The 1st Festival of Light and Shadow opens tomorrow, October 1, 2009. The festival, organized by puppeteer and university professor Deborah Hunt, will include performances, workshops, film screenings, a light procession, and other events held through the month of October. The first light and shadow theatrical performance, Sobre la Mesa V [On the Table V] will take place October 1-4, at the Studio Theater Yerbabruja, located at 1104 Braumbaugh Street, at the corner of Arzuaga, in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.
Leyra González Pérez (El Nuevo Día) reports on the uniqueness of this theater experience and innovative approaches to theater as explained by Hunt. To begin with, “flesh and bone” actors are no longer center stage; all characters are made of cardboard, paper, and other materials. Also gone is the traditional stage and curtain; the scenes take place among tables, cloth, light, and shadows. Like making traditional theater, [the theater of] lights and shadows presents numerous challenges; nevertheless, the result is a new and interesting world for the spectators. Hunt explains, “Performing the theater of light and shadow is like making a puppet or a mask. One cuts out figures for each character but, for these characters to have magic, one has to manipulate them. So, just like the actors in traditional theater, those who move the figures must work hard to infuse life into their characters. Participating puppeteers are Yussef Soto, Julio Morales, Mary Anne Hopgood, Carlos José Torres, Yari Helfeld, Sugeily Rodríguez, José ‘Quique’ Rivera, Jorge Díaz, Francisco Iglesias, and Hunt.
Born in New Zealand, but based in Puerto Rico since 1990, mask maker, performance artists, and puppeteer Deborah Hunt specializes in the investigation and experimentation of new mask and puppetry forms. She is a member of the Magdalena Project and the Founder and Artistic Director of MASKHUNT Inc, theater of the futile.
For more information on the series of workshops, theater presentation, film screenings, and other activities, you may call (787) 414-2082 or contact maskhunt@gmail.com.
For full article (and photo of puppeteer Jorge Díaz), see http://www.elnuevodia.com/magiadelucesysombras-620929.html
Repeating Islands 