A Book Of Marionettes.pdf

W

A B OO K

f M AR I O N E T T E S

0

’

5}

I M AN H EL EN H A J O S EP H

My

)

Tar é

B

.

W

.

H U EB S C H

m cm x x

c

To my Fa tber

With

E L I A S HAI MA N p r ide and

a nd

l ove

ge n tl e

fo r

tbe

brave

n o bil ity o

f bit

s

im pl icity

sto ry of t h e m ario n e t t e i s endless in fact it has neither b e ginn ing no r e n d The marionette has been One cannot write o f t e re and i s everywh ere e ve ry x the puppets W it hout saying more than o n e had in tended and less than o n e des i re d : there i s such a piquant insistency in them The purpose o f this book i s altogether modest b ut the length o f it has grown to b e presumptuous As to its merit that must b e found in the sub j ect matter and in the sources from which the material was gathered If this volume i s but a sign post pointing the way to better historians and friends o f the puppets and through them o n to more puppet play it will have proven merit enough The bibliography appended i s a far from co m p l e t e list o f puppet literature It includes however the most important works o f modern times upon mario nettes and much comment b esides that i s casual o r curious o r close at hand The author i s under obligation to those friendly individual s who generously gave o f their time and

TH E

,

~

.

M

a y

-

”

M

M

W

W

W

”

fi

.

“

i

n.

“

1

a

”

.

,

.

,

.

-

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

NOT E

interest and whose suggestions explanations and kind assistance have made possible this pu b lication There are many who have been gracious and helpful among them particularly Mrs Maurice Browne Mr Michael Carmichael Carr P rofessor A K Co o m ara swamy Mr S tewart Culin D r J esse Walter Fe wke s Mr Hen ry Festing Jones D r Berthold Laufer Mr Richard Lau kh u fi Mr J Arthur Mac Le an Professor B rander Matthews D r I da Trent O Ne il Mr Ray mond O Ne il Mr Alfred Powell D r R Meyer Ri e f stahl Mr Tony Sarg and Mr G B ernard S haw Ab ove all however ackn owledgment i s due to the steady encouragement and interested criticism of Ernest Joseph Although he did not live t o see the finished volu m e his stimulating b uoyancy and excellent j udg ment constantly inspired the comp osition o f this simple account of puppets ,

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

c

.

,

.

,

’

.

,

,

.

’

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

Contents How I Came to Write a Book o n Puppets 9 Puppets o f Antiquity 14 Oriental Puppets 2 4 Puppets o f Italy and Southern Europe 5 0 The Puppets in France 8 1 Puppet Shows o f Germany and o f other Continental Countries 1 13 Puppetry in England 143 The Marionettes in America 164 To y Theatres and Puppet Plays fo r Children 19 2 A Plea for Polichinelle 20 3 B ehind the Scenes 2 16 Construction of a Marionette Stage 2 2 5 B ibliography 2 29 I ndex 2 3 3 ,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

I ll ustra tions

S HADOW F R D CO ERE D EGYP DR PA U L E dp p KAHL E DR AD AN D Tw FA U N J O N E D DO LL OR PU PP E S AME E S HAD OW J A AN E E WAYANG F G URE J A AN E E ROU N D E D M WAYANG F G URE FROM I LAN D O F B AL BURM E E PU PP E C NGAL E E PU PP E EA I N D AN PU PP E TUR H S HAD OW F G URE OF K CH N E E PU PP E CH N E E S HAD OW PLAY F G URE CH N E E S HAD OW PLAY F G URE O JAPAN E E PU PP E HE AD JAPAN E E PR N A WOO D E N I AL AN PU PP E ME D AL M I AL AN F G URE U E D F OR CH R MA CR PU LC N E LLA I ALY I AL AN PU PP E B ALL E WOOD E N S PAN H PU PP E G EORG E S AN D PU PP E TH E A RE NOHAN PU PP E OF G EOR E S AN D TH E A RE NO HAN PU PP E OF L EM ERC ER D E NEU LL E TA L E A U (CHA NO R) IGU

ES

IS

IN

V

T

BY

.

n

Y

T

I

S

o

I

TS

S

S

S

V

S

V

S

S

ARI O N E I I E S '

TH E

S

’

’

S

I

TS

S

TS

S

ST

.

I

I

I

.

TS

I

KI S

ARA G H U E Z

I

I

S

TS

I

S

-

I

S

I

S

-

I

S

S

T

I

T

T

I

I

T

.

T

S

IN

.

I ST

S

IB

T

TS

IS

’

S

T

T

I

’

G

T

I

AT

T

S

VI

I

TS

T

AT

T

T

S

TS

B

.

'

I

I

S

ARI ON E I T E S

IE V

T

.

S

LD

.

.

T

-

a

e r:

I LL USTRAT I ONS

UI N O L AN D G MA R O N E E T H E A RE O F MU N C H AR MAR O N E E O F R C HARD TE C HN ER V E NNA BOH EM N PU PP E PU N C H HANG HAN MAN ENGL H PU PP E O G A R W L N O N AN D A AN WOR ON BR D G E OF H E R PU PP E TH E A RE MAR O N E E EMPL OY E D C ERE M ON AL DRAMA O F AM ER C AN I N D AN I AL AN MAR O N E E S H O W CH CAG O L L E T H E A RE M AR O N E E T DE A OF CH O P N TO N S AR MAR ON E E E H N D SCE N E A TR C PU PP E G ERMAN PU PP E S H O W F OR CH LD RE N TH E A RE ENGL H T PA ERN F OR M MAR O N E E BO D DRAWN D A R M R C ON RU ION OF MAR ON E E S A E G

NAF RO N

G

I

TT

I

TT S

T I

IA

S

I

KI

TS

S

T

T

(“

IN

S

I

I

TH

HE

’

I

TT S B

I

I

G

S

S

A S FO

I

T

OY

IS

I

TH E

T

K

T

TT

T

I TT

I

I

G S

Y

TH E

I

.

TT S AT TH E

I

I

.

TT

I

TH E

K

T

TT S

I

T AT

S S I ST

I

I

I

,

G

IS

LD

T

.

TS

S TH E

I

TI S T S

I

TH E

TH E

I

ST

TT

CT

Y

A

BY

I

TT

AX

T G

.

H ob I

Ca me

W ite

to

flooé

a

r

(

P uppet;

on

WE were rehearsing lab oriously

S ome O f o u r marionettes were finished ; the rest we b orrowed from the cast of Tin tagil es The effect was curious with B e l an ge re an d Ygra in e acting as sentinels in their blue and green gowns The play we were rehearsing was eventually given up Fo r various reasons the little puppets about to be presented to you never display ed themselves before the public Undeniable facts b ut for my story quite irrelevant and inconsequential I t was late and everyone e l se in the house had retired I S at up all alone diligently sewing Alone ? Grouped around me in various stages O f completion sat the miniature members O f the cast I worked quietly much absorbed Ofiin the corner there was a clock ticking The Chief P rophet of the Stars lay in my hands impressive by virtue Of his flowing white b eard even without the high purple hat I rested a moment straightening a weary back On e long white arm o f his was pointing at me He said : DO not pity your self D espite your backache you are having a lovely time I am sure he said this I did not answer HOW could I ? It was true Near b y was the b lack .

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

C

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

9

.

robed Priest with t h e au b urn b eard Even so he “ agreed her fingers are happy : her tongu e may not complain ! ” “ I t is an honor to be permitted to dress us pompously proclaimed the Chamberlain He was His queer s t ifl b eard perched upon the mantel having been but recently shellacked was now in the process o f drying He was a balloon shaped striking fellow arrayed in orange “ She must finish my high hat tonight said the Chief Prophet o fthe Stars “ and see that my Whiskers are decently trimmed Then she may retire ” “ ” NO whimpered o n e o f the spotty Spies from the floor “ she promised to brighten my spots for tomor row ” Then in a loud aside “ She will probably get my strings twisted W hile painting the spots Se rve her right She was t o o impatient to S how me Off rs t yesterday On e should finish the s p o ts fi say I Ungrateful wretch to be grumbling ! But he crawled and crept along the stage so wonderfully I hadn t the heart to chide him I S at the Chief Prophet upon my kn ee crossly His long arm protested s t ifi ly I pulled the high hat down over his ominous b rows “ It isn t right ” he said I t wasn t I took it Ofi HOW trying it must b e for him to have so clumsy a handmaiden “ D on t ” pin it ! ” he commanded “ Rip it and sew it neatly I picked up the scissors and ripped Then I sewed on in silence The marionettes however ha d many things to say .

,

,

,

.

'

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

’

.

.

,

.

’

,

.

’

.

‘

.

.

’

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

MA R I ONETTE S

11

She is not as thorough as might be desired stated the Cham b erlain “ I ndeed I fear that in the manipulating al so she is only an amateur with no profound kn owledge o f the craft Here am I still dissatisfied With the bow I make to His Majesty I kn ow just how I S hould b ow Who would question my knowledge o f etiquette ? I shall not b e content with anything b ut ibe c o rre c t b ow dignified and in its way imposing as the nod o f a King I t must b e just so and no t otherwise but how wil l s he do it? She has tried front strings and back strings and in nu m e r a b le petty expedients She calls herself a puppeteer l e t her devise a way and that shortly ! I scorn to display vexation b ut it perturb s me not a little as the moment approaches for me to bo w and the bow ” ahem refuses to function fi t t ingl y “ Try o n the hat and do not b e diverted b y such de tails ! ” commands the Chief Prophet I sit him up seri “ I t will do ” he states ; “ trim my whiskers ” o usly I trim them O h very care fully They hang augustly down over his b lack stole I gaze at him entranced and at his portrait painted b y a young artist “ I think y o u have caught the spirit o f the ideal he admitted Put me o n the mantel ” I O bey him 1 ,

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

,

"

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

i i f p g l i wh if l d f hi g ? M d h p i p i ? Th i k fh i g y d fi h f h id l y d h by i h ig li i f hi i g y h f ibl m p fwh i gh W i h b ! Th i k f H w d l igh y h p d h w i pl f i i ! y

Oh ,

t he pu t e nv

y

t rait O

C re at o r

bl

l

d ie s

an d

a

t

e nt e m en ,

o re ve rs e t

et s

em

an c e o

ful fo r

.

n

ea

as

on n

at

o u an

ou

o

e usua

av n

O

e n t s t t e rs er o

or

o ur

e at u re s

o ur

m s

t

m

s

e

to

or t

t

t

nt o

e

n e a re s t

n

o rt r a t

o

pa

It

rs t

.

nt e r

at

yo u

,

a co m

av n

e

e

u st

s

a nt e

en

t

o rt r a t s ,

or

n

p o rt ra t

a n a rt s t , an

ou

e

p at

no t

t

e

p

a s an t

o ss

e

o

e

po r

se

t

MARIONETTE S

12

Next I take up the Spy He writhes in my hand I ply the paint b rush more yellow paint on the yel low spots T rue to prediction his strings b ecome entangled “ I told yo u so ” hissed the green and yellow Spy My spots will dry over night You must arrange my strings tomorrow ” I set him be side the Chief Prophet where he slinks down and subsides Hee hee hee snickers the other Spy who has cerise spots O f silk o n lavender He is crouched o n the floor in a heap I raise him and place him beside his fellow He reaches o u t a long brown arm and pokes him slyly I collect the other dolls Ve ry crude little rag a ffairs they seem in their unfinished condition The naked white body of the King I lay beside that of the Sentinel One could scarcely tell them apart except that the feet o f the King are already encased in little scarlet boots which are long and pointed and curled at the tips The King is a stiff unbending person But the other is a well built fellow fashioned with exceeding care to stand and walk and S it superbly I n a few Clothes holding a long red spear and a shield I nto the box I lay them white bodies blank faces limber arm s and legs “ I shall have to shop again for the King s purple robe What a bore ! ” I t h in k as I dump disjointed priests children and se rvants all o n t o p o f His Majesty and close the cover of the tin b ox ” said the Chief Prophet Of the Yo u are insolent Stars “ Well yes perhaps O h mighty marionette ” I admit “ b ut I am sleepy Goodnight ” .

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

’

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

M A R I ONETTE S

13

Fatigue is human remarked the b lack ro b ed “ We marionettes transcend such frailty ” P riest “ We are boomed forth the Chief “ SO saith Anatole France also Charles Prophet Magnin also others ” “ Hist ” whispered o n e o f the Spies it is written in The Mas k And as I moved quietly about in the adjoining room I heard them discussing many matters concerning themselves o f course There was talk O f the ancient I ndian Ram aj an a o f the Joruri plays o f Japan o f bleeding Saints and nod d ing Madonnas in Mediaeval churches The conversation veered to Pulcinella his kinship with Kasper and Karagh e uz and with Punch across the channel There were murmurings of the names o f Goethe Voltaire even Shakespeare to say nothing o f Bernard Shaw Maeterlinck Ho ffm an s t h al Schnitzler all from the dolls o n the mantel and much much more b esides Some things I overheard distinctly before I fell asleep some I may have dreamed All that I could recall I have put into a little book -

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

Tupp etr I

Wis h

d isc ant n ee d s a ke e n to

fd

o ti uit

o

o n t he

y

q

m ario n e t t e

l

.

l l

t as t e f o r I t a d a s o a it t e ve n e rat io n On e n The m ario ne t t e is augu st ; it is sue s fro m a s an c t u ary

OL

A NAT

.

.

E

F

RAN

CE

P ERHA P S the most impressive approach to the mario f ieffe s is thro ugh the trodden avenue o f history If We travel from distant antiquity Where the first ar t ic ul at e d idols were manipulated by ingenious hidden devices in the vast temples o f I ndia and Egypt if we follow the footprints o f the puppets through classic centuries o f Greece and Rome and t race them even in the dark ages o f early Christianity whence they emerged to wander all over mediaeval Europe in the cathedrals along the highways in the market places and at the courts o f kings we may have more understanding and respect for the quaint little crea tures we find exhibited crudely in the O ld , popular manner o n the street corner or presented consciously naive and precious upon the art stage of an e n t h u s ias t ic younger generation For the marionette has a history NO human race can boast a longer or more varied replete with such high dignities and shocking indignities romantic adventure and humble triumphs decadences revivals NO h u man r outi n e "

]

“

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

l lI

.

MA RIONETTES

16

from the names given to the director o f the actors which is S utradbara ( Holder Of the Strings ) and to the stage manager who is called S tbap a /ea ( Setter up ) The implication naturally is that these t wo important functionaries of the Oldest I ndian drama took their titles from the even more ancient and previously established puppet plays There are authorities however wh o consider Egyp t the original birthplace O f the marionette among these Yo r ic /e ( P Ferrigni ) whose vivid history of puppets is accessi b le in various issues of Tbe Mas /e Yorick claims that the marionette originated somehow with the aborigines o f the Nile and that before the days Of Manete who founded Memphis before the Pharaohs great idols moved their hands and opened their mouths inspiring worshipful terror in the hearts o f the b e holders D r Berthold Laufer corrob orates this opinion He maintains that marionettes first appeared in Egypt and Greece and spread from there to all c ountries O f A sia The tomb s Of ancient Thebes and Memphis have yielded up many small painted puppets o f I vo ry and wood whose limbs can be moved by pulling a string These are figures O f b easts as wel l as of men and they may have been toys I ndeed it is often claimed that puppets are descended not from image s o f the gods but from “ the first doll that was ever put into the hands of a child ” The B o s to n Tra n s c r ipt in 190 4 published a report o f an article b y A Gayet in La Revu e which gives a minute description o f a marionette theatre excavated ,

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

M A R I ONETT ES

17

at Ant ino e There in the tom b o f Kh e l m is singer archaeologists have unearthed a little Nile o f Os iris galley o r b arge o f wood with a cabin in the centre and two ivory doors that open to reveal a stage A ro d across the front o f this stage is supported by two u p rights and from this rod light wires were found still hanging Other indications leave little doubt that this miniature theatre was used in a religious rite possi b ly o n the anniversary o f the death of the god Osiris whose father was Ra the sun as a sort o f passion play per formed b y puppets before an audience O f the initiated Mortuary paintings show us the ritual and tell us the sto ry A s eve rything excavated at this site is reported to be of the R o m an o r Coptic period this is probably the O ldest marionette theatre ever discovered ! The Chinese puppets and still older s hado ws of the land as well as o f other Oriental countries are all O f considerable antiquity In truth it matters little whence came the first o f the puppets from India Egypt o r from China nor how descended from the idols o f priests o r the playthings Of chil dren I t is enough to know o f their indisputably ancient lineage and the honora b le position granted them in the legends Whatever remains uncertain o r o f gods and heroes fantastic in the theories o f their origin can only add to the aura O f romance surrounding this imperish able race o f fragile b eings ,

,

.

,

.

'

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

In the mythology o f the Greeks one may find men tion of the august ancestors of the marionettes Pas .

MA RIONETTES sages in the I liad describe the marvellous g olden tri pods fashioned by Vulcan which moved of themselves A host o f great articulated idols w ere to be found I n the temples all over Greece These were moved Charles Magnin avers by various devices such as quicksilver l eadstone springs etc There was J u piter Ammon b o rn e u p o n the shoulders O f the priests who indicated with his head the direction he wished to travel There were the A pollo Of Heliopolis the Theban Ven uS t he statues created b y D aedalus and many o t h e rS all manipulated by p riests from within the hollow bodies But aside from these inspiring deities in fact right along with : them Greek puppet ry grew up and flo u r is h e d Yorick writes Greece from remotest times of which an y accounts have come down to us had marionette theatres in the public places of all the most pOp IIl at e d cities She had famous showmen whose names recorded o n the pages o f the most illustrious w riters h a ve t n u m p h e d over death and O blivion She had h e r balletti and pantomimes exclusively conceived an d preordained for the play of pupazzi etc ” Eminent mathematicians interested them selves in perfecting the mechanism Of the dolls until as Apuleius wrote Th ose who direct the movement o f the little w ood en figures have nothing else to do but to pull t h e string o f the memb er they wish to set in motion and immediately the head b ends the eyes turn the hands lend themselves to any action and the elegant little person moves and acts as though .

.

,

,

"

'

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

’

‘

’

‘

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

JO NTED O LL O R I

D

S

P

U PPET

S

MA RI ONETTE S

19

it were alive A pleasant hyperbole o f Apuleius perhaps but some O f us credulously pre fer to have faith in it I n the writings of the celeb rated Heron o f A lex andria living " t wo centuries before Christ o n e can find a very minute description of a puppet S how for which he planned the ingenious mechanism He ex plains that there were t wo kinds o f automata first those acting o n a movable stage w hich itself advanced and retreated at the end o f the acts and second those performing o n a stationary stage divided into acts by a change o f scene The Ap o the o s is of B a c c hu s was o f the first type the action presented within a miniature temple wherein stood the statue o f the go d with dancing bacchantes C ircling around fountains j etting forth milk garlands O f flowers sounding cymbals all accomplished by a mechanism of weights and cords I t was an extremely elaborate a ffair Of the second type o f puppet show Heron cites as example The Tragedy of Na u p l iu s the mechanism fo r which w as invented by a contemporary engineer Philo Of Byzantium There were five scenes dis closed o n e after the other by doors which opened and closed : first the seashore with workmen con s t ru c t in g the ships hammering sawing etc ; second the coast with the Greeks dragging their ships to the water ; third sky and sea with the ships sailing over the waters which begin to grow rough and stormy ; fourth the coast O f Eu h o e Nauplius brandishing a torch o n the rocks and Shoals w hither the G reek .

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

MA RIONETTES

20

vessels steer and are shattered (Athene stands be hind Nauplius who is the instrument of her ven ge an c e ) ; fi fth the wreck o f the S hips Aj ax strug gling and drowning in the waves Athene appearing in a thunder clap ! This play was proba b ly taken from episodes o f the Homeric legend and although Heron does n o t S O state the action of the puppets was most likely accompanied b y a recital O f the poem upon which the drama was founded Xenophon descri b es still another type of show a banquet at which the host brought in a Syracusan j uggler to amuse the guests with his dancing mario nettes The best showmen in Greece seem to have been S icilians These peripatetic showmen went from town to town with their figures in a box The plays they presented were generally keen strong satires o n the foibles o f human nature the vices Of the times the prominent o r pompous persons o f the day paro dies O n popular dramas o r schoo ls o f philosophy They were a favorite diversion o f the masses and of cultured people as well Even Socrates is reported to have bandied words w ith a Sicilian showman asking him how he made a living in his profession To which the showman made reply : “ The folly of men is an inexhaustible fund O f riches and I am al ways sure o f filling my purse by moving a few pieces O f wood ” Eventually the puppets usurped a place upon the classic stage itself and it is reported that a puppet player Po t h e in u s had a small stage specially erected for his marionettes o n the thymele O f the ,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

MA RIONETTES

29

.

might s erve almost as a statue of Pulcinella hooked n o s e n u t cracker chin hunchback and all I n fact it is tho ught that these Roman mimes o r s aa m have lived o u in the Italian bu r a ttin i and in the characters O f the Commedia dell Arte This theory has b een Cri t icized by s ome who feel that the p e rs o n aggz such as Arlecchino and Pulcinella grew o ut o f the mannerisms and ch aracteristics o f the I talians just as the puppet bu ffoons o f Rome were true offspring o f the Roman people and that any resemblances between them may be laid at the door O f common frailties existing in humanity o f all ages and ever fit subj ect fOr the satirical play o f puppets Nevertheless I t I s not impossible to believe that through the curiously confused pe riod in Italy when P agan culture was givin g w ay t o Christianity when heathen id eals were half perishing half persisting something o f the Old was e mbodied in assimilated w ith t h e new And so it may have happened with the marionettes Maccus e m e rgI n g w ith much of P ulcinella Cit e ria appearing a s Columbine We have P appus B ru c c u s and C as n ar the parasite the glutton the fool passed o n ls o m e h o w But not alone this Excavat o rs in the Catacombs have d iscovere d small jointed puppets o f ivory o r wood in m any tombs They look like dolls but they may have been religious images u sed by the earliest Christians The I conocl asts in their zeal an n ih i lated everyt hing that h ad the appearance of an idol and man y a puppet perished alon g with the images 17 2 7 ,

,

'

-

,

,

,

.

'

,

’

‘

.

.

,

,

‘

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

”

.

,

.

,

MA RIONETTE S

23

the gods Maccus as well as Apollo ! But soon the Church saw the wisdom of using concrete vivid representation instead of mere abstract sym b olism scarcely comprehensible to the simple minded “ Into the churches ”crept figures Jesus body o n the Cross instead o f the Lamb To the Apollo o f Heliopolis succeeded the crucifix o f Nicodemus to the Theban Venus the Madonna o f Orihuela ” ( P Ferrigni ) Occasionally these figures were made to move a head o r to gesticulate And here we find the earliest b e ginnings o f the mysteries which w ere later to come o u t from the churches and monasteries as precursors not only of o u r puppet shows but O f practically all o u r drama of

,

,

.

’

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

TH ERE are few o f us who at times have n o t unleashed flung away the reins and bidden o u r imaginations o u r thoughts roam freely b eyond the vision o f o u r straining eyes Wh o has not pondered whimsically what sort o f crooked creatures may b e S hambling over the craters and crevices O f the moon ? Simi l arl y the unfamiliar Eastern lands a f ford adventure fo r o u r Western fancies How alluring the imaginary sights and sounds fantastically flavored ; glimmer of spangles daggers veils and turbans camels and busy bazaars and mosques w hite in the sun strumming of curious instruments gurgle clatter and patter e n ig m at ic al whisperings and silences O f u n kn o wn import B u t o f all things S O strange what could be fashioned stranger than the puppets o f Eastern peoples ? As the dreams and philosophies o fthe Orient seem farther away from us than its most distant cities S O these small sym bols o f unfamiliar creeds and cultures for us are most amazing What skill and artistry is displayed in the creation o f them what capricious imagery in their conception ! Let u s consider them Proba b ly the Javanese s hado ws present the most weirdly fascinating spectacle to ou r unaccustomed ,

’

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

‘

.

,

.

,

.

21 ;

MA RIONE TT E S

26

figures e t c etc She was truly queen of the ac complished neat and charming in her manner sweet and l igh t in her gestures etc etc “ She was sprayed with rosewater Her body was warm and h o t if n o t anointed every hour She w as the virgin in the house of Pati Everyone who saw her loved her She had only one fault Later when she m arrI e d she could not endure a rival mis tress She was jealous etc A prose account tells us of the same young lady I t is s aid Of Ky ah i Pati Lo ge n de r s youngest child “ This was a daughter c al l e d An dj as m ara beautiful I f On e wished to do full j ustice to her ap of p e aran c e the describer would certainly grow wea ry before all Of her beauty could be portrayed She was charming elegant sweet talkative lovely etc etc Happy he who should O btain her as a wife ” The plots are b as e d u p o n Ol d o l d I ndian saga from the Ma ha bha ra ta the Ra m ay a n a t h e P a ndj i legends and also upon native fable such as the Ma n ila Muj a There are several varieti es Of Wayang play each founded upon o ne o r several o f these sources The Way a n g P u rwa and the Way a ng Gedo g are S ilhouette plays presented by leather figures behind a lighted screen Sometimes however the women in the au die n c e are seated o n one side o f the screen the men o n the o t h e r s o that s ome see the gray shadows others the colored figures The Way a n g Ke l e t ik is given not Wit h S h ado ws but with the painted hide figures them selves display ed to the audience All these per .

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

‘

.

'

‘

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

’

'

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

'

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

~

"

‘

.

M A RIONETTES

27

are not ordinary public events but rather special productions in cele b ration of particular occa sions Etiquette at the Wayang demands th at regu lar rites be O bserved b efore the pe rformance incense burned and foo d offered to the gods The D al an g or showman is a person o f great skill and versatility He seats himself cross legged o n a mat surrounded b y figures ; there are about o n e hundred and twenty to a complete Wayang set He directs the gamelin music o f the orchestr a which keeps up a tomtom and scraping o f catgut through gives a short preliminary exposition of the plot o ut brings on the characters which he holds and manip places them with precision u l at e s with slender rods and then the play begins The D alang as the music softens speaks for each one o f the characters The general tone is heroic with comedy introduced upon occasion There are struggles battles love scenes dances The D alang shu ffles with his feet for the dancing makes a noise O f tramp ing o r fighting ad justs the lights o n the screen all the while moving t he figures and speaking feelingly for them Besides these s o called S hadows the Javanese have also rounded marionettes carved out of wood which have long slender arms and fantastic touches re vealing kinship with the figures o f painted hide The play presented b y these crude but rather startling dolls is called Way a n g Go l e k The puppets are moved from below by rods attached to their bodies and hands as are the shadow figures Still other types of plays fo rm an ce s

,

.

,

.

,

,

-

.

'

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

-

,

,

.

.

.

MARIONETTE S

28

are the Way an g B e he r presented by rolls o f pictures and much later (eighteenth century) the Way a n g To p a n g in which rigidly trained human actors dressed in the conventional costumes o f the Wayang figures take the parts o f the puppets But here as in the puppet dramas the D alang reads all the words On the island o f Bali one o f the group of the I ndian Archipelago Wayang plays are like those of Java The o ld figures are very wonderful cut out of young bu ffalo hide carefully treated and pre pared The tool formerly used to make them was a primitive pointed knife The Wayang sets made to day in spite of the superiority of modern European instruments which are employed are very crude in comparison This is because with the loss o f inde p e n de n c e the natives also lost all interest in their o wn art and culture ; indeed new Way angs are made only when the o l d ones are worn o u t ,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

-

,

,

.

.

The S hadows o f the Siamese Na n g are also unusual This is a representation o f certain scenes from the Indian epic Ra m ay a n a and depicts the adventures I t is given in o f Prince Rama and his w ife Sita private homes for special festivals and is o f a serious poetic nature As described by a native o f Siam “ It is a show o f moving transparent pictures over a screen illumined by a strong bonfire behind ” It is recited b y two readers and sometimes requires as many as twenty operators The figures more nearly approach the human form than do those o f the Java .

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

MA RIONETTE S

29

nese shadows but their queer pointed headdress and strange costuming produce a very striking and highly stylized effect They are made o f hide which has been previou sly cut scraped and stretched with extreme care The technique o f decorat ing the figures is most di fficult for the forms are stenciled and per fo rat e d by an infinite number o f pricks to indicate not only the outlines but also the nature o f the fabric of garments the j ewels weapons etc These per fo rat io n s scarcely show unless held before a light when they give a very rich and variegated effect There is great art as well in the dyeing and fixing and in estimating the amount o f light o f the colors which should be allowed to penetrate so as to give a well proportioned aspect to the figure as a whole I n Siam as in Java there are to be found io rdin ary dramatic performances by wooden puppets more re cent in origin and not unlike those o f Burma ,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

, .

,

-

.

.

These puppet theatres of Burma exhibit a peculiar combination o f fantastic legend and grotesque re alis tic humor The puppet stage o f the country seems to have been more highly developed than its regular drama A visiting company of Burmese marionettes w as displayed at the Folies Bergeres in Paris where they were much admired for their beautiful cos t u m e s wonderful technical construction the natural poses they assumed and the graceful gestures they made Mr J Arthur Mac Le an tells o f the annual celebration w hich he w itnessed a few years ago at ,

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

«

MARI ONETTES

J

30

Anand a

the famous o l d Buddhist site I t consisted o f a performa nce b y the temple puppets which began early I n the e ve n I ng and lasted all the night through The marionettes were the property of the temple and when not in u se we re stored away there They w ere large and elaborate and manipulated with strings The audi ence comprised the entire p o p u l a tion Of the village ; every man and Woman was present and they had brought all o f thei r children The first part o f the show was c o m I c al for the sake of the chi l dren Wh o We m ay presume fell asleep as the night progres sed The plays which followed became e re Of a religious nature m o re an d more serious an d W Some Burmese puppets however are very primitive b e ing painted wooden dolls o dd and humorous in spirit The licen s e of the showman is extreme but does n o t seem to o ffend the t as t e o f the native audience '

,

.

.

'

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

’

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

~

.

I n Turkestan and I n Central AS l a puppet show s are a very pop ular diversion along with the feats o f j ug There are t wo types o f puppets gl ers and dancers ex isting one the very diminutive dolls carried abo ut by a mbulant pl ayers whose extremely n aI ve dialogue is composed chiefly for the amusem ent o f childre n The other o n a larger scale is to b e seen o n small stages erecte d in coffee h o u Se s or at weddings and oth er private c elebrations R S Rehm gives a description o f a crude littl e mari onette theatre in Samarkand Out in the c rowded narrow st reets sou nds as terrifying as the \

.

,

''

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

’

MA RIONETTE S

31

trumpet o n the walls o f Jericho announced the begin ning o f the performance The interior was a dark hall with a roof o f straw matting through the holes o f which mischievous youngsters were continually peek ing until they were chased away It was called The puppets Ts c ha da r Chaj a l Tent of Fantasy revealed I ndian origin but their huge heads with the clothing merely hung upon them indicated Russian influences There was o n e scene o f modern warfare with toy cannons hauled upon the stage Then came a play within a play Yas s au l the native bu ffoon was a sort o f master o f ceremonies Various comical and grotesque marionettes appeared whom he greeted and led to their places The King him self entered upon a miniature horse dismounted an d seated himself o n a throne in the tiny audience The performance fo r His Maj esty consisted o f puppet dancers puppet j ugglers and last o f all a marionette representing a drunken European dragged away by a native policeman At this point the small and also the large audience expressed g reat delight .

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

Of the puppets o f P ersia a very ancient legend tells us how a Chinese shadow play was performed b efore Ogo t ai successor o f Tamerlane The artist presented upon his screen the figure o f a turb aned o l d man being dragged along tied to the tail o f a horse When Ogo t ai inquired what this might signify the S howman is said to have replied : “ It is o n e o f the re b ellious Mohammedans whom the soldiers are ,

.

.

MA RIONETT E S

32

b ringing in from the cities in this manner Where upon Ogo t ai instead o f being angry at the taunt had his P ersian art treasures j ewels and rich brocades brought forth also rare Chinese fabrics and ca rven stones D isplaying them all to the showman he pointed o u t the b eauties in the products o f both lands as well as the natural di fference between them The S howman having learned this lesson of tolerance went aw ay greatly abashed S ha do ws are mentioned in the works of the Persian poet Muhammed Assar in 13 8 5 when they seem to have been eagerly cultivated Since then however they have sadly deteriorated It is said that wander ing jugglers with their primitive dolls scarcely elicit a smile from the educated Persians although they are sometimes asked into homes to amuse guests or children As a rule they play in open places and after the S how the owner collects the pennies from the audience standing around calling down the curse o f A llah upon those wh o walk away w ithout paying The comic puppet according to Karl Friederich more cul Flgig e l is Ke t s c h e l a bald headed hero ” He t u re d than all the Hanswursts in the world spouts poetry quotes from the Koran sings o f the houris in Paradise and when alone throws aside his wisdom dances and gets drunk ‘

.

,

,

‘

"

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

'

-

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

Professor Fischel has written that he belie ves the puppet plays o f I ndia n o t only to have antedated the regular drama but also t o have outlived it He ,

.

M A RIONETTES

33

claims moreover that the puppet shows are the only form o f dramatic expression left at the present time What a contribution from the marionette to the land how much the o n the other hand o f its birth and races o f Indi a must have given o f themselves and their imaginations to the little wooden creatures ; for the interest o f the b eholder alone is the breath o f life w hich animates them through the centuries It is amusing to read o f the life sized walking and talking puppets used in the tenth century by a drama Raj ah Ge kh ara One doll represented Sita rist and another her sister A starling trained to speak P rakrit was placed in the mouth o f S ita to speak for her The puppet player spoke for the other doll as well as for the demon which part in the drama he himself enacted and spoke in Sanskrit 1 In o n e of the issues o f The Mas /e there is printed the following account o f religious p upp e t s o f the thirteenth centu ry in Ceylon A great festival w as being solemnized in the temple which had been richly decorated for the event and furnished with numerous images o f Brahma dancing with parasols in their hands that were moved b y instruments ; w ith moving images ro with their o f gods o f divers forms that w ent to and f j oined hands raised in adoration ; with moving figures o f horses prancing ; with likenesses o f great ele with these and divers other shows did p h an t s .

,

,

,

,

.

-

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

l

l l

ll P

On y t h e p rin c ip a m a e p art s we re a o we d t o s p e ak o f H ndu d ram at u rgy ac c o r d in to t he c o n ve n t Io n s i 1

l

ma

e an

g ll f m l a

e

a e

p art s we re

spo

ke n

In

ra

k rit

.

S .

an s

k rit

L e sse r

MA RIONETT ES

3A

he make the temple exceedi ng attractive ( Maha v am s a ch 8 5 ) I n q u it e re c e n t days P C J in avaravam s a himself a priest an d p riIic e Of Siam as well as an a rtist has written an article attesting the aesthetic worth and popularity o f Indian puppets t o —day “ Beautiful fi g ures S Ix to eigh t inches high representing the charac ters o f the I ndian dra ma Ra m ay an a are made for exhibition at royal entertainments They are per fe e t pieces o f mechanism ; thei r very fingers can be made to grasp an object and they can be made to assume postures expressive o f any action o r emotion described in poetry ; this is done by pulling strings which hang dow n W ithin the clothing o r within a small tu b e att ache d to the lower part o f the figure with a ring Or a loop att ached to each for inserting the fingers o f the showm an The mo vements are perfectly timed to the music and re citation o f sing in g One can not help b eing charmed by these Lilli puts whose dresses a re so gorgeous and j eweled with the minutest detail Little embroidered j ackets and other pieces o f dress representing magnificent robes o f a D eva o r Yakha are complete in the smallest particular ; t h e miniature j ewels are sometimes made ” o f real gold a n d gems The popular plays of India have never been written down as were the classic dramas b u t according to the custom o f wandering showmen they were handed o n from fath e rto son Thus much I n them has been lost fo r us But Vidu s ak a the bu ffoon has survived .

,

.

‘

,

.

.

