Pulcinella and Commedia dell'Arte

Workshop Presenter:

Philip Farah

Description:

Pulcinella is the main character of the Neapolitan Commedia dell'Arte tradition and hero of its pop culture since centuries. It belongs to the ancient puppets theatre repertoire called "Guarattelle" which is the topic of Philip Farah's workshop. The first session will present the original performance and the interesting elements of this genre, the characters, the symbols, the meanings of each action and the strategy of the ancient puppeteers. The second and the third sessions will be dedicated to those who will be interested in practicing for a deeper knowledge of this puppets' technique. Participants will practice the method of puppets' animation using Philip Farah's glove puppets or, if they prefer, their own puppets. From basic animation (movements, way of looking, simple behaviours) to more complex situations as meeting, hiding, stick/object handling with puppets.

Materials fee: None
Date/Time:
Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. (performance/lecture)
Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon (in-depth puppet workthrough)
Max. # Participants: unlimited for performance/lecture Thursday, July 16, 8:30
Limited to 20 for in-depth workshops Friday, July 17, 8:30 - 12 noon

Bio of Workshop Presenter:

Puppeteer, actor, author, screenwriter and producer (theatre and cinema) both in Italy and abroad. Special guest, invited by the National Council of Scenic Arts of Cuba at the International Puppets Festival Jornadas Titiriteras Retablo 2001 in Matanzas and he performed in La Havana. Worked in partnership with the Italian Institute of Culture (Italian Embassy) in Luxembourg as Italian Puppets Theatre Representative (guest of honour) at the Salon International de lEnfant 2002, and with the Luxembourg Ministry of Education. Performed at the Global Puppets Festival 2007 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Performed at the Chuncheon International Puppets Festival 2008 in South Korea. Worked with Icon Movies as puppeteer and animation expert in the film The Passion Of The Christ directed by Mel Gibson. Worked as tutor in the International Puppeteer School sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Works. Executive and line producer of different theatrical puppets show groups.
Philip Farah also works in cinema/TV/audio-visuals as producer,screenwriter, actor, and art director.