Transforming Text

This class considers the conceptual and practical
aspects of adapting existing texts (whether from
drama or literature) when using puppets or
performing objects as integral elements in a
theatrical work. Open to all MFA students,
students from different disciplines will work in
tandem, selecting and analyzing texts and
considering the use of puppet forms that can
illuminate the text in substantial ways. This
collaboration is essential in the development of
new work for that incorporates puppets or
objects, as the puppet serves a double use as
both an element of the design and as a performing
object/actor. While conceiving and designing
these objects as a part of the dramaturgical
approach, students will examine the ways in which
the use of puppets can unlock a text or create a
world. Through viewings and assignments, students
will explore issues such as scale, doubling,
ambiguity, the use of metaphor, and the
relationship of actor to puppet, while examining
the historical use of the performing object as an
essential theatrical tool of the avant-garde.