This monday we saw a play called "Vedova in lumine" It showed the life story of a woman through the use of puppets to represent different people in her life. Or at least that is as much as I could deduce plot-wise while watching the play.

The play itself was a dull experience, while watching the play the only things that would take me out of a state of complete boredom were some of the design elements, like the use of the puppets or the mood changes created by the different lights. To be honest, I didnt think the play would end up being boring once the play started. I liked the movements the actress was performing, and the use of puppets were effective, as they seemed to have a life of their own even though we could physically see the actress moving them. But as the play progressed the movements seemed repetitive, and lost their initial charm. It seemed more of an elaborate dance routine rather than a play, which im not used to watching, and maybe that is why I did not enjoy it as much as I could, also given that I was expecting to see a play and wasnt prepared for what was to come in the next hour and ten minutes.

But focusing on the positive aspects, the play featured the use of puppets, which were useful as inspiration for our play. One of the most useful things I could get from the performance that can be applied for our play is the way the actress used the puppets. This solved a major logistical problem I had been worrying about, because when I pictured our play, I couldnt get my head around how we were going to maneuver them without making it completely evident that there was someone behind them. I thought of dressing them completely in black like kokens, or make people get inside puppets, but watching the play made me realize that it isnt strictly necessary to hide the puppeteer. Even if he/she is evident, its the way he/she uses the puppet that counts, if done properly, the audience will focus more on the puppet at certain moments, and the puppeteer also has the power to take that attention away from the puppet and back to itself, making communication possible between the two.

The only other aspect which really made an impact on me in the play we saw on Monday was the use of the lights. More specifically, the mood they created. At moments the light would be blue-ish and dim, with a mixture of warm light, which made the house in the background look like it was nightime, almost Arabian, all this with only the use of the lights. Also at one point, all the lights suddenly became red, in an instant, the whole mood of the scene changed, it struck me because it was quite powerful, almost surreal, and this had only happened to me when seeing films, so it got me really excited about the potential the lights can have on a play.

Is it possible for puppets to work as characters without a pupeteer? What is it that turns the prop into a character?