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Study and critical discourse of Asian traditional puppetry culminating in new collaborative performance
Master Classes in Asian Puppetry (1)
Thailand / Burma (Myanmar) / United States
Behind the Beauty
Dec 26th, 2009 to Jan. 20, 2010
At Empty Space Chiangmai
Funded by Asian Cultural Council, New York
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The workshop ended very well and some of the members already include this experience into their works. We are very happy and thankful to all and grateful for their good spirit and team work. Great experience, lots to learn, lots to look forward to. The Burmese puppeteers arrived Dec 25 together with Amy Trompetter and Erik Fink in Bangkok and drove by van to Chiangmai. Anna arrived and joined together with Thai participants a day later. Dec 26th we opened the workshop for our village and friends from Chiangmai. Mr. Htwe’s puppeteers showed his performance he presents in hotels and for travelers visiting Yangon or when he goes abroad. Amy prepared a short piece of her own in collaboration with our participants.
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1. WEEK
U Htwe Oo, Nan and Papa Ji introduce us to the world of the different characters, their movement and function in their stories.
The participants learn about manipulation by demonstrations and practicing mainly the pageboys movement.
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We perform for a New Year Night Party at the Rachamankha Hotel in Chiangmai and10 days later for a Burma Day Opening. Later that day at the Center for Chiang Mai Lanna architecture. Center our participants showed a piece of our work. For the whole experience we want to thank Ajan Mai of the Fine Arts Dep. at the Chiangmai University and Hobby Hut Puppet Theater, whose students also join to study manipulation, dance and puppetry in general.
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2. WEEK
We focus on carving, painting, stringing and costuming of a marionette. From cutting the wood, to sharpening the tools the students gets to learn the details and craftsmanship involved creating these little figures.
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During the same time Amy Trompetter starts to teach, by sculpting in clay on straw, covering the image with papier-mâché, painting and dressing the mask. We explore what the mask tells us and improvise clown scenes for interludes between the marionette scenes of the performance we are planning.
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3. WEEK
We agreed to work with the Burmese Folktale ‘THE FOUR PUPPETS’ written in English by Khin Myo Chit. We focused on four values: wisdom, strength, knowledge and goodness, the poor puppet maker gives his son for advice. We transported it to today’s world.
We also explored the arts of pageantry and masks with Amy Trompetter’s ‘Redwing Blackbird Theater style, inspired by Bread and Puppet. Mr. Htwe, Amy and Kage collaborated in directing this workshop piece. We went two times to the Fine Arts Departments giving a Seminar about ‘Puppetry Today in Asia and the West’.
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REHEARSAL
Every afternoon we continued carving and mask making and evenings explored the scenes with the puppeteers.
During all this time we continued to exercise the manipulation of the pageboys.
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Performance
We arranged two performances on Jan 15th and 16th for the villagers and friends and had surprisingly many audiences who enjoyed our collaborations these two nights.
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Touring
RUENG ARUN SCHOOL - We brought our Burmese friends to the airport in Bangkok on the 18th morning and the Thai and US team of workshop members met again in the evening to perform this little show without Burmese teachers in front of a packed house of children and parents.
The next morning Amy and the participants gave a mask-making workshop for the children.
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BANGKOK ARTS AND CULTURAL CENTER
On Jan 20 we had the chance to perform at BACC in front of all our friends and museums guests.
From Jan 25 to 29th Amy and I were editing her footage to create a 30 min documentary, Noi is clearing the budget.
Amy left on 31st to Yangon to start to prepare a presentation in Yangon at the Theater and Workshop Festival “IUI” at Alliance Francaise. Amy will build new masks with Gitameit Music Center students and recreate the interludes. The Burmese puppeteers are replacing the Thai participants with their own. I will arrive Feb 4th and stay until Feb 14th. We will hold our seminar together, Amy, Mr. Htwe, Nyein Way and myself in Yangon on Feb 5th . Anant Narkkong and Khun Prasan, Kit Young and Parami will join us Feb 10th. and we plan to show the performance Feb 10 Gitameit, and Feb 12 at ISY and at Alliance Francaise.
Thank you to all of you who helped to make it possible.