,

'

'

,

,

*

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

‘

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

MARIONETT ES

35

as old as the oldest Indian art the fundamental type of comic character and possi b ly the prototype Vidu s ak a a hunchbacked dwarf with o f them all protruding teeth a Brahmin with a bald head and distorted visage He excites merriment by his acts his dress his figure and his speech He is quarrel some glu t tonous stupid vain cowardly insolent and pugnacious “ always ready to lay about him with a stick ” Professor Pis c h e l avers that we can follow this little comedian as he wandered away with the gy psy showmen whose original home was that o f the marionette mysterious ancient India He trails him into Turkey where he became metamorphosed into the famous (or infamous) Karagh e u z after having served as a model for the b u ffoons o f Persia Ara b ia and Egypt But more than this it is believed that long before A rlecchino and other offspring of Maccus found their way northward there existed in the mystery and carnival plays o f Germany a funny fellow with all the family traits o f the descendants o f the I ndian Vidu s aka A nd it was probably the gypsies again coming up from Persia and Turkey through the Balkan countries and Hungary (where similar types o f puppet clowns are to be discovered ) wh o carried the cult from far o f f times and intro du c e d into A ustria and Germany the ancient ancestor o f Hanswurst and Kasperle ,

,

-

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

-

-

.

In Turkey as in so many Oriental countries the shadow play is the chief representative o f dramatic ,

,

MA RIONETTES

36

art There are several little tales told concerning the origin o f Turkish puppets One relates how a S ultan long ago commanded his Vizier o n pain o f death to bring back to life t wo favorite court fools whom he had executed perhaps somewhat rashly The Vizier in this dire dilemma consulted with a wise D ervish who thereupon caught t wo fish S kinned them and cut o u t o f the dried skins two figures rep resenting the two dead jesters These he displayed to the Sultan behind a lighted curtain and the illu sion seems to have satisfied that autocratic personage Another sto ry tells that long ago in Stamb oul there lived a go od man who grieved daily with right e o u s indi gnation over the misrule o f the governing Pashas He pondered long h o w to improve condi tions and how to car ry the matter to the attention o f the Sultan himself Finally he decided to e s t ab l is h a shadow play whose fame he hoped might lure the Sultan in to see it A nd indeed the people thronged to witness his Karagh e riz But when at last the august Sultan came and took his place in the audience Karagh e u z had more serious matters to display than his usual pranks The Sultan s eyes were opened to the abuses o f his ministers whom he removed and justly punished The founder o f the K aragh e uz play o n the other hand was made Vizier His show has remained the favorite diversion o f the people These Turkish shadows are all centered around the hero a sort of native Do n J uan a scamp with a .

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

’

.

,

.

.

'

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

’

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

MA RIONE TTE S

37

good b it o f mother wit ; he is called Karaghe u z ( Black Eye ) There are about S ixty other characters to a complete cast among them Hadj i aivat re p re s e n t a t ive o f the cultured classes and boon companion o f K a ra h e u z and Bekri Mustafa the rich peasant g j ust come to town who frequents questionable resorts gets drunk and is invariably plundered There are Kaw as s an the rich Jew and a D ervish and a romantic robber and the Frank and the wife and daughter o f Hadj i aiv at and all sorts o f dancers b eggar women George Jacob brings to notice also pathological et c types such as the dwarf the opium fiend the stutterer and others ; also representatives o f foreign nations the A rabian the Persian the A rmenian the Jew the Greek all o f whose peculiar accents and mistakes in speaking the Turkish language form a constant source o f merriment to the Turks themselves The plot generally consists o f the improper adventures of K aragh e uz his tricks t o secure money his surprising indecencies his broad satirical comment on the life a b out him Th eophile Gautier was present at a Karagh e u z performance He writes : It is im p o s sible to give in o u r language the least idea o f these huge jests these hyperb olical b road jokes which necessitate to render them the dictionary o f Rabe lais o f B e ro al de o f Eut rap e l flanked b y the vulgar catechism o f Vade ” The extreme beauty o f the production however and the expertness o f the manipulator somewhat redeem the performances fo r o u r Western eyes The .

-

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

-

-

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

MA RIONETTE S

38

figures are cut o u t o f c am e l s kin the lim b s skilfully articulated Holes in the necks or chests and for special figures which gesticulate also in the hands enable slender rods to be inserted at right angles by which they are manipulated The appearance of the transparent brightly colored figures with heavy exaggerated outlines rather resembles mosaic work while the faces are so m e t I m e S done with the extreme care of portraits The effect produced b y these luminous forms is truly beautiful ; the color is height ened by surrounding darkness which tends to increase the Se e m I n g s a c o f the figures and to give them an almo st plastic quality From an account o f F von Lu s c h an we may imagine the usual Karagh e u z performance to take place in somewhat the following manner In any Coffee house the rear corner is screened o ff w ith a thick curtain into which is inserted a frame Over the frame a linen is stretched taut Behind it is set a platform o r ta b le upon o r at which the operator places himself and h is fi gures There is little equipment Four “i o l lamps with several wicks are furnished with good o live o il to distribute an even illumination b ehind the screen The manipulator brings o n his characters and talks fo r them I f two o f them gesticulate simul taneously he overcomes the di fficulty by holding o n e o f the rods lightly pressed against his body thus freei ng a hand fo r the emergency He must also keep time to the dancing with his castanets stamp the floor fo r marching smack himself loudly to imitate ,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

‘

.

.

.

.

'

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

MARIONETTES

39

the sound o f bu ffets and keep an eye o n the lamps which threaten constantly to set fire to himsel f and his paraphernalia These Karagh e uz shows are popular n o t only throughout T urkey b ut more or less altered in Syria P alestine Arabia Egypt Tunis Tripoli and Morocco It 13 recorded that I n 15 5 7 in Cairo a puppet play was instrumental in stirring up a revolt and had to be prohibited I n Arabia the shadows are decidedly debased in Character crude and wholly inartistic In Tunis the performances are said to be mere co n glomerations o f obscene incidents Guy de Mau passant writes in his Vie Erra n te : “ We must not forget that it was only a very few years ago that the performances of C arago u s s a a kind of Obscene Punch an Children looked o n with d Judy were forbidden their large black eyes some ignorant others corrupt laughing and applauding the improbable and vile exploits which are impossible to narrate ” I n 184 2 however a traveller in Algiers witnessed a S h adow play presenting incidents from the Ara bian Nights foon Tal es in which Karagh e u z was a less rude b u f than usual At the end o f the play the re ap p eared upon the screen the illumined is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his P rophet ” .

'

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

’

,

“

.

.

I n China the art of the shadow play has long l ong ,

,

ago attained a degree o f perfection as high if not surpassing that o f any other co untry The Chinese have quaintly designed marion ettes but I n the magical .

,

M A RION E TT ES

[I o

beauty of their shadows they ar e without peers I t is only within t h e l as t few decades in fact that the artists o f Paris with the shadow plays at the Chat Noir h ave s u c c e e ded in at all approaching their skill and in s p I rat l o n A ccording to legend o ne m ight infer although scholars deem I t doubtful that the origin o f puppets in the wide do m I n I o n s o f bygone Emperors Celestial Ones dates b ack t o the earliest periods of a remark ably ancient culture One story relates that a thou sand years B C S hadows had grown so popular and famous that King Muh commanded a famous show man named Yen Sze t o come into his palace and amuse him his wives and concubines Yen Sze thus honored bestirred himsel f to operate the figures in an animated manner and p ro c e e de d t o make his little puppets cast admiring glances at the ladies o f the Court The King became j ealously enraged and o r dered Yen s head chopped o ff Poor Yen S ze — h e b arely escaped his horrible fate b y tearing up his little figures and proving them harmless creatures o f leather glue and varnish Another fable tells us that in the year 2 6 2 B e an Emperor o f the Han dynasty was b eing b esieged in the City of Ping in the P rovince o f S c h e ns i b y the warrior wife o f Mao Tun named O Now the Emperor s adviser being full o f cunning and having heard o f the j ealous disposition o f the war like lady O devised a scheme for ingeniously ridding the Emperor o f his enemies He placed upon the walls o f the beleaguered cit y a gorgeously dressed .

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

‘

.

,

,

,

‘

.

’

,

.

,

.

.

-

-

.

,

’

,

,

,

.

MA RIONETTE S

41

female puppet and by means o f hidden strings made her dance alluringly upon the ramparts Lady O deceived b y the lifelike imitation and fearing should the city fall that her hus b and Mao Tun might fall in love w ith this seductive dancer raised the siege and withdrew her armies from the Emperor s City S O wonderful o f Ping in the Province o f S c h e n s i so helpful were the puppets o f China in 2 6 2 B C ! I n more modern days there are several sorts o f Chinese marionettes I n any open place o n e might come upon the simple peripatetic showman with a gathering o f little bald headed children around him (hence they say the name Kwo o r Mr Kwo which means Baldhead ) Stepping upon a small platform the puppeteer dons a sort of S heath o f b lue cotton like a big bag tight at the ankles and full higher up He then places his box o n his shoulders w ith its open stage to the audience His head is enclosed behind this stage and his hands are thrust into the dresses o f the dolls and manipulate them a finger fo r each arm and fo r the head The dialogue is rough realistic humor When the act is over he places the puppets and sheath in his b ox and strolls o n with the com p l e t e outfit under his arm In the large stationary marionette theatres a very different state of a ffairs exists Here w ith expensive and elaborate scenery the puppets are capable o f presenting highly spectacular faeries in the manner o f the later Italian and French fantoccini The plot is generall y the O ld one o f an enchanted princess .

,

,

-

,

,

,

,

’

.

,

.

,

-

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

‘

.

.

MAR I ONETTES

[I 2

guarded b y a d ragon an d rescued by a p rince ; their marriage cere mony furnishes the occasion for t he “

M

M

NN CQ a

M H

;

-

q

us

e

r

m

M

l

n

o)

“N“ I 'M

k

m.

0

»

“

'w

nature were composed especially fo r per Sir Lytton fo rm an c e s at the court o f the Emperor Putney first Br itish A m b ass ador to China has de scri b ed the reception accorded him upon his arrival event o f which was a marionette play The o ne chief personage in this piece was a little comedian whose antics delighted the cou rt The marionettes b elonged to the Emperor himself and the very clever manager o fthe show was a high o fficial in the palace I t is the Chinese shadows however which are most famous and most amazing for their range o f subj ect and varI e t y o f appeal The figures are o f translucent hide stained with great de lic aCy The colors glow li ke j eW el s when the li gh t shi nes through them and the co m bI n at I o n Of these Col ors I s am aZ I Iigl y b eam i ful The repe rtoire in cl iide s anything afI d every thing in the world o f the seen and o f the unseen ; street comedies happenings o f everyday life heroic legend fa b les historic drama religious and mystical revelations with all the ghostly fantasy b red o f Taoist teachings ( metamorphoses and visions o f d emons marvellously produced According to the account o f Rehm in his extensive work D as B u c h der Ma r io n e tte n the b eauty and power of these fas c I n at I ng illusions carry the spectator away into realms o f make believe He has g ive n s e ve ral enthusiastic descriptions o f t h e productions Th e following is o n e o f them : h is t oriE '

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

'

,

,

.

.

,

”

,

“

'

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

-

'

.

.

MA RIONETTES

A3

The sto ry is that o f a son sick with longing who implores the Ruler o f the Shadow world t o S how him the spirit o f his departed mother One sees a land scape bathed in the magic atmosphere o f twilight I n the backg round there rises a pagoda whose shim mering reflection is mirrored in the calm lake Al l is silence and expectancy The son appears ; he makes his respectful O beisance before the hallowed spot and brings his offering The smoke o f the in cense rises in small clouds Suddenly the silver tones o f the wonderful Chinese zither are heard and accompanied b y its strains the transformation takes place The pagoda vanishes luminous circles of color appear o u t o f which the mother emerges She speaks to her so n who is trembling w ith awe ; she o ffers him glimpses o f a hidden world comforts and st rengthens him One hears her sigh recognizes her perturb ation b y the rising and falling o f her breast and the whole expression o f her countenance The b eholders are completely under the sw ay o fthe ghostly apparition I n the end everything resumes its former aspect the peace o f the night envelops the land scape resting under the silver moonlight S w ans a ppear upon the lake bathing their w hite plumage in the cool waters and with this poetic impression the dream peace is concluded ,

,

-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

.

-

In

.

J ap an e s e literature according to Mr Henri Joly o n e finds fife an t I q U I t y o f the pupp et S how __

,

.

”

,

M ARIONETTE S

li A

runs : Hiriu k was a ve ry ugly child S O his parents c ast him adrift in a boat The boat floated away an d was finally stranded o n the shore o f Nishinomiya where the bo y lived and died After his death how e ver his restless spirit caused storms to rise and the fishermen lost their livelihood until a man Dokun a rrived who b uilt a temple to the Gods whereupon the sea b ecame smooth and the fish plentiful After D o kun s death the inhabitants negle ct ed the temple Again gales arose and the fish disappeared Then came another man named Hiaku daiy u and made a doll and brought it to the temple Then hiding himself he displayed it and called : “ I am D okun I have come to greet you ” Whereupon the sea again became calm and fish again returned The emperor hear ing o f it summoned Hiaku daiy u to perform with his S how at court and after witnessing it he exclaimed : “ A s Japan is God s country we must before any thing else entertain the GOdS Let an o ffi ce be cre ” ated ! Hiaku daiy u was o f ficially appointed to travel from shrine to shrine about the land carrying the After his death b o x which contained his puppets O thers continued the art Another w riter claims tha t Dokun was a Shinto priest but it matters little Jap a n has developed a marionette tradition alto gether and a mazingly Uniq ue I nd eed so powerful a fac t Or has it been that living actors I n the classic drama have ac c ep te d t h e conventions of the puppet stage and are trained to the gesture and manner of the ancient m ar I o n e t t e This does not apply of course ,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

’

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

’

,

,

’

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

F

ro m a c o

[

F

o un

JAPAN E E

U PPET HEAD ll i i h B kl y I i C li i Ky d d by M S w OLD

e

ec t o n

S

n t

r

.

e

te

P

roo

art

u

S

n

n s t t ut e

n

n

Muse um

o t o , 19 12

]

MA RI ONETTES inn umera b le strolling boo ths o f the Chinese l ine n hag variety b ut rather to t he renowned and long established stationa ry theatres for puppets theatres with exclu sive boxes for the select and well to—do Of the au dience and ample seating capacity for t he common people wh o visit the show I n great nu m bers The dolls are not quite half as tall as a man ; they are ve ry realist ically c o n c e e d and the m I m I c ry o f is carried into the minutest details Mr n at II re Joly has published some tracings of parts of these Japanese puppets which indicate how elaborate the inne r mechanism must be ; a hand in which each joint o f each finger is articulated a head in which the eyes move from side to side Indeed these mario nettes frequently raise their eyebrows to express scorn or surprise The costumes are o frich silk and brocade profusely embroidered often j eweled and al ways de fect s igned with special thought fo r their de co rat I ve e f Nay more when a gown is n e w o r particularly hand some a bo y comes deliberatel y out and plac es a lantern directly in front o f the doll so that no elegant detail shall be overlooked by the audience The puppets n ecessarily very costly and they represent alto a re gether quite a large amount o f capital for which the t heatres are o ft e n specially taxed The stages are quite large The puppet s are fast ened by means o f rods to their stands (all but the spirits and magic figures which are worked w ith w ires from a b ove and flo at through the air) Th e most curious feature in the Japanese show is the manner o f to

t he

,

,

-

.

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

‘

.

"

,

.

MA RIONETTES

[16

’

manipulating The operators work o n t he stage in full V iew of the audience with the puppets placed in front o f them They speak no word and are fre quently assisted by similarly mute scholars These make themselves less conspicuous often wear to b lack hooded robes ; but the expert and favorite manipulators themselves are generally very gayly a ttired and their entrances are not infrequently greeted with applause Often there are more persons work ing the puppets than there are puppets to be seen on the stage The words o f the drama are read b y the Giday u o r chanter arrayed in a splendid ceremonial costume and sitting respectfully o n a platform to the left of the stage behind a l o w stand upon which there rests a copy of the text He chants loudl y and musically varying according to the nature o f t h e account and The chanters are artists o f high o f the characters standing in fact somewhere in the seventeenth cen tury they had already established a unique form o f elocution The reading is generally accompanied by the strains o f the samisen a three stringed in s t ru ment played by an artist wh o sits o n the platform next to the chanter Sometimes besides the principal G iday u there are others who chant as a sort o f chorus I n some performances there are as many as thirty three G iday u s twenty nine samisen players some forty manipulators and several cleaners o f lamps and The chanter after an exciting passage s tage hands m ay take a sip Of tea o r expectorate into a little .

,

.

.

,

,

-

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

-

,

.

.

,

.

-

,

,

,

MA RIONETT E S

[I 8

written One playwright Chikamatsu Mo nz ay e m o n the Shakespeare o f Japan together with his pupils wrote about o n e hundred pieces for these puppets In 170 3 a rival theatre was founded in Osaka by a pupil o f Giday u It was called To y o t ake Za and it also had its able dramatists and enthusiastic follow ing The two theatres were at their zenith early in the eighteenth century ; I z u m a and So s u ki wrote for them A few o f their plays were in a re al I s t I c vein such as The Wo m a n s H a r a /ea r i a t Lo n g S tree t or more frequently they were of a heroic temper The B a ttl e of K o ku s e ny a or The Loy al ty of the Five He r o es The Reve n ge of the S o ga B r o the rs and often they were such romantic a ffairs as the hopeless passion o f t wo young lovers with the familiar ending o f their double suicide called s hinj u Later in the eighteenth century the centre for puppet performances was transferred to Yeddo and flour ished there for half a century in two l arge theatres called Hizen l a and Take Za There were two smaller theatres also in Kyoto At present puppet plays are occasionally given in Tokyo at As aku s a P ark There are two such theatres also in Osaka with clever chanters and skilful puppeteers which are among the greatest attractions of the city I n the land of the cherry blos som however as elsewhere in this modern world the cinema has for a while at least outrivaled the ancient puppet play in the affection o f the people and accord ing to Os at aro Miy am o ri deprived them o f a great part o f their audiences .

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

’

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

Re p re s e nt i n g

t he

f

JAPA N E E R NT (H P

S

am o u s ac t o r,

p pp u

o kus a I

I

)

Mi z u ki Tat s un o s u ke

et o n a

go

bo ard

,

m an

ip l i g u at n

a

MA RIONE TT ES

49 4

But who shall b elittle the remarka b le achievements o f the Japanese marionette theatre ? All in all there have been as many as two hundred epic poets writing fo r the puppets and over a thousand dramas have been compos ed for them Moreover in feudal Japan where higher education was confined to the priests and to the Samurai the G iday u chanters were im portant educators o f the masses who derived their conceptions o f patriotism loyalty and ethics from the impecca b le sentiments of the heroic epic dramas .

,

,

,

,

.

Tappets

f I taly

d S outhern

an

o

y

I n t o wh at e ve r

w e fo

c o unt r

ll w

t he

o

fo o t

rin t s

o

f

l y f ily f w d h h w x i h i h bi hifi b i l dil b flx li i h l d h y f h i i fi g i h l Th g dd h il f i I ly h l d f i hi d f d i g w fid h b i i d li g i h b li h d j h f h l x lli g i h b ll d f i g wi h il Ri i i ffi i i h wi h d i g Th S ih i b hi d h h hi l h M f h d id d i id h fM h wi h C i l l d wi h m i g i id h j kk I d p f H ly W i fG y gi h hy i l d f i l i ii d y i i f h i i d h d b ll A d i F d wh hw w ly h i h d d p d by h y w ll b y h l w i fi d h d d l g wi y d f i w l d ll i g h l hip t he

n u m e ro u s ,

ot c t

e ve r e

o

n t

ta

c e n s o rs

u rat t n

t

’

ea

t

n

r

an

so n

e r u e rs ,

e rm an

t ca

t en

o n e re c o

enc es o

o m e s t c sp r t e s e re

u p pe t

t

c o u rage

n ee

o us,

M

no t

mo

on

e

n

an

s

o

at

er t o

t

n

e

an t e e re

e a r st o c rac

t

t

n

c o un t r

en c s

oo r

ts

through centu ever may be

o

en

et s

e

em

e e

e at r c a

e r

t

e

ex

e

an

s n

es

s

e rs

an c e

c a p t ve

o nt e

mov

n

u p pen

an

er s

t

an t a s

an

n

peo p

e

at ro n s

r an c e ,

en

an

e

tt

an t ,

t

n

at

n

as

us

s u p e rs t t o n s ,

nt

.

C

e ar

ar

p e r o rm n s u p p re s s o n ,

s ca

q ua

u

as

t

e c o ru m

e ss

a rr v a

.

re s c u e

m e t ap

,

e

e c o n q u e st o

e

e m se ve s u p o n t

of

or

an

o re o r

t

an

t t e re c o u c

e

.

et

at

pecu

e

n s t ru m e n t s

s

t

n ze s

e

e st s

m ent

o rt e z t o t

r t

t

peo p

e

a

E cl ec t ic

co u n t ry

,

t

t

rs t

st r c t

o

s

e

c u rt a

p an

m ee t

t m a e n s , m arc e s ’ z u m a s c a p t a o r e n ac t s nc ent s ro m o o

t

n

n

e

to

po

ve o r s x

.

ts

t

n

e r

es o

o

an c e ,

ut

o ut

e st ra o

o rt

es

ce

e

e

e

o v e rn m e n t s ,

a rp

s

t

e s cene s

an

e spo t c

o

O p e ras

s

a r ac t e r s t c s

o

n

e on t

e c o m e re

y

c

n

p u p p e t s,

o

t s m ay

a

ee

an

an

ps

an o rc

e

3

an

e

t

e n se o o ss n

t

,

am

e

e r

e

t as t e s

en us,

n

t

an

e

mot

an ”

e,

e

r vo

.

Maga zin e

Europe has had marionettes of s

it u de s . “

I taly

,

ho w ;

neer the fOI e ru nne r ,

MA RIONETTES I t was

51

w andering

Italian showmen who carried their c a s tel l i de i bu r a ttin i into England Ger many Spain and France and these countries seem to have adopted puppet conventions devices and dialogues long established by the Italians gradually adapting them to their o wn tastes The Italians have always display ed great ingenuity and perse ve r a n c e in developing and elaborating their mario nettes ; indeed this may be both cause and result of the perpetual joy they appear to derive from them There are numerous records in earl y Italian history o f reli g ious images in the cathedrals and monasteries marvellous Crucifixes figures o f the Madonna and o f the saints that could turn their eyes n o d their heads These were the solemn fore o r move their limbs bears o f the I talian fantoccini ! Moreover ve ry early it became customary fo r special occasions to set up elaborate stages in the naves and chapels o f the churches upon which were enacted episodes from the B ible o r from the lives o f the martyrs The per formers were large o r small figures carved and painted with rare skill and devotion sometimes elaborately dressed and bejew eled and frequently moved by complicated mechanism It was not unusual in the presentation o f sacred plays to utilize b oth puppets a n d human actors together Vasari in his Life o f I I Ce c ca tells us that A mong o thers four most solemn public spectacles took place almost every year o n e for each quarter o f the city with the exception o f S Giovanni for the festival o f ,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

'

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

MA RIONETT ES

52

which a most solemn procession was held as will be told S Maria Novella kept the feast o f Ignazio S Croce that o f S Bartholomew called S B accio S Spirito that o f the Holy S pirit and the Carmi ne those o f the Ascension o f Our Lord and the As s u m p tion o f Our Lady Of the latter he continues “ The festival o f the Ascension then in the church o f the Carmine was certainly most b eautiful seeing that Christ was raised from the mount which was very well contrived in woodwork o n a cloud about and amidst which were innumerable angels and was b orne upwards into a Heaven so admirably co n structed as to be really marvellous leaving the A postles on the mount We may read in great detail o f the impressive P a r a dis o an arrangeme n t o f vast wheels moving in ten circles to represent the ten Heavens These circles glittered with inn u m e r able lights arranged in small suspended lamps which represented stars From this Heaven o r Paradiso there proceeded by means of two st rong ropes pulleys and counterweights o f lead a platform which held two angels bound firmly by the girdle to iron stakes These in due time descend to the rood screen and announce to the Savior that He is to ascend into Heaven The whole apparatus ” continues the his torian was covered with a large quantity o f well prepared wool and this gave the appearance o f clouds amidst which were seen numberless cheru b im sera phim and other angels clothed in various colors ” The machines and inventions were said to have been ,

.

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

-

.

,

,

,

.

M A RIONETTES

l

/

53

although Filippo Brunelleschi had Lmade similar things long before “ It has b een pointed o u t writes E K Chambers in the second volum e o f his Media e val D ra m a “ that the use o f p uppets to provide a figured representa tion o f the mystery o f the nativity seems to have preceded the use for the same purpose o f living and and further more that the puppet S peaking persons ; S how in the form o f the Christmas Crib has o u t lived the drama founded upon it and is still in use in all Catholic countries F e rrign i describes a cathe dral near Naples where this ancient custom is still continued the church being quite transformed for the occasion its walls hidden by scenery and an imi t at io n hill constructed at the top o f which stood the Presepio Moving figures travelled up the hill toward the manger o f Bethlehem which was illumined by a great light I have heard such spectacles described by travelers with much enthusiasm and no t a little awe Imagine the deep impression the reverent delight produced among the devout worshippers in mediaeval times ! I t must be admitted that many prelates condemned the use o f these religious fantoccini as smacking sin fully o f idolatry Abbot Hughes o f Cluny denounced them in 10 8 6 Pope Innocent in 12 10 and others a lso from time to time But canons were never a b le to quite eradicate the cherished custom and the little figures always reappeared inside the churches a n d in ad j acent cloisters and cemeteries for spec Ce c c a

’

s,

.

.

,

.

,

'

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

MARION E TTE S

51 1

mysteries an d masks The decree o f the Council o f Trent however was instrumental in fo rc ing most o f them o u t o f the churches so that in the gen erally to b e found S ixteenth centu ry the y were roaming about the countryside and giving perform a u ces in the marketplaces and at fairs There are many types o f I t alian pupazzi Th ey have been called by many names and exhibited in many manners Th ey are desi gned and dressed and manipulated in innumerable ways In a twelfth century manuscript discovered in the Strasbourg library there is an illustration o f very primitive little The y represen t a pair o f warriors caused gu rin i fi to fight b y means o f t wo cords ; the action is hori zo n t a l Somewhat the same principle is employed to operate S im ple little dolls dancing o n a board generall y a cou ple o f them together the string tied to the knee o f the puppeteer He makes the figures perform by moving his leg and generally plays o n a drum o r tambou rine to acco m pany the motion As a rule the name burattini is applied to the dolls with heads and hands fashioned o f wood o r paper m ac h é and manipulated by a hand thrust under the empty dress a finger and a thumb fitted into the two sleeves to work the arms another finger used to turn o r bow the head o f the doll These pupazzi were most fre q uently played in pairs by travelling show men with little portable castelli Fantoccini are the puppets fashioned more o r less after the human figure They are made o f cardboard o r wood and occasionally t ac l e s ,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

-

,

,

.

.

.

‘

[Fro m

an

ill

L

N

MED I A E VA MA R I O ETTE S

i

w lf g

ip

in a t e t h e n t u ry m an us c r c St ras s b o u r l I brary]

u s t rat o n

-

t

in t he

MA RION ETTES

55

in part o f metal o r plaster They are sometimes crudely carved sometimes m odelled with attention to every detail They are operated by means o f wires or threads connecting them with the control which is in th e hands o f the m ario n e t t is t st anding concealed a bove The number and arrangement o f threads an d controls may be simple o r intricate S ometimes the limbs are wired and all the w ires ex cept those o f the arms are carried o u t o f the head through an iron tube A nother device is that o f wiring the dolls and manipulating them from below by pedals There is no end to the variety o f con t riv an c e s invented by the makers o f marionettes The more elaborate dolls are generally exhibited in large and substa ntial castelli o r o n permanent stages constructed in private homes or in theatres used entirel y for fan t o c in n i the spectacular e ffects being carried out on an amazing scale ; From earliest times the marionettes have been .

,

.

,

.

.

’

.

.

.

,

1

Th

y

l

I t a ian n am e s fo r t h e p u p p e t s Fro m d o , is d e rive d p up a zzi Fro m fa n to cc ia , a s o p u pa , m e an in d o , we ave fa n to cc in i, o r it t e d o s s i n ify in Fro m gu r a , s t at u e o r fi u re , c o m e s Eu gu r in i, s t at u e t t e s o r it t e fi u re s c ot , e in m ad e m o st y o f c o t r a tt in i c o m e s fro m hu ra tto , Mar io n ette is a m o d ifi c at io n o f Mar ia , t h e Vir in , m e an in it t e Marie s fro m t h e e ar y s t at u e t t e s in c u rc e s An o t e r e x c e n t u ry Ve n e t ian F es tiva l o p an at io n is fo u n d in t h e t e n t f the i o c c s o n ar ar i r t e a a s c arrie d o f y p Ma r ies Up o n o n e f t w e ve Th e rap e o f t h e Ve n e t ian m aid e n s in t e ir rid a p ro c e s s io n ian c e d Vir in s w as ave n e d y V e n e t ian yo u t s an d t e re a ft e r afl y a p ro c e s sio n o f ric y d re s se d ir s c e e rat e d an n u a y e se at e r we re re p ac e d y e a o rat e y o wn e d fi u re s c a rrie d ye ar e n c e Ma rio n e t t i, it t e Marie s y ye ar in t h e p ro c e s sio n 1

e re

a re

m an

g ll l g g ll h l l ll fi g l l g fi l h b g l l h g gl l l h h h l h B b l h b l g g b h h lb ll b hl g l Th l l b lb l g g b h l l .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

MA RIONETTES

56

exceedingly popular with both learned an d ignorant

.

city had its large castello frequently many o f them while noble families had their private puppet theatres and engaged distinguished writers to compose plays Lorenzo de Medici is said to have enj oyed puppet Cosimo I S hows and to have given many o f them is reported to have had the fantoccini in the Palazzo Vecchio Francesco I in the Ufliz i: Girolamo Cardan c e l e b r at e d mathematician and physician wrote in “ 15 5 0 An entire day would n o t be su fficient in which to descri b e these puppets that play fight shoot dance and make music ” Leone All ac i librarian o f the Vatican under Pope A lexander VI I stopped nightly to watch the b urattini play Prominent mechanicians and scientists used their skill to create clever p up azzi; artists have left us charming pic tures o f groups thronging around the castelli in the pu b lic roads ; poets and scholars wrote plays for the marionettes I n the beginning the repertory o f the pupazzi was derived entirely from the s a cre r app res e n tazio n e consisting o f scenes from the Old and the New Testa ments stories o f miracles and martyrdoms S oon a comic element w as allowed to creep in the better to hold the attention of the audience Fables were introduced fo r variety and episodes from heroic tales o f chivalry also satires reminiscent o f Roman decadence The latter were performed by puppets fantasticall y dressed and b u rl e s q u e in g local types ,

,

.

.

,

S

e

s

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

’

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

MA RION ETT E S

57

and naturally speaking in the native dialect o f those particular characters The showman improvised the dialogue to fit the occasion using only a skeleton plot to direct the action j ust as did the actors o f the “ Thus ” claims an authority Co m m e dia del l Arte I talian puppetry “ o n this hum b le stage were on born typ es of the ancient I talian theatre the im I t might be as di f ficult to prove mortal masks as to disprove this statement but at any rate the pupazzi had a hand in popularizing and p e rp e t u at ing the famous m as c he re At this point it might b e well to digress fo r a moment and to consider the commedia de ll art e which is so interwoven with the story o f Italian mario nettes Along with the commedia erudita which was flourishing at the courts o f the great Italian princes there developed an extemporaneous popular theatre depending greatly fo r its spirit upon the invention and talent o f the actors Perhaps the b eginnings o f its gay humor may be traced back to the comic and local elements introduced into the early s a cre r a p p r es e n ta zio n e Perhaps the characters were copied from the familiar b u ffoons of Latin comedy A t any rate the well known masks o r p ers o n a ggi o f the cast represented amusing types from all strata o f I talian society and each was immediately recognizable by a conventionalized and rather grotesque costume Arl e c c hin o wh o originally came from Bergamo is the chief personage of this motley group He is a unique figu re in his strange suit of multi colored patches ,

,

.

,

,

’

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

’

.

,

.

.

.

-

,

,

.

,

,

.

-

,

MA RIONETTE S

58

his black m ask his peculiar weapon all reminiscent o f the Roman His trio At first conceived as a happy simple fellow he became in time a character o f u n bridled gayety and pointed wit Then there was P u l c in el l a descended probably from the Roman Ma c cus a Neap olitan rogue and merry maker whose white co stume serves to accentuate the hump in his back and his other physical peculiarities There w ere S ca ra m u c c ia also o f Naples fal s e b ravo and coward S te n to re l l a from Florence a mean miserly wretch Ca s s andrin o the charming fop and brag gart a Roman invention ; Mes s e r P a n tal o n e is a good natured Venetian merchant deceived by all S c ap in o is t h e mischief maker apt to lead youth astray Co n s ta n tin e o f Verona is said youth Then come B righel l a Capita in e P ie r ro t world renowned Co l u m bin e I s a bell a and a host o f other I talian con c e p t io n s to say nothing o f P a s qu in o P epp in n o Or n o frio and Ro s in a who are the ma sks o f Sicily I t w as customary to have the p lot and the prin c ip al situations sketchily outlined for the actors They then w ent into the play supplying dialogue and im p ro v is in g action and appropriate j ests as the mood of the moment dictated The humor o f the theatre was merry and spontaneous though frequently ex But des t re m e l y b road and o f questionable taste pite this license o f manners the morals an d purposes o f the plays were good levelling shafts o f satire ag ainst the fraII ds and abuses of the age poking fun and sco rn at rogueries hypocrisies weaknesses ,

,

.

,

,

.

,

-

,

'

.

,

,

,

,

,

‘

,

,

i

,

-

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

'

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

MARI ONET I ES

59

The commedia de ll art e flourished b rilliantly fo r a century o r more Flaminio Scala was the first di rector who attempted to systematize it I n 16 11 he published a number of s c e n arii and detailed dire c tions for the "action However in time the unbridled wit degenerated into mere vulgarity the grace and spontaneity o f gesture into absurd acrobatic tricks and grimacing the bubbling j ests and startling S itua tions became stale It was then that G oldoni came to reform the Italian drama In his plays it is true but o n e may still find traces o f the popular masks they are relegated to minor rOl e s subdued and prop perl y clad They will never wholly die out Through various stages o f the Italian drama the marionettes have trailed gayly along ever adopting the new without discarding the old Their repertoire is all inclusive They have enacted sacred dramas and legends o f saints S a n s o n e e D al il a S a n te Tecl a They have Gu ida I s ca r etta and innumerable others made use o f the scenarios o f old Latin plays such as Am o r n o n vir to s o and [ l B a s il ic a di B e rga n as s o When the b ombastic elaborate plays were discarded by the actors they came into possession o f the puppet showmen Thereafter the burattini became gran dil o q u e n t and stalked about as princes and heroes o f tragedy while their trappings and settings often grew correspondingly elaborate To fables of heroes and pastoral scenes to the romances o f Paladins and Saracens and spectacular tales of brigands assas sins and t y rants were added the pathetic and roman ’

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

MA RIONETTE S

60

tic melodramas o f foreign lands l l Fl a uto m agic o La do n n a S erp e n te Ge n o viefi a di B r a ba n te El iza betta P o to ws /ey eve rything was to be seen in the cas telli o f the fantoccini even the military plays o f I ffland and Kotzebue Moreover Arlecchino and his band were always allowed to enter at an y time into Indeed when the commedia de l l art e an y situation became at last discredited o n the larger stage it s o ugh t s h e l t e r with the puppets Thus in the pup pet b ooths the popular o l d personaggi were kept alive among the people where they had indeed been ever ve ry much at home These o l d masks continue to be found to—day in the puppet shows o f Italy as are also the m e l o dra matic tragedies popular with the masses and the clever satirical comedies given in more intellectual circles Stendhal ( Marie Henri Beyle) in his Voy age en I tal ic reports that in Rome he witnessed a wonderful performance o f Machiavelli s Ma n dra go re performed for a select and highly cultured circle by marvel lous little marionettes o n a stage scarcely five feet wide but perfect in every detail Rome has always abounded in puppet theatres Ernest P e ixo t t o writes in 190 3 that noblemen were in the habit of giving plays acted by fantoccini in their palaces plays reek ing with escapades and political satire that dared not S how its face o n the p ublic b oards Stendhal wrote also that he found Cass an drin o at the Te atro Fia n o very much the vogue presented as a fashion able man o f the world falling in love with every petti .

