Applied Puppetry: The Theory and Practice of Object Ecologies

Drawing on thirty years of making theatre with objects, this field-defining book maps the terrain of applied puppetry. Through a range of case studies both personal and practical, Matt Smith offers a reflective and engaging study which provides makers, thinkers and students alike with a toolkit for thinking about and making puppetry in community settings. Through eight chapters, Smith muses on the nature of creativity, explores approaches to puppetry through ecology, and considers how puppets and objects affect the act of making and – in turn – how they affect those who make, use and experience them in performance. Along the way, Applied Puppetry offers practical exercises in theatre-making, demonstrates the political power of puppetry beyond borders, and interrogates the limitations and possibilities of puppetry and object theatre in local communities, volatile contexts and difficult circumstances.

Table of Contents:
Notes on the text Introduction: My Personal Context, Hands on, Broken Puppets, Objects with Objectives, Definitions, Power and Theories, Borders, Psychogeography, Waste, Ecology, Scale, Anthropomorphism and Materialism. 1. Objects Speaking for Themselves: Mapping the Field of Applied Puppetry 2. Thinking with Ecology: New Paradigms in Material Performance 3. Thingness, Puppethood and Violence: The Materiality of Performing Objects 4. Puppet Power in Intercultural Practices: Communities, Ethics and Representation. 5. Plastics Talking About Plastics: Marlsite Projects and Ecological Puppetry 6. Puppetry in HMP Haslar IRC: Working with Marginalised and Vulnerable Participants 7. Participatory Ecologies: Toy Theatres, Kamishibai and Puppet City 8. Talking to Roots: Kinship with the More than Human Envoi - Sharing Spaces with Objects: Listening, Caves, Ephemera, Popularity, Reciprocity and Chimaeras Exercises Notes References Index

About the Author :
Matt Smith is Reader in Applied Theatre and Puppetry at the University of Portsmouth, UK, prior to that having spent 20 years as a community artist. During this time, he worked with schools, youth groups, children in care, special needs groups, prisons, hospitals, environmental agencies and the homeless. He has published a number of journal articles on applied puppetry.

Review :
The breadth of Smith's knowledge is impressive … For scholars of puppetry and applied theatre, this book provides many fascinating provocations and avenues for further inquiry. It also compellingly draws together performance practice and puppetry pedagogy. Matt Smith offers an insider's guide to the world of applied puppetry – challenging us to think with and play with a world of objects. This is vital reading for all those interested in learning about the arts applied within communities or across different contemporary issues and concerns. This is an eloquent, fascinating and timely book rooted in the author's varied and exciting journey in Applied Puppetry and Object Performance, from eco junk-puppetry with children to innovative and difficult work with asylum seekers in HMP Haslar. Essential reading for anyone interested in the myriad possibilities of puppetry. Illuminates, explains and prosletyses … A textbook and tome for practitioners and for people who seek to move others with hand-sprung special care. A selection box of fascinating examples from thirty years of Applied Puppetry practice … Smith's projects are varied and interesting, with a wealth of information and insight outlining the uses of puppetry and object performance in non-traditional places and community settings.