tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136106502024-02-08T16:19:55.830+11:00PUPPETRY NEWS BLOGGaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.comBlogger594125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-76887766603625651712018-01-20T21:34:00.002+11:002018-01-20T21:34:47.247+11:00'The Odyssey' in Singapore<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/251738231?byline=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br />
I have just returned from an inspiring two-weeks in Singapore, during which I worked on a production of Homer's <b><span style="color: #990000;">"The Odyssey"</span></b>, which involved the students of Tanglin Trust High School drama department. Using acting, dance, music, puppetry and shadow theatre, the students pulled out all stops to pull together a beautiful modern production of this ancient Greek tale.<br />
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During my time at the school, I began by familiarising the students with paper puppetry and teaching breathing techniques and movement. This gave them a good grounding to start working with the puppets which we designed and they built during the very short time available. As we planned to use shadow puppetry in the show and were not allowed to use my usual halogen lights, due to the heat and danger to the children, we experimented with LED technology and found particularly great LED torches. I used <a href="https://www.fenix-store.com/fenix-fd45-led-flashlight/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">FENIX FD45</span></b> </a>rotary focusing lights of 900 Lumens, which has five brightness settings and was brilliant to replace my hot electrical halogen lighting for shadow puppetry. It can also be changed from spotlight to floodlight (ideal for shadow puppetry.<br />
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In December I was fortunate enough to have participate once again, for the third year running, in the Youth and Children's Festival in Hamedan, Iran. This was followed by running a few spectacular workshops at the University of Tehran.<br />
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The next tours planned are at an Arts Festival in Shanghai, China in March, followed by a South African tour in May, after which more animation will begin in our brand new studios in Melbourne, Australia. So watch this space!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #990000;">PS. </span></b>We are currently taking bookings for our International Schools' Tours in 2019. If you are interested to find out more, <b><a href="http://garyfriedmanproductions.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">click here!</span></a></b></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-87111423047538774282016-10-27T17:56:00.007+11:002016-10-27T17:56:57.895+11:00Build That Wall Film<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GCMDyYJAWJg?rel=0" width="500"></iframe><br />
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It has been over six months time since I've written a post and much has happened this year. Probably the most significant has been my transition into stop-motion animation, which is a huge learning curve, even for an experienced puppeteer.<br />
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I have been dabbling in film for quite a few years now, but even that didn't prepare me for the journey upon which I now embark. Although completely fascinating, it's daily learning new techniques, especially in the dramatic film genre and here I believe I need to acknowledge my cinematographic guru, <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.sdsimage.com.au/" target="_blank"><b>Sidat de Silva</b></a>,</span> who's been patiently guiding me through the learning process, even though he's based in Sydney and I'm in Melbourne.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://buildthatwallfilm.com/" target="_blank">'Build That Wall'</a> </span></b>is my second short-animation film (the first was <span style="color: blue;"><b><a href="http://www.garyfriedmanproductions.com/animation.html" target="_blank">"Je Suis Punch!</a></b>"</span> featured below) and it took our group four months to complete, what turned out to be a four-minute film. That's a minute a month. Why so long? I believe the answer lies in the fact that when you are shooting stop-motion, you are working with twenty-four frames a second and this is a huge amount of still images that get put together to make your film.<br />
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Even though my animation software only shoots twelve frames per second, which we double-up to make twenty-four, it's still huge. This means on a good day, you can never really shoot more than fifteen seconds and that's a lot of shooting in an eight to ten hour day.<br />
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So my team and I began the production with a rough concept of researching "walls, barriers, borders and boundaries" a subject which has been fascinating me over the past year or two. And then came the shocking 'Trump phenomenon' and his talk about <b><i>'building a wall'</i></b> which has every intelligent 'thinking' person is a state of complete shock, as to how any human being could possibly support such total incompetence and lack-of-caring for his fellow beings. I guess some people supported 'Hitler' in 1933?<br />
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As much as we tried to get media coverage in Australia, the media rejected our calls, but the Hillary campaign really liked the film and<b><span style="color: #990000;"> <a href="http://www.humanityforhillary.com/" target="_blank">'Humanity for Hillary' </a></span></b>are launching it on their channels on Friday 28 October at 5pm (New York time).<br />
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So in short, the result is a four-minute film (<i>above</i>) and a <span style="color: #cc0000;">'</span><b><a href="http://www.buildthatwallfilm.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Build That Wall' website</span></a></b>, where you can view <b>'Behind the Scenes'</b> and <b>'The Trailer' </b>by <b><a href="http://buildthatwallfilm.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">clicking here</span>.</a></b><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-17136913323865230042016-03-20T23:25:00.003+11:002016-03-20T23:25:42.752+11:00World Puppetry Day 2016<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/159599731?title=0&byline=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe>
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Je Suis Punch!' </b></span>is a film we just completed for <b>'World Puppetry Day 2016' </b>as a special dedication to to the freedom of expression in our world and the two young Spanish puppeteers, Alfónso Lázaro de la Torre and Raul García Pérez, who recently spent five days in a Madrid prison and stand accused of <i>“glorifying terrorism”</i> for their radical ‘Punch and Judy’ street show.<br />
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On this <b>‘World Puppetry Day 2016’</b> - We, the puppeteers of the world are speaking out for free speech and freedom of expression internationally!<br />
You can also view a one-minute short 'making of'<span style="color: #990000;"><b> 'Je Suis Punch! </b></span><b><a href="https://vimeo.com/159318344" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here!</span></a></b><br />
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For more information, see: <b>www.thepuppetandthepower.com</b> and <b>www.garyfriedmanproductions.com</b><br />
<b>#Libertad Titiriteros </b><br />
<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Happy World Puppetry Day to all our readers and supporters!</span></b><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-68333278387589438562016-02-09T22:39:00.004+11:002016-02-09T22:46:50.704+11:00Continuation of the Spanish Saga...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abajo Puppet Troupe</td></tr>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The story is finally becoming a little more clear! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Two young Spanish puppeteers Alfónso Lázaro de la Torre and Raul García Pérez, who trained at the Pepe Otal Workshop in Barcelona, are spending their fifth day in a Madrid prison.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was taken to visit the <b><a href="https://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.tallerdemarionetas.org/eltaller.html&prev=search"><span style="color: #990000;">Workshop of the late-Pepe Otal</span></a></b>, in Barcelona last November by my friend Toni Rumbau. It is a sacred space that has provided a venue for artists and puppeteers to explore their creativity in the centre of Barcelona, since the great Spanish puppeteer, underground anarchist, Otal founded it in 1975.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s important to understand the political landscape in Madrid right now to fully comprehend why these young puppeteers were incarcerated. There is a rather radical situation between the left and right wing parties in Madrid. Right wing members of the public are fighting tooth and nail against the left-wing government, which now controls the city. So it certainly looks as if the puppeteers have become pawns in a rather complex political war. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The politics in Madrid are tense and this puppet fiasco seems to be the type of distraction the right wing needs to shift the attention off their own behaviour.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The team were booked by the Madrid City Hall to participate in the Madrid Carnival with their rather unique version of the traditional “Don Cristobal and the Witch” - first written by the twentieth-century Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The characters include an anarchist radical Punch & Judy, not suitable for children. This was apparently made clear by the puppeteers to their audience in the streets of Madrid before their performance took place last Friday. </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The controversy began when one of the puppets held up an ‘ETA’ poster during the performance. Apparently this prop was used by the ‘police’ characters to frame the ‘witch’ - an innocent, but apparently foolish attempt to get the ‘witch’ character arrested by the ‘police’.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some members of the audience called the local police. The reasons are unclear at present: It may have been due to differences in political ideology; a mere misunderstanding of the satyrical nature of the plot or a confusion in comprehending the script (puppeteers used a ‘swazzle’, a voice changing device, giving the characters high pitched, and sometimes incomprehensible voices)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Spanish judge immediately threw the puppeteers into prison, with no option of bail - just as, in the Punch & Judy show. How ironic that the exact same scenario now gets played out in real life! For the judge to take this serious action is quite ludicrous. It’s as bad as sentencing Punch to prison for killing his baby - something he has traditionally done, time and time again, for hundreds of years. </span></span><br />
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Our thanks to Toni Rumbau and <a href="http://www.titeresante.es/"><span style="color: #990000;">Titeresante</span> </a>in Spain for the updates)
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Don't forget</span></b>: <span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 18.48px;">There is a petition on </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 18.48px;">FaceBook in Spanish</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; line-height: 18.48px;">, which calls for the immediately release of the two Spanish puppeteers. You can find it </span><a href="https://www.change.org/p/audiencia-nacional-manuela-carmena-ayuntamiento-de-madrid-libertad-sin-cargos-para-los-artistas-de-t%C3%ADteres-desde-abajo/u/15358694" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>here!</b></span></a></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-5461249309171932832016-02-09T14:15:00.004+11:002016-02-09T14:15:38.018+11:00Spanish puppeteers jailed for glorifying terrorism<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free the puppeteers campaign in Spain</td></tr>
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Two puppeteers in Spain have reportedly been jailed, charged with<i><b> “glorifying terrorism”</b></i> during a children’s show in Madrid. Alfonso Lazaro de la Fuente and Raul Garcia Perez were arrested after staging a show featuring the hanging of an effigy of a judge, the stabbing of a nun with a crucifix and several police beatings, according to reports.<br />
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The two puppeteers were detained without possibility of bail Friday for using a sign saying, "Long Live Alka ETA," in a word-play reference to Spain's armed Basque group ETA and al Qaeda.<br />
