Date: 6th and 7th November
Time: 10:00am-2:00pm
Venue: The CHR’s Iyatsiba Lab, 66 Greatmore Street, Woodstock, (Entrance on Regent Road).
In November 2024, the CHR presents Pro-Vocation: Roots and Wings, the 4th iteration of Pro-Vocation, in partnership with the UNIMA Professional Training Commission, the UNIMA Africa Commission, and UNIMA SA. The Pro-Vocation series is made up of international conferences on puppetry training, organized by UNIMA’s Professional Training Commission since 2015. The full event will be hosted at the CHR’s Iyatsiba Lab in Woodstock from 20-23 November, with performances and workshops at Theatre Arts in Observatory and Indawo Yobomi in Makhaza Cape Town.
In the lead up to the conference there will be workshops with various international artists. The first workshop will be with Italian puppeteer, director, digital animation lecturer and set designer Alessandra Amicarelli on the 6th and 7th November at Iyatsiba Lab.
This workshop delves into the interaction between puppets, bodies, and shadows with projected video imagery, creating a “theatre of drawing” on stage. The aim is to construct a multidimensional space where visual animation, physical movement, and technology converge into a cohesive performative narrative.
It bridges “low” technologies, such as hand drawing and natural materials, with advanced methods like video mapping and physical interaction. Participants will craft a micro-theatrical installation using silhouettes and puppets, exploring the interplay of light, shadow, and projected video.
The main emphasis is on leveraging video mapping to project onto scenic surfaces and integrating body movements with video imagery, pushing the boundaries of visual and performative theatre.
Workshop Facilitator
Alessandra Amicarelli
Alessandra is a puppeteer and set designer who studied at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan, the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette in Charleville-Mézières (ESNAM), and the Istituto Internazionale Loris Malaguzzi Reggio Children in Reggio Emilia.
Alessandra is a Digital Animation lecturer for the ANIMATERIA program, an advanced training course for experienced animators based in Piacenza and co-financed by the ESF+ 2021-2027 and the Emilia-Romagna Region. In 2021, she initiated the experimental editorial project AnimataZine, a fanzine dedicated to animated theater, created in collaboration with an editorial team mainly composed of Italian puppeteers. Their work was awarded the ANCT Prize (National Association of Theater Critics) in 2022; with a special mention at the Eolo Award – Eolo Awards in 2023. AnimataZine is recognized internationally and distributed worldwide.
As a trainer, she has conducted numerous workshops and professional training courses in contemporary figure theater arts and has been invited to give master classes on contemporary puppet arts at the University of Padua, the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, and the Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa (ESELx)/Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon.
LANGUAGE
Primary language: French / Secondary language: English
PARTICIPANTS max 10
Fine arts students, artists, puppeteers, video makers, set designers, dancers, visual artist and anyone interested in exploring the intersection between technology and performing arts.
LEVEL
Basic (for those beginning to explore the use of projected images and who have no specific skills in this area)
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS (PARTICIPANTS)
Participants are required to bring their own drawing and paper-cutting kit.
If possible, participants are asked to bring their personal computers with the following software installed (free versions are acceptable):
- Millumin V4: https://www.millumin.com/v4/index.php – download
Touch OSC (for both mobile and desktop): https://hexler.net/touchosc#_
