The contemporary theater collective Manual Cinema formed in Chicago in 2010 with the mission of employing shadow puppetry to tell new stories. Artistic directors Julia Miller and Kyle Vegter describe how, for the audience, shadow puppet silhouettes offer an ambiguous space where viewers are invited to place themselves in a character’s role.
Manual Cinema performances contain no dialogue. A live orchestra plays to original scores that amplify the emotions of the characters. The puppet silhouettes and the omission of dialogue provide the space for audiences to superimpose themselves upon the characters. The story arc and music elicit memories of connection, loneliness, love, loss, and tribulation. In this way, the puppeteers and members of the audience are co-creators of the narrative.
Read more in Folklife Magazine: [ Ссылка ]
Director and editor: Helen Lehrer
Camera: Michelle Mehrtens
© Smithsonian Institution, 2021
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