«THE POWER OF THE PUPPET»
WORKSHOP WITH NEVILLE TRANTER
Monday Oct 10 – Thursday Oct 13, 2022
Place: Figurteatret i Nordland (aka. Nordland Visual Theatre), Stamsund, Norway
For: Performing and visual arts professionals: puppeteers, actors, dancers, circus artists, directors, singers, musicians, visual artists.
Required: Professional experience in the performing arts and committed attendance for the full duration of the course.
Language: English
Max 11 participants
Workshop fee, flights and housing in Stamsund covered by NVT
Submission deadline: June 1, 2022.
Apply via produsent.fin@nfk.no
Application requirements:
Short motivational letter, maximum 150 words
CV
Selected applicants will be invited to the workshop. The selection will be made by NVTs artistic director together with Neville Tranter
Course objectives:
In this 4-day puppeteering workshop with Neville Tranter the theme is to help explore and teach participants the possibilities of the puppet as a strong theatrical medium. Furthermore there will be a strong emphasis on the role of the puppeteer as a performing actor himself. The puppeteer does not disappear behind the puppets. His presence on stage is an integral part in the performance.
The participants will work with a puppet and bring it to “life”. Scenes will then be developed with the puppet to create short dramatical studies and situations. The participants will not only interact with the puppet, but also with the other participants in creating the scenes. The input of the participants plays a big role.
The workshop will start with students alternately working with a puppet without text.
Attention will be given to:
- how the manipulations of the puppet affects the audience.
- how the roles of puppet and puppeteer are interchangeable (who serves who?).
- differences between the “body language”of the puppet and that of the puppeteer
Individual students as well as small groups will practice this in front of the other participants.
Special attention may be given to:
- possibilities to tell a story with puppets
- how the theatre space can be used and how essential this is
- voice techniques
- supporting factors, such as light and sound
Neville Tranter (1955, Australia) completed his drama studies in 1976, and founded the Stuffed Puppet Theatre the same year. After the Stuffed Puppet Theatre had taken part in the Festival of Fools in Amsterdam in 1978, Neville Tranter moved to the Netherlands, where his visual and emotional adult puppet theatre developed to assume its present form.
In his own brutal, ruthless but poetic way, he confronts the audience with their fears and dreams, urges and desires, personified by what are often life size talking puppets.
As acclaimed puppeteer and specialist in performing with human size puppets Neville Tranter has several years of experience giving masterclasses and workshops for puppeteers and actors.