Oraphan and Manuel Lutgenhorst
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Funded by
Asian Cultural Council,
supported by
Gitameit Music Center, Yangon
Midnight Academy, Chiangmai
Media Art and Design CMU
Ajan Mai, Fine Arts Department
Rachamankha Hotel, Chiangmai
Managing Director: Oraphan Lutgenhorst
Artistic Director: Manuel Lutgenhorst
PARTNER INSTITUTIONS
Sarah Lawrence College
Barnard College
Long Island University
California Institute of the Arts
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PARTICIPANTS
Ms. Amy Trompetter ( Amy ), Redwing Blackbird Theater / USA, [email protected], www.blackbirdtheater.com, Tel : 8456587651
Mr.Teerawat Mulvilai(Kage), B-floor theatre group/ Thailand, Email: [email protected], www.bfloortheatre.com mobile; 085 1232353
Mr. Khin Maung Htwe Proprietor/Director, HTWE OO MYANMAR Traditional Puppet Theatre, Yangon-Myanmar, Email: [email protected] , www.myspace.com/puppettheatremyanmar
Mr. Parami Shoon
Mr. Nyein Way (U Maung Maung Thein)
Mr. Anant Narkkong (NONG), Korphai Music Ensemble, Faculty of Music, Silpakorn University, e-mail: annkannk@ gmail.com, [email protected] tel : 081-8237735
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Miss Vilawan Svetsreni, Vilawan Svetsreni (Assistant Professor) lecturer in Drama and Puppetry at the Thai Art Department, Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
MR. Manuel Lutgenhorst ( Manuel ), Empty Space Chiangmai ( ESC ) / Thailand, E-mail : [email protected], Web : www.emptyspacechiangmai.info , Tel : 0890458585
Mrs. Oraphan Lutgenhorst ( Noi ) , Empty Space Chiangmai ( ESC ) / Thailand, E-mail : [email protected], Web : www.emptyspacechiangmai.info, Tel : 0817544640
Mr. Paiboon Sophonsuwaparp ( ae ), Bangplay learning theatre group / Thailand, Faculty of Applies Art, Music and Performing Arts, Burapra University, e-mail : aj_aea@ yahoo.com tel: 081-566-5464
Mr. Taweevat Kumneardpetch ( tum ), Bangplay learning theatre group / Thailand, e-mail : kumneardpetch@ hotmail.com tel : 089-142-7321
Miss Sutarath Sinnong ( Tom), Makhampom foundation (MKP) / Thailand, e-mail : munthod @ hotmail.com tel : 085-816-6565
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Miss Sirikarn Bunjongtad ( Jae), Makhampom foundation (MKP) / Thailand, e-mail : sirikarnjae@ yahoo.com tel : 089-785-4346
Miss Sumontha Suanpholrat (Joom), Thailand, e-mail : sumontha55@ gmail.com,[email protected] tel : 089-1184909
Mr. Keetawan Manusawate ( Klui ), Roong aroon School/ Thailand, [email protected], www.roongaroon.com , Tel. 0897820349
Ms. Jarunun Phantachat(Jaa), B-floor theatre group/ ThailandEmail: [email protected], www.bfloortheatre.com, mobile; 089 667 9539
Mr. Tun kyi@Daung Yin Puppet Master, HTWE OO MYANMAR Traditional Puppet Theatre, Yangon-Myanmar
Mr. Aung Than Tun Puppet Maker, HTWE OO MYANMAR Traditional Puppet Theatre, Yangon,Myanmar
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Ms. Nan Tin @ Tin Nan Myint, Puppeteer, HTWE OO MYANMAR Traditional Puppet Theatre, Yangon-Myanmar,
Miss Anna Sobel ( Anna ), Puppeteer, Talking Hands Theatre,[email protected], www.puppetree.com, USA
Mr. Erik Finck ( Erik ), SCENIC | PUPPET | OBJECT, [email protected], Tel. 8058868026
Miss Narumol Thammapruksa, Theater artist
charonpong chulerd (Yod) Black face theater group, [email protected], Tel : 083-3052672
Mr. Leonhard Lutgenhorst ( Leon ), Empty Space Chiang Mai ( ESC ) / Thailand, E-mail : [email protected] , Web : www.emptyspaceciangmai.info, tel : 080-6786134
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Miss Lena Nareeya Lutgenhorst
Mrs. ORAPIN KUSOLROONGRAT (Nid), Roong a roon school/ Thailand, [email protected] 0816483264
Mr. Suthep Mamusawate (Jui), Leko lite / Thailand, 0819209896
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Burmese Epilogue
ESC was invited to join ‘IUI’, a second Festival of Contemporary Theatre in Myanmar. (Feb 4th to 14th, 2010). Goethe Institute Jakarta funded our participation in order to bring the result of this workshop back to the country of its origin, Burma/Myanmar. Amy Trompetter and the composer/musician Anant Narrkong with his friend Prasarn Wongwirosrak joined us on their own expense. U Moe Naing, Kit Young and Gitameit Music Center joined with their facilities and students to recreate Amy’s puppetry style together with the puppeteers of Y Htwe Oo. We held a seminar discussing the concept of ‘Behind the Beauty’ and the process of our workshop on Feb 5th. During the Festival we had a chance to see side-by-side three generation of puppeteer’s work today, followed by lively discussions, about how to put puppetry from the hotels back into the community. We performed as planned in three locations: Gitameit School for the local children around the school, ISY an International school and at the Alliance Francaise Theater Festival. Feb. 14th we ended the workshop successfully and now we want to thank all of the participants who had joined to revitalize the discussion of the importance of puppetry to today: Special thanks to the poet Nyein Way, composer Parami Shoon, performance artist Sa Oo and the participating Thai musicians Anant Narkong, Amy Trompetter, Gitameit Music Center and Linhtet the organizer of the festival at Alliance Francaise. We also are very grateful to Mynamar Puppetry Theater, Mr. Khin Maung Htwe-Director and Ms. Tin Tin Oo-Manager, and their puppeteers: Mr. Tun Kyi@Daung Yin- Master, Mr. Maung Kyi- Master, Ms. Tin Nan Myint@Nan Tin, Ms. Cho Cho San, Ms. Khin Mya Thwe\, Ms. Yin Shwe, Mr. Aung Than Tun, Maker, and Mr. Thet Paing Htwe Oo. Future Dance But most of all thanks to Asian Cultural Council and Goethe Institute for their trust and generous support.
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A few impressions: Amy works with students at Gitameit
Rehearsal at Htwe Oo’s Myanmar Puppet Theater
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Performance at Gitameit Music Center Feb 10, 2010
Performance at International School Yangon Feb 12, 2010
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Performance at Alliance Francaise Feb 12, 2010
Now we prepare the next puppetry event for November 2010, (‘Under, After and In-between’), a collaboration of theater activists working in communities in Indonesia, Burma and Thailand and focus is Wayang Kulit from Indonesia. We also would like to repeat this Burmese Puppetry Workshop in the summer of 2011 for western students.
New York, Feb 20. 2010
Manuel Lutgenhorst