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<b>The Puppet Play of Don Cristóbal </b>(Retablillo de Don Cristóbal) is a play for puppet theatre by the twentieth-century Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1931 and was first performed on 11 May 1935 at the Book Fair in Madrid, in a performance in which Lorca operated the puppets himself. Don Cristóbal is a kind of Punch character, who also appears in García Lorca's earlier puppet play, The Billy-Club Puppets (written in 1931).</div>
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I have only been exposed to limited information about this curious case. Let me add that this is certainly not the first time this type of arrest has taken place in Europe in recent years. As our world moves closer to the right, freedom of expression is loosing it's power and this is exactly the reason I have been covering these type of events in my documentary film,<span style="color: #990000;"> <b><a href="http://www.thepuppetandthepower.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">'The Puppet and The Power'</span> </a></b></span>(currently still in production).</div>
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I shall certainly get in touch with sources closer to the story in Spain later today and keep readers posted as the story unfolds.</div>
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In the meanwhile, you can find more reports on this story in the media, <b><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/spanish-puppeteers-charged-with-glorifying-terrorism-in-show-a6859121.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a></b> and <b><a href="https://www.thespainreport.com/articles/622-160206151633-madrid-sacks-carnaval-managers-after-infants-puppet-show-depicts-murder-rape-hanging"><span style="color: red;">here.</span></a></b></div>
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There is a petition on <b>FaceBook in Spanish</b>, which calls for the immediately release of the two Spanish puppeteers. You can find it <a href="https://www.change.org/p/audiencia-nacional-manuela-carmena-ayuntamiento-de-madrid-libertad-sin-cargos-para-los-artistas-de-t%C3%ADteres-desde-abajo/u/15358694" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>here!</b></span></a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-59494790045359626172016-01-29T15:35:00.004+11:002016-01-29T15:35:49.955+11:00Liz Swados - musician, playwright & puppetry activist dies<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Rachel Stern, director/ screenwriter Elizabeth Swados, and Sigourney Weaver attend HBO's "My Depression: The Up And Down And Up Of It" Premiere during the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.</span></td></tr>
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It feels very strange indeed to be writing a piece about a family legend, music composer, writer, theatre director and puppeteer who I never personally met, even though she was my cousin.<br />
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<a href="http://lizswados.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Elizabeth Swados</b> </span></a>made her mark on the New York theatre scene very early in her career, probably when she was employed by Peter Brook, to accompany the African expedition of <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conference_of_the_Birds" target="_blank">'<span style="color: #351c75;">Conference of the Birds'</span> </a></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">across the continent in late-1972. <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">In 1980, Julie Taymor (of 'The Lion King' fame) designed scenery, costumes, puppets and masks for Swados’ adaptation of the Passover story in </span><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Haggadah</em><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">, which she staged and composed music to a text by future Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel. </span><em style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jerusalem</em><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"> was an oratorio using poems by the Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai.</span></span><br />
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You can certainly read a wealth of information on the life and work of couz Liz online and there is a really great film interview with her called<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcNy_S7RRnU" target="_blank"> '<span style="color: #990000;">Women in Theatre' here</span></a></b><span style="color: #990000;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But I would really like to discuss briefly my own journey and how I discovered my far-away cousin, Elizabeth Swados, the woman I never met. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I was a young boy of about eight, living under the shadow of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, I was already performing puppet shows for the neighbours and doing charity performances. One evening I remember so well, my late-Uncle Louis arriving for dinner at our home with a guest from New York. He turned out to be a mutual cousin and a well-know author of many books on the Alexander Technique and </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.4px;">Tai Chi, which </span></span><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="line-height: 22.4px;">apparently</span></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.4px;"> he also taught to students at the New York City Ballet.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.4px;"><span style="color: #252525;">After dinner, I was asked if I would perform a short puppet piece for Edward, which I believe I did. He then informed me about our mutual thespian cousin, Liz Swados and her work. And my fascination had begun. When I found myself in New York quite a few years later, working with the late-Jim Henson who assisted me set up our </span><b><a href="http://www.garyfriedmanproductions.com/puppets-against-aids.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">'Puppets Against Aids'</span></a></b><span style="color: #252525;"> trust and raise some initial funding, I did try get hold of Liz, but was never successful. Over the years I tried again on various occasions, but still never managed to make the connection. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Swados and Maisel family </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.4px;">And now you has left us dear Couz Liz. Although I am so sorry I never got to personally connect with you, I was still a great fan from afar and will remain so during my limited visit to this physical world and I still do hope to reconnect at some point in some </span></span><span style="color: #252525;"><span style="line-height: 22.4px;">distant</span></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.4px;"> galaxy.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #252525; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.4px;">The New York Times wrote a great </span></span><span style="color: #252525; line-height: 22.4px;">obituary</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 22.4px;"><span style="color: #252525;"> for Liz, which you can find </span><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/arts/elizabeth-swados-creator-of-socially-conscious-musicals-is-dead-at-64.html?_r=0" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></b></span></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-2654137120924587112015-12-09T16:58:00.001+11:002015-12-09T16:58:35.979+11:00Long awaited update (Part Two)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr05WGhVsYd4jCCsT1eSDusgUy4K-iuAckaqIzR53Y9nKOQRFSX10DToEJcTHgnxA64MjSCQdR8CymcxYzTjo7xV8_s8iBXz7opbFMYTuB-w3lA6g8kmlWzTmsyp7-dYzBOJKc/s1600/Guignols3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr05WGhVsYd4jCCsT1eSDusgUy4K-iuAckaqIzR53Y9nKOQRFSX10DToEJcTHgnxA64MjSCQdR8CymcxYzTjo7xV8_s8iBXz7opbFMYTuB-w3lA6g8kmlWzTmsyp7-dYzBOJKc/s400/Guignols3.jpg" width="400" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Part Two of my Journey - Europe</span></b><br />
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From Istanbul, I flew to Paris to continue my exploration of<b><a href="http://www.canalplus.fr/c-humour/pid1784-c-les-guignols.html" target="_blank"> <span style="color: #990000;">'Les Guignols de L'Info'</span></a></b>, the story behind the Canal + daily puppet satire, which I started shooting a year ago. As you are well aware, the past year's events in Paris have been crazy, starting with the <b>Charlie Hebdo</b> massacre. More recently Canal + was purchased by French billionaire, Vincent Bolloré, a close friend of Nicolas Sarkozy.<br />
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Since taking over, Mr Bolloré has let it be known that he wanted to abolish the nightly<b> 'Les Guignols'</b> because he did not like “mockery”. He began by firing the Guignols' three head writers and appointed new 'secret' writers of his own choosing. Now the show has been schedule to re-open on 14 December, but the show will now be screened during 'encrypted time', whereas over the past 26 years, since the broadcast began, it has been shown before the 8 o'clock news in 'open-time'.<br />
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Last year I interviewed Bruno Gaccio, the original co-producer of Les Guignols series and was hoping to re-interview him on the dramatic changes taken place in France, but due to the drama in Canal + impending new 'censorship laws, this was not to be. However, I did interview two others involved in the series, who were at more liberty to speak out about the recent events.</div>
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From Paris, I flew to Berlin, to continue my interviews and coverage for my film. Thereafter I travelled to Belfast and Derry to get the backstory behind a fascinating theatrical performance and documentary film on <b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36RUHJGRYSA" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">Theatre of Witness</span></a> </span></b>at The Derry Playhouse. </div>
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In South Africa, two years ago, I interviewed puppeteer and director, Aja Marneweck, about her work with Theatre of Witness in Northern Ireland. Aja was involved in <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36RUHJGRYSA" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">'Release</span>'</a></b>, a production in which five men tell their stories of war and devastation in the troubles in Belfast and Derry. After her powerful work with these men, using paper puppets to help their story, I realised that I would have to go and find out more about these men and their stories for myself. In Belfast I met Paddy McCoey, the performer/puppeteer in the show, who took me on a journey through Belfast and Derry explaining the political situation and how it related directly to their stories. </div>
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I later flew back to Berlin to meet up with Jameel, a theatre director from Aleppo in Syria. Jameel produced three powerful series of highly courageous online hand puppet performances on You Tube, <span style="color: #990000;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/MasasitMati" target="_blank"><b>'Top Goon</b>'</a>,</span> reflecting the political crisis in Syria today. </div>
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Given the cruelty the Syrian people face in their struggle for freedom, satire and black comedy allow them to voice the collective pain and grief while expressing their ultimate determination to live.</div>
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Since the very beginning of the uprising, Masasit Mati’s show has mocked Bashar al-Assad, portraying him not as a bloody dictator, but rather as childish, often insane, a puppet figure suitable for ridicule. They have sought to strip the carefully crafted image of the dictator as a god. But Assad is not the only target. All aspects of the Syrian revolution are examined and satirised, including the political and armed opposition.</div>
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So these were just a few of the stories I discovered and filmed during my almost two-month adventure in the Middle East and Europe. I do believe the shooting is finally completed. If you would like to hear more and eventually view the film, you'll have to keep posted to this blog.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-21579188623830161022015-12-09T15:24:00.003+11:002015-12-09T16:59:13.869+11:00Long awaited update (Part One)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster from Tehran Workshops, November 2015</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Part One of my Journey - Iran and Turkey</span></b><br />
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If I had to mention that this trip around the planet was the most inspiring and productive journey I have ever taken, you'd say <i>"But you say that every time you travel, which is too often!"</i>. Well it's true in a way, but my adventure which took me to Israel, Iran, Turkey, France, Germany, England and Northern Ireland was mind-blowing to say the least.