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

’

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

’

.

.

,

.

,

MARIONETTE S

62

f the I n dies by Chr is top her Co l um bu s The audience sitting in the pit is composed chiefly o f rough bronzed working men with thick unkempt hair a noisy crowd all eating cakes o r cracking pump kin seeds between their teeth A spectator thus describes a performance : “ TO day they are to per form the lovely ta le of An gell ica a n d Medo r o o r 0 r l a n do F u rio s o a n d the P a l a din s The c u rt aI n rI s e S a nd the marionettes appear The valiant Roland and P IIl c in e ll a his squire come forth with a boun d and neither o f them touches the ground Roland is co vere d with iron from head to foot and holds in his hand the D urlindana [his sword] P ulcinella has White stocki ngs a white costume with wide and a w hite cap with a tassel The mario S leeves nettes are t wo feet high their limbs perfectl y supple and lend themselves to any movement etc etc ” The same account tells us that the play of Chr is to p he r Co l u m bu s had been g iven here fourteen even ings in succe s sion three times an evening In it the Indians excited special curiosity decked out with splendid plumes In 19 12 Mr W S tory visited a similar theatre of fantoccini in G enoa W here e laborate p ro du c t I o n s (usu ally Of the wars o f the Paladins ) were presented to an eve r re c e p t I ve audience “ What is that great ” n O I s e o f drums inside ? inquired Mr Story of the ticket seller “ B atta glio ” was the reprovin g reply “ E Sempre batta glie ! ” (Al w ay s battle !) Althou gh this perpetual fray was rather crude it was followed c o ve ry

o

.

,

,

,

.

-

‘

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

‘

,

.

,

.

.

.

'

-

.

.

.

,

,

'

,

MA RION ETT E S

6A

enter ; o n e creature playing a drum and knock ing himself o ff his legs at eve ry blow These failing to delight her dancers appear Four first ; then two ; the t wo ; the fle s h coloured two The way in which they dance ; the height to which they spring ; the impossible and inhuman extent to which they pirou ette the revelation o f their preposterous legs ; the c o m I n g down with a pause o n the very tips o f their toes when the music requires it ; the gentleman s retiring up when it is the lady s turn ; and the lady s retiring up when it is the gentleman s turn ; the final passion of a pas de deux ; and going o ff with a b ound ! I shall never see a real ballet with a composed coun t e n an c e again “ I went another night to see these Puppets act a play called St Helena or the D eath of Napo leon I t b egan by the disclosure o f Napoleon with an immense head seated o n a sofa in his chamber at St Helena ; to whom his valet e ntered with this Ob scure announcement : “ Sir Yew u d se o n Lo w ! (The o w as in cow) Sir Hudson (that y o u could have seen his regi m e n t al s !) was a perfect mammoth o f a man to Napoleon ; hideously ugly ; with a monstrously dis p ro p o rt io n at e face and a great clump for the lower j aw t o express his tyrannical and obdurate nature “ He began his system o f persecution by calling his prisoner General Buonaparte ; to which the latter replied with the deepest tragedy Sir Yew ud se on Low call me no t thus Repeat that phrase c ian s

,

.

.

,

-

.

°

,

’

,

’

’

,

’

-

-

,

.

,

,

,

‘

.

,

’

,

.

,

,

.

’

‘

.

,

,

,

.

,

’

‘

‘

,

,

,

.

M A R I ONETTES

65

and leave me ! I am Napoleon Emperor o f France ! Sir Yew u d se o n nothing daunted proceeded to e m t e rt ain him with an ordinance o f the British Govern ment regulating the state he should preserve and the furniture o f his rooms ; and limiting his atten dants to four o r five persons Four o r five for me ! said Napoleon Me ! One hundred thousand men were lately at my sole command ; and this English officer talks o ffour o r five for me ! “ Throughout the piece Napoleon (who talked very like the real Napoleon and was forever having small soliloquies by himself) was very bitter o n these English soldiers to the great satisfaction o f the au die n c e who were perfectly delighted to have Lo w bullied ; and wh o whenever Lo w said General Buona parte (which he al ways did ; alw ays receiving the same correction ) quite execrated him I t w ould be hard to say why ; fo r Italians have little cause to sympathize with Napoleon Heaven knows “ There was n o plot at all except that a French o fficer disguised as an Englishman came to pro pound a plan o f escape and being discovered (but not before Napoleon had magnanimously refused to steal his freedom ) was immediately ordered o ff by Low to b e hanged in two very long speeches which Lo w made memorable by winding up w ith Yas ! t o show that he was English w hich brought down thunders o f applause Napoleon was so a ffected b y this catastrophe that he fainted away on the s pot and was carried o u t by t wo other puppets

’

,

,

,

,

,

'

‘

’

.

‘

.

’

,

,

‘

’

,

‘

,

’

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

‘

,

,

.

,

,

.

’

MA RIONETT ES

66

Judging from what followed it would appear that he never recovered from the shock ; for the next act showed him in a clean shirt in his bed ( cur tains crimson and white) where a lady prematurely dressed in mourning brought two little children wh o kneeled down by the bedside while he made a decent end ; the last word o n his lips b eing Vat terlo “ D r An t o m m arc hi was represented b y a puppet with long lank hair like Mawworm s who in con sequence o f some derangement o f his wires hovered about the couch like a vulture and gave medical opinions in the air He was almost as good as Low though the latter was great at all times a decided brute and villain beyond all possi b ility of mistake Low was especially fine at the last when hearing the doctor and the valet say The Emperor is dead ! he pulled o u t his watch and wound up the piece (not the watch ) b y exclaiming with characteristic brutality Ha ! ha ! Eleven minutes to S ix ! The General dead ! and the spy hanged ! “ This brought the curtain down triumphantly Goethe was greatly interested by the S hows in Naples where every event o f local interest was intro The humor o f the du c e d upon the puppet stage Neapolitan Pulcinella was often vulgar ; ladies were not supposed to visit the shows although they were frequentl y given in fine society On the street where they w ere most popular however they drew about them picturesque audiences reminiscent of Ho gart h s ,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

‘

’

.

.

’

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

‘

’

,

,

,

‘

,

’

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

’

M A RIONETTES

68

eighteenth c entury The casotto of Bordogna has been painted b y the b rush of Longhi standing near the great dove o f the D ucal Palace A Calthrop tells of his recent V I S It to a rough little place Te a tr o Min e rva where three foot burat tini looking life size were manipulated crudely to the intense satisfaction o f the audience He men tions a well managed maschere Guillette and her lover a clownish dwarf both speaking in the Venetian dialect and after the play the marionette ballet A nother account tells of a pretty little puppet theatre with boxes galleries and parquet where dolls thirty fi ve inches high play classic tragedy of four or five acts and comedy and pantomime including always a marvellous ballet Here the most admire d puppet receives encores even bouquets and very properly bows in response The stages o f such little theatres are as complete as the most luxurious real stages The figures can sit on chairs open bureau drawers carry obj ects and they are careful l y and b eautifully costumed The dialogue and subj ects are far re moved from the triviality o f the crude castelli where the pupazzi are manipulate d on the fingers o f the showman I t is not unusual to w itness Nebu ccod n os e r performed b y fantoccini o r Rossini s operas I n recent issues o f The Ma r io n e tte o n e will find an enthusiastic eulogy o f a remarkable puppet theatre in Torino the proprietors o f which were the Lupi brothers They had inherited their profession from their grandfather a wandering showman o f Ferrara .

,

.

.

-

,

,

,

,

.

-

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

’

.

,

.

,

,

MARIONETTES

69

and from their father a man o f lively talent who had established the present theatre The two b rothers were named Luigi I and Luigi I I respectively ; only Their S how has been taken far o n e is still living and wide I t t rave ll e d from B uenos A ires to London from Chicago to Venice and has gained as great applause as did the puppets o f the famous Prandi brothers of Brescia in their day The repertory em braces the universe in time and space extends from the flood t o the siege o f Makalle ; comprises m y natural history and city news ; stretches t h o l o gy from China to California from Cafre n a t o Green land from spaces in the air to a b ysses of ocean from the circles o f Paradise to the caverns of Hell I t includes the O ld commedia de l l art e dramas from all literatures the ballets o f Pratesi and Man zo t t i the operas o f Meyerbeer and Verdi all the military glories o f the nation from the b attle o f Goito to the occupa tion o f Rome all the congresses earthquakes epi de m ic s floods coronations exhibitions etc I n Bologna flourished the S how founded b y Filippo Cu c c o l i whose clever invention o f the character I n the hands o f the S an dro n e b ecame S O popular son Angelo Cu c c o l i the puppets continued until 190 5 delighting the pu b lic with their sprightly gayety I n Bologna too lived the m ario n e t t is t whom Gordon Craig designates simply but reverently as Maes tro His tra d e was that o f a watchmaker b ut he was a master showman o f b urattini and the shows in his unp retentious castello are the true evidences ,

.

,

.

'

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

’

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

MA RIONETTE S

70

his devotion and deep understanding o f the art of the marionette There are it is claimed over four hundre d e difi zi fo r marionettes large and small in I taly to say nothing o f the w andering b ooths o f which there are two or three times as many The large mechanical theatres compete with regular players The most modern maschere on the puppet stage has changed a little in appearance if not in spirit from the ancient masks We are told of a miniature Tartaglia who twists his lips into a grimace ; of a puppet Ro gan t in o who grinds his teeth ; o f Sten t e re l l o who can put his finger to his nose and scratch it ; and o f the newer mask Carciofo who has a hollow metallic case fo r a body which enables him to eat macaroni drink and smoke He can also undress himself ! I n North I taly Gian D uj a is a puppet hero whose exploits delight the public almost as much as those of the Paladins He is o f Piedmontese origin He slays whomever he encounters modern politics being mixed up with his various and mighty adventures of

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

The marionettes are an a b sorbing interest for the people of S icily There is something appealing a b out the audiences o f the usual modest t h e at rino It is composed entirely o f men and boys ; many of them may have eaten dry bread w ithout cheese or onions to s ave t h e small sum required for admission The people of the country are very poor b ut this is their .

.

.

,

MA RIONETTES

72

sa Empress Marfi searching fo r B radam an t e in the woods finds her prostrate in a grotto “ Farewell sister I am dying ” Then she dies A n angel flutters down and receives her soul from her lips More thrilling Of course was the fighting o f the red eyed Fe rrain performed the same night ( red eyed incidentally “ because he was al ways in a The first episode presented Ferrain and Angelica whose husband he killed “ He cut o ff D uca d An e l a s head which rolled about o n the stage Immediately there came three Turks F e rrain stab b ed each as he entered o n e two three and their bodies encumbered the ground as the curtain fell I t rose as soon as the bodies had been removed Fe rrain stamping about alone There came three more Turks He stabbed them as they came o n e two three and their bodies encumbered the ground To them there came three knights in armour ; F e r rain fought them all three together for a very con s ide rab l e time and it was deafening He killed them all Their bodies etc together with those o f the three Turks A bloody sight These fantoccini of Trapani were large and crude dressed in heavy armor An iron rod extending up from the head another attached to the S word hand served for the moving and manipulating o f them S trings were employed to raise the vizier etc The legs and arms were apt to swing rather wildly in the heat o f the fray the combatants often S weeping o ff their feet th rou g h the air Then armor clashed ,

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

-

,

,

,

,

.

’

’

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

MA RIONETTE S

73

against armor b ody against body S words S hivering against shield Truly an amazing display ! However naive o r even childishly absurd some o f these exagger ated episodes may appear viewed with a sympathetic eye they become manifestations o f unconscious romance in the spirit of the Sicilian people a curiously mingled heritage which is theirs While the Paladins and Saracens heroically stamp across the boards o f the puppet show one may sit back and recall the many great races dwelling about the Mediterranean which have had their influence in Sicily from the Phoenicians and Greeks Normans and Saracens down One remem b ers the reign o f the Emperor Frederick II the strange blending o f East and West the Christian cathedrals o f Moslem design and decoration a time inspired b y the songs o f the troubadours w andering through the blossom ing land and spreading their spell o f Carolingian chivalry and romance The familiarity o f the people with the long and intricate legends they love so well is humorously portrayed by Mr Henry Festing Jones This author was particularly fortunate in having formed a friend o o f P alermo and with his ship with a very busy bufi entire family Hence the illuminating intimacy o f his visits behind the scenes In a letter anticipating Mr Jones visit the b u ffo writes concerning his show that the marionettes had j ust produced S a m s o n an d that “ j ust now in The S to ry of the P a l adin e Orlando is throwing away his arms and ru n n ing ab o ut na ked ,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

’

.

.

’

.

,

-

,

,

'

MA RIONETTES in the woods mad for the love of Angelica and soon we shall have the burning of Bizerta and the destruction o f the A fricans This will finish in July and then we shall begin The S to ry of Gu ido S a nt o This programme appears to have been carried out in order for Mr Jones arriving at the tea tr in o found the performance o f Gu ido S a n to in full swing “ The bu ffo ” he w rites “ took me into his work shop to S how me two inflammable Turkish pavilions which he was making Ettorina in her madness was to fire them in a few days one in the afternoon the other at the evening repetition as a conclusion to the spectacle I inquired Wh o w as Ettorina and why did she go mad ? It appeared at great length that she went mad for love o f Ruggiero Per siano “ Next morning continues the narrator I called on the buffo in his workshop The two inflammable Turkish pavilions were finished ready to be fired b y Ettorina and he was full o f his devils ” This led to another question : “ I never heard o f Argan t in o before D id you say he was the S o n o f Malagigi ? ” “ That is right He did not happen to be at Ron c e s v all e s S O he was not killed with Orlando and the other paladins An angel came to him and said Now the Turks will make much war against the Ch rs t ian s and since the Christians always want a magician it is the will of Heaven that you shall have the rod of Malagigi who is no longer here and that Guido Santo shall have la D urlindana the sword ,

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

‘

.

,

,

,

‘

.

,

’

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

‘

,

,

,

,

,

MA RIONETT ES

76

B radam an t e s Bravo And Mal agigi was cousin ” The b uffo then continued to tell the story How Malagigi the sor o f Malagigi and Argan t in o c erer albeit a Christian began to have fears o f not getting into Heaven when he died hence decided to repent and burn all his magic books but o n e A fter having accomplished this he summoned his co n fide n t ial and private devil and commanded “ Convey me t o some peaceful shore whe re I may repent o f my sins and die o f grief in a grotto ” Here his friend obj ected that this made co n ” ft h s with his cousin B radam an t e dying s e c u t ive fi The bu ffo admitted o f grief in a grotto in Trapani it would have been better if one o f them had had the originality to die in bed as a Christian but that it was the w ill o f Heaven and could not be altered ; besides the people who missed the death o f Brada mante would be pleased to see Malagigi die After repenting like S Gerolamo in his grotto Malagigi died there A long time after his son Argan t in o and his second cousin Guido Santo were travelling in Asia and found the tomb Guido knelt down say ing “ I perceive here a sepulchre ” P resently the tomb opened and Malagigi s skeleton rattled up and spoke to them He gave his magic book to Argan t in o the horse Sfrenato to Guido and made them swear to preserve the faith A fter his skeleton retired to the tomb it closed b y a miracle while a ball o f fire ran over the stage “ A n d all this ” said the b u ffo “ happened onl y last Friday ’

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

,

’

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

MA RIONETTES

77

Why did you no t come in time to see it ? I t was very emotional ” Later the bu ffo gave a private performance o f this emotional scene and then “ to take the taste o f the ” S keleton o u t o f our mouths as Mr Jones puts it he brought forth a B a l l o F a nt a s tic o It was done by a heavy Turk wh o dan c e d himself to pieces each limb falling o ff and b eing changed into a little devil the head into a wizard and so o n until there were sixteen di fferent devils wizards serpents etc from the o n e original Turk A fter this there came o n a marvellous rope dancer extraordinarily lifelike and amusing At Catania at the Te atro S icil ia of Gregorio Grasso Mr Jones saw The P a s s io n performed by puppets during Holy Week Eve ry scene was presented in detail from the meeting of t h e Sanhedrin and the conspiracy bet ween Annas and Caiaphas t o destroy the Nazarene to the Resurrection and the Ascension The figures were all newly costumed fo r this occasion and their faces freshly painted but there lingered about the soldiers a flavor reminiscent of the Paladins The scenes W ere arranged quite in the manner o f the paintings of old masters The table set fo r the Last Supper and the puppets seated around it strongly suggested Leonardo da Vinci The figure o f J esus although not wholly successful was manipulated with great understanding It moved but little and then with simple slow gestures ; it was allow ed to speak onl y the few words given to Christ in the Gospels .

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

-

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

MARIONETTES

7s

When it caused a miracle a great light appe ared and t h ere was music The puppets here also performed the Na tivita at Ch ristmas Fo r the re st they had the usual Sicilian repertory ,

.

.

.

In S pain as in tra ce the b eg I n n I ngS o f puppetry back to the e c c l e s I as t I c c e re m o n ie s in churches and monasteries where articulated figures presented scenes from Holy Writ and legends o f saints an d mart y rs — all t h I s notwithstandi ng re These little figures p e at e d canonical prohibitions remained as late as the sixte e nth century in the churches o f S eville We are told by Charles Magnin that at the commencement o f the seventeenth century a s y nod was held at Orh u e l a a little Valencian b ishop ric which sol emnl y forbade “ admission into churches o f small images o f the Virgin and female saints curled painted covered w ith j ew els and dressed in silks and resembling courtesans The emperor Charles V had a great love for curious and i ngeniou s mechanical toys and with such e n c o u rage m e n t m an y m echanicians applied themselves to the invention of aut omatic contrivances Gio vanni To rrian i is said to have wo n favor by con s t r u c t ing a very wonderful clock When Charles V abdicated his throne and retired to the monastery o f C remona the lo y al To rrian i followed him to his retreat and many an hour this famous m at h e m a t ic ian spent distracting the saddened monarch with marionette shows He constructed marvellous titeres ,

t

,

:

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

‘

.

.

,

,

.

,

MARIONETTES

79

as the S panish puppets are called littl e armed men who blew horns beat drums and fought ; little horses and even miniature bull fi gh t s At the marriage fe stival o f Louis X I V and the I nfanta Maria Teresa a feature in the procession which welcomed Maz arin s arrival in Spain was a group o f mammoth Moors and their wives which moved ponderously along by means of very intricate internal mechanisms There had previously b een theatrical puppets in Spain but these mechanical improvements were soon adopted by the popular tite re ro s showmen and the marionettes sprung up in all pu b lic places in cities villages fairs even at court The characters and repertories o f the t it e re s were al w ays strictly national although the exhibitors were frequently foreigners Moors knights giants e n chanters conquerors o f the I ndies saints hermits b ull fi gh t e rs characters from the old and new testa ments all were displayed in the puppet castello The S panish Gr azio s o costumed somewhat in the fashion o f Pierrot was never a ve ry prominent puppet ; he l ater acquired the name o f Do n Christo b al Puli chinela A well known type o f wandering show con sisted o f a blind man led by a b oy w ith a mule and wagon to car ry the castello and equipment The blind man generally recited the text of the play the boy operated the puppets Cervantes depicts a Spanish show for us where D o n Quixote and Sancho Panz a s aw performed “ The manner in which Signor ,

,

,

-

.

’

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

-

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

-

,

,

.

,

.

,

MA RIONETTE S

8o

G ayfe ro s

accomplished the deliverance of his spouse Melisandra ” and he relates with much spirit h o w D on Quixote s chivalrous zeal interfered with the performance o f Master P eter s puppets Since that time over three hundred years there has been little change in the t it e re s of Spain In 18 77 in Madrid Moli ere s Mo n s ie u r P o u rc e a u In 18 0 8 a French gn a c was presented by marionettes S avant was present at a Valencian puppet S how when the D ea th of S e n e ca was performed The account tells us that “ I n the presence o f the audience the cele b rated philosopher ended historically by opening his veins in a bath The streams of blood that flowed from his arms w ere simulated cleverly enough by the movement o f red ribbon An unexpected miracle less historic than the mode o f his death wound up the drama Amidst the noise o f fireworks the pagan sage was taken up into Heaven in a gl o ry pronouncing as he ascended the confession of his faith in J esus Christ to the perfect satisfaction o f the audience S pain a country o f anomalies is not to b e discon ” c e r t e d by an anachronism In Portugal the t it e re s were used so frequently to represent hermits and monks in monkish garb that they come to be called B o n ifr a tes They were quite similar to the Spanish marionettes ,

’

’

.

,

,

.

’

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

;

.

,

,

.

.

.

M A RION E TT E S

82

religion had b ecome established in the land its priests continued to employ the moving images as the y had done in the churches o f Italy S imilarly too w e find the sacred representations and religious rites within the churches giving birth to the m y steries and morality plays just outside which gradually spread to booths in the market places and roamed the co untryside under the guidance o f ambulant show men In the Proven cal cribs the Cr ec hes p a rl a n tes there are o f the southern cities at Christmas time to day many qualities remaining from these o ld mys the large decorated stages the technical de t e rie s ; vices the transformations the beautifully dressed articulated dolls the music and recitations One characteristic o f the great French m ito u ries was the use frequently and Openly o f human actors along w ith marionettes Many records of such per fo rm an c e s have been preserved among them a de scription o f o n e celebrated annually at D ieppe o n the first day o f August by a company o f clergy and laity supported by several figures set in motion b y means and counterweights I n the open space o f strings before the Church o f St J ames there was represented the My s tery of the As s u m p tio n Four h undred p e r participated and the marvellous spectacle s o n a ggi attracted throngs o f strangers to the city o f D ieppe Similar performa nces at Christmas Easter o r at other times were given in all the larger cities o fFrance in Rouen Lyons Paris Marseilles The plays w ere of a relig ious character Notable as late as the seven ,

.

.

,

,

,

-

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

7

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

MA RIONETTES

83

century were the spectacles produced by the monks of the Order o f Th eatines with clever movable figures upon the presepio they constructed before their convent door These monks won the favor o f no less a p e rsOn age than Jules Mazarin who had them give performances in P aris But a s these religious puppets ventured o u t from the j eweled tw ilight o f the cathedrals into the bright sunshine they were accosted by flip pan t crews of w anderers from the South Pulcinella Arlecchino D ottore C as s an drin o Columbine and other pro t ago n is t s o f Italian puppet drama exploring in their castelli the highroads and villages of a new country The merry foreigners intermingled happily with the native fa n to c hes ; th e y altered their names and their natures with easy adaptability and upon the French puppet stage a ppeared in sprightly guise P o l ichin ell e t ee nt h

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

Ha rl e q u in P ie rr o t ,

,

.

French

theatrical puppets must have become e s t ab l is h e d in the sixteenth century for w e find them mentioned in a work entitled S er ees published 15 8 4 by G uillaume Bouchet j uge e t consul des marchands a P oitier P olichinelle first presented himself to the Parisian public about 16 3 0 and although not yet at the height o f his glory he was completely changed into a bu ffoon of Gascony I n 1649 the marionettes entered into the first permanent stage erected in Paris for the j e u des m a rion ettes by the S ide o f the Porte de Nesle The proprietors o f this theatre w ere t wo brothers (or father and son as some pre fer to '

,

,

.

.

,

.

MARIONETTES

8A

consider them ) from B ologna Giovanni and Fran cesco B rio c c i the name changed by the French to B rio c h e I t is said that Brioché first displayed his dolls to attract clients for himself as he originally plied the trade o f dentist At any rate Francesco carved the dolls and Giovanni improvised the dia logue in French interspersed with quaint I talian o r Latin sayings So amusing w ere these b urattini that they b ecame tremendously the rage We find Brioché mentioned in the works o f the academician Perrault and in 167 7 Nicolas Boileau speaks o f him as a well kn own figure in the Parisian streets “ La non loin de la place OII B rio c h e p res ide etc ” There is a well known story concerning Cyrano de B ergerac and a trained ape o f Brioché F a go tin by name A contemporary account o f the incident thus describes the animal : He was as b ig as a little man and a devil o f a droll His master had put o n him an Ol d Spanish hat whose dilapidations were concealed by a plume : round his neck was a frill a l a Scaramouche ; he wore a doublet with six movable S kirts trimmed w ith lace and tags a garment that gave him rather the look o fa lackey and a shoulder belt from which hung a pointless b lade ” On e day Cyrano saw the m onkey arrayed in this livery wander ing and grimacing about the puppet booth But the poet whose sensitiveness had been the cau se of many a duel imagined that the poor animal was making faces at his large nose He grew excited and drew his sword Thereupon the monkey for whom this was ,

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

‘

.

,

,

.

.

-

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

MARIONETTES

86

with his puppets a raison de 20 livres par jour The royal interest in marionettes extended still farther for some years later Francesco Brioché and his little wooden figures were protected by a special order o f the King himself to the Lieutenant General A nd indeed they probably needed such o f Police protection for their popularity seems to have stirred up enmity against them Besides they were often meddlesome and impertinent and deserved the wrath they incurred Under such favora b le conditions companies o f marionettes sprang up all over France They at tracted the attention o f many writers o f the day in whose works we may find them often and favorably mentioned Gac o n Scarron La Bruyere Lemierr e Arnaud Most amb itious among the immediate successors o f the B rio c c i was the French showman Bertrand with his audacious puppets who never hesitated to poke their wooden noses into matters of gravest import The revocation o f the Edict of Nantes furnishe d o ne well known occasion The puppets took sides representing Catholics and P rot upon their little stages Pantalone was in e s t an t s Harlequin in another and Polichinelle as o n e faction F e rrign i describes him “ alw ays something o f an unbeliever is ready at all times to pour ridicule upon ” the hypocrisy o fbigots and the lib e rt is m o freformers The play drew crowds o f all cl asses until it was finally stopped by the authorities wh o had been notified o f it in this manner : “ To M de la Ray n ie Councillo r ‘t

‘

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

MA RION E TTES

87

the King in Council I t is said this morning at the Palace that the marionettes at the Fair o f Saint G ermain are representing the destruction o f the Huguenots and as y o u w ill probably find this a serious matter for t h e marionettes I have deemed it right to give you the information thereof so that you may make use o f it according to your discretion ” But despite an occasional rebuff the marionettes b ecame more and more firmly established in the two Fairs of Saint Laurent and Saint G ermain What clever shows what ingenious and indefatigable showmen ! Bienfait Gillot Tiq u e t Maurice D e Selles Fran cesco B o din iere the brothers Ferron at The S ign the Theatr e des P y gm e es o f La Grille of t he Gigl io the show in the Ru e Marais du Temple I l Gal l o and many others No w indeed the emboldened fantoches began t o wage a most amazing battle royal their opponents being no other than the managers actors and singers o f the contemporary stage The three great theatres alone at this time had the privilege o f representing musical opera tragedy o r commedie nobili The puppets were restricted to mere farces o f o n e scene fo r n o t more than t wo characters only o n e o f whom was allowed to speak and that “ par l e S ifll e t de la pratique ” a little contrivance which the S howman put into his mouth when reciting to produce the shrill squeak characteristic o f Polichinelle from time immemorial But these showmen circumvented such limitations with many devices — pantomimes with of

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

’

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

MARIONETTES

88

musical interludes an d figures with printed cards hung up to explain the action even living children combined with puppet play The large marionettes o f La Grille manipulated by wires sliding on rails and held upright by weights and counterweights were claimed by their owner to be a new invention despite the fact that similar dolls were not unusual in Italy A t any rate they were a novelty in France and to them King Louis XIV accorded special privileges Nevertheless before long they had over stepped them and trespassed upon the rights o f the actors of the opera The latter complained to the King He issued fresh interdictions The mario nettes su b sided : only to break forth again I n 1697 the Italian actors in the Hatel de B o u rgo gne incurred disfavor at court and were temporarily put out of their theatre Bertrand immediately installed his puppets in triumph upon their vacated stage which he in turn was eventually enj oined to quit b y a su b sequent order o f the King Thus the struggle continued I n 17 20 further privileges were obtained by the marionettes six o r seven at a time being allowed to sing dance o r recite upon the stage Immediately the famous showman Francisque engaged three prom in e n t poets to write n e w plays for his burattini They set about Fu z ilie r Lesage and d Orn e v al creating a quite n e w form o f dramatic art a master stroke which has persisted ever since the well known co m iqu e The first o n e L o m bre du c o cher o p era ,

.

,

,

,

.

.

-

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

’

,

.

,

,

,

’

.

,

MA RIONETTES

go

grams written for it by her friend and secretary the academician Mal ezie u which finally involved an alter cation between Polichinelle and the A cademy At the same Castle o f Sceaux in 1746 the Comte d Eu had a company o f marionettes brought in and he operated and spoke for them himself Voltaire present at this occasion forgot his quarrel with the burattini fo r having poked fun at his Me ro p e and Ores te and took a hand himself at the manipulating Eventually he found himself composing for them and inviting them into his o wn castle Cirey where he may have learned many things about the traditional I talian drama from studying the personaggi o f the puppet stage At this time indeed Fourre Beaupré Au dino t Nicolet and Se rvan do n i w ere making lasting names fo r themselves as directors o f marionette theatres but it gradually came to pass that as the audiences grew cold witty jests w ere replaced by spectacular surprises such as the mechanical triumphs achieved by the puppets of B ienfait We read o f M Pierre s S how Here are to be seen in eve ry detail moun tains castles marine views ; also figures that per fe c t l y imitate all natural movements w ithout b eing visi b ly acted upon by any string storm rain thunder vessel s perishing soldiers S wimming We hear of Au dino t s exhi b ition of life sized ba m bo c hes imitating with stri king resem b lance celebrities of the day d isplaying the fol lies and vices o f the eighteenth century courts Children were seen acting w ith pup ,

,

.

’

.

,

,

’

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

’

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

’

,

.

-

MA RIONETTES

9:

pets and there were innumerable military pieces such as The B o m ba rdm e n t ofAn twe rp o r The Ta kin g of Cha rl e r o i Poor Polichinelle indeed ! We will scarcely b e surprised to find him struggling along as best he can and finally su ffering a l ast indignity by losing his little wooden head for the e difi c at io n of the Parisian mo b on the very day at the ve ry hour when the unfortunate monarch Louis XVI was guillotined Everywhere puppets have originated among the common people : they are primarily an expression o f popular taste Nevertheless this rude show o f the masses has frequently aroused the curiosity o f artists and some of them have found in the ve ry na ivete dolls unexpected artistic possibilities The o f the delightful potentialities have b een developed into an exquisite and unique art genre in many countries particularly in France We have seen the kings and courts entranced by the burattini of B rio c h e and his followers Lesage Piron and other dramatists were engaged in w riting plays for the fantoches ; even the great Voltaire e n t e rt ain e d his distinguished guests at Cirey with his Rousseau was interested in them o w n puppet shows ” “ G ounod wrote The Funeral March o f a Marionette Charles Magnin learned member of the A cadémie Fran caise devoted himself to the task o f chronicling the long history o f puppetry Charles No die r per sistent visitor o f the Parisian shows is called by some Polichinelle s laureate for the many sparkling pages in his works that are devoted to the marionette ,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

’

'

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

’

.

MA RIONETTES

92

We shall

be S O greatly Surprise d therefore to learn that George S and had her Own p uppet theatre at her estate Nohant where for thirty years she herself arranged the plays and dressed the dolls while her son M aurice sc ulptured them and acted as dire c tor I t was called Theatre des a m is and the first performance was given in 1847 This w as a ve ry crude a ffair got up by Maurice Sand and Eugene L ambert ( painter Of cats ) fo r themselves and a circle The stage itself was merely a o f intimate friends chair with its back turned to the audience a card bo ard fram e arranged in fro n t of it w ith a curtain to be rolled up and down The operator knelt upon the seat of the chair o n his hands w ere placed the puppets which consisted m e re l y o f dresses hung upon sticks o f wood fo r the h e ad s c arc e ly c arve d at all Being tremendously successful this performance w as followed by others Thus the theatre grew George Sand developed very d ecided theories about her little dolls She w rites that s he prefers the sort which m ay fb e manipulated o n three fingers t o those moved by mea ns o fwires : He r feeling w as that when she thru s t her hands into the empty skirts o f the inanimat e pup pet it b ecame alive w ith her soul in its body t h e Operator an d puppet completely one She disa pp roved of realistic puppets The faces of her do ll s we re ca rved with great skill but purposely left crude painted in oil w ithout varnish to get the strongest effect with real hair and beards and special attention given to getting light into the eyes There no t

‘

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

'

'

.

,

'

.

,

'

,

,

:

,

.

.

,

’

'

.

.

~

.

.

'

'

.

,

-

.

.

-

,

,

.

MA RIONETTES

93

were eventually over o n e hundred dolls including such as Pierrot Guignol Gendarme Isabelle della Spade Capitaine also well known types and per Ve ry popular and su b sequently s o n age s o f the day famous w as t he Gree n Mo ns ter at Nohant I t appears that in o n e Of the early plays the cast called for a green monster Upon the maker of the marionettes devolved the task o f supplying o n e Madame Sand nothing daunted discovered an o l d felt slipper By using the opening as the w ide j aws o f the dragon and lining it w ith red to represent the inside o f the mouth a very e ffective long snout was presented W hich with a hand slipped inside could be opened and closed m ost fearfully and threateningly It was a highly Whenever it appeared there s uccessful gr e e n m o n s ter was much applause and nobody ever seemed to n otice or to care that it had been manufactured o u t o f bl ue felt The repertoire o f the Th ééit re des amis w as varied s ometimes fantastic whimsies sometimes travesties o n daily events ; sometimes the managers g rew am b it io u s and presented spectacular scenes w ith ballets ; the literary side o f the production w as alway s em These show s the best of their sort con p h as iz e d t in u e d through most troublesome times of political u pheaval and George Sand has w ritten some touch ing paragraphs upon the fact that hearts sorely grieved by these national trials could find dis t rac tion and a moment s respite with the marionettes The puppets too had their vicissitudes A t one ,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

, ,

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

’

.

,

,

.

MA RIONETTES

gli

time Victor Borie who was assisting in attemptin g to represent a fire burnt down the whol e S tage It was built up anew with more puppets and better equipment Madame Sand dressed the new dolls as she had the old More helpers had to be called in all talented persons wh o entered into the work with enthusiasm ; The audience al ways contained cele b ra t e d people representatives o f literature art music d statesmanship an Once when the puppets pre sented a parody upon La D a m e a ux Ca m ell ias (pre s u m a bl y not for young ladies ) D u m as fi l s came to see and enjoy the production In 1880 the puppets moved from Nohant to Passy to the home o f Maurice Sand where a large theatre had b een prepared for them Here there were over four hundred e l ab Orat e dolls But in 18 89 Maurice Sand died and the Th eatre des amis disappeared A book wri t t en about it was published in 18 90 Equally illustrious and possibl y more e xquisite more precious were the puppets o f the Er o tiko n t hea tr o n de l a r u e de l a S a n te established in 18 6 2 Here it is said puppetry was raised to an ideal level H ere an enthusiastic press Of the day proclaimed here was the proof o f how highly developed a naive and S imple art may become in the hands o f rare spirit Another j ournal Le ua l and ms t h e t ic personalities claimed “ Again a new theatre ! An in B o u l e va rd e x timate theatre Erotikon theatron that is to say The a tr e of Am o r o u s Ma rio n e ttes Reassure your selves everyt hing that transpires is most c o nve n ,

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

MARION E TTES

95

the b lows o f the cudgel are always protectors o f morality and if a mother would not see fit to bring her daughter o n the other hand painters and litera t e n rs of talent take delight I n it It was indeed an exceptional experi ment a gather ing o f artists sculptors musicians actors authors ; Lemercier de Neuville the guiding spirit assisted in his efforts by C arj at and Gustave D 0 16 and also by A med ee Rolland Jean D ubois Henri Monnier Th eodore de B anville B izet Poulet Mal as s e s Champ each fle u ry D uranty Henri D al age and O thers contri b uting something toward the perfection o f the whole M Lemercier de Neuville was in the begin ning architect mason painter machinist carpenter decorator hair d resser and tailor actor singer dancer and imitator A lfred D e l v au has written an enter taining histo ry o f this bizarre little theatre The proj ect seems to have b een suggested informally at the home of M A med ee Rolland by a group o f dis t in gu is h e d men o f letters w h o had been lunching t o gether among them De Neuville who proceeded to transform the idea thus lightly suggested into a c o n crete reality The auditorium seated only twenty people ; its walls were painted with mural d ecorations by artists o f the group as was the proscenium arch o f the stage The stage itself was only a trifle over two yards wide but it wa s well equipped for the presentation of quite elaborate faeries For the most part however there were merel y the pupazzi upon the stag e which M t io n al ;

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

MAR I ON E TT ES

96

de Neuville worked himself upon his fingers Their faces w ere modelled with unsurpassed refinement and animation t lie ir creator having lavished his heart and talent in the making o f them His P ierrot Gui ost charm t a r is te was acc ording to Main dro n the m ing o f all puppets in gesture and b earing a master piece of mechani cal and plastic art Others have called it the most h ighly perfected puppet ever created Anoth er re m ark ab e doll was the violoncellist who c ould enter b ow in o n e hand instrument in the other s eat himself tune up and play There was a Spa nish dancer particular] graceful and alluring as well as a w onderful ballet d o n o n e horizontal string w hich glided in a and back and forth Sarah Bernhardt was ted among these fascinating pupazzi an d Jules Coquelin cadet and other cele b rities familiar aris A s de Neuville lived among the in divi he was representing What wonder that his ry was close to perfection ? Th is al t o ge t h e r rare little theatre unfortunately e n d ured for onl y a year and produced in all but six o r seven delightful if S lightly S hocking pieces although more had been written for it Perhaps the dis s im i l arit y o f talents comprising it was too great but at least its inspired cynicisms amusing audacities and exquisite spectacles h ave won the lasting acclamations o f the French press o f royalty and o f the greatest g eniuses o fthe day In the shadow play as well as in the play o f p u pazzi French artists have attained great successes .

a

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

T

,

,

,

‘

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

‘

,

,

.

