How puppetry

art from a

distant culture

can extend

your students’ IN THE SHADOW OF GIANTS reach BY DANIEL MCGUIRE

12 TEACHING THEATRE DANIEL MCGUIRE Then in 1984, while on a youthful walkabout in Java, I stumbled on a shadow puppet performance. I didn’t understand the language then or have a clue as to what was going on—but was captivated. Over nine hours, I surrendered to the flickering shadows, the otherworldly sounds of the gamelan orchestra, the exquisite simplicity of the whole experience; and like many other Westerners since Antonin Artaud, I found myself in a kind of fugue state. I found particular fascination in the icon of the dalang, the puppeteer, who plays all the roles, manip- ulates the puppets, conducts the musicians, and even serves as a spiri- tual figure and moral guide to the Javanese. I later would learn that many dalang also dance and take roles on traditional stages, as well as in cultural oddities like Ludruk, a kind of drag-show burlesque. The dalang struck me as a complete performing artist, displaying a versatil- ity that left the American notion of the “triple threat”—actor-singer- dancer—in the dust. I COME FROM a family of A few years after that trip I finagled a scholarship to the School for Puppeteers in Surakarta, Central Java. More studies followed, and to- day, while I wouldn’t dare call myself a dalang, I do have the ability actors, but never felt destined to share this art form with Westerners. I’ve written widely on the way- ang kulit, as it’s called in Java and Bali, though shadow puppetry takes myself for a life in the theatre. many forms as a popular storytelling phenomenon around the world. (Wayang is an Indonesian word for shadow, and kulit means leather I had stage fright. Thin skin. or parchment, traditional materials for puppet-making.) I’ve performed in rural villages in Java and Bali, and in hipster venues such as PS122, in New York’s East Village. I’ve learned that shadow puppetry rarely I wasn’t the eager-to-please bombs, whatever the setting, however “sophisticated” the audience, however crude the puppetry itself. type. I feared unemployment. And as a workshop leader in schools and universities across the United States, I’ve seen the shyest, most skeptical students transform Most of all, I hated the idea, themselves into fearless theatre artists. Puppetry can do this for your students, too.

both as an artist and as a Why puppetry works Most theatre teachers know the frustration of trying to introduce kids person, of always being at to the magic of performance, only to get hung up on the psychological and logistical hurdles that often come with it. Puppetry, shadow pup- the mercy of things beyond petry in particular, is different. Issues like common stage fright, adoles- cent self-consciousness, certain students’ inability or unwillingness to focus on the work at hand—these are all rendered moot by the unique my control. qualities of the form. In a shadow puppet performance, the players are hidden behind a screen. They don’t need to look out on a vast audience if they don’t want to; nor do they sense the audience’s eyes on them. Their charac- ter creations are not themselves, so they don’t feel like they’re being judged. They don’t even need to make eye contact with their fellow actors. If memorization is a problem for some, they can read from scripts on music stands. Most physical limitations, likewise, are easily dealt with. And while those students already inclined to perform might fly fast- er at first, there’s no advantage to being beautiful or cool or “talented” in the way we Broadway-centric Americans tend to define it. “I was always typecast in traditional theatre,” writes Larry Reed, founder of Shadowlight Theatre in San Francisco, who had his own puppetry epiphany years ago in Bali. “The wayang allowed me to play roles At left, the Groucho Marx of shadow puppets, that were never otherwise possible.” Petruk; above, modern waylang kulit puppets with If an illiterate Javanese dalang from a small village can conjure up overhead projector transparencies as scenery. mythic kings and demons using only a cotton screen, some sticks, and