I was invited to participate in the <b>22nd International Theatre Festival for Young People</b> in Hamedan in early October. What struck me the most about being in Iran, especially after the warnings I had received about the dangers of Iran by people in the west, was the hospitality and friendliness of people I came across throughout the country.
During the Hamedan festival I presented workshops for actors, teachers and academics, using my time-honoured technique of paper performance. After the festival, I was invited to conduct another workshop and lecture at <b>The Actors Centre in Tehran</b>.
The main aim of the journey was to complete the filming of the stories for my documentary film <a href="http://www.garyfriedmanproductions.com/the-pilot.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #990000;">'The Puppet and The Power'</span></b>,</a> after two-years of shooting around the world.
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<b>Karagöz </b>(<i>meaning blackeye in Turkish</i>) and Hacivat (<i>shortened in time from "Hacı İvaz" meaning "İvaz the Pilgrim", and also sometimes written as Hacivad</i>) are the lead characters of the traditional Turkish shadow play, popularized during the Ottoman period and then spread to most nation states that comprised the Ottoman Empire and most prominently in Turkey and Greece.<br />
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In Bursa we first visited the Karagöz Museum and soon after met up with an old friend, Haluk Yuce, who is a Karagöz master from Ankara. I interviewed him at the famous tomb of Karagöz, across the road from the museum. He revealed some secrets of the 'black-eyed hunchback' which I had never previously discovered. The purpose for the interview and coverage of Karagöz, was that you can never really touch on the social and political aspects of traditional Middle-Eastern and European puppetry traditions, without discovering all the hidden secrets in the entire family, which extends from Petrouchka in Russia to Aragoz in the Middle East.<br />
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Earlier in Hamadan I had also interviewed another friend and Russian <i>'<b>Petrouchka</b>'</i> master, Alexander Gref of the Vagrant Puppet Booth from Moscow. I had already filmed Alexander'sVertep performance in Charleville-Mézières, France last November. Vertep is a portable puppet theatre predominantly from Ukraine and Russia, which presents the nativity scene and other mystery plays. This year I had the privilege of shooting Alexander's performance of the popular Russian hero, 'Petrouchka' the stock character of 17th century Russian folk puppetry, which Alexander performed in the streets of Hamadan.<br />
[To view the original Blog in <b><span style="color: #990000;">Puppetry Films</span></b>, <b><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/blog" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">click here</span></a>!</span></b>]<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #4c1130;">To be continued in Part Two ....</span></i></b><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-81981409348371749962015-08-31T18:26:00.006+10:002015-08-31T18:26:59.122+10:00Producing new online Puppetry Tutorials<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/128478579" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="448"></iframe>
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A series of new tutorials and workshop films are currently in production for our new website, <a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;"><b>Puppetry Films</b></span></a>. These films, in both the <a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/film-rentals.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>paid</b></span></a> and <a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/free-content.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>free sections</b></span></a>, are being developed by our tutors across the globe to cater to the requests by puppeteers and students who have indicated, in a recent survey that their specifixc interests include: <b>The Fundamentals of Puppetry</b>; <b>Bringing a puppet to life for the first time</b>; <b>Glove puppetry</b>; <b>marionette theatre</b>; <b>directing for the Puppet Theatre</b>; <b>Puppetry for TV construction</b> and <b>Puppetry for TV manipulation and directing</b>. If you are interested by any of the above topics, <b><a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/tutorials-survey.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">click here</span></a></b> to complete the <b><span style="color: red;">Puppetry Films survey online</span></b>.<br />
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If you have not yet visited our new website, do so today. We have a new Spotlight featuring the life and work of the German shadow puppetry film animator, <b>Lotte Reiniger</b> <a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/spotlight.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: red;">here</span></b></a>.<br />
If you have any special requests for material that you would like to contribute or be featured, you can contact the editor <b><a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/contact.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">here!</span></a></b><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-72587500562799181312015-08-13T13:51:00.002+10:002015-08-13T14:09:09.563+10:00Call for Puppets for Peace and Diversity from Iran<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://www.dollsmuseum.ir/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">The International Puppet and Doll Museum</span></a></b> first opened it's doors in Tehran, in September 2014 to mark the occasion of International Day of Peace. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">Peace provides equal opportunities
for individuals when the prevailing cultural and social environment recognizes
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">The museum is now calling for puppet builders and doll makers from around the world to send their puppets/dolls as peace ambassadors in an exhibit that will begin in Tehran and later tour throughout the country, bring their artists' message of peace to Iran.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The doll artists and puppet makers are invited to create puppets with the theme “<b>Peace, Diversity, and Understanding”</b> in a diversified cultural, linguistic, ethnic/racial, gender, physical and/or psychological, age, and social context. The doll and puppet makers may also portray in their artwork the challenges faced by the vulnerable populations such as the disabled, immigrants, refugees, the homeless, ethnic or religious minorities, the elderly, prisoners, street children and women in crisis.</span><br />
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The artists are required to write their peace message in English and their native language to accompany their submitting doll or puppet. The artist should include resume and specifications of the submitting piece.</div>
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<b>Deadline for Submission: 1 October 2015.</b></div>
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You are kindly asked to forward this call to everyone who might be interested in participating in this project. You can find their website is <b><a href="http://www.dollsmuseum.ir/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a> </b>and FaceBook page <b><span style="color: red;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/IranDollMusuem" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here</span></a>.</span></b></div>
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Contact Poupak Azimpour <b><a href="mailto:poupak.azimpour@gmail.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">here!</span></a></b></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-65888734272853478222015-08-09T17:20:00.001+10:002015-08-09T17:33:41.489+10:00Puppetry Films portal officially launched<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/129078373?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="448"></iframe><br />
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We are proud to announce the launch of a brand new web portal housing, <b><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Puppetryfilms.com</span> </a></span></b>containing:<br />
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• puppetry tutorials <br />
• workshops <br />
• documentaries<br />
• theatrical puppetry <br />
• stop motion animation<br />
• puppetry film archive<br />
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Many of us today want to watch films and new media online. However, I believe there is far too much information available to wade through before we discover that jewel which makes the long sorting and research process worthwhile.<br />
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I have often been asked about a global portal for puppetry films. It’s taken a long time to get it all together but I see it as a developing process, which we will undertake to house high-quality films under a single banner.<br />