,

,

.

MARION ETT ES

97

The first Om bres Chin o is es so called o f importance started S imply enough about 17 70 w hen D ominique Seraphin a young man o f twenty three established his little show in Versailles I n the beginning for the amusement o f children little comical dialogues such as The B r o /zen B r idge o r The I m agin a ry I n val id (from Moli ere ) were presented b y silhouette figures with articulated limbs In 1774 after a few years o f u n usual success Seraphin moved to Paris where under royal protection his little S hadows b ecame very well e s Although they had b een ensconced in the t ab lis h e d Palais Royal by favor o f the king yet they manage d through the cleverness o fSeraphin to sustain themselves in popular favor after the ove rthrow o f royalty I n deed they were said to b e the first to avail themselves o f advertisements in the form of posted placards The advertisement was rather charming : ,

,

-

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

lle t t e Venez garcon venez fi Voir Momus a la S ilhouette Qui chez Seraphin venez voir La belle humeur en habit noir Tandis que ma salle est bien som b re Et que m o n ac t e u r n est que l omb re IS votre g ait é P uisse Mess D evenir la 1 a p h in Long after the death 0 until 18 70 in ds o f his de s c e n fact the show continued i \ dants presenting pieces written for it with music composed t o accompany t h e sh ado ws ,

,

,

.

,

,

.

’

'

,

’

,

,

,

,

i

,

‘

.

MA RIONE TT ES

98

It was th e art critic P aul Eu de l wh o first pu b lis h e d an illustrated volume of such fairy pieces and melodramas composed by his grandfather in the first quarter o f the nineteenth centu ry Half a centu ry later Lemercier de Neuville who was interested in pu p a zzi n ozr as well as in other puppets published another collection o f little plays with fifty illustr a tions and with explanations o f designs and methods of p ro ducing the shadows D e Neuville had enl arged the s cope but had n o t changed the principles o f the He presented animals who opened their j aws a rt processions and caricatures o f celebrities such a s Sarah Bernhardt Zola and others Then a little later c ame the wonderful shadows and S hown at n o w designated as Om bre s F r a n ga is es the C hat Noir famous cabaret o f Montmartre where gathe red li t erary and artistic Bohemia “ The Chat Noir has an a rt o f its o wn writes Anatole France “ that is at once mystic and impious ironical sad but n e ve f re ve re n t ial It is S im pl e and profo nd u ep ic and mocking I n the hands of the precise Caran I t h as a bland and melanch oly viciousness d Ac h e in Willette who is as it were the Fra Angelico of the cabarets I t iS sym bo lic and n at u ral is t I c w ith the ve ry capable Henri Rivi ere The forty scenes Tentation ” of St Anthony amaze me o f the They exhibit lovel y coloring daring fancy ; I mpres sive beauty a n d forcible meaning I put them far above the imps depicted by the austere Callot ” These Comedies spectacles military epics oratorios ,

,

‘

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

s

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

’

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

I

,

,

,

,

MA RIONETTES

99

mysteries G reek scenes b urlesques and pantomimes were indeed conceived with a c ertain large poetic glamour I t was Caran d Ac h e who made the great artistic contri b ution o f giving up articulatio n o f in dividual figures fo r the most part t o move gre at numb ers o f them along He invented perspective in shadows using masses o f figures in di fferent planes and producing a sense o f solidarity and immensity His masterpiece Ep op ee the evocation of the Grand Army o f Napoleon presented with epic grandeur company after company o f cuirassiers in long lines the profiles diminishing in height as the figures receded from the eyes It conveyed as o n e critic avers the idea o f great space and o f a vast army o f men march ing in serried ranks to victo ry o r to death ” A few single figures were allowed to stand out d is there t in c t l y like the Little Corporal o n horseback was little speech only music and an occasional c o m mand The effect o f this military silhouette was most impressive Next came Henri RivI e re who added the variety o f color to the shadows and furthermore b y the use of two magic lanterns created dissolving views so that the background might be altered at will Th e su bjects o f his elaborate pantomimes were such as The Wa n de rin g 7e w The P r o diga l S o n and The Te m p tatio n of S t An tho ny Of the latter Rehm has given us an admiring appreciation “ We saw the sun setti ng into the sea the forests trembling in the morning breeze ; we saw deserts stretching o u t into the in ,

,

,

’

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

MA RION ETTES

I OO

finite the oceans surging great cities flaming up in the evening with artificial lights and the moon silvering the ripples o f the rivers upon which barges were silently and S lowl y gliding along He ( Rivi ere) em ploys everything from the picturesque sty le o f water color spread o n with a brush to the imitation o fJapan ese color prints pen sketch and poster style Gothic o r Pre Raphaelite characteristics and naturalistic im I n The S p hin x w here the conquerors p re s s io n is m from the Pharaohs to Napoleon file o f all centuries past this monument of eternity ; in his Ma rc h of the S ta rs where shepherds and their flocks beggars S laves and fishermen and the Wise Men from the East make their pilgrimage to the Virgin w ith the D ivine Child ; in the Enfa n t P r o digu e where the son of the patri arch sets o u t for Egypt accompanied b y his her d s his caravan his riders to return a beggar everywhere we see this art dreamlike and philo sophic legendary fantastic su b lime creating ecstatic illusions ” Of The S p hin x a collaboration of Rivi ere and Caran d Ac h e Jules Lemaitre writes “ Here we have a true epic poem simple yet grandiose Thus the magic touch o f genius has transforme d naive shadows into something altogether wonderful while crude pupazzi animated w ith thumb and fingers o f the artist have grown gloriously sophisticated The marionettes that are moved b y wire o r string also had their renaissance in the sympathetic s t im u lating atmosphere of P aris Their technical develop m ent J M Petite has called a veritable triumph o f ,

,

.

,

,

-

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

-

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

’

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

M A R IONETTES

10 2

He we l t and D ickson

but conceived and carried out in a far more inspired and artistic manner were the puppets o f the G al erie Vivienne Le P etit Thedtre de M Hen ri S ign o re t ( 18 8 8—18 9 2 ) has been immortalized in the writings of Anatole France most rare and delicate critic I t was an undertaking seri ously entered upon by some o f the artistic spirits in Paris who desired to witness intelligent and sympathetic performances of the classic drama o f all lands ; Greek play s the mysteries of the Middle Ages Italian and Spanish comedy o f the sixteenth century Ap p are n t l y the stage of the day did not satisfy this desire After encountering insurmountable diffic u l ties in assembling an adequate cast o f good actors it was decided to use marionettes Forty friends all artists combined to help the director who was the fastidious l it e rat e u r M Signoret The result was a brilliant success The theatre was like a little jewel case in its delicate detail ; it seated only two hundred and fifty people The puppets w ere mo st carefully constructed The same skeleton framework was used fo r them all but individual heads hands and chests were put o n each frame which was finall y costumed according to de si gn Both the modelling of the faces and the c o s t u m ing were the inspired creations o f artists The mario nettes were moved o n rails in grooves o r S lides the arms and nec k being wired and manipulated b y pedals from underneath The audience was seated low so that the mechanism was invisible The public who ,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

M A RIONETTES

10 3

patronized this marionette theatre indeed consisted Emile o f such interesting people as Jules Lemaitre Faguet Anatole France Hugues Leroux and they were unanimous in their approval The repertoire in cluded classic drama o f every epoch : The B irds by Aristophanes Abra ha m by the Abbess Hro t swit h a Ga r die n Vigil a n t by Ce rvantes The Te m p es t by Shake speare To bie and The Legen d of S t Cecel ia by M Boucher L Am o u r da n s l es E nfe rs by A m ed ee Pigeon written expressly for the marionettes of M Signoret But let the fluent pen of the illustrious and e n “ I have t h u s ias t ic witness picture them to you ” already made the avowal declares Anatole France “ I love the marionettes and those of M Signoret please me particularly These marionettes resemble the Egyptian hierogl y phics that is to say something mysterious and pure and when they represent a drama o f S hakespeare o r Aristophanes I think I see the thoughts o f the poet being unrolled in sacred char a ct o rs upon the walls o f the temple Of the re p re s e n t at io n o f The Te m p es t he writes : M S igno re t s marionettes have j ust acted Shakespeare s Tem p es t I t is hardly an hour since the curtain o f the little theatre fell on the harmonious group o f Ferdinand and Miranda I am still under the charm ; as Pros pero says I do yet taste some subtleties o f the I sle What a delightful play ! And how true it is that exquisite things are doubly exquisite when they are una ffected “ Look at the marionettes o f The Tem p es t The ,

,

,

,

,

,

.

‘

,

,

,

.

,

.

’

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

’

.

’

.

.

‘

’

,

.

.

fl

MA RIONETTES

I o lI

hand that carved them imprinted o n them the fea tures of the idea ] whether it be tragic o r comic M B elloc a pupil o f Mercie has modelled fo r the little theatre heads which are either pow erfully grotesque o r of a charming purity His Miranda has the subtle grace o f a figure o f the early Italian Renaissance and the virginal fragrance o f that fortunate fifteenth century w hich made beauty bloom a second time in the world His Ariel in his gauze tunic span gled w ith silver reminds o n e o f a miniature Tanagra figure doubtless because aerial elegance o f form is a par t ic u l ar at t rib rit e o f Hellenic art in its decline “ These two pretty puppets spoke with the clear voices of Mesdemoiselles Paule Verne and Cecile D orelle As for the more masculine parts in the drama Prospero Caliban and S tephano poets such as MM Maurice B o u c ho r R aoul Po n c h an A m ed ee No t to men P igeon Felix Rabb e spoke for them tion Coquelin cadet who did n o t disdain t o repeat the prologue as well as the amusing part o f Trinculo the clown “ The decorations also had their poetry M Lucien D oucet represented Prospero s cave with that cun nin g grace which is o n e o f the characteristics o f his talent etc A gain : In the meantime I have seen the mario nettes o f the Ru e Vivienne twice and I have enj oyed them very much I am infinitely thankful t o them for havin g replaced livin g actors “ The y are divine these dolls o f M Signoret and ,

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

’

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

10

MA RIONETTE S

6

fingers squ e aking extemporary d ialogu e such as o n e might hear from t h e pupazzi o f I taly o r the figures o f the Chinese peripatetic showman swathed in his linen b ag ficult times P olichinelle has b een through di f The French Revolution found him obscure but a patriot rejoicing at the n e w order o f things Later he was discovered am using Emperor Napoleon the Third at the Tuileries Palace I n 18 5 4 the French Zouaves and Grenadiers in the Crimea took P o lic h e n n e l l o along with them and he loyally followed up to the very battlefield But oftenest he was to be seen through the long lapse o f years h um il at e d humbled dancing on a board at the twitch o f a horizontal string tied to the knee o f some little Savoyard boy who beat a tambourine or blew upon a pipe and sang a pathetic song as he journeyed on to Paris And there too o n sidewalks and when the wind blew cold in the shelter of arches puppets danced o n the board and the little boy gathered his pennies to send back home to his mother Thus Polichinelle has pursued his incredible career until we find him to day with a devoted wife La Mére Gigogne and many well known if less popular fellows such as Pierrot and Harlequin to say nothing of his many delightful and successful offspring There is Lafle u r the Polichinelle of P icardy favorite of Amiens a handsome peasant fellow alway s pleasant spoken even when beating up the policeman Jacques is a little b u ffoon who entertains the public o f Lille in ,

.

.

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

-

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

MA RIONETTES

29 7

his modest basement theatre There in 70 s ep h s o l d by his B r o the rs or Al i B a ba a n d the F o rty Thieves he performs the principal parts ( “ la comédie pour Most prominent o f the progeny o f Poli un is Guignol Indeed he somewhat over c h in e l l e shadows his sire Although he has established himself so thoroughly in P aris G uignol first came from Lyons His creator w a s the modest but expert m ario n e t t ist Laurent Mo u rgu e t It is he who is reported to have said to the friends weeping at his deathbed “ I shall never make you cry as much as I have made you laugh ” Guignol originated in a picturesque but humble cellar S how A lthough he has now moved into new and finer quarters he remains a modest workm an simply dressed perpetually harried by his landlord and alwa y s with insu fficient funds to pay his rent He has a wife long su ffering Madel o n and a wild and wicked s o n Gu ill a u m e and along w ith them o n e finds Gn afi ro n Gr in gell et B o bin e B a m bo c hn ette l e Ge n da r m e l e Me dec in l e P r o p r ie ta ir e l e i fu ge all these and many others I n the Gardens of the Luxem b ourg on the Champs Elys ees o r elsewhere in Paris one may come upon these little actors merril y performing o n small stages erected for them and with an audience o f S pell bound children and nursemaids sitting before the castellet Most celebrated o f these Parisian theatres is that M Vra i Guign o l in the C hamps El y s ees o f the A natole the founder o f it was the first who under .

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

‘

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

’

,

,

,

.

,

,

-

,

.

.

,

,

.

10

MA RIONETTE S

8

took to expand the repertoire o f Guignol and to in t ro du c e pieces o f adventure whose very names delight The B riga n ds of the B l a c k Fo res t The Eu o ne : c ha n te d Vil l a ge Mo the r Mic hel a n d h e r Ca t The Te m p ta tian of S t An tho ny and many more Unfortunatel y for M A natole there was no copyright law for puppet plays and when a rival S howman w anted to give a new play he merely went to see Anatole s performance and then reproduced it But Anatole himsel f de serves his reputation He was an artist with pro digio u s ingenuity : he wrote his o wn pieces he could give twenty distinct vo iée s in o n e S how as well as manipulate the dolls He himself carved the pup pets heads while his wife made the costumes I nspired b y his success a young lit e rat e u r Charles D uranty attempted in 18 6 2 to u p l ift Guignol He had an elegant little c s tellet erected and he spent months preparing the plays giving them style and some sort o f philosophical turn His figures were created by artists The prologu e it is said was composed by a poet The result w as — a failure His show appealed to t o o limited an audience ; it was too artistic for the nursemaids and soldiers The Tuileries were no t for philosophy The scenes soon were left to Guignol and the Commissaire who are so dear and delightful to their Parisian public A nd again recently a version o f Ro s t an d s Chan tecl er was given b y the puppets There were to b e seen chickens peacocks dogs even a magnificent rooster b ut G u ig nol and Guillaume were wanting Surprised at first ,

,

,

,

.

.

.

’

.

.

,

.

’

.

,

,

.

a

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

’

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

MA RIONETTES Jules Chere t I t was not a great financial success and was obliged to close its doors I n 18 96 in the Salons o fl a P l u m e Lugn é P o e ( D irector o f L (Euvre ) produced a marionette play o f Alfred Jarry and Claude Terrasse entitled Ubu Ro i The former also made t h e drawings for t wo progra mmes the latter was the leader o f his orchestra Jules Lemaitre in his I m p res s io n s de Thecitre por trays with great interest several puppet productions witnessed by him One was the chic Revue in four tableaux given in 18 8 9 at the Salon de Helder b y the well known authoress Gy p It was called To u t a l ego u t a very clever and original parody o f the season past There Gyp had represented the t y pe for which she ha s grown famous Lou l o u the pert little French miss as s een o n the Champs Elys ees There also promenaded the literary and political c e l e b rI t I e S S atir iz o d in the inimitable style o f the keen eyed Gy p The parts were read b y a mateurs effectively b ut with no attempt at l o q u e n c e Very diffe rent in s p I rI t w as the puppet drama No el o u l e My s ter e de l a Na tivite b y the poet Maurice B o u c h o r who h adq b e e n active also in the Erotikon theatro n and that o f M Signoret I t was written in fo ur t abl eaux in verse The music fo r this deli cate little mystery was c Om po se d by Paul Vidal the dolls were designed by MM Henri Lombard and J Belloc scenery b y F elix B o u c h o r brother o f the poet Henri Le ro ll e and Marcelle Rieder Lema itre de scribed the p erformance as a masterpiece o f grace and .

'

.

.

’

,

.

,

.

' ’

.

‘

,

.

’

,

.

’

-

,

.

“

-

.

,

.

,

’

'

,

‘

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

G U GN O L A N D G I

P re s e nt e d

[

F

ro m

Ro us s e t Fre n c h s ho wm an Main dro n s Mar ion ette s et Gu ig n ols ]

by

Ern e s t

i

NA F RO N

P

e rre

,

’

MA RION ETTES

1 12

was o ff active duty for the time He and his friends worked together and in a week completed the little show and placed it where it could be seen b y every soldier passing on his way to b attle A grassy knoll was chosen An arched b ridge o f two feet was erected under which real water w as made to flow On o n e side o f the bridge were piled tiny logs and trees b ehind which were the seven Chas s e n rs eight inches high dressed in the o l d red and blue French uniform little caps o n their heads wooden guns in their hands Twenty Germans in real fi el d grey w ere attempting to charge Some were dead others falling three running away all with scared ex pressions carved upon their little wooden faces The verses were nailed up near b y : There were seven Chasseurs o f D om evre Wh o were so exceedingly brave When the Germans attacked They got thoroughl y whacked Voila ! said the men o f D om evre .

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

‘

’

.

f Germany a nd of Continenta l Countr ies

P uppet S ho ws Other

o

it was the luxuriant forests of Germany offering abundant material and opportunity which encouraged the native aptitude at any rate the in habitants o f the land have at all times been noted Moreover they ap fo r their skill in wood carving pear to take a cert ain delight in mechanical devices From very early times these interests Were applied t o the making o fmechanical toy s and dramatic puppets I n the dark ages we find the people o f the country ca rving a grotesque sort of wooden doll called K o bol d o r Ta tter m a n n which they set up in the chimney and worshipped as a heathen household deity Later these little figures came to be worked by w ires As far back as the twelfth century and according to Charles Magnin even in the tenth centu ry the word To c ha o r D o c ha was u sed to signify a kind o f puppet One of the earliest Minnesingers mentions To le/een s p il in his poem and another speaks o f the 7 o n gl eu r en attracting their audiences by displaying little dolls which they pulled o u t at any time from under their mantles P E RH A P S

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

MAR IONETTES

TI lI

The subj ect o f the early To kke n s p ie l seems to have b een gathered chiefly from the legends o f the Edda and from the Hil debr a n ds l ied and the Niebe Praetorius mentions : “ Foolish j ugglers l u n gen l ied tents where o ld Hildebrand and such P o s s en are played with D o le/een called puppet comedies ” Later the mystery play appeared and the automatic K r u p p e n s p iel religious drama here as elsewhere opening These plays were founded U p a path for the profane upon such themes as The F a l l of Ada m a n d Eve Go l ia th a n d D a vid i fu dith a n d Ho l ofe r n es Kin g Hero d o r Th e S ie ge of 7 e r u s a l e m Of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries we have little positive data Romantic subj ects appear to have been used for the puppets also history and fable such as The F o u r S o n s of Ay m o n Gen evieve of B r a ba n t e The La dy of Ro u s s ill o n and even 7 o a n of Arc which was quoted in another piece performed in 143 0 I nvariably the comic element appears in the pup pet shows o f all nations I n German y and Austria the bu ffoon has always been a part of even the most tragic dramas lending variet y and relief by his good natured if somewhat obvious j ests The first names b y w hich he was known in Germany may have been Meister Eulenspiegel o r He m m e rl e in later it became Hansw urst and Kasperle The name Kasperle so Rabe claims came through Austria and P rofessor Pis c h e l goes still further in his assertion that the pro t o t y p e for Kasperle was brought into the land over t wo thousand years ago from I ndia Later o f course ,

’

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

MA RIONETTES

1 16

In

16 8 8

another showman Elten advertised Adam a n d Eve and following it 7a c lep u ddin g in a B o x and later another announces : El ij a h s Tr an s l a tio n in to Hea ve n o r The S to n in g of Na bo th followed by a farce The S c ho o l m a s ter Mu rde red by 7a chp u ddin g o r The ,

,

’

,

,

fid

Ba

e

B a co n Thieves

,

.

There had b een in Hamburg however French marionette troupes which gave very artistic puppet operas b ased upon mythological su bj ects such as Medea including in o n e o f its casts a puppet who smoked ! These plays were produced in combination with acts b y living actors j ugglers acro b ats and trick horses A s far back as the sixteenth century scepticism and sorc ery had become the order of the day With the Germans who have naturally a tendency toward philosophical reflections as well as a leaning toward the occult and supernatural It was then that Fa u s t em b odying both of these tendencies first appeared upon the puppet stage with most significant co n s e q u e n c e s fo r German literature This puppet play might be su fficiently interesting in itself but the fact that it became the inspiration fo r o n e o f the world s greatest dramas may lend an added j ustification for pausing a moment t o trace its curious histo ry Early in the sixteenth centu ry it is said that the To kke n s p ie l e r presented at the Fairs The P r o digio u s a n d La m en ta bl e His to ry of D o c to r F a u s tu s In 15 8 7 the famous S p ies is che Fa u s t B u c h was published in Frankfurt and recorded the adve n ,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

’

.

,

.

,

MA RIONETTE S

1 17

tures of a semi historical charlatan who had wandered through Germany in the early s ixteenth century He was famous not only for his S kill in medicine b ut in necromancy and other S imilar arts He may have been identic al with Georgius S ab e l lic u s who calle d himself F au s t u s Junior impl ying that there had been a still e arlier Faust He may possibly have been the Bishop F au s t inu s o f D iez seduced from the right path by Simon Magus o r the printer of Mainz Johann Faust who was declared to have been a sorcerer Whoever he was the disreputable conj urer tricked fate into granting him an immortal name I n 15 8 8 two students o f Tubingen and a publisher were pun is h e d for putting forth a puppet play based upon this Spies b ook There are other versions o f the Faust puppet show that played at Strassburg that of Augsburg o f Ul m and o f Cologne each varying slightly from the others They were all first produced about the time o f Marlowe s famous drama o n the same theme o r only a trifle later The story o f the Faust play has a tremendous appeal ; it is a picture o f man s vain desires and vain regrets We find the scholar Faust alone in his study meditating over the wasted years o f research and the w isdom o f this world which is so limited at best He turns to the black arts and summons up an evil spirit to serve him I n o n e version o f the puppet play Faust calls up numerous devils and decides to select as his o wn particular servant the swiftest Thereu p on the evil sp irits describe their speed On e -

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

’

.

’

,

.

.

.

.

.

MA RIONETT E S

1 18

claims to b e as swift as the shaft o f pestilence the next is “ as swift as the wings o f the wind ” ; an other “ as a ray o f light ” ; the fourth “ as the thought ” “ o f man as the vengeance o f the Avenger ” ; the fifth B ut the last who is Mephistopheles is as sw ift “ as the passage from the first sin to the second ” Faust replies : “ That is s wift indeed Thou art the devil fo r me Then he signs the pact with his blood A raven flies in and carries away the message Me p h is t o p h e l e s is bound for tw e nty four years to pro vide Faust with all the pleasures of this world and also to a n s we r tr u thfu lly e ve ry qu es tio n as ked him I n return Faust pledges his soul to the devil at the expiration of the time Mephistopheles carries Faust to the court o f the Count o f P arma where he entertains the count and countess with magical shows calling up Samson and D elilah D avid and Goliath Solomon and the Queen Throughout the play Faust is alw ay s o f Sheba taken seriously ; Kasperle supplie s the ludicrous ele ment His bu ffoonery is at times really amusing A s an assistant o f Faust s servant Wagner he meddles with magic o n his o wn responsibilit y Having picked up a few words of incantation he uses them according to his o wn pleasure ; but K asperle is wiser than his master for he very shrew dly refuses to sign aw ay his soul However he has discovered that by pro potent syllables “ P e rl ip p e ” he can n o u n c in g the summon up d emons and by saying “ P e rl ap p e he can make them vanish Thereupon he amuses him .

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

-

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

’

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

MA RIONETTE S

12 0

Kasperle go and see n o t the dreadful end to which I hasten ” Kasperle goes o u t Twelve o clock strikes and Faust hears the terrible sentence pronounced upon him : “ Ac c u s at u s est j u dic at u s est c o n dam natus est The fiends appear amidst flames and smoke and drag him away to his horrible fate Kas perle returning and finding him gone exclaims : Poof ! What a smell o f brimstone ! ” Even the briefest review o f the plot cannot fail to move one somewhat for there is in this crude pup pet S how a deep and general human appeal An earnest and anxious man to whom life has not been over kind stakes all in his eagerness and craving for truth D espite the naive superstitions and the child ish humor scattered throughout the play the tragic seeking of a human soul the struggle b etween Me In p his t o p h e l e s and Faust demands o u r sympathy this respect there is more dramatic intensity and more human interest to the puppet show than o n e finds in either Marlowe s play o r even Goethe s I n the former Faust I s pictured with a desire to p o s s es s and we know that he is lost from the beginning ; in Goethe s drama Faust is consumed with a desire to l ive and we know throughout that he will be saved by his very struggles I n the puppet play Faust is finally condemned but until the very end by Me he might have b een p his t o p h e l e s o wn admission saved The play was tremendously popular all over G e r many In 170 5 the puppets go t th emselves into ,

’

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

-

.

,

.

’

’

.

’

.

,

,

’

,

.

.

M A RIONETTES

12 1

trouble with the clergy b y a performance b rought from Vienna to B erlin where it was announce d Vita Ge s te

e

D es ce s a

a ll

’

,

f

In

,

del do tto re Gio va n n i F a u s t roused by the im o f approval a e rn o

.

Because o f the storm pious passages in the drama the performance was finally prohibited in Berlin But elsewhere produc tions o f F a u s tu s flourished I n 1746 in Hamburg an amusing announcement proceeded to allay the fears o f timid folk in the follow ing manner : “ History This o f the Arch sorcerer D octor Johannes Fa u s t e tragedy is presented b y us n o t so fearfully as it has been previously b y others but so that everyone can b ehold it with pleasure ” Half a century later Schutz and D reher very suc c essf u l sho w men o f Berlin with a splendidly equipped puppet stage presented among numerous O ld pieces mythology and biblical legend o f knightl y romance the traged y o f F a u s t It w as acclaimed by high and low Then Ge is s e l b re c h t a rival showman o f Vienna strove to outdo this production and gave an elaborate Faust play with little figures whom he made lift and cast down their eyes even cough and spit very naturally a feat which Kasperle was nothing loath to perform over and over again as we may imagine It w as this very G e is s e l b re c h t who served as a model for P o l e P o pp en s p dl e r the delightful little novel which Theodor Storm has written around the figure of a wandering puppet showman G e is s e l b re c h t toured with his puppets and g ave performances all over the country in Frankfurt among other places .

.

-

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

M A RIONETTES

12 2

The crowning significance o f his F a us t production was the fact that young Goethe who was ve ry fond of puppet shows is supposed to have seen this play and to have drawn from it the first inspiration for his masterpi e ce F a u s t I n his Childhood Goethe had always manifested great interest in t o y theatres and puppets At twenty years o f age he wrote for his o wn amusement The Fes tival of P l u n ders we il en a satire o n his audience o f friends and family to be performed by marionettes Later he perfected it and produced it o n a puppet stage specially erected for the pu rpose at Weimar There also he composed another puppet play to celebrate the marriage festivities o f P rincess A melia Both o f th ese dramas are included in his works I n Wil hel m Meis te r and in the Urm eis te r we find many paragraphs devoted to the toy theatre o f his child hood B ut more important than this was the contri b u t io n o f the little P u pp en toward his immortal They not only suggested the theme but Fa u s t o ffered models for the treat ment o f it which Ger many s great genius was not t o o proud to follow 1 ,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

’

’

.

h

Th e re se arc o f t h e Fau s t s p ie l 1

o f sc

l

h as d isc o ve re d in t h e Ul m ve rs io n s su e s t io n f o r t h e P ro l o gu e in Hea ve n , e fo re e d in t h e I n fe rn o p ay it was

ho

a rs

gg l h gh i h p p l hl b S b f Di P d F M l d f h l y h f F kf i h Tiibi d M phi hy i l d b b w F M i Th Th y i h A gb gF h l i h i il i h C 1 h b d w f S i il ly h Ph g i f Bl k b g d pl y h ld g d b k h wF y b a t

n

ou

at an ,

t e rn e

a n

no t

e

.

a

.

ar ran

u

e

pet

e

e o re

a t er t

t o p e es sce ne

t

t he

as

at

n t

m e t ap ts

p ro t o t

a

e

re

’

a us t s

.

n ge n

s ca

e

pe

n t

at e

e

p

u

a

et s

or t

een

ra n ro m a S m m ay een ave t e m ar an t as m a o r a o to t e e m en t s m a e t rac e ac

at

au s t

ar s c e n e oc

o

s

p at u rt am

r an

o

an

au st u s

ur

se e m s

o n o o gu e

e

e t ave rn

.

n t

e

an

er

p u pp e t

s

S

o

O 0

me

ot

er

aust .

12

MA RIONETTES

A

At the end o f the seventeenth century writes Fl oge ] the Ha u p tu n ds ta ats a ctio nen usurped the place o f the real drama ” These were melodramatic pla y s with music and pantomime requiring a large cast composed partly of mechanical dolls partly o f actors I t was only timid ly that the actors thus ventured to return to the stage in the roles o f virtuous people (to be sure o f the sympathy of the audience ) The famou s showmen Beck and Re ib e h an d were noted fo r these performances the subj ects of which were martyrdoms o f saints the slaughter in the ancient Roman circuses and the gory battles o f the Middle A ges (in all o f which needless to say the puppets performed the parts of the slaughtered and martyred as when the ever popular S a n ta D o ro te a was decapitated and applauded so vigorously that the showman ob ligingly stepped out put the head back o n the body and repeated the execution) In Michael D aniel Treu gave the 16 6 6 in Liin e b e rg following D e m o n s tr a tio actio n u m : “ I : the History o f the city o f Jerusalem with all incidents and how the city fell is given naturally with marvellous inventions O penly presented in the theatre ; I I : o f King Lear of England a matter wherein diso b edience o f children against the parent is punished the obedience re warded ; III : of Do n B aston o f Mo n grado strife b e t ween love and honor etc etc ” Then there followed in the list o f plays Al exa n der de Medic i S igis m u n do ty r a n n ic a l p r in ce of P o l a n d the Co u r t of S ic ily Titu s An dr o n ic u s Ta r q uin o E dwa r d of E n gl a n d and ,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

, ,

,

MA RIONETTES

12

5

of course D o ctor 7o ha n n i F a us to Te u ts c he Co m edi ( to distinguish it from Marlowe s tragedy) When one considers that these plays with all the necessary business were long and complicated one may imagine "the di ffi culty o f the art o f puppet show men Everyt hing connected with the presentation the settings directions and the plays themselves had to be learned by heart Young boys generally at t a c h e d themselves to sho w men as apprentices and observed and studied fo r y ears before they were even allowed to speak parts These had to be acquired b y listening for although the owner o f the puppets generally had a copy of the play it was so precious a possession that he guarded it most carefully The amazing repertory o f the Puppenspiel during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ranged from myth and history to any event of the day o f intrinsic interest In 16 8 8 we find the marionette manager We l t h e im giving translations o f Moli ere also the foonery called o l d Ada m a n d E ve follo w ed by a bu f 7a c /e P u ddin g in P u n c h s S hop and the strange assort ment o f As p hal ides Kin g of Ar a bia The Lap ida tio n The D ea th of Wa l l e n s tein of Na bo th We l t h e im used students of Jena and Leipsig to read fo r his puppets When in 17 80 Charles XI I o f Sweden fell dead in the trenches o f Frie dric h s c h al l slain ( so popular tradition averred ) by an enchanted bullet his death was immediately dramatized and produced o n the puppet stage In 17 3 1 the disgrace o f Me n s c h iko fi was made into a drama performed in German b y ,

,

’

.

,

-

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

’

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

'

.

M A R I ONETTES

126

the English puppets o f Titus Maas privileged come “ dian o f the court o f Baden D urlach With per mission etc etc there will b e performed o n an e n t ire l y new theatre and with good instrumental music a Hau p t un ds t aat s ac t io n recently composed and worthy to be seen which has for title — The Extraordinary vicissitudes of good and bad fortune o f A lexis D an ie l o witz Prince Me n z iko ff great favorite o f the Czar o f Moscow Peter I o f glorious memory today a real Belisarius precipitated from the height o f his great ness i nto the most profound abyss of misfortune ; the whole w ith Jackpudding a pieman a pastry cook s b o y and amusing Siberian poachers ” Although Titus Maas had permission to perform in B erlin his show was quickly stopped for political reasons The undisputed predominance o f puppets upon the German stage gradually subsided in the eighteenth century as Gottsched and Lessing revived the art o f poetry and drama The actors assumed their o wn place in the theatre ; the Puppen returned to a more modest sphere But they continued to be popular A fter Sc h iit z und D reher in Berlin came Adolf Glas heimer s humorous satires o f which the hero was D o n Carl o s with K asperle to amuse the children the whole arrangement conducted in connection with a Co ndite r ei I n 18 5 1 a revival o f marionettes in cul tural circles occurred and people streamed to see the clever show in Kellner s Hotel at Christmas time Richter F re u de nb e rg and Lind e were three other favorite showmen of Berlin ,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

’

,

-

,

.

.

.

.

.

’

,

,

.

’

.

,

.

M A RION ETTES

12 8

In Cologne there has been developed a very unique local puppet show called the K ol n er Ha n n es c hen The originator w as Christoph Winter who Th ea te r invented the characters established the standing theatre and remained fo r fifty years its director Upon his small stage there appeared not only Kasperle but a whole row o f funny folk types mirroring in their little scenes the bubbling love of living charac The ingenious t e ris t ic o f the people they represent showman had a saying that whatever type o f man give him the sort of sau sage o n e had to deal w ith he most enj oys In accordance with this idea he provided three show s o n e fo r children which was amusing but harmless o n e fo r the usual adult au die n c e which was more sophisticated and o n e e s p e c iall y suited to the rough Sunday crowd o f laboring men who thronged into the show which needless to say was as vulgar as possible Han n e s c h e n Marie z e b ill Neighbor Tiin n e s and his wife the village tailor and a host o f others were always introduced and furthermore any person in the vic in t y who had ma de himself unpopular was sure to be caricatured Neither rank n o r age w as a protection Another unvaryin g principle was the happy ending ; even Ro m eo a n d ‘ 7u l iet w as altered to comply with the rule I t is di fficult n o w perhaps to think o f Munich as it was j ust before the war a j oyous center o f litera ture and art It was however in this happy e n v iro n m e n t that the puppets rose to the very summit o f their honors and successes I n Munich one m ay ,

"

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

MA RION E TT ES

12 9

find two charming little buildings which were erected and maintained solely for the marionettes The oldest fondly called o f these w a s built for the o l d showman Papa Schmidt by his devoted public Hi s career was a long o n e terminating with gratifying ap p re c ia tion which many another worthy m ario n e t t is t has unfortunatel y failed to re ceive It was in 18 5 8 that the actor Herr Schmidt took over a complete little puppet outfit o f the retired General vo n Heydeck who had been entertaining King Louis and his court with satirical little puppet parodies I nstalling these dolls in a H o l zba r a c/ee he opened a permanent theatre there fo r which Graf Po c c i his constant advisor and friend wrote the first play b ase d upon the tale of P rin z Ro s e n r o t u n d P rin zes s in Edel weis s Graf P o c c i continued all his life to write little fairy plays for these puppets over fifty in all The subj ects were well known fairy tales Undine R apunzel Schnee witschen D e r Rat t e n fan ge r von Hamlin Do rn ro s chen and all the others The children loved them and the merry little Kasperle whose humor if a bit clumsy w as al t ogether clean and wholesome Em c o u rage d by his initial success Schmidt w ent to great expense and pains t o enlarge and elaborate his cast His daughter an assiduous helper w as kept b usy dressing the dolls o f which there were eventually over a thousand After long years o f success Papa Schmidt exp e ri e nce d some di ffi culties due to moving his puppet show and decided t o retire To the honor o f Munich .