TEACHING THEATRE 13 Students show off their shadow puppets at the Chinese Theatre Works in New York City. STEPHEN KAPLIN carved parchment puppets, imagine the puppet figures and enlarging light ex- called himself a “conduit” for charac- possibilities for your own students. tend students’ reach in ways that are both ters that form in the mind, extend up exciting and safe. A small gesture of the through the arm, and are conjured in Living large, on a budget hand becomes a huge movement on the the form of shadows on a screen. He There’s something, too, about the small screen, so it takes extreme care and con- describes a “membrane” that separates scale of a shadow puppet show that centration to create meaningful action. the puppeteer from his character, a keeps kids riveted. I’ve found it surpris- Another selling point for shadow kind of protective force-field made tan- ingly easy to manage a classroom of puppetry as a teaching tool: it’s cheap. gible by whatever surface the shadow elementary-school students—even those Stephen Kaplin of Chinese Theatre is projected upon. That can be an es- labeled as A.D.D. or A.D.H.D. Kids who Works, in New York City, has a partic- pecially liberating concept for teen- have a hard time concentrating on typi- ularly economical system. He uses aged performers, who often feel awk- cal classroom activities will hunker overhead projectors for his perfor- ward and exposed on stage. Earlier I down when they see their little world mances and workshops, which means mentioned my own thin skin, which I being blown up on a big screen, in real that materials—acetate, paper, tape, always considered a temperamental time, for the world to see. Forget about etc.—can come in at under $50 and fit defect for an aspiring actor. With pup- students wandering off during rehearsal; in a suitcase. Overhead-projector pup- petry, though, I can take on a new my big problem is making room for all petry also scales up: the show can be skin. A new body. I can reach distant the kids demanding screen time. rehearsed in a classroom, and then audiences, and find new sources of Students quickly latch on to shadow projected for the entire school in an income, thanks to an ever-expanding puppetry as a “virtual” performance me- auditorium or gymnasium. And when galaxy of digital gadgets and media. dium—a quality they recognize from shadowplay time is over, all the stu- Today’s students can expect, if their favorite role-playing video games, dents’ creations can be saved and they’re lucky, to find lucrative work in action movies, and science fiction. stored in a small space. formats that were unknown just a few (There are plenty of real-life parallels to But for me, the most compelling years ago. We owe it to them to pro- talk about, too, as when scientists use reason to put those sticks in your stu- vide some grounding in virtual-acting sophisticated remote-control technolo- dents’ hands is this: puppetry develops technique. For all the reasons I’ve gies to probe and perform tasks deep in a healthy objectivity in the actor. Reed, talked about, shadow puppetry is an the ocean, earth, or outer space.) The the San Francisco puppeteer, has ideal starting point.

14 TEACHING THEATRE

The first lesson: for kids—that puppets are, in many That did more than any briefing paper blow minds, have fun ways, an ideal means of exploring I might write.” I sometimes introduce wayang kulit as adult themes. And I demand they take I mention Howard Gardner’s theory part of a more general workshop on pup- the class and their classmates seriously. of multiple intelligences, and point to petry arts. Here’s how things might go. In the beginning of a typical work- examples from students’ own experi- Let’s say I’ve been invited to a shop with me, the kids wave the pup- ence showing how the best presenta- tenth-grade humanities class where the pets in the air and bang into each other. tions connect with audiences on more students are learning about early ex- That period lasts ten minutes or so, until than one level. For their own early- plorers. I’m there because in this state the kids realize how much more effec- explorer presentations, I ask that the (Illinois, where I was a teaching artist tive they can be with deliberate move- students take aim at least three intelli- for several years), as elsewhere, a unit ments, dramatic pauses, decisive still- gences—auditory, kinesthetic, and vi- on public speaking is part of the re- ness. They begin to apply their fine sual—and offer them five basic com- quired curriculum. I’ve got one week, motor skills, so well honed on those munication/puppetry models to choose about an hour each day, to help these game consoles and computers, to this from in staging their material: kids come up with short, snappy, new challenge. They create a vocabulary 1. Tabletop/sand table. Profession- small-group presentations on their as- of simple, clear gestures, using them in als in the military, law enforcement signed subjects: Leif Ericson, Marco conjunction with text and music. They and emergency-response fields often Polo, Vasco Da Gama, etc. On the last begin to interact and share the stage. explore scenarios using a flat tray filled day, they’ll deliver these historical info- We then move on to the second law with sand and small figures represent- mercials to a minor assembly in the of puppetry: What Happens in Puppet- ing people and objects. The puppeteer school auditorium. land Stays in Puppetland. Puppet the- has a godlike perspective, and in these Public speaking is an ordeal for atre allows the students freedom of ex- presentations, terrain and its effect on most adolescents, and they feign disin- pression like nothing else. Here they the human drama must be the major terest to mask their fear. As I’m setting can be whoever or whatever they want theme. up my puppet screen, I might hear a to be. Violence—when when it serves 2. Cantastoria/wayang beber. In few snide remarks from the kids who a point—is permissible in Puppetland, cantastoria, a large picture with multi- think they’re too cool for all this. I as are many other antisocial behaviors. ple scene vignettes is displayed, narrat- often make these potential troublemak- Of course, in exchange for allowing ed, and occasionally set to music by ers my first “volunteers.” them this latitude on stage, I demand the group. (One cantastoria still seen I start by beating them up. Well, not that they act like professionals off these days in Italy is the Passion of the the students themselves (tempting as stage. Most do, to a surprising degree. Christ, in which a poster depicting the that might be), but their shadow pup- The students look forward to their time Stations of the Cross is described in pets and characters. I give each stu- in character, when they can talk back narration and song.) Wayang beber is dent a puppet and a place on the to me, to the world, and say what they similar, except that a scroll of images screen/stage. Then my puppet figure— really think. is unrolled, showing a dozen or so se- an uncouth character named Petruk— quential scenes to be voiced by the introduces students to the techniques Bringing ideas to life group. of puppet manipulation with a rude We spend time the first day discussing 3. Doll/object/miniature theatre. game of “Simon Says,” in which I be- what makes puppetry uniquely chal- Using dolls and a dollhouse, house- rate them like a drill instructor. My lenging and fun, and we practice some hold objects or a small proscenium character teaches their characters to basic skills. As our attention shifts to stage, students narrate and enact his- stand up properly, speak clearly, main- the business of the students’ early- toric scenes. tain eye contact with the other pup- explorer projects, I make the point that 4. Overhead/wayang kulit. Stu- pets, make deliberate and meaningful life itself is a series of presentations. In dents use an overhead projector with movements, and to support the other whatever careers students might hand-cut figures and scenery, or devel- players when it’s someone else’s turn choose, they’re apt to find that people op a story using my traditional shadow at center stage. If I get challenged in with sharp, creative presentation skills puppets and screen. any way, I make their puppets do have influence, and that people with 5. Muppet, sock and rod jumping jacks and push-ups. If they influence find it easier to acquire puppets. These are the kinds of pup- really sass me, I open up a can of pup- power, wealth, and security. I quote pets most of us grew up with. Students pet whoop-ass. terrorism expert Richard Clarke, who might choose to stage a Muppet-style When the laughter dies down, I in- made this observation of his years show, though building traditional hand troduce what I call the first law of pup- spent advising the Clinton and Bush puppets can be time-consuming. If the petry: Respect the Puppet. I teach that administrations on possible threats: puppets end up being very crude, I puppetry is an ancient and noble voca- “The only time I was really effective in suggest to the students that a more so- tion that is the ancestor of all media. I getting senior officers to pay attention phisticated, literary script might pro- get them to see that puppets aren’t just was when I had tabletop war games. vide an effective contrast.

