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The history of puppet theater is quite ancient. Its origins are found in pagan rituals and games with materialized gods. So, during the ritual mysteries in ancient Egypt, dolls depicting the god Osiris were used.
With wandering groups of puppeteers, this art came to Ancient Greece and Rome. It was in Greece that the idea arose to depict the world with a box without a front wall. Slots were made at the bottom of the box, into which sticks were inserted to control the puppets.
Puppet theater is a truly folk art. Modern puppet theater also includes television puppet programs and puppet animation.
When is Puppeteer’s Day?
International Day of Puppetry (International Day of Puppetry), or International Day of Puppet Theater (World Puppetry Day) has been celebrated since 2003 21 March.
history of the holiday
The history of the holiday began in 2000 at the XVIII Congress of the International Union of Puppet Theater Workers (Union Internationale de la Marionnette, UNIMA) in Magdeburg. It was then that Jivada Zolfagharikho, an Iranian figure in the puppet theater, proposed to establish the Day of the Puppeteer. Two years later, at a meeting of the International Council of UNIMA in Atlanta, a date was set for the celebration.
Holiday traditions
Of course, the best way to celebrate this holiday is to go to the puppet theater. On this day, puppet shows, creative meetings, concerts, excursions to puppet museums, exhibitions of theatrical puppets and other events are held.
Related Holidays
Puppeteer’s Day is not the only theatrical holiday in March.
- March 20 – World Theater Day for Children and Youth.
- March 25 – Day of the cultural worker.
- March 27 – International Theater Day.
Heroes of folk puppet theaters
Puppet theater is part of folk culture, and every country has its favorite character.
Everyone, of course, knows the hero of the theater – Petrushka. He is easily recognizable by his red shirt and pointed cap with a tassel. Favorite subjects: treatment of Petrushka, training in soldier’s service, buying a horse.
Do you know the expression “open secret”? Polichinelle is a character in the French puppet theater, a hunchback, a bully, a merry fellow, a joker, who, under the guise of secrets, reported things known to everyone.
Punch is close in character to him – a reveler, a rogue, a merry fellow and a fighter. This hunchback with a sharp hooked nose, in a pointed cap, comes from England.
In Germany, the mischievous and rogue Kasperle is popular. He wears a colorful suit, a long red nightcap, and holds a fly-swatter in his hand.
In the Turkish shadow theater, Karagyoz became the embodiment of folk humor and ingenuity.
In Hungary, the main character of the street comedy is Vityaz Laszlo. This merry, cunning and bully holds a frying pan in his hands, which he uses as a weapon.
Interesting Facts
There are more than ten types of puppets used in theatrical performances or carnivals.
In Indonesia, there is a puppet theater “Wayang”. Interestingly, men and women see the performance differently. Women sit behind a screen illuminated by a lamp and watch the shadow play. Men, on the other hand, sit on the other side of the screen and see the puppets themselves and the actors who control them.
In the XNUMXth century, Cardinal Mazarin unwittingly caused the development of puppet theater in France. To show theatrical productions, royal permission was required, and the theater of the French Comedy was in charge of issuing them. Fair theaters were deprived of such permission and turned to puppets.
There are two versions of the origin of the word “puppet”. According to one, it goes back to medieval dolls depicting the Virgin Mary, which were often called a diminutive version of her name Marion. According to the second, it comes from the name of the Italian inventor Marioni.
In Sicily, the tradition of “theatrical serials” has been preserved. Every evening, the audience watched the continuation of the story, which could stretch for a month. And earlier – and for a year.
The first mention of a puppet theater in Our Country dates back to 1636.
The first tour of puppeteers in Our Country took place in 1700.
In 1931 the State Academic Central Puppet Theatre. S. V. Obraztsova. Six years later, under him, the Museum of Theater Puppets was created, the collection of which is one of the best in the world.
The puppet theater is the main instrument of the psychological correction method “dramatic psychoelevation”. It was developed in the 1990s by I. Ya. Medvedeva and T. L. Shishova for children with behavioral and communication difficulties.