This trip has been so full of spectacular experiences that half way through, my head is already spinning. Though we’ve seen some spectacular, innovative shows, one of my favorite theaters during this trip is certainly still the “Ten” Puppet Theater. I’d thus like to write about the experience we had there, since it was so phenomenal. I’ll start by simply copying my handwritten reflective journal entry onto this blog post and then I’ll expand upon it afterwards.
“This place was so unbelievably cool! This was probably the theater that I was most excited to see in person, and I was certainly not disappointed! The intricacy and detail that they created was phenomenal, and I loved the creativity in the ways that different puppets could move and express themselves. They created an experience rather than a show, completely drawing me into this land of little people. It was so interesting to hear about the process and how much collaboration there is with all sorts of artists. It was such a welcoming experience, with tea, lights, kind people, and the joy of watching little people and things. I also loved the drawn puppetry that we saw in the videos, since it was so unbelievably creative. It really made me see how many different ways stories can be told and the subtle changes that bring tales to life in an audience’s minds. I absolutely loved this theater and the work they’re doing.”
I’ll continue now by describing the theater experience we had in more detail and clarifying and expanding on the comments I made in my reflection above. When we arrived at the little “Ten” Theater (“Ten” meaning shadow in Russian), they had laid out a tea for us with tables, cups, linens, and marshmallow delicacies, all in white and light pastels. The space was decorated for Christmas and New Years and the wall was lined with their collection of tiny elephants that had been gifted to them by their returning patrons, also seen as friends. As we drank tea and tasted desserts, one of the leaders of the theater spoke to us about the history of the theater and how it has evolved in past years. She spoke about how people come to the theater in groups of only a few people and they are immediately treated to tea in order to warm up from the cold. She talked about how afterwards she would sometimes run into those same people in other theaters and talk with them for awhile. I was amazed by what this meant. This was a theater built around relationships and creating an experience for people that was welcoming and extraordinarily personal.
This incredible intimacy continued during the next part of our visit. We were shown the theater of the Lilikan people, very small puppet people whose sole focus in life was art, that the artists of Ten have fabricated an entire magical world for. Normally, about three or four people would peer through the windows of the Lilikan theater, but they took one of the walls off of the theater so that all twenty-two people in our group could watch at once. We were shown scenes from different shows, including a sequence from the opera Carmen. These shows normally run under 15 minutes and so we were able to get much of the full experience. The theater collaborates with famous Russian actors and directors, who voice and direct these intricate, miniature shows. I was amazed at just how much expression, depth, and spectacle could be conveyed by such tiny sets and puppets. Each piece was so beautifully crafted, and they even used projections on their tiny stage! There was also even a part where a full sized person’s head was part of the story, playing as a giant. We all laughed and made ooh and ahhh sounds every time something happened (for instance, the audience Lilikans suddenly cheering and moving), constantly blown away by every creation of the Lilikan people.
The next section we were shown was the Shakespeare Cafe. Here audiences were able to look at menus for both Shakespeare shows and tiny foods created in the style of Shakespearean characters and scenes. Tables would together come to a consensus on which show they would like to see and then would place their order. We were shown some of the puppets for Titus Andronicus, all created in the style of horror movie characters. We were then allowed backstage to see where the magic took place and saw rows of Shakespeare characters and boxes of various tiny set pieces.
For the last leg of our tour, we were ushered back to the tea room, where we were shown videos of other performances Ten has done. One of which was was an ambulance in which they tour and bring puppet theater to those who are having an art emergency. They also showed us the other types of puppetry they do, including some incredible drawn productions. During these an artist draws the characters and other important elements of a story in real time, sometimes on paper that is then cut and moved around in order to show physicality or sometimes on glass so that the drawings’ shadows can be seen. These styles were so creative, impressive, and fun. They truly never limited themselves to one style of storytelling, and no matter which style they chose, the stories were always well told and brought a whimsical, child-like joy to their audiences.
Though this post became more of a description of the experience I had at the Ten Puppet Theater rather than a review of it, I think in some respects that’s the point. This is because what we saw was not merely a show, and though I could expand upon how impressive the production quality and attention to detail was, it was so much more. The entire theater was about creating a space where people felt welcome and could enjoy a few moments of magic and joy. They went above and beyond achieving this goal, and I thus have no way of negatively criticizing anything that I saw or experienced there. I absolutely loved this gem of a theater and doubt I will ever see anything else that could be compared alongside the extraordinary Ten Puppet Theater.
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