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The website is being coordinated by three puppeteer-film makers: <b><a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/steven-ritz-barr.html" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Steven Ritz-Barr</span> </a></b>from Los Angeles; <b><a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/mathieu-reneacute.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Mathieu René</span> </a></b>from Montreal and <b><a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/gary-friedman.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Gary Friedman</span></a></b> from Melbourne.<br />
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More specifically Ritz-Barr will be looking at theatrical puppetry on film; René will be running the tutorial and workshop section and Friedman will focus on documentary film.<br />
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Film makers, animators and puppetry-film producers are invited to showcase their work (free and paid content) under our banner and find a larger dedicated market. This will make their work more accessible to the entire puppetry, arts, education and animation communities.<br />
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Under our <b><a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/free-content.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Free Content </span></a></b>we shall collate and post new films, as they are discovered and reported to us.<br />
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Under our <b><a href="http://www.puppetryfilms.com/film-rentals.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Paid Content </span></a></b>our film rentals and purchases will be available for in-depth content and professional development materials.<br />
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<i><b>Send us your films and ideas today! Watch our films, spread the word to your friends and colleagues and together let’s make this new portal a global community resource. Namaste! </b></i><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-37118373460006001342015-06-21T10:09:00.005+10:002015-06-21T10:09:57.222+10:00A visual theatrical treat on film<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="265" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hAohn1N6seI" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In two days, there will be a special cinematic event in the US. <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Visionary director/ puppeteer <b>Julie Taymor</b>, creator of 'The Lion King' will be screening her</span><b><span style="color: #990000;"> 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'</span></b><span style="color: #333333;"> in select cinemas across the United States on 22 June. It looks like a visual spectacle, something of a mix between Cirque du Soleil, Phillippe Genty and Julie Taymor. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">To view the fantastic </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">'A Midsummer Night's Dream' </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px;"><span style="color: #333333;">trailer, click</span><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4DP02yNPSE" target="_blank"> <span style="color: #cc0000;">here</span><span style="color: #333333;">.</span></a></b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px;">For tickets and more information, click </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 17px;"><a href="http://bit.ly/1KAcXcK." target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">here!</span></a></b><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-24176042771085503312015-06-07T21:49:00.006+10:002015-06-07T21:49:58.964+10:00A Puppet's Essence in the Czech Republic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvfwaeFDprzF-7aNQyI_Sa9ISBrNc-4y1pfTMt-GP6dvymFv9CnpkrNH84GXBFnfQMB55uX0Bypg6myn1TJ0ON2EYbSLOSo4DtfyTTvZQLaPOktXoDM4Lakpxvrq3lHb1dt1v/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-07+at+21.31.10.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvfwaeFDprzF-7aNQyI_Sa9ISBrNc-4y1pfTMt-GP6dvymFv9CnpkrNH84GXBFnfQMB55uX0Bypg6myn1TJ0ON2EYbSLOSo4DtfyTTvZQLaPOktXoDM4Lakpxvrq3lHb1dt1v/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-06-07+at+21.31.10.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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There's a very exciting <b>summer masterclass woodcarving workshop</b>, <b><a href="http://www.archaanima.cz/landing/2015-07-27-humor-a-fantazie-loutky-en/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">A Puppet's Essence</span></a></b>, announced from 27 July to 2 August 2015 in the beautiful Czech countryside, near Prague. Over the period of seven days, the participants will complete a table top puppet, from your their own design through to its final form. A maximum 12 participants guarantees a personal approach from both of the tutors — internationally recognised puppet designer Mischa Bartonova and professional carver Jiri Helcel. They will provide the necessary guidance to assist participants with their concept using theory of archetypes, provide tips on hand-carving and most importantly ensure a great time along the way!<br />
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Michaela Bartonová is as well director of Tineola Puppet Theatre. Since 1999 she has launched 8 puppet plays for Tineola and has been cooperating with numerous European puppet theatres. Michaela teaches puppet design focusing on the aesthetic properties of puppets. She has initiated, arranged and lectured in 'Communication through Puppets' and 'Puppet and Imagination'.<br />
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There is tons more information and beautiful photos of their work, on their website <b><a href="http://www.archaanima.cz/landing/2015-07-27-humor-a-fantazie-loutky-en/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a> </b>and also more info on Misca's magical puppetry work <b><a href="https://www.behance.net/michaelabartonova" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">here!</span></a></b><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-69652395456733008552015-05-13T12:39:00.002+10:002015-05-13T12:39:26.629+10:00Copenhagen Festival of Puppetry and Politics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5p3huGVV3RBsF1FzCMmGKGrl6o8gzb_66GASoXwgXRHPsxtShYTHTFB8InV5qIN1I6Da1Dkl7LcyQlrPdDQ1sJfO0PYjroljUL7BWWJXEmRtyoPUBzm8584bSqfeHnJgAsuTa/s1600/Copenhagen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5p3huGVV3RBsF1FzCMmGKGrl6o8gzb_66GASoXwgXRHPsxtShYTHTFB8InV5qIN1I6Da1Dkl7LcyQlrPdDQ1sJfO0PYjroljUL7BWWJXEmRtyoPUBzm8584bSqfeHnJgAsuTa/s400/Copenhagen.jpg" width="450" /></a></div>
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After the recent social-media hype, the Copenhagen <b><a href="http://puppetfestival.dk/?lang=en" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">'Puppetry in Politics Festival'</span></a></b> finaly opens tomorrow. The festival headlines with <b>'Outpost'</b> a new production by the renowned British company <a href="http://www.greenginger.net/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Green Ginger</span></b></a>, which takes a subtle glance at politics, power, manipulation and evil.<br />
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Besides some great live theatre productions, there is also a <b><a href="http://puppetfestival.dk/portfolio/symposium/?lang=en" target="_blank">symposium</a></b> on puppetry in activism, voicing dissent and social commentary on Saturday 16 May, which features presentations by Mohsen Abolhassani from Iran on 'Puppets of Social Commentary'; Cariad Astles from the Central School of Speech and Drama, UK on 'Farting in the face of fear: dummies and dictators'; Claudia Orenstein from Hunter College, USA presenting 'Magic in our Hands' and Matt Smith from University of Portsmouth, UK on 'The Puppet as Witness: Inside and Outside Prison with Transgressive Objects', amongst others.<br />
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There is also a <b><a href="http://puppetfestival.dk/portfolio/film/?lang=en" target="_blank">Film Festival</a></b> featuring a few fascinating documentaries like 'Magic in our Hands' which follows a puppetry artist in Hyderabad in South India; 'Neighbourly', a local Danish film which blends documentary with puppet film; a few Scandinavian Animated short films and a few of my own documentaries from my work in Africa, including Puppets for Democracy, Puppets Against Aids in Kenya, Puppets in Prison and an updated version of Puppets Against Apartheid. You can view the full film program <b><a href="http://puppetfestival.dk/portfolio/film/?lang=en">here.</a></b><br />
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All in all, the festival contains some fabulous events and the organisers deserve a great attendance, so if you are in Europe, it's well worth attending this week. You can view a teaser of the UK production <a href="https://vimeo.com/outpostsvolvaer/outpost" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>'Outpost'</b> <b>here!</b></span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-48986554286321377652015-04-22T17:43:00.004+10:002015-04-22T17:45:22.555+10:00The Puppet Centre, London, then and now..<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguu7nbFO7yhJjSDkfZc4xiEiyXQeiWrqibxkHwsxaPnAhB4P1PcZkb6-jS1XI9aij0OejXVg6Miq11dRjMIpBnAi1J4RG3qtirtsrMFJbNdVmrCCjagvEqy5My_4Y3l-0lSA-V/s1600/Puppet+Centre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguu7nbFO7yhJjSDkfZc4xiEiyXQeiWrqibxkHwsxaPnAhB4P1PcZkb6-jS1XI9aij0OejXVg6Miq11dRjMIpBnAi1J4RG3qtirtsrMFJbNdVmrCCjagvEqy5My_4Y3l-0lSA-V/s1600/Puppet+Centre.jpg" height="260" width="400" /></a></div>
