Routledge Companion to Puppetry and Material Performance

The Routledge Companion to Puppetry and Material Performance offers a wide-ranging <p>perspective on how scholars and artists are currently re-evaluating the theoretical historical </p> <p>and theatrical significance of performance that embraces the agency of inanimate objects.</p> <p>This book proposes a collaborative responsive model for broader artistic engagement in and</p> <p>with the material world. Its 28 chapters aim to advance the study of the puppet not only as a</p> <p>theatrical object but also as a vibrant artistic and scholarly discipline.</p> <p>This <i>Companion </i>looks at puppetry and material performance from six perspectives: theoretical</p> <p>approaches to the puppet perspectives from practitioners revisiting history negotiating tradition </p> <p>material performances in contemporary theatre and hybrid forms. Its wide range of topics which</p> <p>span 15 countries over five continents encompasses: </p> <p>- visual dramaturgy</p> <p>- theatrical juxtapositions of robots and humans</p> <p>- contemporary transformations of Indonesian <i>wayang kulit</p></i> <p>- Japanese ritual body substitutes</p> <p>- recent European productions featuring toys clay and food.</p> <p>The book features newly commissioned essays by leading scholars such as Matthew Isaac</p> <p>Cohen Kathy Foley Jane Marie Law Eleanor Margolies Cody Poulton and Jane Taylor.</p> <p>It also celebrates the vital link between puppetry as a discipline and as a creative practice</p> <p>with chapters by active practitioners including Handspring Puppet Company's Basil Jones </p> <p>Redmoon's Jim Lasko and Bread and Puppet's Peter Schumann. Fully illustrated with more</p> <p>than 60 images this volume comprises the most expansive English-language collection of</p> <p>international puppetry scholarship to date.</p>