La Bricoleuse (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
labricoleuse) wrote2009-03-15 10:14 am
labricoleuse) wrote2009-03-15 10:14 am
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Artisan Focus/Behind the Scenes: Basil Twist & "Exit the King"
At the end of February, i had the good fortune and wonderful opportunity to work as a fabricator with Basil Twist, master puppeteer and Artist-in-Residence at Duke University on director Ellen Hemphill's production of Ionesco's Exit the King. I took some photos of the construction process for a couple of the creatures...
One of the puppet effects is a plague of toads/frogs.
On the right is a frog "skeleton" of foam, chopsticks, cardboard and duct tape.
On the left is a finished frog (minus the manipulating mechanism).
A couple frogs hang out, waiting for paint and mechanisms.
Here's the head of the King, a bunraku puppet in-process.
He's composed of a thick dowel, some foam/filling, adhesive, and thin nylon.
It's just a teaser, really--i know in the actual show there will also be a lifesize marionette King, a cat, a flying zeppelin, flying crows, and an eclipsing moon, among other things.
During his residency, Mr. Twist gave a video presentation and talk about his background as a 3rd-generation puppeteer, studying puppetcraft in France, his innovations in underwater puppetry, and he even demonstrated some wind-puppetry using a 3-yard-square length of china silk.
It was clear when working with him that Mr. Twist has a wonderful understanding of material and medium, that often artistry and artisanship of these kinds of constructions are tied to the artist's ability to observe and listen to the medium, the shapes it naturally wants to take, so to speak. When puppetry and conceptual stagecraft wind up looking clunky and awkward, it's not (necessarily) due to the artisan's lack of ability--it often comes from the imposition of physical demands on the puppet or medium that don't mesh with its nature (i.e., "we want this joint to be both floppy and rigid," "we want this flexible wire to remain stable in the face of inertia of movement"). I think this is one reason why it's ideal for puppeteers to be involved in the creation of the puppets themselves--they have more of a vested interest in the bringing-to-life process, so to speak, and develop an innate understanding of what the puppets can and cannot do.
I also found it to be a really excellent creative experience to work with such "low-tech" materials on this project. Knowing that Mr. Twist has previously had the resources to, say, engage the Jim Henson Creature Shop to build his design (for the 15-foot 3-person Witch puppet in the opera Hansel and Gretel), i enjoyed seeing him create such magic as the crow puppets for Exit the King using little more than duct tape and a damaged umbrella. Yet more confirmation that creative wealth is in the mind, and that, while the huge budget to construct animatronics and hydraulics is its own kind of excellent, a brilliant artist needs only mind, hands, and motivation, really.
If you are unfamiliar with the work of Mr. Twist and would like to see more, you can spend a good while watching the array of videos and paging through the images on his professional website. Many of Mr. Twist's shows are on the festival circuit this summer; check out his calendar and maybe you'll catch a performance at Spoleto or something!
One of the puppet effects is a plague of toads/frogs.
On the right is a frog "skeleton" of foam, chopsticks, cardboard and duct tape.
On the left is a finished frog (minus the manipulating mechanism).
A couple frogs hang out, waiting for paint and mechanisms.
Here's the head of the King, a bunraku puppet in-process.
He's composed of a thick dowel, some foam/filling, adhesive, and thin nylon.
It's just a teaser, really--i know in the actual show there will also be a lifesize marionette King, a cat, a flying zeppelin, flying crows, and an eclipsing moon, among other things.
During his residency, Mr. Twist gave a video presentation and talk about his background as a 3rd-generation puppeteer, studying puppetcraft in France, his innovations in underwater puppetry, and he even demonstrated some wind-puppetry using a 3-yard-square length of china silk.
It was clear when working with him that Mr. Twist has a wonderful understanding of material and medium, that often artistry and artisanship of these kinds of constructions are tied to the artist's ability to observe and listen to the medium, the shapes it naturally wants to take, so to speak. When puppetry and conceptual stagecraft wind up looking clunky and awkward, it's not (necessarily) due to the artisan's lack of ability--it often comes from the imposition of physical demands on the puppet or medium that don't mesh with its nature (i.e., "we want this joint to be both floppy and rigid," "we want this flexible wire to remain stable in the face of inertia of movement"). I think this is one reason why it's ideal for puppeteers to be involved in the creation of the puppets themselves--they have more of a vested interest in the bringing-to-life process, so to speak, and develop an innate understanding of what the puppets can and cannot do.
I also found it to be a really excellent creative experience to work with such "low-tech" materials on this project. Knowing that Mr. Twist has previously had the resources to, say, engage the Jim Henson Creature Shop to build his design (for the 15-foot 3-person Witch puppet in the opera Hansel and Gretel), i enjoyed seeing him create such magic as the crow puppets for Exit the King using little more than duct tape and a damaged umbrella. Yet more confirmation that creative wealth is in the mind, and that, while the huge budget to construct animatronics and hydraulics is its own kind of excellent, a brilliant artist needs only mind, hands, and motivation, really.
If you are unfamiliar with the work of Mr. Twist and would like to see more, you can spend a good while watching the array of videos and paging through the images on his professional website. Many of Mr. Twist's shows are on the festival circuit this summer; check out his calendar and maybe you'll catch a performance at Spoleto or something!