TEACHING THEATRE 15 Shadow puppetry two ways DANIEL MCGUIRE

THE SIMPLEST WAY to create shadow have photocopied or printed puppetry is to use something avail- on to acetate. You can then able in almost every classroom: the tape them to the roll in the humble overhead projector. Here are sequence of your story, and some tips to get you started: crank from one scene to the • Order a piece of Plexiglas ap- next. proximately 24 inches square from • In transitions from scene your local glass or hardware store to scene, it helps to have two (the cost won’t be more than $15). projectors. If you want to get By placing this on top of the over- fancy, you can create a sim- head glass, you give your students a ple switch or dimmer that al- much bigger work area. While the lows you to turn off one pro- Two students getting in touch with their inner wayang actual lit area hasn’t expanded, you jector as the other goes on, or puppet. now have “wings” where you can fade from one to another. stage props and characters, or “fly” The second way to do shadow Running along the bottom is the (slide) scenery in from the sides, top puppetry with your students is “stage,” made from brightly colored and bottom. You will probably need through the classic wayang form. swimming-pool “noodles.” The pup- to cut a notch in the Plexiglas (use a Some ideas for this approach: pet sticks can be stuck into the noo- fine jigsaw blade) to accommodate • Wayang puppets are often avail- dles, allowing one puppeteer to per- the projector’s vertical arm. You able on eBay, or you and your stu- form with several puppets might also want to dull the Plexi- dents can make your own simple simultaneously. glas’s sharp corners, or cover them wayang by cutting figures from card • Light sources might be desk with tape. stock and attaching them to sticks us- lamps or video projectors; you can • Some overheads have scrolls of ing tape or hot glue. The best sticks also combine wayang-style puppetry transparency material attached. These I’ve found are dowels, bamboo toma- with one or more overheads. One can be used to create scenery. You to plant stakes or, for smaller pup- way of creating scenery is to bring a can draw scenery on the acetate us- pets, bamboo shish-kabob skewers series of landscape images into Pow- ing magic markers, or stick on that you can buy at a supermarket. erPoint, and project them on the shapes cut from contact paper. You • The stage consists of a white screen. can also create scenery from photo- cotton screen (an old bed sheet works graphs or scanned images that you well) stapled onto a wood frame. —D.M.