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

MA R I ONETT ES

3

1 0

b e 1t sa 1d however that he was no t allowe d to do so The c ity magistrates who as youngsters had adored the antics o f Kasperle vo ted unanimously to build a municipal pup pet theatre and to rent it to o l d Papa Schmidt fo r h is marionette show s This was don e and in a small comforta b le building situated in o n e o f the parks with an ad equate auditor ium and stage Wit h s pace for the seven operators who guide the wires and manage the complicated mechanism for tra n sfo r m a tio n s a n d s u rp r is es w ith trained readers to speak the parts behind the scenes with choru ses and music whenever they were required the ninety four year o l d showman worked with his dolls until the en d o fhis life furnishing happy hours to countless children The celebrated Ma r io n e tte The a tr e of Mu n ic h Artis ts although inspired b y the example o f Pap a Schmi dt was founded upon an altogether different b asis and with oth e r aims an d ideals Paul Brann an author of local fame was the instigator of it as well as its dire c This small but elabora t e modern theatre was tor built by Paul Ludwig Troost and decorated elegantly but with careful taste by other artists interested in the enterprise The stage itself is equipped w ith every possible device u seful to any modern theatre The re is a revolving stage such as that used b y Rein hardt and a complicated electrical apparatus which can produce the most exquisite lighting effects The expensive furniture is often a product o f the K bn ig l ic he n P o r cel l a n Ma n u fa c tu r The mechanism for operating the figures is very perfect the dolls them .

‘

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

-

,

,

,

,

-

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

MARIONETTES

13 1

l es as well as the costumes scenery curtains pro grams etc are al l designed and executed by well known artists such as Joseph Wac ke rl e and Taschner Jaco b B radl e Wilhelm Schulz Julius D ietz and many others I nd e ed the scenic effects produced at this little marionette theatre have given it the reputation o f a model in modern stagecraft The triumphs o f these Munich puppets however d o not depend altogether o n pictorial successes Upon the miniature stage there are presented dramas o f the b est modern poets as w ell as the older classic plays and the u sual Kasperle comedies Puppets must remain primitive o r they lose their o wn peculiar charm b ut the primitive quality may be ennobled B rann does not in the least detract from the innate the marionettes possess I ndeed s implicity which he considers this not a limitation but a distinguishing trait How ever he has added poetic art to the old craft and has expanded the sphere o f the pup pets He has proven their poetic possibilities and j ustified their claim to the consideration o f cul The repertory has b een specially t u re d audiences selected to suit his particular dolls somewhat pan t o m im ic o n the whole with a great deal o f music Generally the plays deal with incidents unrelated to everyday life and these marionettes convey their audiences with unbelieva b le magic to arcadian lands o f dream and wonder Gra f P o c c i s little Kasperle pieces were not scorned b y these artistic marionettes nor the o l d F au s t s p ie l Do n Juan and the Prodigal se v

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

’

.

,

MA RIONETTES

13 2

Son nor the folk play s o f Hans Sachs To these were added a rich variety including many forgotten operettas o f Gluck Adam Offenbach Mozart and others S chnitzler s D e r B ra ve Ca s s ia n Maeterlinck s D ea th of Tin ta gil es and S is te r B ea tr ice and dramas o f The popularity of these puppet pro fm an s t h al Ho f du c t io n s in Munich and their success all over the world where they have been taken travelling into foreign lands attest the worth and value of the interest ing experiment Fo r art music and literature a new medium has been discovered o r rather an o l d one re adapted to suit the requirements o f the moder n poetic drama Of recent y ears the shadow play has not been al together overlooked in Munich In a 190 9 issue o f the Hy p e rio n Franz Blei azs t h e t e and critic describes t wo e xq u 1s 1t e shadow plays performed in the salon of Victor Mannheimer The figures and scenery were the work of a young architect H one ; actors read the text and D r Mannheimer directed “ On e thing ” writes Blei “ I believe was clear to all present : that b oth of the plays thus presented unhampered by perspiring laboring and painted living actors ap pealed more strongly to the inner ear than they could possibly have done in any other theatre The author was allowed to express himself rather th an the actor The sta ge setting and the outlines o f the shadow s very delicatel y cut in accordance with the essential traits of the characters presented no more than a delightful resting place for the eye and the imagina -

,

.

,

,

,

,

’

’

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

-

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

1

311

MARION ETTE S

-

ning rather quai nt ap peal These p re c io us l it t l e m ario é nettes have b e en exhibited in private circle s only I n Baden Bade n j ust b efore the war a qu ite t e ing puppet show was to b e found m ark able and th ri v ho ny b elonging to I vo P fi These clever dolls were carved o ut o f wood and were most adroitly m an ip u lated marvellously so we are told The repertory of the puppets was ve ry extensive and ambitious At the outbreak o f the war Ivo P iiho ny packed his dolls away in cases and left them in Baden Baden I n 19 14 Ernest Ehlert actor and manager and F réiu l e m E Weissman n took the neglected little creatures to Berlin where they performed with tremendous suc c ess They produced among other things D o cto r S as s afr a s a puppet play by P o c c i and n o l e s s am bitio n s a drama than Goethe s Fa u s t The latter received a real ovation as a Serious artistic in t erp re t at ion o f the masterpiece ; many witnesses declared the production more effective than when given upon the larger stage The F r a n /efurte r Zeitu n g contained this des cription of the performance : “ The drama had a much purer and stronger em otional effect in this sym b olic miniature presentation w ith its modest and r eliable lighting effects than is possible in the hard reality of the larger stage The circle of the heavenly army shimmering in magic red reminding o n e of the pious fantasies o f Beato Angelico ; t h e voices o f the arch angels sounding from above ; the gleam o f white light when t he voice o ft h e Lord was heard ; the dark c hasm l eading to the depths of the earth o u t o fwhich ”

'

.

,

.

-

,

.

,

,

.

.

-

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

'

,

’

.

,

'

.

‘

,

.

“

‘

,

N

MA R I O ETTE S

[ Re p ro du c e d

f

o r

ro

H

RI C A RD TE S C

m De u ts c he K u n s t

HN E R u nd

,

VI E

NN A

De leo r at io n ]

MA RIONETTES

13 6

t ainm e nt

is also constantly expressed in the littl e private puppet shows and shadow plays given by o r for the children in their homes u sually gotten up for Christmas o r b irthday festiviti es ,

.

I n most Continental countries there may still be found traces and survivals o f the o l d style puppet show and occasionally experiments with marionettes in the new manner It is said that in Bohemia the marionette plays are the only form o fdrama now given in the native tongue A very famous showman o f Bohemia was Ko p e c ki who travelled a bout w ith his A prominent Bohemian S how from tow n to town minister n o w residing in New York relates that he remembers these puppets and the terror which clutched his boyish heart whenever the little wooden devil appeared opening and closing his horrible mouth and emitting the most inhuman and frightful noises He remembers t h e comic characters of the show s a rude peasant an d his wife The peasant always w ielded a stick and there were many threatened beatings but they never took place I n 18 8 5 the names o f Ko p e c ki and o f another showman Win iz ki were made doubly prominent b y the publication o f a book o f their old puppet plays taken down in shorthand by two Viennese a u t h o rs f ro m performances they witnessed and written finally in wonderful Hoch D eutsch I n Hunga ry the gypsies have always been the puppeteers travelling about w ith their rough little figures and accompaniment o f music From Mol .

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

'

-

.

,

.

BO

H EM AN I

P

U PPET

S

MA RIONETTE S

38

1

‘

’

or D iminutive P eter the same as Ger and English Punch The hero K asperle m an makes much mischief in a horse trade with a gyp sy or with a German doctor a policeman or a recruiting o ffi cer For such mischief the devil takes his body into hell “ Even now as in the olden times satires on social endeavor are very often introduced b ut only the common street cl ass enj oy them From time to time the educators take part in this movement and try to raise the standard and to introduce the puppets into the school festivals “ Some of these plays came into Russia from the old Christmas West through Austria and Poland beliefs connected with religious or nationalistic tradi tions These Christmas Crib plays are mostly seen in Southern and Western Ru ssia and Poland Some o f the Russian artists have been interested in the production and have given very fine performances I myself introduced many of this kind of marionettes into the activities o f the Children s Clu b s in Moscow Very interesting articles about the ethnographic and folklore value o f these plays have b een written in Russian scientific magazines ” In Poland until the middle o f the eighteenth cen tury there were frequent puppet performances given in churches and monasteries around Christmas time to amuse the people between mass and vespers In the play o f S zo p /ea ( stable ) M Magnin tells us there were little doll s o f wood o r cardboard representing t ro u c h k a

’

,

‘

‘

’

’

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

-

.

.

-

,

.

.

.

’

.

.

,

,

.

.

M A R I ONETTES

13 9

Mary Jesus Joseph the angels the shepherds the three Magi on their knees with offerings of gold in cense and myrrh not forgetting the o x and the ass and Saint John s lamb There generally followed after this the m assacre o f the innocents in the midst The o f which Herod s o wn son perished by mistake wicked prince in his despair called upon D eath wh o soon appeared in the form o f a skeleton and cut o ff Herod s head with a scyt he Then a black devil with a red tongue pointed horns and a long tail ascended and picked up the King s b ody on his pitch fork an d b ore it o ff to perdition To this peculiar performance were often added indecorous variations despite the holy place in which it was performed A fter being finally expelled from the interior of the churches it continued to be popular for over a cen tu ry delighting both the rural and the urban p o p u l a tion o f Poland from Christmas to Shrove Tuesday To this day performances o f the Crib or S zo p /ea are given b y ambulant puppet show s The text is sung and spoken : the figures moving in pairs represent characters o f the old mysteries also folk types heroes spirits etc The stage fo r these shows appears to be prescribed b y tradition o f a certain structure with intricate national architectural details I t is not sur prising to learn that Stanislaw Wy s p ian s ki Poland s great dramatic and poetic genius was strongly inter e s t e d in and influenced b y this national type o f puppet stage which seems to have b een the original inspiration fo r his later stron gl y patriotic productions ,

,

,

,

,

,

,

’

.

’

.

,

,

’

.

,

,

’

.

.

, .

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

’

,

,

.

I

MA RIONETTE S

o A

In D enmark the puppets have pushed their way into literature We find that Johan Ludvig He i berg a prominent D anish dramatist has written several satirical marionette plays In Holland where 7a n Cl a s s e n s p iel have been long established the puppet stage is a favorite diversion Powel wrote in 17 15 o f its long standing popularity with the people and we are told that the cultured classes also found relaxation in the marionettes B eyle states that during his studies at Rotterdam he al w ays left his book at the sound o f the showman s trumpet The little Polichinelle o f Belgium is called Wo l tj e which signifies little Walloon and he has many clown ish but harmless tricks with which to delight his public The popularity o f the P o e c he l n ell es p iel in Brussels may be imagined from the fact that prior to the war there were fifteen standing puppet theatres offering every possible enticement . Two very famous showmen were Toone and Mac h ie l t j e wh o for fort y years gave performances to e ve ry c l as s of audience Mac h ie l t j e specializing o n the popular plays Toone giving private performances The successor o f Toone was G eorge He m b au f while the show o f Mac h ie l t j e descended to Laurent Broeders who have a wonder fully equipped theatre in the suburbs They possess over six hundred marionettes whose elegant costumes can b e changed (there are over eleven hundred of these elaborate costumes ) The Laurent Broeders do all the speaking for their dolls and the repertoire in ,

.

,

,

.

-

,

.

.

’

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

MA RIONE TTE S

11 12

show were performed for an appreciative and u n spoiled audience Hendrik Conscience the Flemish novelist has described how in his boyhood he often spent his last penny to witness the su fferings o f the patient Genoveva o r some similarly affecting per This o l d underground theatre we are fo rm an c e told was open until the out b reak o f the war .

,

,

.

,

,

.

Tupp etry in E ngl and T i m ph P h ! Wi h j I f ll w h hy w Th gh h gl d p g an t

r u

t

ro u

t

un c

e

ro

a

o

o

t

re s s 0

t

o

ee

an t o n c o u rs e

.

TH U S exclaims Lord Byron an d he is but o ne o f the long list o f English poets dramatists and essayists who have found delight and inspiration at the puppet b ooth “ On e could hardly n ame a single poet from Chaucer to Byron o r a single prose writer from Sir Philip Sidney to Hazlitt in whose works are not to b e found a b undant information o n the subj ect o r fre quent allusions to it The dramatists above all beginning with those who are the glo ry o f the reigns supply us with the most o f Elizabeth and James I curious particulars of the reperto ry the managers the stage of the marionettes ” With this in t ro du c tion M Magnin brings forward a brilliant array o f English authors in whose works we may find traces Shakespeare Ben Jonson Beaumont o f the puppets and Fletcher Milton D avenant Swift Addison S teele Gay Fielding Goldsmith Sheridan and innumerable others I n The Win te r s Ta l e Autolycus remarks : I know this man well He hath been a process se r ver a b ailiff then he compassed a motion of The P ro digal ,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

’

.

,

,

11 13

MA RI ONETTE S

1

11 11

Many other dramas o f S hakespeare have similar allusio n s Milton s Ar eo p agitic a contains these lines : “ When G o d gave Adam reason he gave him freedom to choose : he had else been a mere artificial Adam such an Adam as seen in the motions ” P erhaps the casual mention o f a popular diversion in the literature o f a nation is not as impressive as the fact that it has served to suggest the themes o f numberless dramas and poems Shakespeare is said to have taken the idea for 7u l iu s Ca s a r from the puppet play on the same subj ect which was performed near the Tower o f London in his day ; Ben Jonson s Every m a n Ou t of his H u m o u r Robert Greene s Orl a n do F u r io s o D e kk e r s b est drolleries and certainly P a tie n t Gr is s el in the composition o f which he had a hand Marlow e s The Mas s a c r e a t P a ris and many others may safely be said to have been suggested by the puppets There are marionettes in Swift s A Ta l e of a Tu b illustrated by Hogarth Some authorities claim that Milton drew the argu ment fo r his great poem from an Italian marionette production o f P a r a dis e Lo s t which he once w itnessed Byron is supposed to have found the m odel for his D o n 7 u a n in the popular play o f Punch s The Libe r tin e D es tr oy e d Hence it cannot be an exaggeration to state that even in England w here the puppets are not supposed to have attained such presti ge as o n the Continent they were nevertheless not wholly insi gnificant n o r w ithout wei ght As is usuall y the case the puppets in En gland S on

.

’

.

,

,

.

.

’

’

,

’

,

,

’

’

.

,

.

.

’

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

MA RIONETT ES

6

11 1

w histle fo r

signalling stands in front o f the curtain and briefly informs the audience of the action o f the piece Thereupon he draws the curtain names each personage by name as he appears points o u t with his wand the various important actions o f his actors deeds and relates the story more in detail than formerly A nother masque which Ben J onson s B a r t ho l o m ew F a ir describes is quite di f ferent for here the puppets themselves speak that is through a man hidden behind the scenes who like the o n e standing ” o u t in front is called the interpreter As early as 15 7 5 I talian pupazzi appeared in Eng land and established themselves there An order of the Lord Mayor o f London at the time authorizes that “ Italian marionettes be allowed to settle in the city and to carry o n their strange motions as in the past and from time immemorial ” Piccini was a later I talian motion man but very famous giving shows for fifty years and speaking for his P u n c h to the last with a foreign accent There is little doubt despite much discussion that the boisterous English Punch is a descendant of the puppet Pulcinello brought over by travelling I talian showmen I saac d I s rae l i writes o f his ancestry in “ the second volume o f Cu r io s ities of Lite r a tu r e Even P u l l ic in e l l a whom we familiarly call P unch may receive like other personages o f not greater impor tance all his dignity from antiquity : one of his Roman ancestors having appeared to an antiquary s visionary eye in a b ronze statue : more than one erudite disser ,

.

,

,

’

,

’

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

-

,

,

.

,

,

,

’

,

.

,

,

,

,

’

MA RIONETTE S

1

1 17

authenticates the family likeness the long nose prominent and hooked ; the goggle eyes ; the hump at his back and breast ; in a word all the char acter which so strongly marks the Punch race as distinctly as Wh OIC dynasties have b een featured b y the Austrian lip or the Bourbon nose ” The origin of the name P u n c h has given rise to various theories Some claim it is an anglicizing o f P ulcinello P u l c h in e l l o o r Punchinello ; others that it is derived as is Pulcinello from the I talian word p u l cin o little chicken either some say b ecause o f the squeak c o m m o n t o Punch and to the chicken o r others aver because from little chicken might have come the ex pression for little boy hence puppet Again it is maintained that the origin is the English provincial ism p u n c h ( short fat ) allied to B u n c h The older Punchinello w as far less restricted in his actions and circumstances than his modern successor He fought with allegorical figures representing want and weariness as well as with his wife and the police He was o n intimate terms with the Patriarchs and the champions o f Christendom sat o n the lap o f the Queen o f Sheba had kings and lords for his asso ciates and cheated the I nquisition as well as the common hangman After the revolution o f 16 8 8 with the coming o f William and Ma ry his prestige increased and Mr Punch took Mrs Judy to wife and to them there came a child The marionettes b e came more ela b orate were manipulated b y wires and developed legs and feet Queen Mary was often t at io n

,

,

,

g

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

'

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

MA RIONE TTE S

11 18

pleased to summon th em into her p alace The young gallant Punch h o we ve r, wh o h ad bee n but a garrulous roisterer causing more noise th an harm began to de v e l o p into a merry but thick skinned fellow heretical w icked alwa ys victorious overcoming Old Vice h im self the horned tailed demon o f the o l d English moralities A modified D o n Juan when D on Juan was the vogue he gradually became a vulgar pugnacious fellow to suit the taste of the lower classes D u rI n g the reign of Queen An ne he was high in popular favor The Ta tl e r mentions him often also The S p ec ta to r ; Addison and Steele have both aided in immortalizing him Famous showmen such as Mr Powell included him in every puppet play for what does an anachronism matter with the marionettes ? He w alked w ith King Solomon entered into the a ffairs o f Doctor Fa n stus o r the D uke o f Lorraine or Saint George in which case he cam e upo n the stage seated o n the b ack o f S t G eorge s drago n to the delight One o f his greatest successes was o f the spectators S cored in D o n 7 u a n o r The Libe r tin e D e s tr oy e d where he was in his e l e m e n t and we fi n d him in the drama o f Noah p oking his head from behin d the side cur tain while the flo ods were pouring dow n upon the Patriarch and his ark to remark “ Ha z y w eather Mr Noah ” I n o n e o f Swift s satires the popularity o f Punch is declared t o be s o enormous that the a u die n c e s c ared lit t l e fo r the plot o f the play merely foon w aitin g to greet the entrance o f their b eloved bu f with s h o u t S o f laughter .

'

,

,

.

’

,

,

-

,

,

,

,

'

,

,

'

,

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

’

.

.

~

,

.

,

,

,

,

’

.

,

.

~

,

'

.

‘

MA RIONE TT ES

11 19

At the beginning o f the nineteenth centu ry when Lord Nelson as the hero o f Abukir was represented upon every puppet stage he and Mr Punch held the follow ing dialogue : “ Come to m y ship my dear Punch and help me defeat the French I f you like I will make you a Captain or a Commodore “ Never never ” answ ered P unch I would not dare fo r I am afraid o f b eing drowned in the deep sea ” “ But don t have such a b surd fears replied the “ A dmiral Rememb er that whoever is destined from ” b irth t o b e hanged will never be drowned Gradually a sort o f epic poem o f Punch grew up and there were regular scenes where the dissolute hardened fellow b eats his wife and child defies moral ity and religion knocks down the priest fights the devil and overcomes him In 18 2 8 Mr Payne Collier arranged a series o f little plays called The In this labor Tr a gic a l Co m edy of P u n c h a n d yu dy he was assisted by the records o f the Italian Piccini who after long y ears of wandering through England had established his Punch and Judy show in London The series was profusel y and delightfull y illustrated b y Cruikshank These pictures and those of Hogarth have perpetuated for all times the funny features o f Punch and Jud y “ With real co nservatism w rites Main dro n the English have preserved the figure and repertory o f Punch almost as it was in the oldest days o f Piccini ,

,

.

,

t

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

’

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

MA RIONE TTES

5

1 0

and his predecessors And it is thus one might find P unch o n the street corner to day maltreating his long su ffering wife teasing the do g hanging the hang man Mr W H P ollock tells us of stopping with Robert Louis Stevenson to w atch a Punch and Judy by a travelling showman in “ bastard S how given English and slang o f the road ” S tevenson delighted in it and Mr P ollock himself exclaimed : “ Everybody wh o loves good rattling melodrama with plenty o f comic relief must surely love that great performance ” But to return to the show s and showmen o f other times In the Elizabethan period the motions w ere very prominent The puppets sometimes took over play s o f the day and satirized them cleverly upon their o wn stages the dolls costumed as nearly as possible like the prominent actors whom they imitated Later when fo r a time the Puritans abolished the theatres the marionettes were allowed to continue their show s and thus the entire repertory o f the real stage fell into their hands Perma nent puppet stages grew up all over London : people thronged to the puppets In Ben Jonson s B a r tho l o m ew F a ir he allows the showman Lanthorn Leatherhead to describe his fortunes : “ Ah ” he said “ I have made lots o f money with S o do m a n d Go m o r r a h and with the City of No r wic h b l it Gu n p o wde r P l o t that was a verita b le gift of Go d It was that that made the pennies ram into the co ffers I onl y charg ed ei ghteen o r t wenty pence per head fo r admission but I gave sometimes .

-

-

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

’

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

MA RION E TT ES

15 2

the sexton was impelled to remonstrate I find m y congregation taking the warning o f my bell morning and evening to go to a puppet show set forth b y o n e Pow ell under the Piazzas etc etc I desire you would lay this before the world that Punchinello may choose an hour less canonical As things are no w Mr Powell has a full congregation while w e have a very thin house ” This same Powell was the most successful motion maker of his day He originated the Un ivers al D el u ge in which Noah and his family enter the ark a e com This show p an ie d b y all the animals two and two ft y t wo consecutive nights and w a s re w a s given fi p e at e d two centuries later by the P randi brothers in Florence Powell had booths in London Bath and Oxford and played to most fashionable audiences The Ta tl er and The S p ec ta to r mention him frequently I t was his Punch who sat o n the Queen o f S heba s lap who danced with Judy on the Ark and made the famous remark to Noah concerning the w eather “ He gave numerous religious plays such as the Opera —which w ill be o f Susannah o r Innocence Betra y ed exhibited next week with a n e w pair o f Elders ” In 17 13 he presented Ve n u s a n d Ado n is o r The Tr iu m p hs a mock opera A s another attraction to his of Lo ve show s the ingenious m ario n e t t is t invented a fashion model the little puppet La dy ? a n e who mad e a monthl y appearance bringing the latest styles from P aris The ladies flocked to the puppets when she was announced on the bills .

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

-

,

.

,

,

.

.

’

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

MA RIONETTE S

1

53

A

well known competitor of P owell was P in ke t h man in whose scenes the gods o f Olympus ascend ed and descended to strains of music C rawley was another rival He advertised h is s h o w as follow s “ At Crawl e y S Booth over against the Crown Tavern in Sm it h fi during the time of B artholomew Fair e ld w ill be presented a little opera called the Old Crea tion o f the World yet newly revived with addition also several fountains playing w ater o f Noah s Flood The last scene does during the time o f the play present Noah and his family coming o u t o f the Ark w ith all the beasts t wo and two and all the fowls of the air seen in a prospect sitting upon trees : likew ise over the Ark is seen the sun rising in a glorious manner ; moreover a multitud e of angels will be seen in a double rank which presents a double prospect one for the sun the other fo r the palace w here will be seen six Angels rin ging bells Likewise Machines descend from above double and treble w ith D ives rising o u t o f Hell and Lazarus seen in Abraham s bosom b esides several figures dancing j igs sarabands and country dances to the admiration o f the spectators : with the merry conceits o f S quire P unch and Sir John ,

.

’

.

’

,

,

,

,

,

’

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

’

,

,

,

S p e n daHf

’

After these motion makers came other showmen with man y inventions Colley C ibber w rote dramas for marionettes and his daughter the actress Char lotte Clarke founded a large puppet theatre Russell the o l d bu ffoon is said to have been i nterested in this proj ect also but it finally failed When the Scott ,

.

,

,

.

,

,

'

,

,

.

,

1

MA RIONETT ES

5h

ish lords and other leaders o f the Stuart uprising of the beheading 174 5 were executed on Tower Hill was made a feature b y the puppet exhibitions at May Fair and was presented for many years a fter Later Clapton s marionettes o ffered a play o f Grace D arling rescuing the crew o f the many ingenious moving figures o f quadru peds ” Bos well tells u s in his Life of yo hn s o n about Oliver Gold smith who was so vain he could n o t endure to have anyone do anything b etter than himself “ Once at an exhi b ition of the F an t o c c in i in London when those who sat next to him observed with what dex t e rit y a puppet was made to toss a pike he could not bear that it should have such praise and exclaimed with some warmth Pshaw ! I could do it b etter myself Boswell adds in a note “ He went home with Mr Burke to supper and broke his shin b y at tempting to exhibit to the c o mpany how much b etter Dr he could j ump over a stick than the puppets Johnson w as a great admirer o ft h e fantoccini in Lon don and considered a performance o fMa c be th b y pup pets as satisfactory as w hen played by human actors A t the end o f the eighteenth centu ry Flo c kt o n s S how displayed five hundred figures at work in various 18 3 0 —18 40 trades Browne s Thea tr e of Ar ts travelled about at country fairs showing The B attl e of Tr afa l ga r Na p o l e o n s Ar m y Cr o s s in g the Al p s and the Ma rbl e P a l a c e of S t P ete rs bu rg Some mario nettes o f the nineteenth centu ry became satirical attacking literature and politics with mischievous ,

.

’

.

,

.

,

,

,

‘

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

’

,

’

,

.

’

,

.

.

,

MA RIONE TTES

156

f artistic coteries in London , wh o have b een moved b y the o l d man s appeals for help , and some attempts

o

’

have been made to revive interest in his show S urely C l u n n Lew iss deserves some recognition Altogether unconnected with popular puppets were the highl y complicated mechanical exhibitions o f The amazin g feats p er Holden s marionettes formed b y Holden s puppets astonished not only E n gland but all the large Continent al and American cities w here they were displayed They were tre m e n do u s l y admired The surprising dexterity o f manipulation and the eleg ance of the settings had never b e e n su rpas s e d I n P aris h o we v e r de Goncourt “ The marionettes of Holden ! These w rote o f them : creatures of wood are a little disquieting There is a dancer turning on the tips o f her toes in the moon li ght that mig ht be a character o f Ho ffma n etc Holden w a s more o f an illusionist than a true m ario n e t t is t He produc e d exact illusions o f living bein gs but he wa s l ac kin g I n I maginat ion The fantoches o f Holden were certainly marvels of pre c is io n but they app eal to the eye and not to the spirit One admired one did not lau gh at them They astonished b ut they did not charm There have been several interesting amateur mario nette shows within the last decade There are the Wilkinsons two clever modern painters who have taken their puppets from villag e to villag e in England and also in France They traveled about with their famil y in a caravan and wherever they w ished to .

.

’

.

’

,

.

_

.

,

‘

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

'

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

Us e d

by Mr

NGL H

OLD E .

C l un n Le

[ Co u rt e sy

P

IS

wi

U PPET

S

ig

in his wan de r o fMr To n y S ar ] ss

.

g

n

S

ho

w

MA RI ONETTES

15 8

Most highly perfected and most exquisite o f English puppets to— day are those o f the a rtist Mr William Simmonds in Hampstead They originated in a vil lage in Wiltshire as an a musement at a Chris tmas pa rty g1ve n by Mr and Mrs Si m monds every year to the village children The audience was so delighted that the next year more puppets were made with a more attractive setting Friends t h e n beca m e so e n t h u s ias t ic that the creators of the puppets realized what might be do ne and in London the follow ing Spring they began g iving small private shows The productions are only Suited t o a small audience of fo rty or fifty The pupp ets are mostly fifteen inches high some s maller ; th e stage is nine feet wide six de e p an d a little over two feet high The scenery is painted o n sma ll screens At pre s ent there are three scenes a Harl e quin ade a Woodland S cene an d a lit tle Sea p ort Town The puppets are They grou ped t o u se one or the other of t hese scenes n d t heir best expression do n o t do plays but seem t o fi in s o ngs a n d dance s c onnected with v ariou s b y play an d b u s in e s s and a slight thread of episode which never twice alike Mr S immonds I s often vari ed manip ulates the puppets entirel y alone and ca nnot work with anyone close He frequently o perates a puppet in each hand all with the utmost dexterity and manages others by means of hang an d de l ic ac y in g them up and movin g them slightly at intervals w histling improvising at the same time s inging dialogue o r I m I t at I n g various noises ! Pe ople gener ,

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

-

.

\

.

'

,

,

.

,

.

.

-

'

f

‘

‘

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

‘

,

‘

,

,

MA RIONETTES

1 60

ppe ar — faun dryad nymph young centaurs b a b y faun hunted stag a forester a daint y shepherd and a shepherdess etc The little sketch is entirely wordless having only musical accompaniment played b y Mrs Simmonds upon a virginal or a spinet or an earl y Erard piano (date The sound is j ust right in scale for the puppets ; anything else would seem heavy The fauns in this scene are most popular particularly the B a by who has an extraordinary tenderness and skips and leaps with the agility o f a live thing The act of extreme dream in e s s and beaut y is described thus b y o n e who w as privileged to witnes s it “ In o n e scene a man went He hid behind a bush A stag came o u t hunting He shot the stag which lay down and died on Then there came o n e o r two creatures of the wood who could do nothing and at last a very beautiful nymph lightly cloth ed in leaves She succeeded in resuscitating the stag who got up and bounded away When they had gone the hunte nwh o had w atched it all from b ehind the bush came out and that was all Music all the time No words The stag was quite astonishing ” Although he is n o w living and working in Floren ce Mr Gordon Craig must not be omitted from any a ccount o f English marionettes and advocates o f the puppets Quite apart from the class of artistic ama t e u rs and equally remote from the usual pro fessional m ario n e t t is t o f to day Mr Craig stands rather as a n e w prophet o f puppetry recalling in stirring term s a

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

-

.

,

,

MARIONETTES

16 1

the virtues o f the old art an d adding his new and individual interpretation o f its value Puppets are b ut a small portion o f the dramati c Craig is so e xperiment and propagan d a which Mr courageously carrying o n in Florence But they are not the least interesting b ranch o f his undertakings He has assembled a veritable museum of marionette and shadow play material from all over the world Pictures o fsome parts o fhis collection appear regularly in “ The Marionette ” There are also delightful puppet plays appearing in this pamphlet But this is n o t all With the marionette used as a sort o f symbol Mr Craig has been conducting research into the very heart of dramatic verities and producing dramatic formulas which should apply o n any stage at any time He has invented his marionettes to express dramatic qualities which he deems significant and in his puppets he has attempted to eliminate all other disturbing and unnecessary qualities Thus he creates little wooden patterns o r models for his artists o f the stage and he applies in actual usage G oethe s maxim : “ He who would work for the stage should leave nature in her proper place and take careful heed n o t to have recourse to anything b ut what may be performed by children with puppets upon boards and laths together with sheets o f cardboard and linen ” At the beginning o f his experiments with mario n ettes Mr Craig and his assistants constru cted o n e ,

.

.

' -

.

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

’

,

,

.

.

MA RIONETTE S

162

large and extremely complicated doll which was moved o n grooves and manipulated b y pedals from below with a small tel l tal e to indicate to the operator the exact effect produced But this marionette was not satisfactory for Mr Craig s purposes He then directed his energies in an exactly opposite direction toward simplification The result was small b ut very impressive dolls carved o u t o fwood and painted in neutral colors —the color o f the scenes in which they moved to allow for the fulles t and most variable effects produced by lighting Most interesting too the manner in which Mr Craig applied his theories concerning gesture with these little puppets Each marionette was allowed to make one o r two gestures no more B u t these gestures had to be exact invariable and the perfect indica tion o f whatever meaning they were intended to convey Before inventing the action o f a puppet Mr Craig would study fo r days or weeks watching various people making the movement and expressing the emotion he desired to portray Then he would extract from these observations the general and e s s e n t ial qualities o f this particular gesture ; all else due to the peculiarities o f individuals was left o u t as irrelevant for the stage Hence when Mr Craig s puppet moves it moves simply significantly and o n e more essential — surely For nothing is left to chance The gesture once selected is produced with infinite care and is made invariable No whim o f the manipulator no accident of chance can alter it ,

.

’

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

-

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

’

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

W

The

Th y

in Amer ica

i

ar onett es

Th y h b h f i bl g i wh i h d d j y w h y h g d Wi h d i y b il li hyh d h l gh b h y h l d h hi k h y h h d i f h l b d h h wi p A ll i h y h d j y d l ib y f l g g wh i h h d d h d l h p f Wh h y w m d M ER N E o

t

n n u m e ra

o

an t

ave

ma

a so

ro t e c t o rs ;

t a

an

t

t

ua e

t

em

em

t

n

as

;

e

re n

e re ” a e

t

em

e

aut

e rt

a

t

p re c e

o ur o

em

o rs

ave

e

r t t en

m an n e rs t

e

.

an

eo p e

.

ST

Ho w old are the marionettes in America ? w

t

e m ne nt

a

to

;

r

ut

ave

e ar

e

n

m an

au

o

t

een

e

an c e s t o r s ,

e

rat e

ce e

e re

e

c

t

ave

e

.

ma

ave e n o

e

c

om

or

t

y

re c t

o ur

ave

e

t

e

or

m es t

t

,

s uc c e s se s ;

aw a

e n e rat o n s

e

am e

ave

e

fro m far

co m e

e

AI NDRON

How

o ld

‘

habit t he cont inent ancient as the ancient cere m onial s o f t h e dispossessed native I ndians more indigenous to the soil than we who prate o f them such are the first A merican marione ttes ! D ramatic ceremonials among the Indians are nu Each tri b e has m e ro u s even at the present time its peculiar individual rites performed as a rule b y members o f the tribe dressed in prescribed sym boli e costumes and wearing often a conventiona l ized mask Occasionally however articulated figures take part in these performances along with the human participants D r Jesse Walter Fe wke s has pub lis h e d a minute description o f a theatrical performance o

‘

,

'

”

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

164

MA RIONETTES

165

at Walpi which he witnessed in 190 0 together with pictures o f the weird and curious snake e ffigies em ploy ed in it The Great Serpent drama o f the Hopi I ndians called P a l u l a ko n ti occurs annually in the March moon I t is an elaborate festival the paraphernalia for which are repaired or manufactured anew for days preceding the event There are a b out six acts and while one o ft hem is being performed in o n e room simultaneously show s are being enacted in the other eight kiva s o n the East Mesa The S ix sets o f actors pass from o n e room to another in all o fwhich s p e c t a tors aw ait their coming Thus upon o n e night each performance was given nine times and was w itnessed The drama by approximate ly five hundred people lasts from nine P M until midnight D r Fe w ke s gives us the following description o f the first act : “ A voice was heard at the hatchway as if some o n e were hootin g outside and a moment later a ball of meal thrown into the room from with out landed o n the floor b y the fireplace This was a signal that the first group of actors had ar rived and to this announcement the fire tenders responded Yu mya ai Come in an invitation which was repeated b y several o f the spectators A fter considerable hesitation o n the part o f the visitors and rene wed cries to enter from those in the room there w as a movement a b ove and the hatchway was darkened by the form o f a man descending The fire tenders arose and held their b lankets about the ,

.

