As the capital readies itself for an invasion of puppetry thanks to the opera Orfeo & Majnun, Adam Brimmer interviews Vero Schürr, experiential designer who led some of the animal-building and movement workshops in the run-up to the production.
Valletta 2018’s upcoming music-theatre performance, Orfeo & Majnun, will see the retelling of two timeless stories: the Middle Eastern legend of Layla and Majnun and the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
For this performance, several puppets in the shapes of various animals are being built by participants during workshops happening all over Malta. These puppets will then roam the streets of Valletta on October 27 during Sfilata fil-Kapitali, a fun parade around the capital city that includes song, dance, short performances, storytelling, music-making, bands and more. I caught up Vero Schürr, the designer trusted with making it all come to life, to find out more.
How did you get interested in puppetry?
My interest in narrative and theatre goes back to my early childhood. Merging the two with the sculpting work for the puppets is interesting. Creating engaging experiences for participants and the audience is something that fascinates me to this day.
I started working with Roger Titley, the original designer of these puppets, in 2009 and was intrigued by his work, and the detail and love that goes into every design. It is thanks to him that I got further involved in puppetry and their movement.
What is the concept behind Orfeo and Majnun?
It is a meeting of Orient and Occident. The stories of Orpheus and Eurydice, and of Layla and Majnun, are very similar; both are love dramas that are beautifully interwoven. Orfeo and Majnun (the project) is about bringing art to people and bringing people together, a participatory project that aims to be accessible to a wide public.
How did you get involved in the production?
In 2009 Linz (Austria) was capital of culture and it was there that this kind of participatory project was envisaged. Titley, the same South African puppet artist I am collaborating with now, designed these white creatures to populate the whole city with animals. The idea was to create a participatory spectacle that involved a diverse public.
My role was to teach selected volunteers to participate in the building and ensure an engaging experience. Once the participants learned how to move the puppets, they’d all gather in the city square and ‘flood’ the city. Roger and I continued to work together on selected projects, and Orfeo & Majnun reunites us all on a variation of this original idea.
What is the biggest challenge when it comes to achieving suspension of disbelief when creating puppets?
Suspension of disbelief happens mainly with the movement. The puppets come to life with the energy and focus the operators are projecting into them. A good puppeteer will make a brick come to life; they will have an ability to project their own life force into an inanimate object.
It’s this capacity, to make their own ego smaller, that allows the puppet to live and triumph, that makes the magic happen. An inexperienced puppeteer can make the most perfect puppet lose all that magic.
The puppets are designed to mimic a specific, natural movement of the real animal. I train the operators, often in a very short time frame, to learn and memorise these movements.
Not everyone is equally gifted for this type of coordination. However, it’s great to work with people from different backgrounds to become part of art and of these puppets and to see the smiles and joy it creates.
You recently held some workshops about puppet-building in Malta – what was the response like?
The feedback was very positive and I really enjoyed working with the participants. The puppets we designed for these workshops are smaller and easier to build and move, and I hope the participants will likewise enjoy teaching the building and movement of these creatures to the public. We will see many of them return and move beautifully at the parade on October 27.
A good puppeteer will make a brick come to life
Would you say there is a resurgence in the popularity of puppetry as an art?
Yes; this is interesting in such a powerfully digital era. Maybe, people see the simple human touch of puppetry as a refreshing change from the digital.
Some famous puppetry work, like in the production of Warhorse, and the appearance of puppets in ceremonies have helped the popularity of puppetry. I think computer-operated puppets (robots) and animatronics have also done their bit.
However, the general attitude to games and playing has changed since the introduction of the smartphone, which may also influence the perception of this art. The entertainment culture is omnipresent, nowadays, and if I can do my share to enable people to be an active part of it and encourage them to think and reflect, that makes me very happy.
However, some still view puppetry as purely a child’s area – what is your reply to this?
Of course, there are puppets that are aimed at kids and that’s how it should be. This was very much the perception 15 years ago, but I do feel that attitudes have changed. There are now many successful puppetry operations which have created puppets for theatre, street parades and big events that are not aimed at children but at anybody who has an imagination.
The public has been reminded of the beauty of the art, and this has fuelled the demand. It really depends on the context and how they are used. I would like to encourage adults to see the world with the marvelling eyes of kids. To take that time for imagination is so important, it’s what allows us to create visionary concepts for our lives and our society. This is something that is hardly taught in schools.
Can you describe the puppets that you are creating for Orfeo and Majnun?
We’ve created mostly existing animals like the stag or the gazelle. There are also some mythic animals like Pegasus and Cerberus; however, they are all part of the story, and its heroes Orpheus and Majnun meet them as the opera unfolds.
Their design is quite minimalistic, reduced to the distinctive elements, but when seen as a whole they are complete. They are quite poetic in their stylised design and the white works really well as a silhouette in contrast to the surroundings.
How many will be used?
There are 13 big or medium-sized, animals in total and hopefully thousands of small ones built and moved by the audience.
Can you walk us through the creative process when working on puppets for this opera?
In order to build, as well as to design, them we need to go back to study the real animal and its movement, over and over again. It’s about getting the details right within the capacities of the material.
The puppets designed for the opera are simple in their look and their movement. The white finish works as a silhouette allowing the animal to stand out as a strong form.
Movements are limited so, when teaching operators to move these puppets, we look for the most believable actions that the puppets can deliver and only work with these. The rule of puppetry is to never try to force a puppet to do an action that it cannot pull off. The viewers are left believing it can do anything. Do one thing badly and the belief is gone, the magic is lost.
Who will Orfeo &Majnun appeal to?
To a diverse public, to adults as well as kids. The opera is for opera lovers, as well as for people who want to make this their first opera. The parade and all the other elements of the project invite everyone to take part.
The Orfeo & Majnun music-theatre performance will be held on October 19 and 20 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta at 8pm. Tickets are available online.
Sfilata fil-Kapitali takes place on October 27 from 4.30pm till 11pm, with animal-building workshops happening between 2pm and 5pm. Entrance is free of charge.
Orfeo & Majnun is part of the Valletta 2018 Cultural Programme, and is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
www.valletta2018.org