The Ulr
ike Quade Company, who have performed shows at the last two BFPs, are looking for visual artists interested in developing puppet making skills in the Japanese Bunraku puppet tradition.
This intensive two-week workshop in Amsterdam is an opportunity to make a fully functioning puppet under the guidance of master puppet-maker Watanabe Kazunori. The finished puppets will be presented during the Pop Arts Festival in Amsterdam in February 2014.
Osaka is home to the oldest Bunraku theatre in Japan. Located in the heart of the modern entertainment district, the vibrant life of the city contrasts starkly with the traditional culture of Bunraku. This classical Japanese theatrical form has its origins in the seventeenth century and is protected as world heritage by UNESCO.
In Bunraku theatre, three players manipulate each puppet. This requires close collaboration and a high level of coordination and skill. While the puppets are almost exclusively used in traditional Bunraku theatre in Japan, they also lend themselves to movements reminiscent of animation, modern dance and games. Ulrike Quade seeks to develop new theatrical forms by exploring, in a number of different ways, the relationship of historical traditions. In 2012, Ulrike Quade and Nicole Beutler created Antigone, a movement-based performance involving three Bunraku puppets.
The heads, hands and feet of Bunraku puppets are made of wood. A costume-covered mechanism completes the whole. The faces are traditionally stipulated by the choice of text. Workshop participants will be able to experiment with the different degrees of freedom that might be taken within the strict framework of the Bunraku tradition.
During the OSAKA project, Japanese master puppet-maker Watanabe Kazunori will teach ten artists/art students how to make Bunraku puppets.
The objective of the workshop is to make a complete, fully functioning puppet. The workshop concludes with a presentation and evaluation session during the Amsterdam Pop Arts Festival, which runs concurrently. A follow-up to the OSAKA project will take place in 2015, when a number of the puppets will be developed and a performance prepared.
The workshop takes place in Amsterdam between 27 January and 8 February 2014, and concludes with a presentation on 9 February 2014. Times: 10.00-17.00. Fee:400 euro (lunch included), discount possible for students. Register for the workshop via this link. http://www.ulrikequade.nl/theater/?page_id=3347
The Ulrike Quade Company produces visual theatre performances under the artistic direction of Ulrike Quade (b. 1971, Neuss). In search of new theatrical forms, the Ulrike Quade Company often works on (inter) national coproductions with other artists and institutions, including the Jo Strømgren Kompani and Nicole Beutler Projects. With an impressive command of performance and technique, the company brings handmade human figures to life. Every production takes a new perspective on people and their surroundings as its central theme. Quade makes theatre that is committed and layered, but also surprisingly elegant, surreal, ironic and poetic.
Puppet Place Blog 