,

'

-

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

‘

’

’

‘

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

16

6

fire to darken t h e room I mmediately there cam e down the ladder a procession o f masked men b earing long poles upon which was rolled a cloth screen while under their blankets certain o bjects were concealed Filing to the unoccupied end of the kiva they rapidly set up the o b jects they b ore When they were ready a signal was given and t h e fire tenders dropping their b lankets resumed their seats b y the fireplace On the floor before o u r astonished eyes we saw a miniature field o f corn made o f small clay pedestal s o ut of which projected corn sprouts a few inches high Behind this field o f corn h u ng a decorated cloth screen reaching from o n e wall of the room to the other and from the floor almost to the rafters On this screen were painted many strange devices a mong which were pictures o f human beings male and fe male and of b irds sym b ols o f rain clouds lightning and falling rain Prominent among the symbols was a ro w o f six circular disks the b orders while the o f which w ere made o f plaited corn husks enclosed field of each was decorated with a symbolic picture o f the sun Men wearing grotesque masks and cere moni al kilts stood o n each side of this screen Th e act began with a song to which the masked men except the —last mentioned danced A hoarse roar made by a concealed actor blowing through an empty gourd resounded from b ehind the screen and i m media tely the circular disks swung open u p ward and were seen to be flaps hinged above cover ing orifices through w hich simultaneously protruded .

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

-

,

,

.

,

,

‘

.

.

‘

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

MA RIONETT E S

167

six artificial heads o f serpents realistically painted Each head had protu b erant goggle eyes and b ore a curved horn and a fan like crest o f hawk feathers A mouth with teeth was cut in o n e end and from this orifice there h ung a strip o f leather painted red representing the tongue “ Slowly at first b ut afterwards more rapidly these e ffi gie s were thrust farther into V iew each re vealing a b ody four o r five feet long painted like the head b lack on the b ack an d white o n the belly When they were fully extended the song grew louder and the e ffi gie s moved b ack and forth raising and depressing their heads in time wagging them to o n e side o r the other in unison They seemed to bite ferociously at each other and viciously darted at men standing near the screen This remarkable play con tin n ed for some time when suddenly the heads o f the serpents b ent down to the floor and swept across the imitation corn field knocking over the clay pedes tals and the corn leaves which they supported Then the e fligie s raised their heads and wagged them back and forth as b efore I t was obse rved that the largest ef figy or that in the middle had several udders o n each side o f the b elly and that she apparently suckl ed the others Meanwhile the roar emitted from behind the screen by a concealed man co n tinued and wild excitement seemed to prevail Some o f the s p e c t a fering prayers amid tors threw meal at the e ffi gie s o f shouts from others The masked man representing a woman stepped forward and presented the co n .

,

,

-

.

,

:

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

MA RIONE TTE S

68

1

tents of the b asket tray to the serpent e ffi gie s fo r food after which he held his breasts to them as if to suckle them “ Shortly after this the song diminished in volume the e ffigies were slowly drawn b ack through the open ings the flaps o n which the sun symbols were painted fell back in place and after one final roar made by the man behin d the screen the room was again silent The overturned pedestals w ith their corn leaves were distributed among the spectators and the t wo men by the fireplace again held up their blankets b efore the fire while the screen was silently rolled up and the actors w ith their paraphernalia departed There are some acts in the drama into which the serpent e ffi I n the fifth act g ie s do n o t enter at all these Great Snakes rise up o u t o f the orifices of t wo vases instead o f darting o ut from the screen This action is produced by strings hidden in the kiva rafters the winding o f heads and struggles and gy m tions o f the sinuous bodies b e ing t h e more realistic because in the dim light the strings were invisible I n the fourth act t wo masked girl s elaborately dressed in white ceremonial b lankets usually par t ic ip at e Upon their entrance they assume a kneel ing posture and at a given signal proceed to grind meal upon mealing stones placed b efore the fire singing and accompanied b y the clapping o f hands “ I n some years marionettes representing Corn Maids are su b stituted for the two masked girls D r Fe w ke s explains “ in the act o f grindin g corn and these t wo ,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

’

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

MAR IONETTES

170

the land and which o b liged the Hopi to migrate into his present home farther North The snake e ffigies e l ds sym b olize floods knocking over the c o rn fi pos sible winds which the Serpent brings The fi gu re in e s o f the Corn Maids represent the m y t hical m aidens cent whose b e n e fi gift o f corn and other seeds in ancient times is a constant theme in Hopi legends The e ffi gie s which D r F e w ke s saw used were not very ancient b ut in olden times simil ar e ffi gie s existed and were kept in stone enclosures outside the pueblos The house o f the An c ie n t P l u m ed S n a ke of Ha n o is in a small cave in the side of a mesa near the ruins o f Tu rkin o bi where several b roken serpent heads and e ffigy ribs (or wooden hoops ) can now be seen al though the entrance is walled u p and rarely u sed I l la w p p et shflws a m m o nl y s ssa j erday H u me United States are o f foreign extraction o r at least Fo r m an y y e ars there insp ired b y foreign models have b een puppet p l ays throughout the Visiting exhi b itions like those o f Holden s mario nettes which Professor B rander Matthews praises so glowingly are naturally rare But o n e hears of many puppets in days past that have left their im pression upon the childhood memories o f o u r elders travelling as far South as Savannah or w andering through the New England states Ou r vaudevilles and sideshows and galleries often have exhibits of mechanical dolls such as the amazing feats of Man tel l s Ma rio n e tte Hipp o dr o m e F a iry l a n d Tr a n sfo rm a “ Big scenic novelty seventeen tio n which advertises .

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

-

m

m

.

m

.

h

‘

.

-

"

,

,

’

‘

.

,

.

,

’

-

,

MA RIONETTE S

17 1

gorgeous drop curtains forty fi ve elegant talking act ing figures in a comical pantomime o r Mada m 7ewel s Ma n ikin s in Keith s Circu it Madam Jewel being an aunt o f Holden they say and guarding zealously with canvas screens the secret o f her de vices even as Holden himself is said to have done I nteresting t o o is the story o f the retired mario n e t t is t Harry D eaves who writes : “ I have o n hand fort y to fifty marionette figures all in fine shape and dressed I have b een in the manikin b usiness forty fi ve years played all the large cities from coast to coas t over and over always with b ig success ; twenty eight w eeks in Chicago without a b reak with Uncle Tom s Cabin a b ig hit The reason I am selling my I am over sixty years o f age and I don t outfit is think I will work it again How o n e wishes o n e might have seen that Un cl e To m s Ca bin in Chicago ! I n New York at present there is Remo Bu ffano reviving interest in the puppets b y giving perform a n c e s now and then in a semi professional way with large simple dolls resem b ling somewhat the Sicilian burattini His are plays o f adventure and fairy lore in most o f o u r larger cities from time to M -

,

,

’

’

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

-

.

,

,

,

’

,

.

’

-

,

.

’

,

-

,

.

.

that at o n e time in Chicago there were Turkish shadow plays in the Greek Colony ; Punch an d Judy make their appearance at inte rvals and I talia n o r ive Si men fre n ent dramatic versions S1 1 ,

M A R I ONETT E S

172 ‘

111 Cl e ve l an d

years ago a p aft y o f inqu is it ive folk went o ii e night to the I talian neighborhood in sea rch o f Such a performance We fou n d a n d entered a dark litt le hall where the rows o f seats were crow ded closely together and packed with a spellbound au Sq ueezing die n c e o f Italian workingmen and boys in to o u r places with as little commotion as possible we settled down t o succumb to the spell of the crude foreign fantoccini large and completely armed who were viole ntl y whacking and slashing e ach oth er b efore a rather tattered drop curtain I nterpret ed into incorrect English b y a small boy glued to my side b roken b its o f the resounding tale o f Orl a n do But fo r these F u r io s o were hissed into my ear slangy ej aculations o n e might well have b een in the heart o f Pale rmo A similar performance is de scribed b y Mr A rthur Gleason I t was a show in New York the master o f which was Salvatore Cascio and he was assi st ed b y Maria Grasso daughter o f the Sicilian actor Giovanni G ras s o o f Catania “ Fo r t wo hours every evening for fifty evenings the legends unrolled themselves princes o f the blood and ugly un b elievers perpetually warring There was explains Mr Gleason some splendid fighting “ Christians and Saracens generally proceeded to quarrel at close range with short stabbing motions at the opponent s face and lungs After three minutes they swing back and then c l as h l l sword shivers o n s h ie l d l l Three times they clash h o rridly three time s retire to the wings at la st the Christian beats down ‘

’

’

t wo

«

;

'

“

.

-

.

,

,

!

.

,

.

.

'

.

.

,

,

,

’

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

,

’

.

'

'

,

’

-

,

“

M A R I ONETTES

17

3

his fo e ; the pianist meanwhile is playing V iolent ragtime during the fight five hidden manipulators are stamping o n the platform above the cluttered dead When o n e c o n are heaped high o n the stage s iders that s uch puppets are generally a b out three feet high and w eigh o n e hundred pounds armor and all and are operated b y o n e o r t wo thick iron rods firmly attached to the head and hands what wonder that the floo ring o f the stage is badly damaged by the terrific battles waged upon it and has to be renewed e ve ry t wo w eeks ! Far removed from these unsophisticated perform p u p pe t s o ft h e Chicago t h e present tense opt im ist i cally that the Little Theatre in Chi cago has been closed ow ing to unfavorable conditions caused b y the war B ut although “ P uck is at present cosily asleep in his b o x ” as Mrs Maurice Browne has w ritten we all hope that the puppets so au s p i c io u s l y su ccessful for three years w ill resume their delightful activities somehow o r other soon A t first the originators o f the Ch ica o mari o nettes seeking models Finally in Solln near Munich they dis c o ver ed Marie Janssen and her sister whose deli cate and fantastic puppet plays most nearly ap They brought back to p ro ac h e d their o wn ideals Chicago a queer little model purchased in Munich from the man who had made P apa Schmidt s Pup pen But as o n e o f th e group has written the ,

,

.

,

,

,

_

‘

.

.

,

,

,

"

'‘

.

,

“

,

.

’

.

,

,

MARIONETTE S

174

.

little German pu ppet seemed grace less under t he s e Skies An d s o Ellen Van Vo l ke n b u rg ( Mrs Maurice Browne ) and Mrs Seym our Edgerton proceeded to their o wn marionettes Miss Katherine c onstruct Wheel e r a young English sculptor modelled the faces each a clear cut mask to fit the characte r but left purposely rough in finish Mi ss Wh eeler felt that the broken surfaces carried the facia l express ion farth er The p uppets were fourteen inches high carved in wood Th e intricate m e c h an is m de vise d b y Harriet Edgerton rendered the figures extremely plia b le Her me rmaids with their serpentine joint Miss Lillian in g displayed an uncanny sinuousness Owen was Mistress o f the Needle devising the filmy a n d Mrs B rowne with fine technique and c ostumes keen dramatic sense took upon herself the task o f training and inspiri ng the puppeteers as well as creat ing the poetic ensemble he Ch icago puppets are neither grotesque nor l itt l e i h the puppet of traditi on Theirs is an 6 16 1113 2 2 o f; ex nd with dainty beings moving q u 1S I t e magi c al fairy la about in it who c an exp re s s bea uty tragedy and te nd e rness Their repert oire consists for the most part o f fantas ies wr itten or adapted by mem be rs of the group The first was a delicious fairy adventure a play fo r children The D el u ded D r ago n founded upon an old Chinese legend wherein a lovely P rince seems to follow a Wooden Spoon do wn t h e River certain that he will chance upon Adventure which ’

,

.

.

.

~

.

,

,

-

,

,

‘

.

.

,

‘

'

.

,

.

.

,

,

’

.

,

‘

.

“

.. -

.“

-

,

m

,

,

.

.

.

,

‘

,

,

,

!

.

,

MAR I ONETTES

17 5

he does The play was decidedly successful despite a most unfortunate accident at the first performance caused by the impetuosity o f the somewhat hurried puppeteers To b e more explicit “ the fierce b ut fragile drago n parted in the middle his five heads ” “ The S w inging free o f his timorousl y lashing tail ” same year continues Miss Hettie Louise Mick herself puppeteer and composer o f marionette plays Reginald Arke ll s charming fantasy Co l u m bin e was produced with more patience and proved a wholly delightful and almost finished thing The next year two fairy tales were presented 7a ck a n d the B e a n s ta l k and The Littl e Me r m a id both drama Great technical advances t iz e d by the puppeteers had been made in the latter play and a delicate fan fect attained approaching the ideals of the t a s t ic e f founders The last and most ambitious performance o fthis season was Shakespeare s A Mids u m m e r Night s D rea m given not only fo r children but O penly for the grown ups Of this production Miss Mick has written : “ Puck who had b een kn own formerly as the rather sti ff little fairy who introduced and closed each play in rhyme now b ecame his romping pliant self tum b ling through the air dou b ling up in chort ling glee upon his toadstool and pushing his annoying little person into every disconcerted mortal s w ay Titania emerged a glowing queen o f filmy draperies attended b y flitting elves and Oberon resumed his crafty flashing earth character his attendants being two inflated and wholly impudent bugs The Me ,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

’

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

’

’

,

-

.

,

,

,

,

,

’

.

,

,

,

,

-

,

.

17

MA RIONETTE S

6

h an ic al s ,

while clumsy fulfilled their parts well and brought the outworn humor of Shakespeare into hilarious reality the scene b etween Pyramus and Thisbe never failing to bring roars of appreciation from the audience Only the Greeks were a dank and dismal failure Hurriedly constructed to meet the rapidly approaching production date they were awk ward long—headed stiff jointed creatures highly u m like their graceful originals But the lighting and settings and the prevailing atmosphere o f exquisite unreality were such that the audience came night after night for five weeks and at the end of that time w hen the theatre closed for the season demanded more Mrs Browne in an informal letter about her pup pets has written concerning this performance : “ I don t think I ever have seen such delicate beaut y as was achieved at the end of the Midsummer : I say it in all simplicity b ecause I have a curious Irish feeling that the little dolls took matters into their o wn hands and f o r once allowed us a glimpse into their o wn secret world The audience whether of adults or o f Children never failed to respond with a sudden hush and the poor tired girls wh o had been working in great heat over the colored lights for t wo hours never failed to get their reward ” Mrs B rowne then proceeded to give an idea of the patient toil behind the scenes “ We rehearsed six hours a day fo r about seven weeks t o prepare the pla y Six girls worked the puppets ; there were about thirt y o f them c

,

,

.

.

,

-

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

’

,

\

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

MA RIONETT ES

1 78

and then Al ice in Wo n de rl a n d made into a play by Mrs Browne While this play never wove so strong a poetic spell as A Mids u m m er Night s D re a m it marked great strides in skill o n the part o f the m anip u lators This same year the little puppets went on a tour not onl y into the su b urbs of Chicago but under the auspices Of the D rama League as far as St Louis Let us hope that at some not t o o distant date Puck moving sprite among this b rave and poetic band of marionettes will gaily revive and travel farther with his troupe so that we all may w itness and enjoy his fairy charms l The Cleveland Playhouse has had its puppet stage from the very b eginning o f the organization Mr Ra ym ond O Ne il the director has always taken a great interest in the puppets He b el ieves with Mr Gordon Craig that they might well serve as models in style simplicity and impersonality for living actors but he also avers that they are capable ma as effectivel y o f presenting certain types o f dr a if n o t more satisfactorily than the best o f actors and certainly b etter than any second rate performers When the Cleveland Playhouse was still a very small informal group it was decided to produce a serious marionette play The director selected for this pur ‘

,

.

.

’

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

.

’

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

-

.

,

.

Mrs

B

b

g

e e n d is c o u ra e d In h as n o t I 18 s h e in s t ru c t e d h e r c ass in t h e d ram at ic d e p ar t m e n t o f t h e L n ive rs it y o f Ut a in t h e p rin c ip e s an d m e t o d s o f m ario n e t t e Th e n e t p ay, d e ve o p in p o ss i e p u p p e t e e r s fo r t h e fu t u re s p ri n n d h e r as s ist in Mr ar in d ire c t in an d s t a in we fi h is it t e p u pp e t d rama, The Ros e a nd the Rin g 1

f

l

g

l l

.

l

ro wn e ,

g

h

in

any

l

bl

c as e ,

l

g

.

h

S g

g

.

.

.

x g g

MA RIONETTES

180

the proper gesture was obtained The puppets are somewhat like rag dolls of a soft material stu ffed with cotton o r scraps weighted and carefully balanced with lead Five and at most seven strings are used and the control is very primitive This studied simplicity in structure and in costume has given the C leveland puppets a na ive style —their limitations both defining and emphasizing the significance of each little figure Miss Treat was also the master manipulator of the puppets and in her hands the sti ff little Ygrain e took on heroic and tragic proportions For many months a small group of faithful e n t h u s ias t s struggled to attain t h e standard set for them by director and artist The play was finally given before an audience o f Playhouse members Mr O Ne il produced the strangely b eautiful lighting with the crudest facilities imaginable The parts were r ead by members o f the gro up who had b een working along patiently with the manipulators until words settings and action had grown perfectly harmonious Those who were privileged to witness this first pro duction were deeply thrilled b y the poetic b eauty of it and still mention it as an unusual experience Encouraged by this initial success the group de t e rm in e d t o continue with marionettes But the P layhouse itself was going through a winter o f vic is s i tudes and the puppeteers were compelled to endure and su ffer man y delay s and disappointments Re hearsing in a rear room o f an empty house loaned for t h e season ( and often fabulously cold ! ) with readers .

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

’

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

MA RIONETT E S

18 1

and operators dropping o u t o n e b y o n e from sheer discouragement o r because o f war work trying o u t several plays which fo r one reason o r another proved impossible still a nucleus o f the Ol d group with the addition o f a few n e w workers held o n held o u t through this second season under the ever optimistic leadership o f Grace Treat After moving into other temporary quarters to be exact into the high and dingy little ball room o f an o l d residence turned b oarding house the group produce d a very successful repetition of Tin tagil es 1 Meanwhile the Playhouse had purchase d a little church which it remodeled decorated and equipped as a permanent theatre D uring this time and under most trying circumstances b rought about b y the war the director contrived to present several productions for the first Winter in the new playhouse among them two marionette performances Most of the puppeteers and readers for both o f these plays were n e w at the work and had to be trained from the very beginning The stage t o o had been altered to admit improved lighting arrangements and o f a cyclorama quite incidentally a stronger and safer bridge Never t h e l e s s certain methods and principles o f m an ip u l a t ing were evolved which somewhat raised the dexterity o f the group as a whole At t h e s am e t im e a l e ss s u c c e s s ful an d q u it e u n fi n is h e d d r ss b ut t h i p l y n re h rs l o f an o t h r d ram a w as p rf rm d ; wh i h t h e m an ip u l t o rs h d l b o re d f r m n y m n t h s was b n do n d b f ic u l t y in m an ip u l t in g us o f t o o g r at d if an d ,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

-

-

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

1

e

ea c

b

e

e

e

a

a

a

eca

e c au se o

e

fo t h e r

co m p

li

o

o

a

e

i

c at o n s

e

wh ic h

s

a

ll

h a be

s

o

a

a

a

l

n am e e s s

.

o

a

MARIONETTE S

82

1

of th e plays we produced was S hadowy Wa ters by Yeats a dreamy far away o ld Irish drama which lent itself beautifully to o u r type o f poetic puppets Mr John Black de signed the colorful costumes and the scene upon the deck o f a vessel The pleasure o f making and dressing the impressionistic dolls was delegated to me b ut all willing members o f the group were allowed to share in this privilege There were five longsu ffering readers and four patient Operators b esides the director o f the group who also m an ip u lated w ith extra assistance at the very end to carry the marionettes b ack and forth b ehind the scene Mr O Ne il also generously helped in staging the production Many and varied were the rehearsal evenings we spent together But wh en at last the curtain slowly fell upon the Queen in her turquoise gown with “ hair the color o f b urning ” and her dark melancholy lover b eside her deserted b y the sailors and drifting away over shadowy blue waters to the strains o f the magic harp we al l felt that we had creat ed something o f b eauty despite o u r inexperience and obvious shortcomings The othe r puppet play was somewhat in the nature O f a depart ure at the P layhouse A little narrative o f the life of Chopin written by Mr Albert Gehring was re ad t o the accompaniment o f piano selections from Chopin s music while daint y little figures o f the period gently moving enacted the scenes in the story as it proceeded This method has had many and ancient precedents in the am b u l e n t puppet shows of One

-

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

’

.

“

.

.

,

,

,

“

,

,

.

.

,

.

‘

’

,

,

.

,

MA RION ETTES

183

the Middle Ages The success o f the experiment has suggested to some puppeteers in the group the idea Mr Carl B ro e m e l o ffurther attempts in this manner w as the artist wh o designed the elegantly clad and exquisite littl e dolls as well as the setting for the play The latter was a remarkable example o f a miniature interior Which despite its diminutive furnishings had nothing petty about it but gave o n e the unified powerful effect o f a dignified painting poetically and simply conceived Thus the Cleveland puppets have struggle d along through hard days o f war and worries very m uch alive although perhaps less active than they may hope some day to be P lans have b een made to start rehearsing a play longer and more important than the recent endeavors (possibly Hauptmann s Ha n n el e ) The problem o f a permanent marionette theatre depending upon vol unteer workers is unbelievably di fficult but we feel that with time the solution can be found not only for o u r group b ut for other com m u n it ie s as well who may venture upon this fas c in at in g minor branch o f dramatic endeavor l To Ne w York accrues the credit o f having to day in pro e S S I On al marionettes a theatre o n B ro a dw Created b y t he I nvent ive genius o f ay .

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

’

,

.

,

.

-

i

fl

m

v;

M

r

Mr

s w

h

,

l gl l

b g

A fre d K re y m o r in fo rm s m e t h at Lim a B ea ns , o n e o f h is am u s in ay e d y p u p p e t s in Lo s it t e p o e m m im e s , w as An e e s , u n d e r t h e d ire c t io n o f Miss ivian A ike n Mr Kre y m or h as w rit t e n t at h e c o n s id e rs t h e o n y p o s s i e app ro ac to a yn t e t ic s t a e is d e rive d fro m t he m ario n e t t e e rfo rm an c e Oft he p u ppe t e e rs in Lo s An e e s , o n e wo u d ike t o e ar m o re 1

.

gl b g S h

l

-

g

h

gl

b

l l l

.

bl

h

.

h

.

.

MA RIONETTES

81 1

1

Mr Tony Sarg and sustain interest o f Mr Winthrop p l is h e d and amazing dolls .

the s yfn p at h e t ic

,

ac c o m

.

reat ent us 1a ey m ove d i11t 9 4 h e T before an audience a nd little folk they performed o f appreciative b ig three tales o f fable and fantasia o r as the headlines after the manner o f the o f a new spaper described it “ o l d advertisements : Master marionettes o f new Re fi n e m e nt s Strangely Human S emblance and Various Illusion Tale and Whimsey ” The sto ry o f these marionettes b egan over five years ago in London where Mr Sarg had his studio in The Ol d Cu r ios ity S hop made famous b y D ickens There he worked at his illustrating and played with his puppets The performances he gave for the amusement o f himself and his friends encouraged him in b ecoming more and more absorbed in the miniature S tage A fter t h e war had broken o ut Mr Sarg Came to New York and b rought his marionettes along Here he continued his professional activities illustrating diligently and most successfully with inter ludes of puppet play When finally Mr A mes b e came interested in presenting these puppets to the public it was found necessary to enlarge and elaborate upon the original pattern and after many months of experimenting patient la b or and happy inspiration Mr Sarg perfected the ingeni ous three foot mario nettes used in these first public productions a te

ro u s 1n

. _

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

-

.

MA RIONETTES

18 5

Each o f his thirty six o r more little figures was designed with an eye to its special uses ; some require as many as twenty four strings for the manipulating One of the little figures is a masterpiece o f flexibility Of her it has b een written : “ This doll is an Oriental dancer Her contortions and posturings are in per fe c t imitation o f the living Nautch girl and it is safe to say that nothing ever seen o n the puppet stage o f America at least can surpass the ease and grace w ith which her little b ody sways b ackward in an inverted crescent the ethereal lightness of her circling a bo ut the stage and the a b andon o f her attitudes in the dance ” Another critic comments with an almost audible chuckle : a nine days marvel and most improper She pains and shocks all right thinking people b y her shameless display o f those allurements against which all the prophets have warned the sons ” o f men I myself was even more impressed by Mr Sarg s puppet j uggler He is an adorable little expert toss ing and catching his many golden balls with such tense ne r vous concern j erking his head left and right to watch first this hand then that then a ball high in air and havin g accomplished his trick he stands with such j ustifiable pride and swelling o f chest to receive the well earned plaudits o f the au die n c e ! I t was a quite irresistible bit o f mimic ry There is indeed a nice humor and an enjoyable but n o t overemphasized flavor o f the grotesque in these marionettes Heads hands and feet are a little -

-

.

.

‘

.

'

-

,

.

’

.

.

’

.

-

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

-

.

,

,

.

,

M A RIONE TT ES

18 6

exaggerated in proportion to the rest o f the b ody ; added to this the ease with which they accomplish the humanly impossible and the di ffi culty with which they perform some very trivial and ordinary human acts all bring about a curious absurdity which is highly amusing Of the three plays presented the opening season the first was The Three Wis hes an o l d fairy tale dramatized by Count F Po c c i for the marionette theatre o f Papa Schmidt in Munich and readapted b y Mr Ames “ The tiny stage ” writes Miss A nne Stoddard “ is set in a shadow box ; the curtain rises a glimpse o f red roofs in o n a sunny kn oll with the valley below ; bright butterflies flutter a b ove the grass ; a saucy Molly cotton tail bobs across the hillside ” Another witness o f the performance con The supernatural is a ready aid to the mario t inu e s : nette drama Hence one is not surprised to find in the first play o f Mr Sarg s entertainment a fairy b eing released from an imprisoni ng tree b y an o l d woodcutter and offering her liberator the familiar three wishes The tale bears o n e o f the morals fa miliar in German folklore The woodcutter having received his wish ring is awed b y the responsibility which rests upon him and rushes to consult with the wife of his bosom She is equally perturb ed but guards the ring for him while he departs to hold con ference with the schoolmaster but how perverse is human nature ! The w ife entertaining a neighbor during his absence casually expresses the wish for ,

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

-

.

.

’

.

.

,

.

-

,

,

.

,

,

,

M A R I ONETTES

88

1

possi b ly get them together ; bu t you s e e I did Yes indeed and more besides in t h e way Ofadve n t IIre myste ry and humor very cleverly devised I n the energetic simple language b est suite d to the naive audience o f puppet actors No r did the duties o f Mrs Will iamson end with her literary labors Many a n d inspired were her hum b ler b ut equally arduous a n d indispensa b le achievements for these puppets A s im il ar versatility was d isplayed by the young women who operated t h e pupp ets A side from the la b oriously acquired precision essential in mastering the intricate cont rols devised for the dolls each pup peteer has interested herself in other phases o f th e ancient cra ft Some of them made the elaborate and colorful costumes for the dolls Some h elped manu fa c t u re t h e properties tiny b ut com plet e an d delight ful My very first glimpse o f the marvelous puppets indeed was when led by Mr s Williamson I came to i Washing a very di rty b rownstone house not far fro ri and entering a gloo my hallway pene t o n Square t rat e d through into the dark rear room where the puppeteers were at work all in overalls all very i busy all ve ry amiable Someone was s awing wo o d someone was hammering someone was up o n the b ridge p racticing the donkey and there w as a t iny live monkey perched o n the lum b er which littered o f course ! the fl oor Pup pets and monkey following the example of Brioche and his F ago t in and perfect ly true to the b est tr ad it ions ! It is Mr Sarg who has trained and inspired all o f ’

'

'

,

,

.

‘

,

,

,

,

.

,

‘

.

.

.

.

.

‘

u

.

.

,

:

,

.

.

’

‘

~

.

'

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

'

f

.

,

,

‘

,

’

'

,

.

'

.

‘

“

.

I

MA RIONETTE S

go

manner and a more piquant facial eccentricity Early in Spring The Ros e a n d The Rin g went o n a Western tour visiting D etroit An n A rb or and Cleveland Mr Sarg had a group o f six manipulators including Miss Lillian Owen mistress o f the wardrob e and a sort o f right hand man and Mr Searle master stage mechanic and constructor o f clever scenery and prop another right hand man in fact and Miss e rt ie s Mick who wrote the play A musician also came along and produced the tinkly tinny toy music so properly attuned to the puppet play The produc tion abounded in pretty surprises horrible suspenses fairy magic transformations shadow play dancing dolls piano playing puppets knights in armor ani mals everything desirable ! Throughout there was the flow o f Thackeray s inimitable good natured satire skillfully preserved b y Miss Mick A fter e n t h u s ias t ic receptions wherever he visited with them Mr Sarg returned to New York with his marionettes and installed them in the Punch an d Judy theatre where they continued to enjoy their usual popularity Mr Sarg has been asked why he does not attempt poetic drama with his marionettes He is faced o f course with the prob lem which confronts all the puppet showmen here in America o f finding material suita b le for a given type of doll and also acceptable to local audiences hitherto unacquainted with the characteristics and traditions o f the b urattini Con cerning a possi b le performance of one o f Maeterlinck s dramas b y the marionettes Mr Sarg has said : I .

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

-

.

,

,

-

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

’

-

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

’

,

.

M A R I ONETTES

19 1

am turning that over in my mind The practicable di fficulty is the exaggerated walk of the dolls which al w ay s b ring s lau ghter from the audience But I dare say I can manage that all right when I have a chance to work over it a b it ” Let us hope that this minor di ffi culty will not prove insurmountable for as Mr H K Mo de rwe l l in the B o s to n Tr a n s c rip t has so aptly written : “ I f he will draw further from the ancient and noble sources o f puppet literature if he will bid his dolls enact some o f those dramas which have made the art o f the marionette an inspired art he will merit the plaudits o f all puppet starved America ” .

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

-

.

d Tappet S ho ws

Toy Thea tr es

an

for Chil dr en

WH ETH E R

their infinite variety the puppets please o r fail t o satisfy us there is o n e audience in variably eager fo r the m P uppet shows for children toy theatres managed by children what could be more fitting ? Specially adapted professional per fo rm an c e s such as the Guignol and C as p e rl e plays have ever catered to youthful tastes with astonishing and perennial success The home made booths for simple dolls worked o n the fingers are so quickly contrived Little stages fo r marionettes are easy to construct o ut o f ordinary kitchen tables Mr Gordon Craig gives explicit directions as well as an excellent drawing in his letter The Ga m e of Ma r io n e ttes which is published in The Mas k volume five Shadow plays can be arranged by merel y stretching a sheet across a door with a cardboard frame and cardboard figures pressed behind it and a light to illuminate the silhouettes Ho w much fun to have Red Riding Hood thus portrayed for a birthda y party o r the shadow o f Santa Claus with his reindeer sailing over the shadow gables and down the shadow o f the chimney o n C hristmas eve ! o ut

,

of

,

,

.

,

,

-

.

.

.

.

\

,

,

,

.

,

19 2

.

M A RIONETTES

a

19

be su ffered to undo those bundles and to b reathlessl y devour those pages of gesticulating villains epileptic combats bosky forests palaces and warships frown ing fortresses and prison vaults — it was a giddy ,

,

,

j oy

,

.

A nd

when at length the deed was done the play selected and the impatient shopman had brushed the rest into the gray portfolio and the boy was forth a little late fo r dinner the lamps springing a gain into light in the b lue winter s even and The Mill e r o ve r o r some kindred drama clutched against o r The R his side o n what gay feet he ran and how he laughed aloud in exultation ! ” A nd Stevenson confesses : “ I have at di fferent times possessed Al a ddin The Red Ro ver The B l in d B oy The Ol d Oa k Ches t The Wo o d D a em o n 7a c k S hep a rd The Mil l e r a n d His Me n D e r F re is c hu etz The S m u ggl er The F o res t of B o n dy Ro bin Ho o d The Wa term a n Ric ha rd I My P o l l a n d m y P a rtn er i fo e The I n c hcap e B el l ( im perfect ) and n ge re d 7a c k t he Te r r o r of 7 a m a ica ; and Three fi I have assisted others in the illumination o f the Ma id In this roll of the I n n and The B a ttl e of Wa te r l o o call o f stirring names y o u read the evidences o f a happy childhood In Germany also t o y theaters a b ound better equipped possibly and more carefully constructed ,

,

,

,

’

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

-

.

1

.

,

,

,

,

,

P ll k 73 H x il Pl y d l p bl i h J wh i h d wi h h h h b i f f y w y hi y igh y b f 1

u

Mr

t

e

rt

o

.

u ve n

s

c

t

B

.

are

e

e

t

or

e ars

o

,

a

t

use

us ne ss

-

oc

an

s

t

o rt

e

-

e o re

t

a so

e at re

t

o

me

.

St

ton

.

e a rs

,

ly f l igh w b I h

s up p .

L o n d o n w rit e s :

,

oot

ave

an d

no

my

I

l id yi g b w

t s an d t in s een

c arr

fat h e r ih l a -

-

st

ll

i

es

n

on

a

o ut

MA RIONETTES

19 5

but lacking somewhat the quaint and fiery delight fulness o f the English j uvenile drama There could be no more spontaneous testimonial of the love o fchildren for the puppets than the throngs wh o crow ded into Papa Schmidt s Kasperle theatre to witness his familiar jolly little shows o f fairy tale and folklore In striving to meet the tastes and needs o f children Schmidt earned the reward o f becoming the best beloved man in the city I t is interesting to note that when once he b ecame dis c o u r age d and wished to retire the city magistrates urged by the s up e rin te n den t of the s c ho o l s unanimously voted to build him a permanent little theatre And Goethe that German genius o f most universal appeal records that he devoted many hours o f his childhood to puppet play Kept at home during t he C dreary days o f the Seven Years War when Frankfurt was occupied by the French he diverted n o t only himself but his family with the little marionette theatre which he had received as a Christmas gift It is thus that he describes his introduction to the puppets who were to delight his boyhood to amuse his youth and to inspire him eventually with the suggestion fo r his great Faust drama “ I can still see the moment — how wonderful it seemed — when after the usual Christmas presents we were told to sit down before a door which led from o n e room into another I t opened but not merely for the usual passing in and o u t ; the entrance was fille d with an unexpected festiveness A portal .

’

-

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

-

.

’

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

MA RIONETTES

196

reared itself into t h e heights which was covered by a mystic curta in At first we marvelled from a distance and as o u r curios 1ty became greater to see what glitter ing and rustling things might be concealed behind the half transparent drapery a little chair was assigned t o each o f us and we were told to wait in patience “ So then we all sat down and were quiet A whistle gave signal the cu rtain rose and disclosed a scene in t h e Te m p l e painted b right red The High Priest Samuel appeared with Jonathan and their curious dialogue seemed most admirable to me Shortly thereafter Saul came upon the s cene in great distress over the insolence o f the heavy weight warrior who had challenged him and his followers to combat How relieved I was when the diminutive son o f Jesse sprang forth with shepherd s crook wallet and sling and spoke thus : A lmighty King and great Lord ! Let none despair because o f this I f your Maj esty will p ermit me I will go forth and enter into combat wi t h the mighty gia nt The first act was ended and the audience extremely desirous to learn what would happen next ” etc etc The puppets may indeed boast o f having delighted child geniuses o f every count ry and o f having inspired their later years We are told that at the age o f eleven Stanislaw Wy s p ian s ki the great poet painter and dramatist of Poland built himself a large stage o r Cr ib imitating architecturally the Castle of Wa w el On this stage he produced various dramas based upon the history of that royal burg with the help o f figures .

