Puppets are cool.
I thought so when I was five, when I was preparing my puppet dance theater for a midterm freshman year (ohhh yes) and I thought so this past weekend as I sat in the audience of Pants On Fire's Metamorphoses production at the Flea Theater. Most may - of course I am generalizing her - think of puppets as associated with children, Sesame street, etc., but the art of puppetry is actually much more vast and much more appreciated in other cultures (see Japanese Butoh) for instance. The beauty of puppetry is the power of illusion and animation. When it comes to dance, the use of puppetry is even more interesting and complex (to freaks like me) because puppets are usually modeled based on the human body. However, as a puppet - an object only mimicking a body - the possibilities for aesthetics, choreography, movement, action, etc are limitless.
This whole idea came into play in a big way in the incredible performance of Metamorphoses. Though puppetry was only one of the art forms used in the performance, it was used in a very clever, impressionable way. Drawing from the Japanese butoh style of puppetry (where three puppeteers manipulate one puppet, and are visible though dressed in black) three actors manipulated a puppets body, with one of there faces exposed as the puppets head. It was weird yet amazing to watch the puppet body moving in impossible ways, flying through the air all while having human facial expressions. The choreography of this puppet/dance-ish scene into the play certainly complimented the theme of fantasy and mythology as well.
So, my point is, the next time you hear of a performance involving puppetry - no matter what it may be (dance, theater, etc.) - go see it, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Please check out my review of "Metamorphoses"
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