemporary puppetry.  It deserves it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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*Margareta S\u00f6renson<\/strong>, president of IATC, is a Swedish theatre and dance critic, and a writer and researcher in dance history. She has written for the daily national paper Expressen<\/em> since the early 1980s, and for the Swedish dance journal, Danstidningen<\/em>, in addition to writing a number of books on the performing arts, the latest on Mats Ek, with photographer Lesley Leslie-Spinks. Her special interests in dance and puppetry have often led her to the Asian classical stage arts and increased her curiosity about contemporary ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Th\u00e9\u00e2tre\nde marionnettes : quelques aper\u00e7us<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Jean-Pierre Han*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sacr\u00e9 ou\nprofane, didactique ou divertissant, est-ce un art savant ou une pratique\namateur ? Dans le vaste  paysage des arts\nde la sc\u00e8ne, l\u2019art de la marionnette, ou les arts de la marionnette, restent\ndifficiles \u00e0 d\u00e9finir, et sont souvent rel\u00e9gu\u00e9s dans la bo\u00eete \u00e0 joujoux des\nenfants, quand on ne les ignore pas compl\u00e8tement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comment parler\ndu th\u00e9\u00e2tre de la marionnette, de sa sp\u00e9cificit\u00e9 si elle existe, alors m\u00eame que\ncette forme de th\u00e9\u00e2tre a toujours historiquement \u00e9t\u00e9 \u00e9troitement m\u00eal\u00e9e aux\nautres arts de la sc\u00e8ne ? Est-ce un art autonome ou se coule-t-il dans la forme\nth\u00e9\u00e2trale au gr\u00e9 du bon vouloir des uns et des autres. Est-ce un art secondaire\nou mineur destin\u00e9 \u00e0 servir la \u201dnoble\u201d forme du th\u00e9\u00e2tre ? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On observera que\nles artistes du monde occidental moderne ne manquent pas d\u2019\u00eatre attentifs aux\nmultiples possibilit\u00e9s que leur offrent les arts de la marionnette que l\u2019on\npeine justement \u00e0 d\u00e9finir en raison de la multiplicit\u00e9 de ses manifestations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ce dossier consacr\u00e9 aux marionnettes n\u2019entend pas \u2013 ce serait un sujet bien trop vaste \u2013 parler de l\u2019histoire de la marionnette, mais pr\u00e9tend plus modestement mettre en exergue quelques-unes de ses manifestations contemporaines, ici et l\u00e0 de par le monde, lesquelles sont souvent et toujours \u00e9troitement li\u00e9es \u00e0 d\u2019autres disciplines artistiques comme la danse, la musique ou les arts plastiques. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quelle relation\nla marionnette entretient-elle avec les arts d\u2019aujourd\u2019hui comme le cin\u00e9ma, la\nvid\u00e9o, et autres nouvelles technologies ? Quelle relation entretient-elle  de nos jours avec la litt\u00e9rature et la BD par\nexemple ? Voil\u00e0 qui ajoute encore \u00e0 la difficult\u00e9 \u00e0 vraiment la saisir d\u2019autant\nque du th\u00e9\u00e2tre d\u2019ombres au th\u00e9\u00e2tre d\u2019objets, en passant par le th\u00e9\u00e2tre de\nmasque par exemple, avec ses techniques vari\u00e9es \u00e0 l\u2019infini, il n\u2019est gu\u00e8re ais\u00e9\nde l\u2019appr\u00e9hender d\u2019une mani\u00e8re homog\u00e8ne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ce qui est s\u00fbr\nen revanche, c\u2019est qu\u2019aujourd\u2019hui les marionnettes ont acquis, au prix d\u2019une\ns\u00e9v\u00e8re lutte, leur enti\u00e8re autonomie. On en a pour preuve le fait qu\u2019elle a\nd\u00e9velopp\u00e9 ses propres organismes de formation comme l\u2019Institut International de\nla marionnette de Charleville-M\u00e9zi\u00e8res en France ou a obtenu droit de cit\u00e9 dans\nles tr\u00e8s grandes \u00e9coles de th\u00e9\u00e2tre comme la London school of speech and drama\nen Grande-Bretagne, ou dans des Conservatoires d\u2019art dramatique, comme dans des\nInstituts d\u2019\u00e9tudes th\u00e9\u00e2trales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

