The Routledge Companion to Puppetry and Material Performance

The Routledge Companion to Puppetry and Material Performance

The Routledge Companion to Puppetry and Material Performance offers a wide-ranging <P>perspective on how scholars and artists are currently re-evaluating the theoretical, historical,</P> <P>and theatrical significance of performance that embraces the agency of inanimate objects.</P> <P>This book proposes a collaborative, responsive model for broader artistic engagement in and</P> <P>with the material world. Its 28 chapters aim to advance the study of the puppet not only as a</P> <P>theatrical object but also as a vibrant artistic and scholarly discipline.</P> <P>This <I>Companion </I>looks at puppetry and material performance from six perspectives: theoretical</P> <P>approaches to the puppet, perspectives from practitioners, revisiting history, negotiating tradition,</P> <P>material performances in contemporary theatre, and hybrid forms. Its wide range of topics, which</P> <P>span 15 countries over five continents, encompasses:</P> <P>• visual dramaturgy</P> <P>• theatrical juxtapositions of robots and humans</P> <P>• contemporary transformations of Indonesian <I>wayang kulit</P></I> <P>• Japanese ritual body substitutes</P> <P>• recent European productions featuring toys, clay, and food.</P> <P>The book features newly commissioned essays by leading scholars such as Matthew Isaac</P> <P>Cohen, Kathy Foley, Jane Marie Law, Eleanor Margolies, Cody Poulton, and Jane Taylor.</P> <P>It also celebrates the vital link between puppetry as a discipline and as a creative practice</P> <P>with chapters by active practitioners, including Handspring Puppet Company’s Basil Jones,</P> <P>Redmoon’s Jim Lasko, and Bread and Puppet’s Peter Schumann. Fully illustrated with more</P> <P>than 60 images, this volume comprises the most expansive English-language collection of</P> <P>international puppetry scholarship to date.</P>