Looking Back at Puppet Notebook Issue 8 – Meeting the Audience
Exploring how puppetry connects with audiences, from giant masks to digital improvisation and traditional arts.
Meeting the Audience: A Look Back at Puppet Notebook Issue 8
In this edition of Puppet Notebook, the spotlight falls on the art of audience connection, examining how puppetry bridges cultural divides and engages viewers through both traditional forms and innovative technologies. With 28 pages and 30 black-and-white line drawings and photographs, this issue captures the diversity and creativity of contemporary puppetry.
A Prelude to Perth: The 2008 UNIMA Congress & Festival
A key feature of this issue is a preview of the upcoming UNIMA Congress & Festival in Perth, Western Australia, scheduled for 2-12 April 2008. This major international gathering promises to bring together puppeteers, scholars, and enthusiasts from across the globe to share ideas, celebrate traditions, and explore new directions in puppetry.
Exploring Puppetry's Power to Connect
In keeping with the theme of Meeting the Audience, this issue delves into a range of productions and projects that showcase puppetry’s unique ability to captivate and communicate across different mediums and cultures.
"The Fear Brigade" by Adrian Mitchell – A powerful production that used giant masks and puppets to confront themes of fear and oppression.
"The Virtual Puppeteer: Improvisation in the Digital Age" by Lucy Childs – An exploration of digital puppetry and real-time performance, where technology allows puppeteers to interact with audiences in virtual environments.
"In Search of an Audience: The Fate of Traditional Arts in Cambodia and Malaysia" by Robert Fowler – A thoughtful reflection on the challenges faced by traditional puppeteers in Southeast Asia as they strive to keep ancient art forms alive in a rapidly changing world.
News, Reviews, and Diary Updates
Alongside these in-depth features, Puppet Notebook Issue 8 includes the latest book reviews, offering valuable insights into new publications on puppetry history, technique, and performance. The British and International Diary section provides an up-to-date guide to festivals, workshops, and events, keeping readers connected to the global puppetry community.
Issue 8: Where Tradition and Innovation Meet the Audience
From the raw physicality of giant puppets to cutting-edge digital improvisation and the preservation of traditional performance, Puppet Notebook Issue 8 reveals the extraordinary versatility of puppetry as an art form. It is a celebration of how puppeteers continue to adapt and innovate while staying rooted in cultural heritage, always with the audience at the heart of the performance.
If you would like to send something, submission guidelines: 2,000 words for articles and essays (though this is negotiable), 500 – 1,000 words for production and book reviews. Please contact editor-in-chief Tim Butler Garrett as soon as possible at tbutlergarrett@hotmail.com to discuss proposals. The deadline for completed articles will be the 20th February 2021.