Now each small group gets to work for anything called a “puppet show,” is possible to write a character like Iago deciding what story to tell about their appreciative. Most have never seen without completely identifying with early explorer, and how to tell it. I anything like it. They crack up when him—being not so much in sympathy leave the students free to brainstorm, four macho football players in “puppet with Iago, which implies a kind of experiment and argue, poking my drag” put on a Barbie-doll re-enact- agreement, but in accord with Iago. head in now and then to offer my own ment of one historical tale; they’re You accept Iago for what he does and ideas. moved when a disabled student por- allow him to follow his destiny. Iago Over the next few days I help the trays a physically daring hero. needs to go where Iago will go, inde- students develop and edit their scripts, When one especially voluble kid pendent of a writer’s moral concerns. work out blocking and flesh out char- throws herself into a role, concealed Shadow puppetry ups the ante fur- acters. We practice improv techniques, behind the puppet screen, the teacher ther and requires the performer to play with and without the students’ puppet elbows me and whispers, “This is the two different roles, usually with one avatars. And we find out what special only time she’s ever spoken in my puppet in the right hand and another in skills some might have—rap, impres- class.” the left. In Java, a puppeteer will voice sions, drawing, playing an instru- intricate Socratic dialogues with him- ment—that might be put in service of The bigger picture self, or perform comic banter where the story. Keats wrote about the concept of “neg- he’s playing the equivalent of Abbott Finally, it’s show time. The groups’ ative capability.” He said that a great and Costello in the “Who’s on First?” performances rarely run longer than artist, like Shakespeare, had the ability routine. This practice develops skills ten minutes (Petruk tells them to “keep to get into the heads of characters rarely exercised in traditional Western it too short to suck”), and the audi- without passing judgment on them theatre study, but which are invaluable ence, coming in with low expectations from the outside. Keats felt it was im- for storytelling and voice-over work.

16 TEACHING THEATRE

(Those voice geniuses on The Sim- Among Daniel McGuire’s many writ- psons make good livings.) But to me it ings on Indonesian theatre is a trans- embodies an idea primary to any liber- lation of a wayang golek performance al education. Perhaps F. Scott Fitzger- called The Traitor Jobin. He’s also a ald said it best: “The test of a first-rate fan of more familiar styles of puppetry, intelligence is the ability to hold two having worked on the first season of opposed ideas in the mind at the same Pee-wee’s Playhouse and with artists time, and still retain the ability to func- from the Jim Henson Company, tion.” among others. McGuire lives in Ply- mouth, Massachusetts. PLATO, WRITING in The Republic, imag- ined a group of prisoners shackled To find out more about puppetry, from infancy, who knew the world only McGuire recommends the following through shadow figures projected on three books: the walls of their cave. Unable to turn On Thrones of Gold: Three Jav- around and look to the light, the prison- anese Shadow Plays (out-of-print, but ers confused the shadows with the available on Amazon.com), by James source and were in the thrall of their R. Brandon. jailers, just as Neo, Keanu Reaves’ char- Shadow Puppets & Shadow acter in The Matrix, was in the thrall of Play(Crowood Press, 2007), by David a sentient computer. Plato describes the Currell. plight of a prisoner who breaks free, Puppet Mania! (Hands in Art, discovers (painfully, at first) real reality 2004),, by John Kennedy. by the light of day, and tries to free his comrades from their “virtual” existence. Neo’s journey is the same. I could point to more benevolent examples—Gepetto was a good guy, at least according to Walt Disney—but puppetry, especially the sinister pup- peteer, has become a well-worn meta- phor for power, manipulation, and control. As a shadow artist myself, of course, I take a more nuanced view. The humble puppet releases the actor from the tyranny of his own im- age. It teaches us that our influence is bounded only by our readiness to work, to refine our technique, and to develop empathy and understanding of the human condition. Dalang live by this philosophy, which might be why, despite the invasion of movies, television, and computer games even to their remote corner of the world, they still enjoy excellent job security. We all contain multitudes. Each of us has an infinite capacity to reach others in a positive way, but we keep our imaginations stuck in that cave. And I’m not just talking about our ob- sessively plugged-in students. For a time in my own life, I chose to see only my limitations. Maybe you’ve been there. Shadow puppetry reminds us—simply, beautifully—to turn toward the light.

TEACHING THEATRE 17 Originally published in the quarterly journal Teaching Theatre. More info: Schooltheatre.org