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For those who follow <b>'Puppetry News'</b>, you would have read about the terrible fire recently, that almost destroyed the home to Puppetry in the UK for so many years. Well the fascinating history of the <b><a href="http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk/animations-online/" target="_blank">Puppet Centre</a> </b>has been documented by founder of the British Puppet Centre, Penny Francis.<br />
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It begins a long time ago, in 1974, when some crazy puppet people got together and started the iconic institution. It looks at the very first Puppet Festival in March 1972, when performances were presented by the Little Angel Marionette Theatre (John Wright), Cap and Bells (Violet Philpott), Caricature Theatre of Wales (Jane Phillips), Cannon Hill Puppet Theatre (John Blundall), DaSilva Puppets, Theatre of Puppets (Barry Smith), Hogarth Puppets (Jan and Ann Bussell), Polka Children’s Theatre (Richard Gill) and Stage Three (Christine Glanville).<br />
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When I attended my very first International Puppet Festival in London in 1979, many of these companies were still performing. Penny remembers what she calls <i>"The Monster Festival, ‘Puppet Theatre 79’, run by Jan Bussell and me with Helen Gundlach assisting and a committee that included the Guild and British UNIMA, was held in 16 venues across London (Sadler’s Wells was the biggest: they staged the St. Petersburg State Puppet Company). It was designed to increase the public’s appetite for good puppet theatre. Even the National Theatre staged an exhibition in its foyers and presented a show by Christopher Leith which would have been in the Cottesloe theatre had the builders and staff not been on strike."</i><br />
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Penny even goes on to describe another wonderful episode in the history of the Puppet Centre in 1987, when once again, I was privileged to be a student on an international masterclass <i>"Puppet Centre held its second International Masterclass on ‘Text into Performance’ in Norwich Puppet Theatre, again led by Jurkowski and Niculescu, with support from Barry Smith and Ray DaSilva."</i><br />
So the stories and memories are plentiful, for those interested in the more recent history of British puppetry and the role the Puppet Centre has played.<br />
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The posts are written in five chapters, which, if you'd like to read more are listed here: <b><a href="http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk/animations-online/features/puppet-centre-history-part-one/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Part One</span></a>; </b><b><a href="http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk/animations-online/features/puppet-centre-history-part-two/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Part Two</span></a>; <a href="http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk/animations-online/features/puppet-centre-history-part-three/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Part Three</span></a>; <a href="http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk/animations-online/features/puppet-centre-history-part-four/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Part Four</span></a>; <a href="http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk/animations-online/features/puppet-centre-history-part-five/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Part Five</span></a>; <a href="http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk/animations-online/features/puppet-centre-history-part-six/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Part Six</span></a>; </b>and<b> <a href="http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk/animations-online/features/puppet-centre-history-part-seven/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Part Seven</span></a>.</b></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-36693131131497354932015-04-07T20:59:00.002+10:002015-04-07T20:59:16.277+10:00It's all starting up again next week, or is it?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkvV7-cMF56I2Og7FxCeXU5eHg4mfsPUrrF6hu_xRi7nlK9eY8-Jwp4jy_C2-qkfH9e_RzGgse-v_ELogGvbX9e2Bk1WujERqlZDb3e2_N1M3wZvQdpf57h0qVSLJmBtCGaIT/s1600/newzoids_1_3256584b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkvV7-cMF56I2Og7FxCeXU5eHg4mfsPUrrF6hu_xRi7nlK9eY8-Jwp4jy_C2-qkfH9e_RzGgse-v_ELogGvbX9e2Bk1WujERqlZDb3e2_N1M3wZvQdpf57h0qVSLJmBtCGaIT/s1600/newzoids_1_3256584b.jpg" height="248" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Newzoids' finally set to launch in the UK in a week</td></tr>
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Are you old enough to remember the popular UK TV's political puppetry series, <b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDwN2d7Btnw" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">'Spitting Image'</span></a></b>? The famous political puppet series ran from 1984 to 1996 and was created by the two cartoonist masterminds, Peter Fluck and Roger Law. When I interviewed Roger Law in London last year, (<i>for my latest documentary film - see below</i>), he denied any personal involvement in the new series and didn't seem to know much about it.<br />
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Thirty years later, ITV’s new 'Spitting Image' style puppet satire Newzoids features the royal couple in a scene which has clearly been inspired by the pair, who run a bed and breakfast in Kent. The Charles puppet is seen holding a remote control in one hand and a glass of white wine in the other while Camilla is cradling a dog while nursing a glass of red. Of course, Charles and Camilla aren’t the only famous faces who’ve been immortalised.<br />
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Newzoids is a six-part series - a UK co-production for ITV between Citrus Television and Factory. The Series was commissioned by Director of Entertainment and Comedy for ITV, Elaine Bedell, and Claire Zolkwer, Commissioning Editor, Comedy Entertainment, ITV.<br />
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Featuring the voices of impressionists Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson, Newzoids’ groundbreaking mixture of low-tech traditional puppetry and state of the art animation puts a satirical and surreal spin on the stories and celebrities we read about every day.<br />
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In the world of Newzoids, anything can happen and no one in the public eye is safe from the Newzoids treatment. Amongst the roster of famous faces on the Newzoids roll call are Ant and Dec, Wayne Rooney, Beyonce, Harry Styles, Prince Harry, David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg, Barack Obama, Russell Brand and Simon Cowell. I shall be following this new series with interest and report back on this soon!<br />
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Newzoid begins on ITV on Wednesday 15th April at 9pm.<br />
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With this said, I shall shortly be launching a crowd-funding campaign for my latest documentary film, <b><a href="http://www.garyfriedmanproductions.com/the-puppet-and-the-power.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">'The Puppet and The Power'</span> </a></b>which discusses the puppet as a political weapon in over twenty countries and I'd love you all to be involved. If you are prepared to assist me in publicising this campaign internationally and help get this film out there, kindly give me a shout and let me know by clicking <b><a href="mailto:info@garyfriedmanproductions.com" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">here!</span></a></b> It will be most appreciated.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-50265094321468706022015-03-26T13:36:00.002+11:002015-03-26T13:36:51.794+11:00Ancient art of Bunraku gets a revamp<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLtva93ERdeaZEgtfmDmwv0fbtWiJRPPvaSEkAQioLIF1PnfE0fLKxWxag0as7upw7Jq_eLgHqUId0ZHpudZBG1EgoJ9Vykx_Ft3_dioN0X4GZGtCOC4jNrijGd9frEfPa7Gi6/s1600/Bunraku.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLtva93ERdeaZEgtfmDmwv0fbtWiJRPPvaSEkAQioLIF1PnfE0fLKxWxag0as7upw7Jq_eLgHqUId0ZHpudZBG1EgoJ9Vykx_Ft3_dioN0X4GZGtCOC4jNrijGd9frEfPa7Gi6/s1600/Bunraku.jpg" height="268" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bunraku Theatre in Osaka, Japan (Photo: Britannica)</td></tr>
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The ancient Japanese art of Bunraku puppet theatre, <i>'Ningyō Jōruri',</i> began in Osaka more than three hundred years ago. Bunraku's history goes as far back to the turn of the 18th century when Uemura Bunrakuken came to Osaka from Awaji and began his own theatre.
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The National Bunraku Theatre Troupe offers five or more seasons every year, each running for two to three weeks in Osaka before moving to Tokyo for a run at the National Theatre. The troupe also tours within Japan and occasionally abroad.
