Puppetry

From six seasons to two

Bronze-winged jacana.  Photo: India nature watch

This post comes to you from Ashden Directory

Kellie Gutman writes:

The state of Orissa, located in east-central India, was once known for having six seasons.  Not only were there six, Grishmar (summer), Barsha (rainy), Sarata (autumn), Hemanta (dew), Sisira (winter), and Basanta (spring), each two months long, but the people in the area could forecast the onset of each one by the behaviour of certain birds.  For instance, the bronze-winged jacana would lay its eggs during the monsoons, so its mating calls signaled the arrival of the rains.

But climate change has brought excessive heat to Orissa, and now people say there are only two seasons: rains and summer. Winter is just a short transition between them.

The Glass Half Full Theatre in Austin, Texas, which crafts “Environmental Puppetry” is putting on Once There Were Six Seasons, opening February 13, 2013.  Environmental Puppetry uses very small puppets on large landscapes with visible puppeteers.  The puppetry focuses on the changing landscapes more than on the actual puppets.  Their earlier work, Bob’s Hardware, about a small family-owned hardware store being pushed out by a big-box store can be seen here:

Once There Were Six Seasons is based on the story of Orissa’s seasons, as told to the artistic director, Caroline Reck, on her visit to India.

See: What happened to the seasons

“ashdenizen blog and twitter are consistently among the best sources for information and reflection on developments in the field of arts and climate change in the UK” (2020 Network)

ashdenizen is edited by Robert Butler, and is the blog associated with the Ashden Directory, a website focusing on environment and performance.
The Ashden Directory is edited by Robert Butler and Wallace Heim, with associate editor Kellie Gutman. The Directory includes features, interviews, news, a timeline and a database of ecologically – themed productions since 1893 in the United Kingdom. Our own projects include ‘New Metaphors for Sustainability’, ‘Flowers Onstage’ and ‘Six ways to look at climate change and theatre’.

The Directory has been live since 2000.

Go to The Ashden Directory

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CSPA Supports: Round TWO

The CSPA congratulates the second recipient of a CSPA Supports MicroGrant:  Elizabeth English and A Collection of Shiny Objects in Brooklyn, NY for their original theater production of Goods & Services (The Walmart Project).

Goods & Services is a collaborative, semi-devised object theater piece that explores Americans’ relationhship with the buying and selling of consumer gods with a focus on the phenomenon of the “Big Box” store.  The project will be developed and presented at the Henson PATCH (Puppetry at the Carriage House) in April 2012.  The project will then move on to New York City early in 2013, with a goal of touring afterwards.

The theme of the project revolves around issues of American consumer culture, the buying and selling and life cycles of objects, and by extension the nature of the community formed by consumers and Walmart employees.  The project reflects three facets of sustainability simultaneously: the environmental impact of consumer culture through theme, the economic impact of the “Big Box” store (and community impact), especially as it manifests in the current climate of economic crisis through story, and new models of sustainable creative space through process.

The recipient of Round Two of CSPA Supports has been selected by a small panel of adjudicators including Ian Garrett, Sarah Peterson, and Miranda Wright, based on the CSPA’s articulated grant guidelines.  We are looking forward to Round Three!

More about A Collection of Shiny Objects here:  http://www.collectshinyobjects.org

 

CSPA Supports

CSPA Supports is a micro-grant program for artists working in any facet of sustainability.  Awards range from $200 to $1,000.  Our next deadline is January 1st, 2012.  Guidelines may be found at https://www.sustainablepractice.org/cspasupports/

PAST RECIPIENTS:

ROUND ONE:

Public Office for Architecture (POA) is a collaborative project situated at MoKS, Center for Arts and Social Practice in Mooste, Estonia.  POA is an artistic practice conceived as a a nomadic architecture office.  POA involves and engages the public with the built environment through architectural and artistic dialogue and intervention.

9Thirty Theatre Company presents The Birds

THE BIRDS

by: Aristophanes

Directed by: Aaron Gonzalez

Composed by: James Stewart

Preview: August 8th

Runs: August 10th-15th & 17th- 21st

Showtimes: @ 8PM | Sat. matinees @ 3PM | Sundays @ 7PM

Admission: $15 (advance) $18 (general), $12 (students and seniors with valid ID)

Click Here to Purchase Tickets

TEL 866.811.4111

Place: Greek Cultural Center | 26-80 30 Street, Astoria, NY 11102
Directions: Click here.


The Birds is set in a landfill/crow’s nest, and inhabited by half-puppet half-man trash art creations, our protagonist’s seeks fortune with a plan that hinges on Man’s “out of sight out of mind,” mentality. The old adage, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” rings true and he prevails by defeating his enemies with their own greed.

Performed by: Freddie Bennett, Patrick Bonck, Matthew Jellison, Nicole Hodges*, Kim Ramirez, & Eric Sutton*
With Lighting Design and Stage Management by Michael Beyrouti, Costume Design by Dana Dobreva, Puppetry by Lillian Clements, Composition by James Stewart, and Set Design by: Aaron Gonzalez
*Appearing Courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association
Equity Approved Showcase