Four groups of shadow puppetry performers are to work with four elementary and junior-high schools in northern Kaohsiung as part of a Kaohsiung Museum of History project that aims to kindle students’ creativity by working together to create a new play.
The students are to write the script and create the puppets, as well as select the musical scores, with the assistance and guidance of the groups, the museum said.
“The goal is to help kindle the spark of creativity in each student,” the museum said.
Photo: Huang Chia-lin, Taipei Times
The final products would be performed at the museum through Saturday next week, it said.
One of the four groups, Mind of a Snail, hails from Canada. Comprised of Chloe Ziner and Jessica Gabriel, the duo has been active in many international events since the group’s inception in 2003.
Ziner and Gabriel said that their performances employ elements of puppetry, visual arts, clowning and music, adding that they push the boundaries of traditional theater to create a more immersive experience for their audiences.
The second group is comprised of two Chinese performers, Li Zi (李子) and Wang Haitao (汪海濤), who learned their art in the birthplace of Chinese shadow puppetry, Shaanxi Province, and have also introduced modern Chinese language into their performances.
The remaining two groups are Taiwanese: Shadow Legends Drama (影子傳奇劇團) and Sun Son Theatre (身聲劇場).
Shadow Legends, managed by brothers Hsiao Meng-tung (蕭孟通) and Hsiao Nai-cheng (蕭乃誠), claims to have learned from the greatest puppetry maestros in northern Taiwan, although its style has incorporated more modern technology.
Sun Son Theatre is not a pure shadow puppetry troupe, but it does incorporate such elements in its performances.
Sun Son Theatre said that it blends dance, music, shadow puppetry and marionettes in its shows.
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