Until the late 1800s there were also hundreds of other professional, semi-professional, and amateur troupes across Japan that performed traditional puppet drama. Nowadays, like many other forms of traditional theatre, it has become a dying art. But let's not give up hope quite yet. Bunraku is going through a rejuvenation program in Japan and is trying to re-invent itself for the younger generation. I discovered this short documentary (<b><a href="http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/features/201503250920.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a></b>) that shows what is being done to keep the form alive. Of course it has evolved and changed and is used nowadays by puppeteers throughout the world and adapted to different styles and texts, but what about the 'original' theatre of Bunraku?<br />
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The increase in interest in Bunraku puppetry contributed to the establishment of the first traditional Japanese puppet troupe in North America. Since 2003, Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe, currently based at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, has performed at venues around the United States, including the Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as in Japan.<br />
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Did you ever think you would see traditional Bunraku theatre perform at the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro? You can view a wonderful short report on the modernisation of Bunraku theatre <b><a href="http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/features/201503250920.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">here!</span></a></b><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-41525419906434639842015-03-23T14:59:00.000+11:002015-03-23T14:59:18.252+11:00New Website launched on 'World Puppetry Day'<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsjsLvYwq6WEkoEs0hF1X-8eMuXYn9aDDzg65Vlgy6YO4OpEf5lDiIGAxka2g0IbLiYHDQaKCMdGJ7r3j4y_WuO1zK6Yj9zq3Gtty5PMsgKl_KKzLj6njcGAFArZv-I5vBURks/s1600/Duverne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsjsLvYwq6WEkoEs0hF1X-8eMuXYn9aDDzg65Vlgy6YO4OpEf5lDiIGAxka2g0IbLiYHDQaKCMdGJ7r3j4y_WuO1zK6Yj9zq3Gtty5PMsgKl_KKzLj6njcGAFArZv-I5vBURks/s1600/Duverne.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puppet creator for Les Guignols de L'info, Alain Duverne, in his Paris studio</td></tr>
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After a really busy year, I am pleased to announce the launch of our new website, <a href="http://www.garyfriedmanproductions.com/"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>www.garyfriedmanproductions.com</b></span></a> for <b>'World Puppetry Day' </b>on Saturday.<br />
This new site incorporates our previous site 'Puppetry News' and the Puppetry News Blog, which has been out of action for a while, but will finally get moving again with current news, events and interviews.<br />
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The new website incorporates much of the old Puppetry News site, but has plenty of new projects and updates and is easier to access information and navigate. You can find out and view short clips from many of the international workshops carried out in the past year in Europe and Asia. There is a short film clip of a <b><a href="http://www.garyfriedmanproductions.com/adult-paper-playback-workshops.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">Paper Playback Workshop</span></a></b> in Oslo, Norway made in November 2014. There is a vast puppet video and audio archive which you can access <b><a href="http://www.garyfriedmanproductions.com/archives.html" target="_blank">here.</a> </b>You can also<br />
locate international puppet festivals and events taking place over the upcoming year<b><a href="http://www.garyfriedmanproductions.com/international-puppet-festivals.html" target="_blank"> here.</a></b><br />
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As many of you know, for the past year, I have been travelling around the globe working on a new documentary film, <b><a href="http://www.garyfriedmanproductions.com/the-puppet-and-the-power.html" style="color: #990000;" target="_blank">'The Puppet and The Power'</a>.</b><br />
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A few of the wonderful puppeteers and activists interviewed for the documentary include names like Ronnie Burkett (Canada); Adrian Kohler & Basil Jones (Handspring Puppet Company, South Africa); Roger Law (Spitting Image, UK); Paul Zaloom (USA); Tony Mboyo (XYZ Show, Kenya); Ariel Doron (Israel); Mohammad Halayka (Palestinian National Theatre, Jerusalem); Penny Francis, (Puppet Centre, UK); Glyn Edwards (Punch & Judy Prof, UK); Toni Rumbau (Puppeteer & author, Spain); Joan Baixas (Puppeteer & theatre director, Spain); Pavla Dombrovska (Director of Divadlo Lisen, Czech Republic); Deepak Chopra (Spiritual guru, USA); Peter Schumann (Bread & Puppet Theatre, USA); John Bell (University of Connecticut, USA); Karim Dakroub (University of Beirut, Lebanon); Dominique Houdart (Cie Houdart-Heuclin, France) and the list goes on. You can view the pilot <b><a href="http://www.garyfriedmanproductions.com/the-pilot.html" target="_blank">here!</a></b><br />
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Do enjoy the new website and you are welcome to send feedback through our comments page <b><a href="http://www.garyfriedmanproductions.com/contact.html" target="_blank">here!</a></b><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-51868923698812244292015-03-23T13:45:00.001+11:002015-03-23T13:45:22.990+11:00Looking back on 'World Puppetry Day' 2015<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sTd6_wVVerL8BL_s5nL6NJ0KRSLDb6_ID1nPf3Wc3am-KJ1vLvPrQSzgUUxNRz1pLJpQi0Kk-EFixLvsO3f3FxpzlZD40fjt1tt_ixlOHPz83magapg3M2CnDuI39Ov7uEC2/s1600/Krofta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2sTd6_wVVerL8BL_s5nL6NJ0KRSLDb6_ID1nPf3Wc3am-KJ1vLvPrQSzgUUxNRz1pLJpQi0Kk-EFixLvsO3f3FxpzlZD40fjt1tt_ixlOHPz83magapg3M2CnDuI39Ov7uEC2/s400/Krofta.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Czech theatre director and professor, Josef Krofta</td></tr>
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This years<b> <span style="color: #990000;">'World Puppetry Day'</span></b> fell on Saturday 21 March. It was a day of mixed emotions, as we had just lost one of our world's true puppet legacies, <b><a href="http://www.theatre.cz/josef-krofta-the-legend-of-puppet-theatre-and-the-" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">Josef Krofta</span></a></b> and heard the news, last week, of a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-14/firefighters-battle-fire-at-london-battersea-arts-centre/6318514" target="_blank">devastating fire at the <b>Battersea Arts Centre</b></a>, home to the <b><a href="http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk/" target="_blank">'British Puppet Centre'</a></b> in London.<br />
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Krofta was probably best known for his years of innovative work as artistic director of the <a href="http://draktheatre.cz/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Drak Theatre</span></b></a> in Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic.
I personally had the incredible opportunity of studying with him at the Battersea Arts Centre in London in 1987, where together with Penny Francis and Henryk Jurkowski, he lead a course in puppetry and storytelling, which was the great inspirational period of my life. It was there, that I was first exposed to the work of <b>Bruno Bettelheim's</b> '<b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Uses_of_Enchantment" target="_blank">The Uses of Enchantment - The meaning and importance of fairy tales'</a></b>. This is life changing literature for any aspiring puppeteer.<br />
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Krofta taught us the power of the object and it's role in bring a story to life. We saw the film of his most powerful theatre piece<b> 'The Dragon'</b> by Russian playwright, Evgeny Shvarts in 1944. This remarkable work was first seen as subversive production in the political climate of post-war Russia. Krofta depicted the power as radiating 'follow-spots' the feeling that the performance was taking place in a concentration camp, with even the actors dressed in the typical black uniform of the Gestapo.<br />
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Besides this most memorable work, we also remember Krofta for his other work with Drak including Circus Unikum, Petruška, Sleeping Beauty and Pinocchio. May he rest in peace.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-46346919401851124242015-01-08T22:08:00.001+11:002015-01-08T22:08:50.946+11:00The Right to Freedom of Expression<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In the light of the atrocities having taken place at the offices of political cartoon Charlie Hebdo in Paris yesterday, it immediately brought to mind the words of former-producer of the most popular French weekly television series on Canal Plus <b>‘Les Guignols de L’info’</b>, Bruno Gaccio, whom I interviewed recently in his Paris office:<br />
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“Good taste is not legally definable. I can be very bad taste, making terrible jokes, if they are not defamatory, insulting or do not incite racial hatred, I have the right to make them. I have every right. The law authorizes me so I have to use it. And all the subtlety is that. Is that some of our leaders - because we had a lot, we saw in the past twenty-five years said "Negotiate".<br />
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"Negotiate what, sir,I replied? "" Well, your freedom! You cannot do everything you want, finally! "" Uh ... yes! We do not do anything we want, sir. There is the law in France. The common law.<br />