-

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

-

.

.

’

,

‘

.

,

,

’

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

MA RIONETT ES

197

P erhaps which he himself invented his b iog already there was germinating in r ap h e r suggests his boyish soul the idea o f the Theatre Wawel which in his manly productiveness b rought forth manifold fruits (L de S c hil de n fe ld Schiller ) In I taly t o o we find the great dramatist Goldoni devoted to puppet play as a child and writing dramas for the b urattini which he is said to have adapted later with great su ccess fo r the larger stage Most famous perhaps of all popular puppets for children to day are the Guignols in Paris A typical performance might be found in the garden o f the Luxem b ourg where a little stage has been erected One has the privilege o f standing outside the roped f space with passing pastry cooks milliners girls of and street urchins o r o n e may pay to enter an d sit down o n a chair among the children and nurses Coachmen rein up and watch from their high perches at the curb Polichinelle first comes upon the stage w ith his piping voice o r the D irector a doll in evening dress with waxed mustachios welcomes the audience Then Guignol and the terrifying family scenes ! Mr W Caine has given a ve ry illuminating analysis o fthe guignols But who are all these people ? G uig nol Guillaume the Judge the Patron the Nurse ? Yo u might know that Guignol is Guillaume s father while Guillaume is the s o n o f Guignol The Gen darme o n the other hand is the Gendarme while the Judge similarl y is the Judge The Patron is none other than the Patron and who should the Nurse be .

,

,

-

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

-

.

,

.

’

,

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

’

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

MARIONETT ES

198

in the name o f common sense but the Nurse ? The The Judge ex G endarme is always killed always pends his wrath impotently always The Patron is invariably worsted the Nurse has n o sort o f luck Guignol represents the proletariat He wears a dark green j acket and a b lack hat His face is large and foolish for he is what is kn own as a benet a simpleton He tries to give his o wn baby its dinner by r s t into a stewing pan thrusting it head fi Guillaume wears a red hat and pink blouse Guillaume is in I t is certain when once Guillaume o n e word a rascal gets hold of a stick o r musket or a stewing pan ( any thing will do ) that somebody will bite the dust ” The enthusiasm of the j uvenile audience grows most intense over the exploits o f this favorite and it is not unusual when G uillaume is sore put to it and the Gendarme is about to pounce upon him to hear a shrill little voice from the audience cry out Take care Guillaume the Gendarme is behind the door ! When for the first time the adventurous G uillaume ascended in an aeroplane s o great w as his success that the price o f seats in the Champs Elysees went from 10 centimes t o 2 5 l ! ” Guignol is often to be found during the season at bathing resorts and at the seashore Each o f the larger shows in Paris has a portable booth belonging to it wherein its little cast can be sent out to perform at private entertainments I t is not uncommon for the play to be sent t o the orphans and waifs in this manner as a special treat for fét e days ,

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

-

.

.

.

,

.

,

,

-

,

.

,

,

,

‘

,

,

’

,

.

.

.

MA RI ONETTE S

2 00

in their mother s arms and many o f the smallest fling themselves back in their seats with their legs in the air innocently disclosing their m ost secret And then t o see h o w in the passion o f ad l in ge r ie m irat io n they furiously push aside the importunate handkerchief which seeks their little noses o r deal a blow without preface to whoever hides from them the view o f the stage ! There are three hundred pairs o f hands that applaud with all their m ight and that among them all do n o t make as much noise as four men s hands ; o n e seems to see and to he ar the flutter held by so many threads o f hundreds o f rosy wings to the seats And the admiring and enthusiastic exclamations are a j o y to hear At t h e unexpected opening of certain scenes at the appearance o f certain lambs o r little donkeys o r pigs that seem alive there are o u t b ursts o f Oh ! and long murmurs o f wonder behind which comes almost always some solita ry exclama tion o f a little voice which resound s in the silence like a sigh in a church and Ah com e b ello ! that b reaks from the de pths o f th e soul that expresses fulness o f content a celestial beatitude When Mr Tony Sarg b rought The Ros e a nd The Rin g west it was a rare privilege for the children o f Cleveland to see this winsome puppet play and an equal pleasure fo r those elders who witnessed the performance with them What was behind the little curtain ? A few boy s and girls went tiptoe up to peek Then listen ! there is music and then o h ! the funny ’

,

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

’

,

.

’

.

,

,

’

‘

,

’

‘

.

,

’

,

,

.

,

’

.

.

.

,

,

Uppe r :

Fig

u re s t o

Lowe r : B ac

[ Co u rt e s y

NGL H

E

k

IS

be

H EATR E Jv

TOY T

c ut o ut

fo r t h e

u

en

il

e

D ram as

fo r Tim o u r the Ta r ta r o f B P o o c , 7 3 Ho t o n S t re e t , Lo n do n] sc e ne .

ll k

x

MA RIONETTES

20 2

as they sit in the tiny roped o ff square b efore a little chatelet in Paris o n the Champs El y s ée s or those that gather in Papa Schmidt s exquisite little theatre in Munich o r b efore the tiny booths at fairs and ex hib it io n s anywhere in Italy must have noticed the rapturous delight o f these small people The tiny stage its equipment accesso ries the diminutive gar ments and belongings o f the puppets satisfy the child ish love o f the miniature copies o f things in the grown up world Their animistic tendencies make it easy to endow the wooden figures with human qualities and b ring them into close rapport with their o wn world o f fancy The voice coming from some unknown region adds the mystery which children dearly love and before the magic o f fairy tales their eyes grow wide with wo n der The stiff movement o f the puppets their sudden collapses from dignity are irresistibly funny to the little people and the element o f bu ffoonery is dou b ly comical in its mechanical presentation ” Less specifically but with equal Conviction of their deep educational importance Gordon Craig proclaims : There is o n e way in which to assist the world to b e come young again I t is to allow the young mind to learn nearly all things from the marionette ” -

,

,

’

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

-

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

V

T T’l e a for Tol ichinell e

I AM making a plea fo r P olichinelle and I hope I shall be pardoned for summoning t o my assistance so me o f his more eloquent and illustrious admirers We have seen that the past has eminently honored him but there is also ample testimony that he can adapt him self t o o u r present time and taste nay more to the various tastes and tempers o f this modern day For there are divers theories and principles among critics but the puppets are so versatile they o f the puppets “ c an play many parts in many manners Chacun a son gout ! ” quoth Polichinelle with a flourish There are those who believe that the grotesque is an inherent indispensable trait o f the marionette ; that as Flogel claim s Kasperle quintessence o f grotesque comedy belongs inseparably to the mario nette stage and that eve rything else is meaningless insipid and merely experimental Similarly Pro fe ss o r Wundt asserts that the ministration to the sense o f the comic is the chief function o f the puppets and perhaps the greatest factor in their po pularity He mentions their mirth provoking superiority to the situ ation the element o f the unexpected heightened enormously by wooden creatures who imperturb a b ly .

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

-

,

,

20 3

MA RIONE TTES

20 1 1

proceed upon occasions to contradict the very law o f gravity These traits he feels are essential and dis t in gu is hing characteristics o f marionettes In comparing the merry Kasperle theatre o f Munich with the serious puppet theatre established by the young artists o f that city Wilhelm Michel emphasizes this point o fview Pure tragic effects cannot emanate from the marionette stage because in the first place there are no human beings acting upon it but rather ironies o f humanity mockeries o f men ; su ffering cannot be given upon it only travesties o f su ffering I f this constitutional irony o fthe puppet is not handled in an artistic spirit unbearable d issonances occur The working of the marionette stage is pure unmixe d gayety The dolls are not as our young poets imagine representatives and agents o f submission but rather delightful little liberators amiable amusing victors over the petty doubts which we all carry about with us in u nobserved corners o fo u r souls ” This opinion is undeniably suppor ted b y traditional usage Humor may vary from the bu ffoonery o f Hanswurst to the satirical subtleties o f D e Neuville s pupazzi but the spirit o f comedy has had a represe m What a t at ive o n the puppet stage in every land long list might be compiled starting with the hunch back Vidu s aka o f ancient India then o n through Semar o f Javanese comedy K aragh e u z o f Turkey Pahlawan o f Persia ( squeaking in the same feigned voice as the English Punch ) to s ay nothing o f Maccus the Roman Puppet and A rlecchino and Pulcinella ,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

.

’

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

MA RIONETTES

20 6

Ernst Ehlert himself an actor as well as lover ,

of

The object o f every work o f art the thing that makes it truly art is t ic is the attainment o fthe greatest possible emotional effect with the S implest possible means What makes a work o f art a real delight is that it does not fully express but merely suggests and excites the imagination o f the observer to help in the presentation o f the reality That is why a puppet play is not more amusi ng but more artistic than a real continues : “ Puppets moreover have 8 are cut o ut sharply to represent their particular characteristics and those character is t ic s are pronounced The manager of a puppet show has a free hand in the fashioning o f such a com pany as b est carries o ut his creative impulse But with real actors it is impossi b le t o make them other than they are to su b ordinate them entirely to the manager s will I have been an actor b oth in Germany and in Russia so I kn ow ” Again Mr A rthur Sym ons a fter witnessing the fantoccini o f the Co rt an z i theatre in Rome expresses the following b elief in the art marionette : “ Gesture In o n the stage is the equivalent o f rhythm in verse then we get personified gesture and o u r marionette the gesture like all forms o f emotion generali zed The appeal in what seems to y o u these childlike manoeuvers is to a finer b ecause to a more intimately poetic sense o f things than the merely rationalistic appeal o f o u r modern plays Fu rthermore he adds ,

'

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

’

,

.

.

,

,

.

.

,

-

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

M A R I ONETTE S concern ing the puppet : A s he is painted so he will smile as the wires li ft o r lower his hands so will his gestures be and he will dance when his legs are set in motion There is not indeed the appeal to the senses of the first row in the stalls at a b allet o f living dancers But why le ave the ball room ? I t is n o t nature o n e looks for o n the stage in this kind o f a spec tacle and o u r excitement in watching it should remain purely intellectual This is nothing less than a fantastic and direct return to the masks o fthe ancient G reeks that learned artifice b y which tragedy and comedy were assisted in speaking to the world in the universal voice b y this deli b erate gene ralizing o f emotions The marionettes o f M Signoret as we have seen from A natole France s enthusiastic account presented the classic drama o f all epochs to the satisfaction o f the most acutely sensitive critics o f Paris M Paul Margueritte brilliantly eulogizes them in the following discussion : They are indefatigable always ready And while the name and t o o familiar face o f a living actor imposes upon the pu b lic an obsession which renders illusion impossible o r very di ffi cult the puppets being o f wood o r cardboard possess a droll mysterious life Their truthful bearing surprises even disquiets us I n their essential gestures there is the complete expression o f human feelings We had it proved at the representations o fA ristophanes real actors would n o t have produced this ef fect I n them the fo re s h o rt Their masks I n the st y le o f e n ing aided the illusion ,

,

.

,

-

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

’

,

.

,

.

'

,

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

20

MARIONETT E S

8

ancient comedy their few and simple movements their statuesque poses gave a singular grace to the spectacle ” This leads us t o the well known name o f Gordon Craig and to his inspired emphatic utterances con cerning the actor and the marionette No o n e of late has done as much as he toward reviving the interest in puppets an d stimulating curiosity concern ing them His collection o f puppets and shadow figures forms a veritable museum o f marionettes from all parts o f the world His many articles in The Mas k and in a later publication called The Ma rio n ettes both pub l is h e d in Florence at the A rena Goldoni direct atten tion to the puppet ; — more it must be admitted as a model o r suggestion t o the actor than as a minor art form in itself Recognizing its many merits Mr Craig would send the modern actor to the school o f the burattini to learn virtues of silence o b edience ” “ He t o learn how to indicate instead o f imitate d eems the stage o f to day devoid in great part o f genuine dramatic value filled up with much meaning less realistic detail inartistic and irritating gestures and prominent players exhibiting their o wn peculiar personalities more o r less attractively in various rOle s He would agree with An atole France : “ The actors sp oil t he play fo r me I mean good actors — their talent is too great ; it covers everything There is nothing left but them Their personalit y e ffaces the ” work which they represent Indeed Gordon Craig boldly proclaims : “ The actor must go and in his ,

,

,

.

-

,

.

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

-

.

,

.

,

,

.

-

,

,

,

,

,

.

“

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

MA RI ONETTES

2 10

types o f plays more advantageously presented by puppets or shadows than by human b eings These little creatures o f wood o r cardboard have naturally that “ sense o f being beyond reality which accord ing to John B alance “ permeates all good art There is an a rticle in the Hyp erio n I 90 9 by Franz Blei critic and aesthete He states : “ I b elieve there will always be certain dramatic poetry whose b eauty can be more significantly and effectively reveale d b y shadows than by living actors The shadow play w ill supplement the theatre o f living actors o n o n e side as the marionette stage already does o n the other in Paul Brann s very brilliant productions fo r example With shadows the forcefulness o f the verse and the emotional element is very much heightened in effect ; with marionettes the significance o f the action is intensified to a far greater degree than is attaina b le by human beings a point to which H V Kleist has already drawn attention in praise o f marionettes With shadow plays as with puppet performances the readers should n o t b e professional actors for their very way o f speaking invariably mimics the mannerisms o f the man The limited movements o f the shadows however su ffer from this and also the gestures o f the marionettes which have a wider range but which do n o t in the least resem b le the customary stage gestures Talented dilettantes with good taste are more apt to strike the right note I fancy that the shadows and marionettes might please some people who had not visited the theatre for quite a while b e .

,

.

,

,

,

.

.

,

’

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

MA RION ETTES

2 11

cause they were unwilling to waste their time o n highly lifelike but utterly lifeless theatrical productions ” Professor Brander Matthews in his B o o k a bo u t the Thea tr e also insists upon the adaptability of the mario nettes fo r certain types of drama unsatisfactory when performed b y living actors He suggests that a passion play or any form o f drama in which D ivinity has per force to appear is relieved in the puppet S how o f any tincture o f irreverence all personages o f the play whether heavenly o r earthly appearing equally re mote from common humanity upon the miniature stage The religious plays o f Maurice B o u c h o r artistic and reverent productions in every detail beautifully illustrate this point The atmosphere M Jules Lemaitre describes as “ far away in time and —this o f the mystery play No el space Again Professor Matthews ma inta ins that when S al o m e was performed by Holden s marionettes and created the sensation o f the season all vulgarity and grossness which might have been offensive either in the play o r in the dance o f the seven veils w a s purged away by the fact that the performers w ere puppets So dextrous was the manipulation o f the unseen operator wh o controlled the wires and strings which gave life t o the seductive Salome as she circled around the stage in a most b ew itching fashion ; so precise and accurate was the imitation o f a human dancer that the receptive spectator could n o t but feel that here a t last a play o f dou b tful propriety has found its onl y fit stage and it s only prope n performance The .

,

,

.

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

'

,

,

.

’

,

.

,

.

MARI ONETTES

2 12

memory o f that exhi b ition is a perennial delight to all those who possess it A thing o f b eauty it was and it abides in remem b rance as a joy forever I t revealed the art o f the puppet show at its summit And the art itself was eternally justified b y that o n e perform ance o f the highest technical skill and the utmost delicacy o f taste ” There are other spheres also in which the puppets have an advantage over mere mortal actors Fairy stories legends o f miraculous adventure m e t am o r p h o s e s are tremendously heightened by the quality “ For pup o f strangeness inherent in the marionettes ” pet plays says Professor P is c h e l are fairy tales and the fairy tale is nourished b y strangeness ” Trans formations animal fa b les fairy flit t ings in scenes o f mysterious glamour are o b viously more easily pre sented b y fle s h l e ss dolls than b y heavy panting and perspiring actors tricked o u t in unnatural and u n earthly raiment Even horseplay humor o f the Punch and Judy variety is unobjectiona b le with puppets where the whacking and thwacking is done by and upon jolly grotesque little beings who are neither pained nor de b ased b y the procedure With some such idea William Hazl itt has written “ That popular entertainment Punch and the Pup pet show owes part o f its irresisti b le and universal attraction to nearly the same principle o f inspiring inanimate an d mechanical agents with sense and con s c io u s n e s s The d rollery an d wit of a piece o f wood .

.

.

.

.

,

,

.

,

-

,

-

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

-

,

.

MA RIONETTE S

2 1li

Pocahontas dashing madly forward to save the li fe o f Captain John Smith I t would be delicious to witness Geo rge Was hin gto n in shadows chopping down his father s little cherry tree : and as for Lin c o l n and S l avery it actually happened that in 18 67 Benedict Rivoli produced Un cl e To m s Ca bin with a company of puppets ; it has happened in o u r vaude ville houses often why n o t once in a while in o u r schools ? Small groups o f grown folks too in C ity o r village might easily b uild their o wn marionette stages and attempt t o produce dramas o f all times ; humorous satirical poetic or mystical each to his taste and independent o f the whim o f a Broadway manager o r the peculiarities o f a popular star I t is such a na ive and simple pastime and sometimes so delightful I should like to suggest it as an antidote for the overdose o f moving pictures from which an ove rwhelming number o f us are unconsciously su ffer ing atrophy o f the imagination o r a similar insidious malady 1 .

,

,

’

’

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

.

,

.

Mr

B

Sh

l

f En g an d : The o ld e e n d rive n o f f t h e ro ad av e p ro fe s s io n a m a rio n e t t e s o w m e n y t h e p ic t u re t e at re I am t o d t at o n t h e Co n t in e n t w e re fe re d e re , t e y m uc m o re t an ave s u f m ario n e t t e s flo u ris ro m t h e c o m p e t it io n o f t h e irre s is t i e p ic t u re s t h e s a m e w ay f I am An d I d o u t wh e t e r t e y wi re c o ve r fro m t h e at t ac k ” t at t e y d e s e rve t o a fr a id t e re is n o u s e p re t e n d in Ho w c o n so in t o t u rn t o Mr G o rd o n C rai , wh o h as pro “ u r at t in i a re m a i c a p h e s ie d o p t im is t ic a y in The Ma r io n e tte : e n a fr am e wo rk o f a w e re as C in e m a is o n y m e c an ic a fi l m m ac in e is o n e d ay fo u n d y c u rio s it y u n t e rs in t h e ru in s o f a c e ar an d m a rve e d o ve r t he u rat t in i wi st i be a ive ” an d k ic k in 1

.

G

l

b

ll

e rn a r

h

b

h

h

.

l g

h

g

.

d

h h

ll

aw

.

h

h h

h as w rit t e n

h b l h h h

h h

ll g h h .

l ll

o

h

bl

.

.

B

l Wh b h B .

-

,

h

g

.

g l

-

ll ll

l

,

MA RION E TTE S

2 15

One must b e quite unsophisticated to enjoy the marionettes o r quite sophisticated Plain people children and artists seem to take pleasure in them One must have something childlike o r artistic in one s nature perhaps merely a little imagination in an unspoiled vigorous condition Of course the sti ff little figures the peculiar conventions o f the puppet stage are strange to us in America There are those who do not l ike puppets and those who do not c a n I suppose No o n e m u s t like them : but none no t should scorn them To scorn them is somehow to show t o o great disregard and lack o f knowledge And we over here wh o have n o t as youngsters laughed aloud at the drolleries o f G uignol wh o have not learned o u r folk tales interspersed with the antics o f some local Kasperle who are not surprised by Punch and Judy at a familiar street corner n o w and then who have not been privileged t o witness the spec the exquisite t ac u l ar faeries o f Italian fantoccini shadows o f the Chat Noir the elaborate modern plays at the Munich art theatre — how can we really s ay wha t w e think o f the marionette ? I f we see more o f him first ; if we give o u r puppeteers (professional and a mateur) more t ime to master their craft perhaps wh o kn ows something nice may come o f it all There a re some great words I should like t o quote f o r little Polichinelle artificial o r strange as he may seem ” And therefore as a stranger give him Wel come .

,

,

,

.

,

,

’

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

-

,

,

,

,

,

-

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

B ehind the S cenes F O R TH E

FUN

OF

IT

why prate o fbenefit o r pleasure to past o r present audiences o f the marionette when the best reason for the pupazzi the true reason I do b elieve for their continuance and longevity is the fu n o f puppet play ing ? I confess it : nay I proclaim it the foundation e c t io n for my deep afi A nd who shall find a firmer basis for any love th an this — interest amusement stimulation ? Re ve rdn c e o r even understanding are far less vital l és s compelling motives Of course this applies t o puppets Everyt hing applicable to humanity fits the burattini for we are all so much the d ancing dolls o f destiny satiric o r serious crude or precious puppets all o f us On e should tru ly have a fellow feeling fo r Punch and Judy As to the fun however o f making puppets and o f tinkering with the mechanical contrivances the total absorption w ith such problems and the elation in overcomi ng absurd but seemingly insurmountable tech n ic a l di f ficulties ; the delight in carving and cutting in designing costumes and then in sewing glueing painting patching them into proper sem b lance o f the original design : the art required properl y to conceive a setting for dolls the ingenuity exerted to decorate B UT

,

,

-

,

.

’

,

,

,

’

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

6

21

,

.

MA RIONETTES

2 18

the most pronounced ge stures and postures of your people and let them speak verbatim the words that have b een spoken I t is simply funny a sort of unconscious undeniable criticism o f the manners o f men There will always b e a p o in t too a sort o f moral at the minimum No o n e can fail to see it either in the words o r the ges tures o r the situations The puppets will find it and b ring it o u t Produce the puppets and try it ! I frankly confess I shudder to imagine myself do n e What a cure for idiosyncrasies and affe c in p upp et ,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

t at io n s

!

A RE H E

A RS A L

TI NTA G I L E S

OF

I n all the lack luster o f realism we stood on the b ridge at midnight ” Four o f us stood o n the bridge and we were very weary I t was the bridge o f o u r marionette stage over which we had b een bending for hours From o ut in front somewhere the director spoke : “ No w once more the third act and rememb er they must lean aga in s t the door when it opens as i f they were trying desperately to hold it See that the strings do n o t catch Readers please watch the figures and give t hem plenty o f time Ready ? ” We were tensely so The b eautiful sad voice o f Ygrain e gave us the mood “ I have b een to look at the doors there Aglo val e (old and trem are three o f them “ I will go seat myself upon the step my u lo u s ) : sword upon m y knee -

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

.

MA RI ONETTES Agl o val e

1 19

lean back farther against the step ; don t perch o n the edge ” (This from the front ) Aggie ( as we familiarly called him ) thereupon pro c e e de d to jerk up and sit down deliberately a couple fen o f times then followed a t w itching collapsing sti f “ ing process Sorry it s the little hump in his shoulders and the step is so narrow ! wailed a tired D uring the stru ggle B e l an g e re unseen O perator flop ped inelegantly o n the floor her manipulator rest ing a wea ry wrist Clearing o f throats scraping o f chairs from the readers in the wi ngs Patient director : “ Well let it go for to night Yo u may have to remove the hump A re we ready ? ” We w ere The play proceeded On the miniature stage in dim high arched rooms bare and gloomy slender strange little creatures moved with stiff imposing gestures It is an ominous world the atmosphere vibrating with hidden terror tense emotions and lonely overtones Princess Ygrain e to the little “ Tin t agil e s : There y o u see Your b ig sisters are here they are close to you we will ” defend y o u and no evil can come near Oh the tenderness the dauntlessness the pathos high hearts encircled by creeping inevitable doom Then the o l d man mumbling at his o wn bewildered futility : “ My soul is heavy to day ” (A hand is raised an o ld hand trem b lingl y ) What is one to do Men needs must live and await the u n ,

’

.

.

,

,

,

’

,

.

.

,

.

,

.

-

,

.

.

.

.

-

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

.

,

-

,

,

.

.

,

MA RION E TTES

2 20

foresee n A nd after that they must still act as if they hoped a (The arm drops heavy silence ) “ There are sad evenings when o u r useless lives taste b itter in our mouths etc ” The scene proceeds on an d o n in ascending tensity readers sitting at the wings puppeteers operating the wires high up the director o ff at his desk in the dark and the marionettes animated into vital significance sym b ols o f supreme and sim dread love courage e d fervor p lifi “ They are shaking the d oor listen D o no t b reath e They are whispering “ They have the key Yes yes I was sure o fit Wait Old Agl o val e faces the slowly opening door his sword outstretched ; the others stand rigid with terror “ Come ! Come b oth They face the door they hold it Their watch fulness avails fo r the time b eing The door closes .

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

“

Tin t agil e s Agl o val e , waiting at the door :

now

I hear nothing

.

Tin t agil e s look ! Look ! wil d with joy He is saved ! Look at his eyes You can see the b lue He is going to speak The y They did n o t dare s aw we were watching ! Kiss us I say ! All all ! K iss us ! D own t o the d epths o f o u r soul ! A silence a long silence Then the boards Ygrain e ,

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

,

,

.

MAR I ONETTES

2 23

These patterns fo r the marionette b o dy were drawn b y the sculptor Mr Max Kalish especially for figures which were shown with little clothing o n I f the dolls are to be dressed it is b etter to make separate upper and lower arms and legs and t o join them flexibly fly as the action o f the particular puppet re o r sti f quires The material we have used is so ft white woven stu ff ( stockings from the ten cent store l) which can b e painted with tempera any color desired The patterns shown allow fo r a goo d s c am The front and b ack are alike also right and left lim b s Each marionette will need some adj usting which o ne discovers as one works along We have used a narrow tape to join the arms an d legs fe d with so ft rags o r cotton The Th e dolls are stu f limbs must be sti ffly filled out and firm the chest also The lower part o f the torso should be left softer I n the hands we insert cardboard to stiffen the wrists We use lead to weight the dolls Small shot is good for filling up the hands and feet Larger pieces o f lead are used for t h e torso lower arm and lower leg No lead is put in the upper arm o r upper leg The reasons for this will be discovered as soon as o n e p rac tices manipulating the figures Care must be used to have the bo dy properly b alance d and to have the feet heavy The control is a simple piece o f woo d with five screw eyes to which the stri ngs are tied More may be added to operate the feet o r for other purposes .

,

,

.

,

,

.

-

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

,

.

.

.

.

.

.

22

M A RIONETT E S

4

When using these extremely crude little dolls

,

how an d a

ever it is best to depend upon simple means fe w gestures The strings can b e of heavy black thread o r fishing cord the latter is n o t so apt to become t w isted The strings are attached to the hands the shoul ders and the center o f the back The hand strings should be loose the others carefully measured to balance the doll evenly In dressing the puppets o n e must allow plenty o f room at the elbow knee etc for free action We have kept o u r dolls very simple the faces and hands painted over the hair o fwool o r cotton Of the manipulating little can be said There is no way to learn except by getting up o n the b ri dge and do in g it To o much petty gesticulation in these dolls is ine ffective I t is better to hold the gesture D eliberation and patience are the chief requirements fo r a successful operator given a certain natural deftness of hand which is primarily essential ,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

.

,

,

.

,

.

.

.

.

,

.

MARIONETTES

2 26

results three o r four lamps should be used on each circuit Small stage connectors which can be o b t ain e d at any electrical dealer s should be placed in the floor to take care o f the lines that run to No 1 border No 2 border and t o the various other lamps such as small floods and small spotlights which will be found necessa ry fo r different effects Both No 1 and No 2 borders should have three circuits running into them fo r red blue and green lamps and there should be from four to six lamps on each circuit These borders may be placed in any position from the front to the back o f the stage that the setting may demand A conve nient place from which to suspend them is from the operating platform which is built over the complete length o ft h e stage at such a height as to clear any set that may be used 1" The proscenium arch should b e built of 9 stock preferably o f white wood because o f the fine surface which it presents if it is to be decorated The upright sections o f the arch should be at le ast as wide as those shown in the diagram because they must carry the three circuits for the proscenium lights the belt that raises and lowers the cu rtain and also special lamps and appliances that will be found necessary fo r various types of production The diagram shows o n e green o n e blue and o n e re d outlet o n the two sections on the top section o f the arch but it will be found ve ry convenient t o have at least two outlets fo r each o f these colors o n each o fthe three sections o fthe arc h The curtain can be the ordinary window shade .

’

.

.

,

,

.

.

.

,

,

.

.

.

-

,

,

.

,

,

,

,

,

.

,

,

.

.

DI

A AM GR

S

F OR TH E

C

ON

U

S TR CTI

ON

or

A ONE E S A E

A M

RI

TT

T G

MA RIONETTES

2 28

be the possi b ilities in lighting These dimmers can b e made o f special high wattage resistance wire which can b e o b tained o r ordered from any electrical dealer I n the making and wiring of the switch board it is o f course necessary to obtain either a p ro fe s siou al electrician o r at least professional a dvice .

,

-

.

,

,

.

,

B I B L I OGRAPHY Les Mari o n e t t es de M au ri c e S an d B AD N, AD OLP HE L Art , 188 5 G u i gn o l s in t h e Lu xe m b o u rg Oxfo r d C A N , W LL AM an d C am bri dge Re vi e w, 19 10 An Even i n g wi t h t h e M ari o n e t t e Th e C ALTH P , A

I

.

.

’

.

I E

I I

.

.

.

RO

.

Th e at r e ,

.

18 8 4

.

I EM I L IO M i ER E K Th O IER JO P AY N E

C ALV , C HAM B C LL

ar o n e t t e

.

S,

e

.

.

HN

,

s

f Ro m e

o

Th e B e ll m an ,

.

.

.

J udy Art ic l es in Th e M as k an d CRA I G GO RD O N ” Mari o n e t t e D r am at i c I n s t i n c t in C U RTI S ELN ORA WHI TMAN an

d

.

Me di ae val S t age Vo l II Th e Tr agi c al Co me dy o f P u n c h .

.

19 17

.

.

,

Th e

.

.

,

c at io n

.

RE D I

D E LV A U , A L F B aS e m p ire D U ANT , LO U -

-

.

Le Théat r e Ero t iq u e Fra n eais

n e t t es

e

sc

NC

,

en

T

'

9

.

n as

Mari o

Th eat re de s

.

e at r e

.

Th e Mas k e at ric al P e r f o rm an c e

rat t n

.

.

.

i

es c h c

ht e

de s

G ro t e s k

.

E

.

n

at

.

CH

L O G E L, o

le

.

et

u

e

at c

o

.

aus t

an

T

SSE

K ES,

e r es

an

tor a

.

.

es

e

e

.

a

n

o

.

,

E

LE

S

ar

u

,

s o us

.

EM I R Y E D MON D d J di d Tuil i EN G E L C A R L J h n F E Th G rm P pp Th F S i d i Bu i i FERRI G N I P JE F W WAL ER A Th W lp H p i K h i G KARL FRIE D ERI F K mi h dL O Li f FR A E ANA OL E I S E,

Edu

e an 2 29

e t t e rs

.

II S e ri es

.

B I B LIO G RA P HY

230

GA

YE

A

T,

No v

Ol de st

.

2 , 190 4

.

of

S h o ws

P u pp e t

B o s to n Trans c ri p t ,

.

.

EA ON A W L S d f h M i li W kly 9 9 HIR H G I L ER A M r fM i W kly 9 Pl y I RWI N E Wh M i m 9 7 JA O N F NE V I LL T y fO h D y h JA O G EOR G D S h i i m Ab m M g l d dl d J ERO M E L B M i f Li l S i ily GL

S

,

.

’

er s

SC

,

B

T

12

1

1 0

,

as t e

o

t

ar o n e t t es

e

Co l

.

ar o n e t t es

Harp e r s ’

.

e rs

a

ar o n e t t e s

ar e

Th e Cr aft s

.

.

o

.

B,

as

.

or

,

o

.

.

vo

t an

.

.

e re

.

CK S

C

,

,

an ,

1 0

ee

,

ee

as t

.

e n an

at t e n t

zu

er

s

a

e at e r

en

ar o n e t t e s

.

.

c

t

s o

n s e ner

an

Wand run g e

.

tt e

o

.

c

New En g

.

l an d Mag az i n e 19 10 J O LY HE N RI L Ran do m No t es o n D an c e s Mas ks an d t h e E arl y Fo r m s o fTh e at re in J ap an J O N E S HE N RY FE S TI N G D ive rs i o n s in S i c ily C as t e l li n aria o r o t h e r S i c ili an D ive rs i o n s KL EI S T HEI N RI C H V O N Ub e r das Mari o n e t t en Th e at e r B e rli n e r Ab e n db l at t e r De u t s c he P u p p e n s p i e l e r K O LLMAN A RTH UR L E E V ER N O N S t u di e s in t h e Ei gh t e e n t h C e n t ury in I t aly I m p res s io n s du Theat re Vo ls I V L E MAITRE J U L E S ,

,

.

,

.

,

.

,

,

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

.

,

.

.

.

,

an

.

.

.

d VI WALL , H C .

Th e Faus t o f t h e Mari o n e t t e s Mac MA C D O Mill an s Magaz i n e 190 1 MA G N I N C HA R L E S His t o i re des Mari o n e t t es e n E u ro p e MAI ND RON E R N E S T Mari o n e t t e s e t G u i gn o l s MATTH E WS B R AN D ER A B o o k ab o u t t h e Th e at re P u p Th e B o o km an p e t p l ay s o l d an d n e w MI C H E L WI LH E LM Ma rio n e t t e n De ko r at ive Kun s t 19 10 MI C K HE I I I E LO U I S E P u p p e t s o f t h e Ch i c ago Lit t l e The at re Th e at re A rt s Mag az in e 19 17 .

.

.

’

,

,

.

.

.

,

.

.

,

.

.

,

,

,

.

.

' '

.

.

’

,

.

.

,

.

.

B I BL I OGRAPHY

23 2

WEE D I N I S

P upp e t P l ay s fo r Ch il dre n C e nt u ry Maga z i n e , 19 16 W S T, H N S U D AM Pupp e t Warfare in Fran c e Li t e r ary D i ge s t , 19 15 W S TWO D , J 0 No t i c e o f Medi eval Mim ic En t e rt ai n Arch eo l o gi c al Jo urn al , Vo l V m ent W TK OWS K , G G I n t ro duc t io n t o Go e t h e ’s Fau s t W L F , G G JA C B D as M ari o net t e n Th e at e r Miin c h n e r Kiin s t l e r De ko r at i ve Ku n st , 19 1 1 ’ Y U N G, S G G u i gn o l Li pp i n c o t t s Magaz i n e , 18 79 P up p e t s , An c i e n t an d Mo de rn Z G L , F AN C S J ,

.

.

.

E

E RY Y

.

.

.

E I O

O

.

.

.

.

I EOR EOR O

.

.

.

.

O IE ER

.

.

.

.

R

I

.

.

Harp e r s M agaz i n e ’

.

.

,

18 97

.

Year, 18 94 Fro m t h e G re e k P u p p e t S h o w Wo rks o f He ro n o fAl e xan dri a Cu rr en t Op in io n , 19 16 P ar ado x o ft h e P u p p e t Cu r re n t Op in io n , 19 13 Re t urn o ft h e Mari o n e t t es Ecl ectic Magazin e, 18 54 P u pp et s o fAll Nat i o n s En cy cl op ae dia B r ita n n ica, Vo l 17 : 7 2 3 A J av anes e To p e ng Dal an g I l l us trated Lo n do n News , 19 1 Kind u n d K u n s t Vo l III Ill u st rat i o n s o fP up p e t S ho ws P up p et S ho ws o f t h e P aris S cien ti c Am er ican, 190 2

Al l

the

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I

fi

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Exp o s i t io n Marionette

.

The Vo l I The Mas k Vo l s I , I I , III , I V, V, VI , VI I Ill u st rat io n o f t h e G ai r The S ketch, 19 16 P up p e t s .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Wil ki ns o n s

’

d

Caran, design s No ir, 98— 99

ACH E, Chat

Act o rs ,

I

li

’

ik

o uet t es

F

ii rc

v

se

e st

a s,

1;

u rc

es ,

2;

c

e n t ee nt h

ivi

in

i

in m ed e in Ge r

ce n t u ry ,

12 3

A e n , V an , 183 Al ice in Wo nder l and, in C c ago , 178 Am e r c a, m ar o net t e s in , 16 3 —19 1 Am e r c an nd an s , us e o f art c ul at e

i i

im g

in

30

d

Ant ino e ,

.

