2012-331 Arts - McDougle Elementary School PTA $893

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Arts in Education Grant—Spring 2012 McDougle Elementary School PTA Bunraku Pupped Many pieces in the production are performed in Bunraku-style puppetry. Bunraku is a traditional Japanese form of puppetry where the puppeteers are in full view It is a unique and stylized form of puppetry. Bunraku-style means simply borrowing the con- vention of working in the open,in full view. Working litre this allows the audience to see what the puppeteer is doing to manipulate or move the puppet. The puppeteer uses voice, hands,and body to "bring the puppet to life." The puppeteer usually dresses in black against a black background. This allows the puppeteer to blend into the background and lets the audience focus on the puppet. After a few minutes, the audience gets used to seeing the puppeteer,and focuses on the pup- pets. The technique allows the puppeteer to move the puppets in imaginary settings around the stage and audience. It is fun for the audience because the puppets come close at times. The Foamies These puppets are my own original creations. They are carved with scissors out of large blocks of foam rubber. T11ey are carefully painted with acrylic paints making them realistic. Each animal's characteristic movement is studied then. performed in Bunraku style. They are controlled with various control mechanisms,which I design. Marionettes Marionettes were first made in India over 3,000 years ago. Way back when, they only had one string to operate the whole puppet. Today's marionettes have as many as forty strings. Marionettes made their way to the U.S.by way of Europe. The famous explorer Marco Polo, who found a route to the Orient in which to bring back spices, also brought marionettes back from his travels. Rod Puppetry Rod puppetry is an ancient form of puppetry originating in Indonesia. It was called "Wayang Golek". The figures or dolls were moved by the use of rods which were ma- nipulated from below. This technique traveled into the west through Europe and even- tually to the Americas where it can be seen in modern form in Jim Henson's Muppets on Sesame Street.The Golden Rod Puppets use a form of rod puppetry similar to the Euro- pean techniques used in Austria at the turn of the century by puppeteer, Richard'I'eschner. The full bodied figures are controlled below by rods, strings and .mechanisms. They are brought up-to-date with many innovations by puppeteer,Hobey Ford. Ford is Rod Pup- pet Consultant to Puppeteers of America and a recognized expert in this field. Some of the figures are carved from holly, a hard wood resembling ivory. Others are fashioned from doll maker's clay. Each puppet is individually designed, tailored and fitted ",with crepe hair. Page 19 of 22