"Then we ran into things ... such as ... Benedict XVI is a pope who was in the Hitler Youth. That is a man who said "Heil Hitler" in his lifetime. And was chosen as Pope. When we talked about it, we put his puppet and instead of calling him Benedict XVI we called him Adolf II.<br />
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We received a call from our management at Canal Plus, who said "We can not put on Adolf II, as it is defamatory. Not at all! He was in the Hitler Youth. There were seventy-five cardinals, but you choose the one that said "Heil Hitler". You could have done differently! You chose him!<br />
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Redemption is very Christian ... So we, in our role as cartoonists, and in the specific context of a program, we have the right to do so. "" Yes ... but the CSA screamed ... "" But who cares CSA! They will blame you. I do not care. Why do they will blame us? Because Christian lobbies do not stop calling them and this bothers them.<br />
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Aaah, but that, sir, doesn’t affect us. A lobby, us, we do not care. "" Yes, but they are pushing, it's hard ... "" Well, you have your work to do -Administration. That is to resist this pressure to leave your creators free. "But I've always recognized my leadership has the right to censor me. I said "You have the right. You are at home. It's your business. So you have the right to censor. But it will be called “censorship”- not negotiation, and I will never agree to that. Now if you censor me once a year.. so good. Because that means that 300 other times, I am free. If you censor me three times a week, we have a big problem! So we will stop doing our work. That's it. "And this negotiation and this balance between freedom, responsibility, good taste, bad taste, held in France since - at least for this puppet show - for twenty-five years, because we won our freedom and we've fought for it. “<br />
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For the past twelve months I have been travelling around the globe interviewing political puppeteers, satirists, cartoonists and politicians about their right of freedom of expression to criticise and challenge the power of authority<br />
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Having recently returned from a symposium on puppetry and politics in Charleville-Mezieres, France, where I discussed my latest film <b>'The Puppet and The Power'</b>, I am now back in Australia beginning the long process of compiling the footage from the twenty countries where I've been shooting in recent months.<br />
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<b>The Puppet and The Power </b>– plays witness to the world’s most anarchic puppets and their masters, who address puppetry as an art of defiance and socio-political change. With a history spanning centuries, this naïve art has a complex duty: In places where injustice and social controls stifle citizens, puppets reflect what is wrong, often with impunity, but at other times with grave personal danger. The puppet’s power has ongoing relevance, in the face of degraded democracy, corporation control and under regimes with suppressed rights of expression.<br />
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As world politics shift again towards the right, we see ‘democracy’ losing it’s true meaning in many OECD countries. The mainstream media in many countries remain silent and are no longer criticising or standing up to the power of the day. It is being left to activists in social media and puppeteers to take local action where they can. Around the world puppeteers are once again getting their puppets out onto the streets to speak out for their rights and regain their voice. But more and more, this action is being stopped. A group of Syrian artists Masasit Mati produced a web series from 2011, ‘Top Goon - Diaries of a Little Dictator’ which used puppets and satire to lampoon President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian regime’s response to the popular uprising in the country. But Assad is not the only target: All aspects of the revolution are examined and satirised, including the political and armed opposition. The group were forced into exile in Lebanon and other neighbouring countries.<br />
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The Czech theatre group Divadlo Líšeň was inspired by the work of Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, to bring the events from Putin’s Russia and the injustices and human rights abuses under his rule onto the world stage. ‘Putin is Skiing’ examines how Putin came to power and the methods he uses to control his people. All of Europe depend on Russia for gas and oil - and this affects the behaviour of the countries towards Russia. When terrible things happen around him, Putin simply leaves to go skiing, showing the authority’s indifference and the powerlessness of the Russian people. The show is also a tribute to Politkovskaya, who was shot and killed outside her Moscow apartment in 2006. The show will probably never get performed in Russia, but in the Czech Republic, it’s putting these concerns into the spotlight.<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-71408197679309040302014-07-07T09:42:00.005+10:002014-07-07T09:42:38.339+10:00Bust the Budget Protest in Australia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The <b>'Abbott Puppet' </b>took to the streets in all the captial cities of Australia yesterday for a <b><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2682077/Thousands-turn-protest-budget-measures.html" target="_blank">'Bust the Budget' </a></b>protest against the Prime Minister's new clamp down on the Australian economy. 'Tony Abbott is making life harder for people,' one of the protesters said. 'He's making life a misery for people who are unemployed and searching for work.'<br />
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The anti-budget rally in Canberra featured a three-metre Tony Abbott puppet with smoke coming out of his trousers. Several hundred protesters converged on the lawns in front of Parliament House and chanted 'One term Tony' and 'Liar, Liar, Pants of Fire' at the puppet. The giant 'Abbott' was built by Canberra-based artist, <a href="http://www.spiritsdancing.com/" target="_blank">Hilary Talbot</a> and performed by local puppeteer Matt Armstrong.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57P0mqPdh-tfy81e-NGap7mDr1vRVb8U0JxI2BCNRBFdO6Me72oKws0tGiT4Yn9YtKzRFsZFnwPj7YjqlSzZxUzkat6-JOWQlSrarlnEw9VZcOWl7AmaArv7tN2DlcNA55-Nh/s1600/AusBudget1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57P0mqPdh-tfy81e-NGap7mDr1vRVb8U0JxI2BCNRBFdO6Me72oKws0tGiT4Yn9YtKzRFsZFnwPj7YjqlSzZxUzkat6-JOWQlSrarlnEw9VZcOWl7AmaArv7tN2DlcNA55-Nh/s1600/AusBudget1.jpeg" height="271" width="320" /></a>This comes hot on the heels on my own recent return from a world filming trip for our upcoming documentary film<b> <a href="http://www.puppetrynews.com/the-puppet-and-the-power-documentary-film.html" target="_blank">'The Puppet and The Power'.</a> </b>More information on this will follow shortly, so stay tuned to our website <a href="http://www.puppetrynews.com/the-puppet-and-the-power-documentary-film.html" target="_blank"><b>here!</b></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-32711846734879706172014-04-30T16:56:00.004+10:002014-04-30T16:56:52.036+10:00Weekend Storytelling & Paper Workshop in Melbourne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We are excited to announce a brand new <b><span style="color: #990000;">‘Weekend Storytelling and Paper Workshop’ in Melbourne</span></b> from 1 - 3 August 2014 - <b><i>A weekend of pure play, inspiration and creativity!</i></b><br />
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The workshop, for teenagers and adults, is being run by master-puppeteer and facilitator, Gary Friedman and will focus on the art of storytelling, using the medium of paper, movement and sound.<br />
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We take storytelling and improvisational performance to the most elaborate ends. This workshop is ideal for teachers, therapists, artists, story tellers, community workers, and lovers of play!<br />
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This once-a-year weekend workshop will begin on Friday 1st August from 5pm and will run until Sunday 3rd August 2014 at the Batesford Hub in Chadstone, Victoria. There are restricted spaces available, so book now! To view examples of this workshop, <b><a href="http://youtu.be/bVVNDkBrCrM" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">click here</span></a></b> and <b><a href="http://youtu.be/-_ENPG7fQpw" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">here!</span></a></b><br />
<b>Bookings and more information, <a href="http://www.puppetrynews.com/puppetry-courses-in-australia.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;">click here!</span></a></b><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-31274246611963583662014-04-23T23:40:00.004+10:002014-04-23T23:40:43.706+10:00Off to meet Roger Law...<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/VZ3QTAJgQzM?rel=0" width="480"></iframe>
In an interview at the AGI Open last year, Roger Law spoke about his satirical British television show <b><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spitting_Image" target="_blank">"Spitting Image"</a></i></b> and his visit to ZA News studios in Cape Town.
Roger Law is an artist, caricaturist and one half of Luck and Flaw, with Peter Fluck, creators of the satirical television puppet series in the eighties and nineties, Spitting Image.
