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| The Seed Carriers (FIMFA Lx10, Museu da Marioneta, 2010) |
Marionettes are so risky for the performer. Their heads wobble inanely; their strings tangle; their limbs glitch and catch and then suddenly release, with consequent shockwaves of unwanted dangling. The range of movement built into their rigid little bodies is often inadequate for their eventual roles. And to make things worse, they look terrible when filmed. So why would any performer want to present these dreadful things in front of an audience?
Nowadays staged marionette plays are quite rare. We are more likely to find string puppets being presented by black costumed soloists on the street or in cabaret. The short numbers they perform often feature comedy musicians and caricature circus performers. But whilst often very skilful and entertaining, this is only part of what marionettes can do.
Nowadays staged marionette plays are quite rare. We are more likely to find string puppets being presented by black costumed soloists on the street or in cabaret. The short numbers they perform often feature comedy musicians and caricature circus performers. But whilst often very skilful and entertaining, this is only part of what marionettes can do.
String puppets have real spatial independence which adds sculpture to performances. They are very good at being the ‘non individual person’ – humanity in general. They are lyrical and combine beautifully with music. There can be several versions of the same character, with different controls and string positions, specialised for different types of activity. (Audiences will remember if a puppet walks, rides a bicycle, then crawls on the floor before jumping up into the air and flying away). And marionette characters don’t need to be caricatures of human actors. Animals and hybrid people with fascinating movement are also a rich string puppet resource.
In traditional marionette theatres, I love the way the puppets walk onto the stage and strike a pose whilst their controls are hung on “gallows” hidden from the audience behind the proscenium curtain. They stand proudly in the centre of the stage while other figures join them and are also hung up. The resulting group can then have particular strings clipped together and be moved by a single performer. This technique allows two or three puppeteers to operate a large cast of characters at the same time – something very difficult to do with other types of figure.
In recent years I have found a surprising theatricality in groups of marionettes moving together – choreographed almost like dancers and presented almost like dance. When their manipulation gives them real animal credibility, string puppets stop being caricatures and become powerfully emotive. It takes a lot of performers to manipulate a troupe of marionettes of course, and to give marionettes believable movement takes a lot of practise, so my experiments with this have mostly been during movement workshops where many willing hands have been available to pull strings. But in these sessions I have seen glimpses of a string puppet theatre which is moving, dignified and genuinely dramatic. Marionettes then, can perform serious physical theatre for critical audiences.
It is very tantalising to know that something truly magical is out there just waiting to be done. The potential of the string puppet is clearly very big once we can negotiate our way through the wobbles and glitches and give our marionettes a clear and readable language of movement.
BIO
Stephen Mottram (UK): Puppeteer, director and puppet builder.
He played in FIMFA with In Suspension (Teatro Taborda, 2003), Organillo (Teatro da Trindade, Teatro Viriato, 2005), The Seed Carriers (Museu da Marioneta, 2010). He directed the workshop Consciously Manipulative (Teatro Taborda, 2003).
