Stephen Kaplan’s (Great Small Works and Chinese Theater Works) visit was educational and inspiring. His openining lecture on the genesis of puppetry with a focus on the development of shadow puppets helped to place historical and contemporary work within a greater context. The lecture also helped me to better understand the essential role of performative objects as interpretive agents within a narrative. I was also motivated to go to Wikipedia where I read:

” Some scholars trace the origin of puppets to India 4000 years ago, where the main character in Sanskrit plays was known as “Sutradhara”, “the holder of strings”.[11] China has a history of puppetry dating back 2000 years, originally in “pi-ying xi”, the “theatre of the lantern shadows”, or, as it is more commonly known today, Chinese shadow theatre.

Sitting in a classroom in the 21st century, it was Stephen’s passion for the art and craft of shadow puppetry that gave me a better idea as to why the art form developed to begin with. The history and examination of a technology which employs the simplest, most available of tools (light source, shadow-making object, wall or screen) to create time-based media (narrative) is interesting.

That a technology which sources from the caves of Lascaux (or before) has survived along with the discovery and evolution of radio, television, film, video, and the internet is remarkable.

The fact that puppetry (including shadow puppets) continues to act as an viable agent for the transmission of culture in different societies, possesses cross-cultural appeal, and the ability to spark imagination of young and old alike (for the lowest of budgets!) makes this a medium which is worth discovering and re-examining.

Mr. Kaplin’s transition from puppet history, to his professional work in shadow puppetry, and eventually into the hands-on classroom exercise was a seamless and inspiring teaching process.
shadow puppets

Peter Terezakis
ITP, Tisch School of the Arts
New York City