Applied Puppetry
The Theory and Practice of Object Ecologies
1st Edition
Published on 3. October 2024
200 pages
978-1-350-27942-1 (ISBN)
Description
Drawing on thirty years of making theatre with objects, this field-defining book maps the terrain of applied puppetry.
Through a range of case studies both personal and practical, Matt Smith offers a reflective and engaging study which provides makers, thinkers and students alike with a toolkit for thinking about and making puppetry in community settings.
Through eight chapters, Smith muses on the nature of creativity, explores approaches to puppetry through ecology, and considers how puppets and objects affect the act of making and - in turn - how they affect those who make, use and experience them in performance.
Along the way, Applied Puppetry offers practical exercises in theatre-making, demonstrates the political power of puppetry beyond borders, and interrogates the limitations and possibilities of puppetry and object theatre in local communities, volatile contexts and difficult circumstances.
Through a range of case studies both personal and practical, Matt Smith offers a reflective and engaging study which provides makers, thinkers and students alike with a toolkit for thinking about and making puppetry in community settings.
Through eight chapters, Smith muses on the nature of creativity, explores approaches to puppetry through ecology, and considers how puppets and objects affect the act of making and - in turn - how they affect those who make, use and experience them in performance.
Along the way, Applied Puppetry offers practical exercises in theatre-making, demonstrates the political power of puppetry beyond borders, and interrogates the limitations and possibilities of puppetry and object theatre in local communities, volatile contexts and difficult circumstances.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
20 bw
ISBN-13
978-1-350-27942-1 (9781350279421)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
05/2026
Methuen Drama
€44.20
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Matt Smith is Reader in Applied Theatre and Puppetry at the University of Portsmouth, UK, prior to that having spent 20 years as a community artist. During this time, he worked with schools, youth groups, children in care, special needs groups, prisons, hospitals, environmental agencies and the homeless. He has published a number of journal articles on applied puppetry.
Content
Notes on the text
Introduction: My Personal Context, Hands on, Broken Puppets, Objects with Objectives, Definitions, Power and Theories, Borders, Psychogeography, Waste, Ecology, Scale, Anthropomorphism and Materialism.
1. Objects Speaking for Themselves: Mapping the Field of Applied Puppetry
2. Thinking with Ecology: New Paradigms in Material Performance
3. Thingness, Puppethood and Violence: The Materiality of Performing Objects
4. Puppet Power in Intercultural Practices: Communities, Ethics and Representation.
5. Plastics Talking About Plastics: Marlsite Projects and Ecological Puppetry
6. Puppetry in HMP Haslar IRC: Working with Marginalised and Vulnerable Participants
7. Participatory Ecologies: Toy Theatres, Kamishibai and Puppet City
8. Talking to Roots: Kinship with the More than Human Envoi - Sharing Spaces with Objects: Listening, Caves, Ephemera, Popularity, Reciprocity and Chimaeras
Exercises
Notes
References
Index
Introduction: My Personal Context, Hands on, Broken Puppets, Objects with Objectives, Definitions, Power and Theories, Borders, Psychogeography, Waste, Ecology, Scale, Anthropomorphism and Materialism.
1. Objects Speaking for Themselves: Mapping the Field of Applied Puppetry
2. Thinking with Ecology: New Paradigms in Material Performance
3. Thingness, Puppethood and Violence: The Materiality of Performing Objects
4. Puppet Power in Intercultural Practices: Communities, Ethics and Representation.
5. Plastics Talking About Plastics: Marlsite Projects and Ecological Puppetry
6. Puppetry in HMP Haslar IRC: Working with Marginalised and Vulnerable Participants
7. Participatory Ecologies: Toy Theatres, Kamishibai and Puppet City
8. Talking to Roots: Kinship with the More than Human Envoi - Sharing Spaces with Objects: Listening, Caves, Ephemera, Popularity, Reciprocity and Chimaeras
Exercises
Notes
References
Index
