Link to PDF version here
P R E S S E ME D D E L E S E
“THE ACTOR AND THE ÜBERMARIONETTE”
– A demonstration of work in words and practice
Experimental work takes time and often consists of many phases – “The Actor and the Übermarionette” is no exception and consists of four sub-trials conducted over the last 4 years:
– Experiment 1: Open exploration of the Actor and the Übermarionette
– Experiment 2: The Aesthetics of Death
– Experiment 3: The Scenographic Actor
– Experiment 4: What is an experiment? – a working demonstration in word and practice based on the experimental series “The Actor and the Übermarionette”
During the 18/19 season, the Experimental Station has been exploring how to communicate the principles of experimental work to a wider audience – in the form of a working demonstration that the public is invited to experience ‘live’. The experiment is entitled “What is an experiment? A working demonstration in word and practice based on The Actor & The Übermarionette”. We have chosen the presentation format of the work demonstration, understood as an artistic and pedagogical form that emphasises dissemination and learning, to put the audience in a different, more intimate role in relation to the work.
With this working demonstration, the experimental station wants to make visible the ‘invisible’ but essential elements of creating professional performing arts. Professional performing arts are an accumulation of invested time, training and persistent artistic experimentation. With this in mind, we have created this working demonstration based on a multi-year pilot project of the same title. It is a study of the stage expression of the actor and the puppet theatre and the fusion of both into a new stage expression. The experiment is inspired by theatre theorist Edward Gordon Craig’s thoughts and ideas about the “ideal” actor, the übermarionette, free of strings attached, free of psychology and realism and inspired by the poetry and symbolic universe of puppetry.
Idea and concept: Lotte Faarup and Øyvind Kirchhoff
Bjarne Kalhøj: puppeteer
Rolf Søborg Hansen: puppeteer
Øyvind Kirchhoff: Actor
Instructor: Lotte Faarup
In addition to those mentioned, there have been many collaborators in the various sub-experiments, including the Danish School of Performing Arts, Copenhagen, Charlotte Munksø and third-year students from the acting school; puppeteers Anette Asp Christensen and Svend E. Kristensen; actors/performers Helena Berglund, Jacob Femerling, Poul Storm, Mireia Serra, Angelina Watson, Malte Claudio Lind and Jens Bäckvall.
The process has been followed by documentary filmmaker Helle Lyshøj and turned into a short documentary edited by Helle Lyshøj and Lotte Faarup.
Watch the film via the link or by clicking on the photo below:
The concept behind “The Actor and the Übermarionette” has already been presented in a seminar at Aalborg University organized with Professor mso Falk Heinrich, Research Laboratory for Art and Technology, AAU and Associate Professor Annelis Kuhlmann, Dramaturgy, AU. Students from both institutions also participated in the workshop based on the work demonstration and discussed artistic research. In addition, a large group of American students from DIS Study Abroad In Scandinavia experienced the work demonstration at the Creative Approaches event held at the Experiment Station in April. Most recently, it could be experienced at the conference “On the notion of practice” led by Dansehallerne on. 9-10 May, which took place here at the Experimental Station.
THE WORKING DEMONSTRATION WAS ALSO SHOWN DURING CPH STAGE 2019
(programme mention here)
It is possible to book the working demonstration for conferences, seminars or just as a one-off event. For further information on price and technical specifications, please contact Øyvind Kirchhoff at oyvind@forsoegsstationen.dk.
The final report on the project will be published in autumn 2019.
Many greetings,
Lotte Faarup and Øyvind Kirchhoff
Experimental station
The project is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation and the Danish Performing Arts School