L\u2019art de la\nmarionnette a l\u2019immense privil\u00e8ge de r\u00e9unir en son sein le populaire et le\nsavant, le grand et le petit, le minutieux et le sommaire, le raffin\u00e9 et le\ngrossier\u2026 : tout l\u2019univers en un mot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Une ultime question \u2013 si question il y a\n \u2013 concernant la position des critiques de spectacles vivants vis-\u00e0-vis\ndes arts de la marionnette. Force est de reconna\u00eetre les immenses lacunes de la\nplupart d\u2019entre nous dans ce domaine, aussi bien dans le secteur historique que\ndans le secteur contemporain. Nous esp\u00e9rons que ce petit dossier aidera \u00e0\nbriser les barri\u00e8res entre lesquelles on ins\u00e8re encore trop souvent le th\u00e9\u00e2tre\ndes marionnettes, surtout au regard de son \u00e9volution contemporaine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n\"\"\n\n\n\n

*Jean-Pierre Han<\/strong> : Journaliste et critique dramatique. A cr\u00e9\u00e9 la revue Frictions, th\u00e9\u00e2tres-\u00e9critures dont il dirige la r\u00e9daction. R\u00e9dacteur en chef des Lettres fran\u00e7aises. Collabore \u00e0 de nombreuses publications fran\u00e7aises et \u00e9trang\u00e8res. A enseign\u00e9 pendant quinze ans \u00e0 l\u2019IET de Paris III-Sorbonne nouvelle, \u00e0 Paris X, Universit\u00e9 d\u2019\u00c9vry. Ancien pr\u00e9sident du Syndicat de la critique de th\u00e9\u00e2tre, musique, danse. Vice-Pr\u00e9sident de l\u2019AICT (Association internationale des\ncritiques de th\u00e9\u00e2tre). Directeur des stages pour jeunes critiques. Derniers\nlivres parus Critique dramatique et alentours (Th\u00e9\u00e2tres-\u00c9critures), 2015, Roger\nVitrac : Portrait en \u00e9clats (Th\u00e9\u00e2tres-\u00c9critures), 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>\n

Tracing Shadows
On the Shadow Theatre Trail<\/a><\/p>\n

by Fabrizio Montecchi<\/a>, Special Topic<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>\n

Postcolonialism and Hybridity in British Puppetry<\/a><\/p>\n

by Cariad Astles<\/a>, Special Topic<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>\n

Voir double : Marionnette et bande dessin\u00e9e<\/a><\/p>\n

by Antonia Leney-Granger<\/a>, Special Topic<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>\n

Reconfiguring Being: Puppetry and Perspectives on Being Human Explored Through the Work of Ilka Sch\u00f6nbein<\/a><\/p>\n

by Janni Younge<\/a>, Special Topic<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>\n

A Fin de Si\u00e8cle<\/em> Life in Puppet Theatre: Roman Paska<\/a><\/p>\n

by James P. MacGuire<\/a>, Special Topic<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>\n

Dance and Puppet Theatre<\/a><\/p>\n

by Margareta S\u00f6renson<\/a>, Special Topic<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>\n

L\u2019influence du concept de marionnette dans le th\u00e9\u00e2tre japonais<\/a><\/p>\n

by Mariko Anazawa<\/a>, Special Topic<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>\n

Les Grenouilles d\u2019Aristophane face aux nouvelles technologies : Une proposition<\/a><\/p>\n

by Mariza Galani<\/a>, Special Topic<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a>\n

Directing and Puppetry in Contemporary Nigerian Theatre: A Study of the Production Final Draft<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

by Tekena Gasper Mark<\/a>, Special Topic<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest Editors: Margareta S\u00f6renson and Jean-Pierre Han Introduction Margareta S\u00f6renson* Sacred or vulgar, preachy or entertaining, fine art or amateurism? World Heritage or contemporary art? Experimental, maybe? Puppetry, an art often neglected, marginalised and swept away into the children\u2019s toybox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-551","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","","tg-column-two"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PaUXOT-8T","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1008,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/551\/revisions\/1008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}