An t An t

u t

er

er

142

1

o

G k re e

s

hw q o

76

i ph

Ar st o

anes

fo rm ance ,

Arlec c 2 2,

BA

D

e,

G ui

d

15

hi

no ,

t h e at re

re

p

in,

14 1

res e n t at

iv

e t s,

i ily c

,

18

.

i

an

71

p pp u

p pp t h u

e

c

et

pe r

aract e r,

E N BA E N

Piiho ny ,

D

p pp t h u

,

13 4

.

e

S

ow

o

f I vo

h ph

an e s

18 2

q uo t e

ranz ,

d

ue

l

ih

wt

ape ,

S ass afras

u

e ts ,

2 10

a,

u

e

109

Blg

au

.

n a, t

h

,

B o u c ho r,

My s te re

Mun i c h

Mauri c e

u

ne, c ago

,

Mrs

i

i

La France,

No? !

er

110

-

of t

F

.

ou

le

111

h

.

in

eat re

o

Mau ri c e

.

,

L t t l e Th e at re ,

B l gi e

an s

84—8 6

en,

f d o un

17 3

-

er

178

o

.

f

.

o wm an, 14 1.

17 1

.

,

157

.

t o n,

f n am e , 5 5 u rm a , de e l o m e nt 29—3 0

d iv

54;

.

v p

h

fa

r an ces co ,

h wm

.

ip i

.

.

.

an d

18 3

Marg aret

o

ay s

in fo r

.

ann

l

13 6

resen t s

17t h c e n t u ry s

,

ey ,

p

,

f d

B ue e n s, P e t er, fano , Re m o , uf

B B ll

80

S ee B r o c é o

ay

.

o un

13 0

pl

f

.

10 5 .

,

a ow o

.

.

de l a Nativite ,

,

uce

in,

'

B roe m e l Car ro

154

,

i h Gi v i

B rio c c i B rio c he,

B w C hi

ys

a

n t o n,

P aul ,

ran n ,

y pe s

in, 69

fi ii d

uo t e

d d h d pl

ro

e rat o r o n

o

e at re s

B o n ifrates , de

ll q

13 5

2 11

-

et

,

-

on s

on t

13 2 ;

,

w p

p pp B h mi p pp p l B i P l p

B

.

-

B u ratt in i, de s c r

57 -

,

m o us .

142

i

n,

o

,

.

e

d

.

uct o n o f D octo r

r st o

Mun i c h

.

The B irds in

I t al

e

f

o

Bl k Bl i F

B

.

140

-

Two Danc in g Chin amen , 13 4 e rt ran , re n c s ho m an , 8 6 8 7 an d

B os we

i

d G k p pp

10 5

ro

o net ,

.

’

e r n,

in ,

28

Cy rano de ,

d dF Ai Jh

B li p

o

f m ar o ne t t e

u Apul eius , uo t e o n ree Ario s t o s Orl ando Fur ios o in S ’

d

.

ets,

19

,

.

ac

o

pl

84

in,

ays

et s

u

,

e rge rac ,

o o

i

B ac chus ,

f

o

t em

f t he Vra

.

Apo theos is

in

u

‘

e r ro un

un

,

o

at o n

u

o

i

a an

,

B irds

.

m ar

.

1

n,

in

nt e re st

x v i ca

-

f

i h 6— 7 iq i y f p pp d g w p e at re

164 170

e r o rm anc e

o un

,

10 7—10 8 e

il

.

f d

.

gno l ,

t

lp

M

i

,

184—18 5

.

B

B

.

i

c e re m o n a s ,

a, annu a

An at o l e ,

hi

i

Wi nt h ro p

n e t t es ,

Anan

i

I

a es

Am es ,

.

i W y g pl lgi m p pp

B al Be

ar o n e t t e s,

t

re n c

.

fo r

.

'

m any in 12 5

d

il h

wi h m i h h f iv l 5 h h h 8

u se

t a an c

val

s

,

of

er

p pp u

et

i

at o n

st age,

23

IN D EX

6

CA I

NE

W

,

.

197—198

l

p

Ca t h ro

w

S ho

C as c

i

A,

,

d pl y lv I li a s,

u

ig l

n o s,

17 2

58

.

u

i

5

52

.

et

c

h

l

i

l

l

ligi

.

p pp i Ch m p El y G ig l a

s

u

no

.

y pe s

q

ho m e

s ées ,

10 7—10 8 ;

,

o

p

f

f

i

Vr a

t he

f

.

h l 9

8—100

i g

pi

h

.

p

.

.

.

fl

i l

C h c a o L t t e The at re , s uc c e ss fo rm an c es in , 173 —178 ’ C h dre n s ro d u c t o n s , 19 2—194

il

p

p er

u

.

n,

e n ac t e

e

u

e t s,

1 2

r st

as

a

est

u rc

e r,

Cl e

v

o

.

l

e an

a

,

li

t a an

l h — 78 8 3 ; p 1

a nd

the

f do

ll

f

G

Ring

,

—

Cl is by , eo rge , Co l o gn e , h o m e The at re , 12 8

.

a

s

ru

s

et

-

20 1;

in ,

of

uc t o ns ,

The

Ros e

i

c o ns t ru ct o n

i

et

e

d

o n e t t e s,

i

e

xp i m er

i

Lo n do n p

f

on

sh o

wm

hi p pp

NG d fi i i G g d v

De a

n t o n,

e

,

S an

94

,

fTintagil es Harry

n e t t is t ,

,

17 1

.

i l

e

De n m ar

ik hw Di k c

e ns,

s

o

c

so n

s

P un c

h

et

on

e

an d

,

p pp Ch l u

in

G

p

i

p

ro

ar e s ,

e no a,

l

d d d

aro

i

d

y

li

in

q

66 63 —

p

by

on

i

.

,

i

m ar

c an

Ch

i

o

c ago

.

140

t e rat ure ,

uo t e

.

v

at

uc e

u ca

in Cl e e — o f 2 18 2 2 1

Am e r

o

10 1

-

ro d uc t o n

174—175

et s

d

20 1 20 2

p

,

re h e a rs a

The at re ,

k

.

( La )

re t re

Del uded D rago n ,

L tt

.

,

18 0 ; 179 —

es ,

27

Came l lias

aux

,

o

.

.

vl

l an d

,

f

.

l

o

u

15 3

an ,

of

m ar

o

149

i

Death

i f p pp

an d

C ucc o li, o , 69 Cu rt s , E no ra W t m an, et s, t io n al a ue o f u

D am e

’

p up

o rt a n c e

u t u re o

c t u re s

(0

o

ac t o r

.

,

t

l im p

.

.

wi h

uc at o n a

on

—

2 2 1 224

f Mar io ne tte s

Ga me

3;

li

aract e r,

g

e nt s

.

t a an

st a e

.

20 9 ;

-

2 14

,

DA LA

h

c

f m ar o ne t t e

o

20 2 ;

an

u

D

an c e

ro

on

et s,

,

u

f m ar

o

k i J dy Filipp

.

d

on

p pp u

.

et

.

e rat o r-

m ag i c i an ,

.

D

i pp e

l Mys tery ofthe

e , annu a

tio n , 8 2 8 3

Ass u m p

-

.

179 o

ee

.

ar o n e t t e s ,

er o r

200

s , 2 2 1 2 24

2

o us

or

e r o rm an c e

1

e

s.

a

p f m p pp p d i u

o u se ,

1

,

e

r t es

,

d I

P ay

172 ;

o

e

ta

n

a s,

o us

e

ee

.

as s o n

a so

15 3

.

s

ra

p pp

I

Mat e ri al s ; Me c h ani s m

on

a s,

e an

e

li

—2 0 5

on

.

t a an

o rdo n ,

eo r e

pi l i f d by Cl v l d p pp 8 Ch i m pl y S R ligi pl y S h f i v l i I l y 5 —5 Ch i pl y ; R ligi pl y l P f m i C ll y w i Ci b b

C ho

e t s,

pl y C wl y C ik h

.

i

i

5 7 59

160 —16

u

e r o rm an ce s,

197—198 C h arac t e r t y e s S ee Ty es C ar e s V o f S a n , 7 8 Chat Nair, o m e o f Ombres Fran eais es ,

p

G

on

n e t t e , 20 8

.

o

,

p pp

.

.

use

on

p

an ,

30

e t s,

uo t e d

53

e t s,

u

ig

Cra

i

e t s , 20 3

u e n ce

n

—

2 2 6— 2 29

,

19 2 ;

p pp p pp 3 3 f

u

o us

,

h ii

Ne i l)

.

.

o

n c h u rc h e s ,

et s

u

t

.

Co nst ruc t 22

arte ,

I

ne ,

S ee al s o

aract e r,

b

i g pl I li

As a, t wo C Ce y o n , e ar y re C h am b e rs , E K e n t ra

i

u

’

o ne t t e s ,

Co nst ruc t

.

i ligi

i

m ar

an

p pp i fl

in

c e e m e nt

Co m media dell

.

p pp

t a an

i l

Co m

Co nst ant

C at ac o m b s , j o nt e d m a e s in t o m s, C at an a, re o us ay s in , 7 7—78 C e c c a , m e dize v al t a an m e c an c 1—

i

Ve net

e rn

192—194

at o re ,

C ass an drino , 5 8 , 60

d

mo

G

s

.

Sa

o,

i

P ar

on

on

.

C ardb o ar

d

.

68

,

q uo t e

,

.

f Kiil ne r Han ne sc hen

Docha,

.

dfiii e

Doctor S as s afra s ,

li

Ber

n,

113

n t o n,

—1

134

35

.

i i p

art s t c .

ro

d

i

uc t o n

in

I N D EX

236

Gl i G

h

Art

e as o n ,

New Yo rk

n

d ib I

u r,

es c r

17 2

17 3

-

,

es

li

hw

t a an s o

.

i h i p pp ; f q d 6 m xi m ; g d i t p pp hi i 9 5 96 89 G ld g fm i G ld i i i p pp 97 m i G ld m i h Oliv hw oe t

n t erest

e,

o n s t a e c ra t , 1

a

u ct o n

n t ro

s

o

en a e o

o

on

o

s

t

G G l G G G ig

15 4

.

v e o p m e nt

no

u

i

P ar

igi

or

,

10 7

s,

Fra nce, 197—19 8

Gy p HA

p

,

R

B

in,

Hans

1 14

d

g

Hay

d J n,

i

m ar

f

o

s

.

o se

i

l

u

d

hw o

s,

He m bauf

G

p pp u

He we l t

o

Jh o

i

x

an

i

B el g

di i

an

on

r a,

19

n

h

.

o

10 1

o

an

o

p

16 5

i

d

s ho

u

,

170

ets

ans .

.

n,

re a

o

f,

fo r

c

J

udy

wm

ree

e rat o r

-

m ag

1

i

ii

.

1 0

.

e r e nt

d

u se

I I

i

d—

in

i

n d a,

in

164

147

l

d,

vl i v l pm

d

e

o ut o n

e

s

i

5 1 5 4;

art c

e

re n c

-

,

a

s

u rc

c

a so

t at u es

u

et s

f

e s,

n,

t es o

p pp u

o s

.

15 ;

de

35 un c h ,

146

e t s,

2

-

e t ry ,

.

22 ;

it s

G o l do n i s in ’

5 0 78 ;

e nt ,

e o

ar o

e r c an

u

o

e nt

in C at ac o m b s ,

ee

.

r

i

Re li

es;

us e

.

It a y,

f an c

in

li h m i

n

o

s aac ,

.

i vl F h E gli h h h d by Am i l Id l ; S

et s

u

u t

’

,

.

p pp ; S iq i y f p pp f p pp i 3 I w i fP

an t

li

g

.

16 ;

t, o

ma

m ed

170

-

ve l o p m e n t o s rae

ta

8 1 8 2 ; in

Re l i g i o u s

-

p pp p pp 97 ; — b l v d by hil d 99 JAPAN i gi d— d v l pm f p pp h w 43 49 J v h d w pl y 4— 8 P C I di p p m Ji d y 34 p J ly H i iq i y f J p h w 43 44 J H y F i g q d h w 7 77 Si ili B m J i p pp i — m 5 5 y w i i g pi pl y 47 yw i J p J v il d m 93 94 T k i h p pp t h K RA H 37 p pp b ff K p l G m 4; pl y 8 i F e o

in

a

n

et s

a,

a

s

o

et s t o

enr

,

s

s,

o

an s

o n so n,

r

a

u en

as

n

G

aus t

an

u

a

an e s e

uo t e

on

n

u t

1

s,

o

o

-

,

.

e nt o ns

1 0

s,

an e s e e

a,

EU Z,

er e,

o

.

on

,

est n

ra

e

e nt

.

r t n

,

.

ant

en,

an

2

2

s,

enr

c

e o

.

.

on

,

e

.

,

-

o n es ,

o

a

s a,

a

-

et s

s,

-

n avarav a

20 0

1

an

o

u

1

re n ,

c

or

u

et s,

u

e

,

A

ram a,

,

o un

i l

n d an s ,

o

an ,

G k

ly

l igi o us

t e re s t

,

era o r- m ag c an ,

o

ar o n e t es ,

n

-

as ,

o

ets

t on

an

e ar

I

f d I ly

.

a rt c u at e d,

145 ;

i

b uffo o n

15 7

13 6

En g

e rs , am at e ur

c h u rc h e s ,

in La

u

re

I

St at ues

j o m t e d,

es,

2 1;

,

al s o

et s;

a

.

p pp

.

T

u

p pp Pl y

ul at e d,

.

10 1

e n,

93

,

hip

m us

hm p t t ; m i 56 H ll d p pp i 4 H pi I d i G t S p

Ho

d

ip i

P u nc

m e c h an s m ,

et

c an ,

ld

f Al e

,

g

f

et

o se s

.

eo r e ,

.

He ro n

,

o ns

Ro m e

S ee

.

n e t t is t s ,

.

107 ;

e sc r

.

on

2 12—2 13

,

140

12 7

Willi am

,

p

co m

,

81

I l kel y

.

110

o

p pp

e rm an

ph

au s ,

n

,

in

20 5

-

e t e e rs ,

u

s

18 ;

re ec e ,

l

a s , 20

e

at e

an

22;

in P ar s ,

’

u ar t y

.

o ne t t es ,

Hazl i t t

20 3

e r o rm anc e s

Hauptu ndst aats actio ne n , 12 5

S an

s t e am s

on

.

124

-

eo r e

e t s,

’

G

u rs t ,

-

,

18 2 1

To ut a l ego ut,

on

gi

de

17 ;

in Ly o ns ,

l gp p

,

115 —116

w

o

.

re se n t s

MUG

p

109 ;

l

G

u

10 8 ;

-

.

o s

p pp

n at e

G G

.

LS ,

g

in , e t ry in ,

of

in

u e n e ss

I DO

’

.

u

m o ns t e r

re e n

q l

o

1

g

Ima

id f p pp

i l

1

-

ar o ne t t e s

art c u at e d

ree c e ,

ro t e s

172

,

on

.

ets,

u

e r, at

,

Mari a

ras so ,

e t s, 1

ar o n e t t es , n

122

uo t e

1

u

o

n t e res t

,

e t s,

u

n

p pp t pl y 3 p y p pp i m d i Egy p

Hu m o r in u Hun ary , gy

1

ur

er

a

an ,

11

u -

n

e ro ,

.

.

a

,

1

.

.

e

u

s

ets

1 1

c -

u

et

120

.

u

oo n , 11

I N D EX i ii

Ke t sc h e l , Pe rs

fi

K o bo ld, de

i p pp

an co m c

n t o n,

113

u

et ,

32

Kre ym b o rg , Al

LA La

F RA N E G ill r

88

f

C

,

B h

.

—14 1

.

e rt

.

ro e

d

t he at re

l

o

d

i

B l gi e

d

an

s

i

v

wi w i — h wm 55 5 6 Ligh i g p pp g 7 i L B Lim gi v an ,

t n

a

i i

18 3

.

1

h

o

wm e n ,

l

era

173

-

ets

e at re ,

178

d I o n,

.

li

p ro

i

-

2 29

An ge l es ,

i 9 hi g hi t

in Par s , C ca o ,

.

10

111.

-

p i v il g h L pi b d ip i ro t

e s

u

1

n,

to

r

a

e,

res

t a an s o

es c r

t on o

er o r

re n ,

199 200 -

F

Lu s c h an , vo n, Tu r e y , 3 8 Lut e r, Mart n ,

h

k

.

act o r s ,

.

i

12 3 .

on

d

ec a

e n,

or

an c e

p pp t p l u

e

i

i

enunc at o ns

b

ar

.

e rs ,

u

d

es

e

of ,

s o ry

.

p

r

s

.

l

c

ay s

in

i

aga ns t

MA CC U S Ro m an uffoo n 2 1 Mac hiel t j e Be l gi an s h o wm an 140 Mac Le an J Art h u r o n p u ppe t pe r ,

.

,

,

,

,

fo rm anc e

,

.

at

d

An an

d

a, 2 9

-

30

.

.

,

p ro

180 ;

179

-

re

G k 22 1

.

ki

Ma

ng

i

m ar

a

,

Jv

.

o ne t t e ,

.

,

2 2 1 2 24 -

S ee

.

Mat e ri als ; Mec h an i s m Man ik Maia as is o f a an es e p l ays al s o

b

,

Marg ue rit t e s

13 0 — 13 1

et s,

u

The at re

p

et s ,

i

li h

En g

h

i

m ar

a

Matt h e ws u

ay s ,

39

of

a o

p pp

55

146

-

I .

i

h

s

i

n d an

dw

a o

in Cl e

s , 29 ;

—180 ;

s,

v

d

25 ;

l

e an d

m ak

179

-

on ty

er,

p

.

es o f

pl

y

a s

2 11 2 12 . -

de , G uy ,

on

Karaghe uz

d ll v d vill l G k Jv dw o

s

o

f

,

,

pup

o ne t t e t o - day , 22 1 2 2 4

,

18 ; o f a

.

Mun i c h Art ist s

e ts ,

u

Si

.

.

Mec han i c al Mec h an is m

I

M

es

,

.

a anes e

et s,

Mau p ass ant

20 7

an c e nt

Jv hdw

B ran

,

p pp

fo r

s

ib

es c r

145

,

in

in

15 ;

in S am ese Pl ay o use

ing

s

d

u se

,

.

at o n o fn am e ,

er

,

.

Mas q ues Mat e ri als

d

Paul ,

,

p pp d iv i

’

Mario ne t t e Mari o ne t t e

pl

Jv

.

,

u e s, 1 day s t ree Lo s An ge e s , u e t s n, 1 Lo u s XIV, u e t s a e at u re o ro c e ss o n, es s riage e nt

ih

p pp t i 46; p t p pp t 55 p pp i 83 p pp f fm i 79 ; gi v p i l L G il l 8 8 I li h wm 68—69 ; fp f m f hi l

t a an

-

ay , 2 18 ,

g no re t

Engl

os

n

en

u

l

e an

,

26

.

et st a e , 2 2

u

p pp h

L t e rary L t t le T Lo n

1

eans ,

a

26

m ar o n e t t es in

on

,

.

o

pl

v

o

-

,

d

o n, 10 9.

Le m ait re , ul es , es c r b e s se duc t io n s, 110 —111 an de r ng Le s s , Cl unn , s

Cl e

f

o

f Tintagiles

Death

s

,

e rs ,

J

’

Magn in Ch arl es o n ree art i c ul at e d i o ls 18 ; o n Po lic hi n elle 20 5 Mahabharata b asis o f a anese p l ay s

.

.

' '

Lau e r, Dr Egy t , 16 140

h e ars al

Theatre des P ygmies , 8 7

.

B

18 3

,

et

u

’

Lau re nt

re

k

duce d in

.

w

p pp

e s

p

i

fd

Mae t e rl i nc

.

.

Kol ner Ha nnes chen Theater, 128 Ko p e c ki, B o h e m an s ho m an , 13 6

23 7

in

au

e ar

y

e , 170

e

.

p pp

e ts,

u

ree

an es e s h a

—17 1

s , 2 7 ; o fm o d

o

i p pp t 3 4; f T k i h p pp t i i y fi 38; J p p pp 45 46; f I li i m d i p pp 54 5 5 ; i I l i p pp t 7 ; i i g i i f L P tit y i F 9 ; e rn

s

n d an

an ese

u

et s,

n

Theatre de u

l an

d

f

p

ranc e ,

M Hen ri .

i

P l ay

18 5

h

-

et s ,

18 6 ;

o u se

,

u

in

e r e ct o n

ets ,

0

e s,

Mic he l Wi l hel m

p pp

-

n t r c at e ,

u

‘

p pp

e t s,

-

n t r c ac

20 4

.

ur

o

nt r cac

u

t a an

10 3 ;

e s,

e s,

u

a

'

u

,

s

d ll o

n

o

o

t a an

n

o

e rn

n c re as n

0

o

e

S ignoret ,

e

102

To ny Sarg s m l e , in C e e

i p

s,

’

lv

2 2 1 224 -

i

o n co m c

.

funct i o n

o

f

I N D EX

238

k

Mi c

He t t

,

Ch

i g

i

Lo u

e

i l

L tt

ca o

i wi

The at re ,

e

Mids u m m er Night s ’

Ch

at

i

i l

L tt

c ago

pl

r t es o n

se ,

175

p

Dre am ,

at

.

17 5

-

17 7

.

,

,

,

,

,

L

10 7

Muni c h

G

.

p pp t

ho m e o f b e s t e rm an s, s o 12 8—13 3 Mus ée Grevin , t he at re in, 10 9

hw

,

u

e

Ow PA

pl y N p l ib Nl a

,

8 6— 87

scr

by

ed

e so n ,

D

149

ik c

p pp

f,

o

u

o

e n s,

i m gi a

.

,

ar

1

,

No el by B o u c h o t ,

l e g en

O Ne il , Pl ay

h i

eoc

d

,

s

n

F

d

31

.

re n c

u

d w pl

h

sha o

t he

at

.

’

i

d

,

l

o ne ,

fi d

rs t

s,

.

I

0

li

p

i

p pp

e rm an e n t

G

a

h p pp

et c

u

Jv

of

as s

s,

t a an

.

.

d b

83 ;

,

g

anese

58

aract e r,

u

et

’

S an d s

eo r e

t

h

.

g

st a e e at re ,

gi i

-

g igi

St a

c an s ,

,

fi

p

i

et s

9

n,

8 8 89

10 1

.

i

e an

on

f

a

P at

o o

ca

37

P ayn e Co -

of

ll i

fP u n ch

o

-

t

e r, a rran

p pp

P e rs ia,

149

— 77 7 8 s

I

G

e rro t

lgi li w i i p pp

u t ar s t e ,

96

u

.

Pin ke t h m an , Lo n do n

i

l p pp I di

sc h e u

n

Pro

,

et s ,

a,

3

P ivetta , de P

l

2—

33

fi ii

P

l

on

.

et

gl

d

,

an ,

153

igi p pp pl y on

,

u

146

.

De Ne u

by

o

an

n

or

et

a

s

.

f of o

.

n t o n,

67

.

y ho us e in Cl e v e l an d giv e s p u pp e t pl ays 178 18 3 ; c o nst ruc t i o n o f o ll s

a

,

2 2 1 2 24

ys

a

,

d

,

-

-

.

16 ;

-

et s,

.

h wm

d

Ri c h ar

.

15

,

.

f

s

.

u

in , 3 3 2 P etit Theatre in B e u m , 14 1 P c c n , t a an s ho m an in En

i ii Pi vill

l

no

.

1—

e t ry

u

ig

Tragical Co me dy

es

,

u

ki h p pp

f Tu r

yu dy

G

.

i

g

t h ea

o ne t t e

10 9 ;

at a n a,

es o

and

19 8

19 7

at

,

i i

o s t o n,

i pl y C h l gi l y p

e,

vl d

xp

E

i

m ar

t he

l i t e rary

10 8 ;

10 7

-

,

e r o rm an c e s , on

o per a

rs t

et s,

P as s

F

Co n s t ru c t -

ay s ,

l

E ys ee s 10 9— 111;

s

t re at 190 0

’

Cl e

2 26 — 22

e,

or

gi i

u

p

Vr a i Gu ign ol in

t he

10 5 ;

p pp

r t

Chat No ir

re c t o r

“

178 ;

c o m iqu e ,

ma

y

a s, 26

-

e

1

-

her poete , L

o use ,

erat o r

e sc r

o

‘

88 8 9 Ray m o n

-

l e ge n

JI

10 2

th

.

of ,

-

Mar o ne t t e

Op

ue

nt e r

.

co m iqu e ,

Opera

a o

110 — 111

Om bres Fran gais es ,

Om bre da

s,

.

p

.

97

—10 0

en

— 9 8 100 ; t h e o e rat o r m a c an s , 10 1; Le P e tit Thédtre de M He n ri S ign o re t,

1 1

-

Om bres Chin o is es ,

98

1

an ,

C h am

.

1 2

e as o n ,

’

OC OTAI ,

e

ur

'

.

u

s,

a

t a an s

,

2

9 2 9 4 ; Erot iko n The atro n de l a rue de l a S a nte, 94— 9 6 ; t h e Chat Nair,

de

w pl y 98 k I li h w d i b d by Gl 7 73 ; p pp 83 9 y S g

Art hu r o fTo n

’

y

a

g i di g p i — 95 9 6 ; i

,

in s h ado

Ne w Yo r

ND i

.

i l g wi

d

n a ry

f Er otiko n The at r o n ,

e st

en,

P an t a

-

pl

et

64—66

Ne u vill e de Le m e rc i e r ,

1

o ars ,

.

Lo rd,

P un c h,

,

nese

p pp p Lilli 74

e re c t e

,

.

de at h

o eo n,

a

en

e

sc

-

d

,

e rs an

t a es,

k

pl

NA G Si am e s e s h a o w pl ay 2 8 29 Nan t e s re v o c at i o n o f Edi ct m ade i n t o ,

1

eo r e s o

.

.

N

e t s, t

u

a an ese s t o r e s , 4 1; Orl ando Fu r ios o in Sl Cl l y , 7 1— 76 Os a a, u e t l ays in, 48

P ar

.

h p pp i f hl 6; P i l g d 3 —3 ; T k l 3 6 ; C hi l g d 4 Jp i 44

n of

-

is h

.

,

no

J

.

gi

15

i

Mo l i ere s Mo ns ieur P o ureeaugn ae in Madri 80 Mo nz ay e m o n Ch ik am at s u ap anese pl ayw right 48 Mo u rgue t Laure nt o ri gi n at o r o fG uig ’

d

Ori

ro duc t o n

Th e at re ,

e

ys

a

176

-

i

.

su t e

d

to

p pp u

e t s,

2 10

—2 14

.

,

I N D EX

2 lio

d G k

bi h

S an , eo rge , e st a l s es Theatre des Arm s , 92— 94 S ans rit , res t r ct o n in use o f, 3 3 S ar , To n y , e e r m e nt s w t h m ar o n e t t e s in Lo n do n an d New Yo r , and the os e t a e s The R 18 4 19 1; '

'

'

.

i i xp i

g

k Cl v l mi i

-

Ring t o

l

Sca

Fl

a,

59

pi

Sca

I

no ,

i

di

et

u

t a an

c

k

re ct o r,

58

.

89 — 90

s

or

1

,

S e n e c a, 80

a

e r, s

re

d

.

1 0

h

e at

s of ,

.

phi

Se ra s ha S ha o

d w pl y o

a

n

97

s,

o

in

a s,

,

s,

o

i

13 2

”

ran c e ,

ro

d

of

d

e,

in

n

an

n e se

a

10

s

s,

o

,

1

2 8 29

.

i ily g ,

re at

in , 70 78 -

.

a

-

us o n s t o

u

ca o ,

1

1

.

ar o ne t t e s an

on

ut ure

u

o

et

.

s

pp o

a o

l

i

s

u ar t y

o

o

t

e

i

an

,

f m ar o net t es

o

u

.

d

l

a rt c u at e

Id l I I li

.

o r on

an , 20

et s

o

,

,

p pp

h

A P en ny P l ain

e n so n s

u

et c

d d

St o d

ar

d

Wis hes

f Three

S utradhara, de 20 6— 20 7

h

F

l

186

18 7

d

fi n i t i o n,

p

e

i

ro du c t o n

uc t o n

ran c e ,

Tem ptatio n

I

.

ro

— 99 100

.

16

n t o n,

ro

d

i

uct o n

.

.

i

o f m ar o ne tt e,

113

.

S ee P ro

.

d ib d es c r

10 3 —10 4

d

in V

h k

T

ac

i

.

f S t Anthony by Rivi ere

o

li

,

.

d

i

e nn a,

13 3

h i l

n e s,

t ae es ,

83

Thedtre des '

d

d

a m is ,

t he

Ring

k

f mo n

i

h s t o ry

k iv s,

of ,

g

e

s

9 2 94 -

p .

,

er

p ro

20 0 20 1. -

o r er o .

i

an

duc e d, 189—190 ,

T eat

.

.

y s Ro se ’

e ra

uc

by An a

e

Te o l i, t a an m ario n et t is t , 6 1 Tesc ne r, Rc h ar , m ar o n e t t e m a

h

.

.

a

,

p

es

pl y t p d i

a

to e

fi ii

ib

-

58

.

esc r

o n art

h iq

Te m pes

,

p up

arac t e r,

.

u r,

TATTERMANN, Te c n ue o f ing

d

An ne ,

,

S ee

.

a nd Tzo o — 193 194

pe nce Col o red, q uo t e , S thapaka, de n t o n , 16

fi ii

e ts,

u

Ro m e 2 1 Re ligi o us

in

.

226

St e

v

0

n,

t a an

’

.

f

m ages ;

o s;

et s

ets

e nt o n o

i

i

.

S t e nt o rel l a,

er

-

o

.

al s o

p

e s

c o ns t ru ct o n

St at ue s,

.

su

n

,

uce

1

on

un us u a

,

-

2 29

e an

e

ro

10

20

s, 2 1

o

-

es

e rn ar

.

ac t n

c

.

uc e

ro

rea

s

S

e nt ,

e

n o re t ,

’

a

enc e

ce

e o

e are ,

,

S t age ,

ki

et s, 1 2.

et

s

e

a ers

es

a

d

e

a o

u

15 1 15 2 -

at e u r

a

.

ue n t

re

e c a o r,

25 ;

x ll d v l p m 3 9 43 S h d wy W t p d d by Cl v l d p pp 8 Sh k p d by M T mp t p d S ig ll i p p 4; 3 h w 43 44; Mid m m p Night D m i C h i g Sh w G B d m i 75 77d i g 9; f f p pp hw 4 Si m l h d w f h N g or

st o r

l

au

.

u

1

t

S y m o n s , Art

Tur s h , — of , 3 6 39 ; —

2 8 29 ; -

1 2

1 0

-

e

a rt s t an

,

o

-

o c rat e s an

o

— 96 10 0 ;

ho w m a

an e s e ,

a

e n c a,

uc e r

.

f S am e se Nan g,

igi C hi

l i

p

ue ,

n,

1

20

-

a

c at o n ,

es cr

20

s,

e t ee r,

u

o

er

in Va

n

.

d w pl y F M i h dw Jv

S ha

rec at o n

an o

o

ue r t t e ,

on

.

un c

e

o

hw

i iq

Do m

n,

un c

e o

et s

u

ar

.

u t z an

12 1

n c

12

an ,

o

at e au ,

st a e ” a a,

et

“

10 2

p pp d i b d by P M g i 8 7 S i m m d Willi m i d m p pp 58 6 S i m pl i fi f p pp i by G d C ig 6 63 S d h h wm Sp i hi i 78—8 y f p pp Sp t t f q m i fp p p 10 3 ;

a n,

x p pp h g i h i b l v d M i h P p — pp i i f h wm 9 3 ; w k 95 h w m fB li h d D h u

' ’

ra

c h arac t e r,

et

u

i

aract e r,

.

S c e au , S c m dt ,

Sc

I

a,

.

p pp h li p pp

t al an

S c aram uc c 58

i

200 20 1 -

17t h c e n t u ry

n o,

a

i

e an d,

e

.

S ign or et, Hen ri, l e P etit Theatre de ,

ec

I N D EX Wis hes

Three

18 7 186—

p

,

d d

by To ny S arg,

uce

ro

.

p i h p pp dfi ii

.

.

bs

22

,

.

lgi

.

d

d

hw

ip i

Gi v 99

.

f

p

v

.

i i

n To rrian i, o ann , To y t h e at res , 19 2 197 Tragedy of Na upl ius ,

78

e nt o r,

.

k h w 9— v lli g h wm re e

s

o

20

1

,

re

p

Tre at ,

G

179

rac e ,

Ts c hadar Chaj al ,

k

e s t an ,

k k p

3

Tur e st an , Tu r e y , e Ty e s o f

lg

g

st a e ,

0— 1

3 t wo

.

t

e n ds o

p pp

2 1;

u

.

res e nt at

iv

y pe s

e

fo r

et s,

on

in Tu r

5 4:

ay

of

Tur

k

.

e t s,

u

e ar

e y,

0

o

in

3 7;

I

.

WAR zo n e Way ang

12 8

l

i

VOLK ENB URG ,

il

f ll w

Var e t y b ls o in e rman y ,

G

o

123

Ell e n , 174 ’ Th rt y Ye ars .

i

-

125

.

,

d

F

h p pp

re n c

u

Kat

.

-

d

u

s ha o w

.

h i

174

e r ne ,

15 6

15 7

-

.

En gl

ih

i

m ar

s

p pp

18 7—188

,

.

,

.

e t s,

-

20 3

.

.

196

ets ,

,

l y pl ays wi t h

197

-

v

k

d d

.

.

S ee

E EN O L

e rn

.

K

,

g wh t

ro

al s o

F

x

an

Al e

Russ i an

in

p pp

p pp

on

on

of

e ar

p

48

.

,

,

ram a,

Z

.

s ho wm an ,

,

Y EATs S hadowy Waters ro u ce Cl e e l an d, 18 2 Ye do , 18 t h c e nt ury c e nt re fo r u

i

o

.

Wy s p ians ki St an i sl aw

Yo r c

.

.

p pp

d d

.

n e r,

1 11 112

a anese

a m at e u r

,

16 ;

War

90

in ,

et s

Jv

ram as ,

—2 8

e t s,

u

,

18

VAN

h

Wo l t j e B el gi an p u pp et b uffo o n 140 Wri t i n g fo r p u pp e t s 2 17 2 18 Wundt P ro f o n c o m i c fun ct i o n

an

t a y,

.

es c

p pp

in

nt e res t

’

et s ,

u

n o

i

’

re s

u

p pp 3 igi fp pp 3 6 ly R m f

ar

c

,

d

o

i

Vo lt a

,

pi

et

et

u

s of

o

in, 67 uf fo o n, 3 4

et s

Wil l i ams o n Mrs Ham il t o n Wi nt e r C h ri s t o ph Co l o gn e

.

u

an

l

s e c t ac e s ,

urc

c

u

,

i

p pp pl

n

n et t is t s ,

.

-

d

a

e

n so ns ,

G

.

on

,

.

e e e r,

e n , in re ec e , 20 ; Tra e n s o in Ro m e , 2 1; in C h n a, 4 1; in S a n , 79 ; in Rus s a, 13 7 13 8 ; in Lo n o n an d ru ral En an , 15 5

i gl

13 3

a s , 25

-

G

i

pl y Wh l pi Wil ki

To o n e , B e an s o m an, 140 To rin o , am o us t he at re in, 68—6 9 ; de at Lu e r o rm an c e scr t on o f —200 t h e at re , 1

f

i

.

Ve n c e , m e Vidus aka, V e nn a, t he

.

p pp pl g p i p pp i d i g f

d h h p d i v l p pp I d i p pp b d ll Ri h d T

q uo t e

,

5 1 52

.

.

co m

i

Vas ar -

S ee Deat h of Tintagil es Tintagil es e t s , 79 u Titeres , S an s Tocha, e n t o n , 1 13 To kke ns piel , e arl y s u bj e ct m at t e r, 114 ay s in, 48 To yo , u e t in, u e t s fo un To m b s , E y t an , in C at a m a e s o un 16 ; j o nt e

k

21 11

o

f

ig i

e rr

d

e r,

p pp u

G k

u

n

et s

re e

p pp u

p

t,

e t ry ,

.

q uo t e

et s,

in Egy

et

d

on

13 7 13 8 -

.

mo d