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Many countries around the world have since created their own spin-off versions of the satirical programme, such as South Africa's<b style="font-style: italic;"> <a href="http://www.zanews.co.za/" target="_blank">ZA News</a>, </b>which recently I visited at the launch of our recent documentary film shoot in January.<br />
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I am now off to shoot many other inspiring puppeteers around the world working in puppetry and politics. In fact I'll be even interviewing Roger Law at the Cartoon Museum in London next month, where a thirtieth anniversary exhibition of <b><i>'Spitting Image'</i></b> is currently running.<br />
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So my upcoming adventure starts next week. I firstly visit <a href="https://buni.tv/shows/1/" target="_blank"> <b><i>'The XYZ Show'</i></b></a> in Nairobi, Kenya. The wonderful puppeteers working on the series were my former-puppetry students in the nineties, when we ran puppetry training workshops in East Africa. The company has also recently created a Nigerian Web Television Series, <b><i><a href="https://buni.tv/video/ogas-top-letters-letters-and-more-letters/" target="_blank">'OGAS at The Top'</a>. </i></b></div>
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Following Kenya, I shall be filming in the Middle East and Europe. We have many fascinating interviews and performances lined up along the way. Our documentary film, <i style="font-weight: bold;">'The Puppet and The Power' </i>shall feature some controversial and powerful political figures, both of puppet and human variety, discussing and demonstrating how the puppet is being used to criticise the world's powers, in some often extremely dangerous situations. So stay tuned for updates!</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-76692489193927669182014-03-21T16:45:00.000+11:002015-04-22T16:41:16.660+10:00The Puppets and The Power and World Puppetry Day<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/120268452?byline=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br />
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As you now already know, today is <b><a href="http://africanpuppet.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/unima-message-for-world-puppetry-day.html" target="_blank">World Puppetry Day</a></b>! What does that mean for puppeteers in the world today?<br />
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It really gives us a chance to take our art onto the streets, into the theatres and onto the screens of television sets and social media screens to tell people about the profound power of the puppet and its ability to touch people all over the world, as they have done for thousands of years.<br />
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<span class="s1">Many years ago, growing up in Apartheid South Africa, during the seventies, I realised to my great frustration, that my personal voice of self-expression had been removed by the power of fear instilled into me by the government’s propaganda and fear campaign. The people who protested, were being severely beaten or sprayed with purple dye through large water canons by the police and being arrested. Like so many of my contemporaries, fleeing the country at the time, I felt powerless. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Only after being exposed to university life, did I realise that there could be another, possibly safer way to express myself. I had already been a puppeteer for most of my life, but living in such isolation, I was not exposed much to the outside world. In the early nineteen-eighties, after having travelled for the first time to festivals abroad, I decided to create my own South African version of the infamous Punch and Judy Show and take that into the streets of Cape Town to test the waters of socio-political expression through the use of the puppet. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Even though I got beaten up several times during the eighties for my street performances, I realised that the power of the puppet to discuss issues that normal people could not, was immense and it had the ability to make people laugh at themselves and their situation. This <b>‘humour’ </b>became the key in opening up the minds and hearts of the audience and thus the <i>‘interactive communication’</i> began.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Nowadays, many decades later, things have not changed that much. In many countries governments still try to suppress people’s freedom to express their political outrage at corruption and atrocities being perpetuated by the power of the day. My recent feelings, living in <b><i>“first-world”</i></b> Australia have been to get the puppet back onto the streets to <b style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: large;">‘speak out’</span>, </b>but alas speaking out has officially been banned where I now live in Australia<b style="font-style: italic;"> (</b><b>see articles <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/20/victorian-anti-protest-laws-pass-lower-house" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/march-in-march-could-be-victorias-last-protest-after-new-antiprotest-law-was-passed-last-week/story-fncynjr2-1226857216765" target="_blank">here</a></b><b style="font-style: italic;">).</b> </span><br />
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<span class="s1">And it’s now a very different, more sophisticated world of social media, filling the void and providing on-the-ground information where the national press won’t dare to tread. This was the inspiration to make a documentary film and look at the ‘puppet’ in its naivety and look at the role its played throughout the world as court jester, while at the same time information provider about what’s really going on in our world.</span></div>
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Last year, while travelling around Europe conducting workshops, I met up with two special ladies in France, who are coordinating a rather unique conference on <span style="color: red;"><b><a href="http://www.unima.org/fileadmin/user_upload/dossier/actualites_-_documents/uni_Call_IIM2014_E.pdf" target="_blank">'PUPPETRY AND POWER: </a> </b><b><a href="http://www.unima.org/fileadmin/user_upload/dossier/actualites_-_documents/uni_Call_IIM2014_E.pdf" target="_blank">CENSORSHIP, PROPAGANDA AND RESISTANCE'</a></b>,</span> which will take place in Charleville-Mézières, France, from 20 to 22 November 2014. I was invited to be part of the Scientific Commission in coordinating this rather unique conference. My idea was also to make a documentary film to illustrate, in the best way possible, how puppeteers in many oppressed regimes, can once again speak out against <b>The Power!</b><br />
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Stay tuned for updates as I embark on an international film shoot through Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the United States.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13610650.post-62605899119151179002014-03-21T12:36:00.000+11:002014-03-21T12:36:03.664+11:00UNIMA Message for World Puppetry Day 2014<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxO140k1cZ6oGxZ3ZayzU20CKae2sV0strKMjhso63lQ6zkRXSA8EYLM3HLYZeoJIpbu0ZAxQhar02ugueO0q-2OCgC8pveZ82qzJgEbFNIfZSq9yPXWa_IP5-tGl2KIpvEUD1/s1600/Afghan+Troupe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxO140k1cZ6oGxZ3ZayzU20CKae2sV0strKMjhso63lQ6zkRXSA8EYLM3HLYZeoJIpbu0ZAxQhar02ugueO0q-2OCgC8pveZ82qzJgEbFNIfZSq9yPXWa_IP5-tGl2KIpvEUD1/s1600/Afghan+Troupe.jpg" height="186" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #6d7079; font-family: daxitalic; font-size: 11px; text-align: start;">Afghan company / Foto: DP.</span></td></tr>
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Today 21 March 2014 is <b><a href="http://www.unima.org/en/outils/all-news-from-unima/news/article/journee-mondiale-de-la-marion/#.UyuQe2SSzAU" target="_blank">World Puppetry Day</a></b>. Tomorrow is the opening of the <b><a href="http://www.unimacuba2014.info/" target="_blank">UNIMA Councilors meeting and festival</a></b> which will take place in Varadero, Cuba.<br />
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As you probably know, each year, <b><a href="http://www.unima.org/en/home/" target="_blank">UNIMA</a></b> invites a different guest puppeteer, director , someone important to our art to deliver a message to the world's puppetry community. This year we feature Argentine <b>Master Eduardo Di Mauro</b>, currently living in Venezuela. His company, TEMPO, and the Latin-American Institute of the Puppet, now directed by Maritza Peña, are based in Guanare and may well serve as models for the world of puppetry.<br />
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"The puppet draws its origins from one of the most primitive and original forms of art: the play, not the representation of the sacred, as it was sometimes understood. Puppetry is born from a genre of performance that is objective, spontaneous, transparent, naturally becoming increasingly complex as it has adopted various forms and contents.<br />
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Due to its transgressive nature, the puppet has been feared and persecuted by kings, emperors, emirates, czars and every other kind of abusive power, since this character of wood and cloth, however lovable and picturesque, is at the same time the carrier of a keen talent for condemnation and criticism, able to use sarcasm, irony and humour with talent, rhythm and biting effect.<br />
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Perhaps the period in life when we best identify with this age-old art is adolescence, because that is when young people are carriers of this same energy embroidered with a certain passionate irresponsibility, reacting with the same ardour to whatever they admire, judge or criticize. Perhaps that explains why it’s the young who take a stand and aim their darts at the worldwide media who turn the essential into the banal and make excuses for the worthless.<br />
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For many decades our theatre has dedicated a good part of its efforts to the teenagers, promulgating themes that interest them, encouraging them to use puppets to express what moves and concerns them. So of course they themselves bring up taboo subjects like violence, the Mafia, alcoholism, corruption, child pregnancy, loneliness and others which they confront with candour and irreverence.<br />
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Puppetry is able, and should be able, to inspire their creativity, through reading, study, research and experiment with new forms, in a search for beauty and harmony in their productions, never forgetting that their relationship with puppet theatre must involve compromise.<br />
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Speaking of compromise, a word of many meanings and definitions, I am reminded of our responsibility to understand our real place in the world, what is our position when faced with the multiple examples of the abuse of power in the heart of today’s society – who are today’s kings, where the emperors, the sheikhs. Today they are not to be found seated on a throne adorned with finely wrought precious stones, they prefer to be where nobody can see them distinctly. They possess means of communication which they can reveal or conceal at their pleasure. This kind of king is a thing of a thousand heads, it is neo-liberalism corrupted and savage; these czars, they are the multi-national corporations which inflate their profits and their power, but care nothing about the destruction of the planet and the destruction of lives.<br />
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Puppeteers of the whole world, let us confront cruelty, inequality and injustice. Using the infinite variety of techniques and aesthetics to give form to that most expressive of personalities - the puppet - and endowing it with the most fiery language, let us denounce them and demonstrate to them with an admonitory finger how these young people, branded as lacking in ambition, are striving for the development of a better, more humane world."<br />
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Eduardo di Mauro 2014<br />
Teatro Tempo<br />
Venezuela<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.puppetrynews.com</div>Garyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09354426333567149005noreply@blogger.com0