Wood & Strings Puppet Theatre

WOOD & STRINGS THEATRE

Under the direction of Clarissa Lega, producer and Leon Fuller, director, this professional touring company is involved in all aspects of production. Collaborating with four highly trained puppeteers and many other talented artists, they create works of puppetry for performance. Their attention to detail from story line through puppet and set construction and on to original music and choreography, becomes a complete interplay of the arts in their final works.

OUT OF THE MIST...A DRAGON

Story by Clarissa Lega

Written by Dana Dye

Artistic Director Leon Fuller

Produced originally and touring nationally since1988.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Bunraku Puppets Masks

SYNOPSIS

Our story unfolds in Japan as Kumagai, a pompous samurai overlord arrives at the shrine of Benten, the goddess of good fortune, to ask for a suitable husband for his beautiful daughter, Lotus. He would like a rich and powerful son-in-law and none else. The goddess, however, sends a humble fisherman to meet the daughter. They fall in love, but because of the disparity in their stations, Yukio, the young man, feels he is unworthy. The father, outraged, changes the fisherman into a dragon.

To break the spell, Yukio must fly around the world. His journey takes him to the Northwest coast of America, where he meets two mask figures from the Kwakiutl tribal mythology. The Raven and the Whale show Yukio that the power to continue on his quest lies within his spirit, not his physical strength.

Traveling on, the dragon meets Punch and Judy (hand puppets popular throughout Europe from Medieval Ages). This raucous and silly fellow exposes Yukio to the abuses of power. Yukio then moves on seeking the wisdom to use his new found power in the right way.

His search leads him to the island of Java in Indonesia. Here, shadow puppets, that traditionally teach virtues and morals, reveal to Yukio that only he can break the spell from within. Through the realization that he is worthy of the beautiful Lotus and that life’s lessons and journeys bring the wisdom to see whom we are, Yukio is changed forever.

TEACHING ACTIVITIES

Our tale carries us around the globe where we encounter four distinct cultures.

Out of the Mist…a Dragon, presents a sampling of the following puppetry forms:

Lesson#1 Language Arts, Geography, History

Objectives:

1. Learn what purpose folklore has in a culture.

2. Locate on a map the various cultures presented and use mathematical system of longitude and latitude to locate specific sites.

3. Learn the difference between “past” and “present” history; “real” and “imaginary” creatures (re: dragons as mythology in folklore as opposed to animals we can already see, touch, and hear.)

Vocabulary:

Lesson #2: Practical Living, Social Sciences

Objectives:

1. Apply the relationships of the characters in the play to those in their own lives.
2. Compare social rules of behavior and customs from eastern cultures to those of western cultures.
3. Identify and recognize emotions in the characters and how their interaction affects the story (anger, pride, lack of selfworth).
4. Discuss the commonality of the human condition regardless of cultural differences (desire for love, freedom, happiness).

Vocabulary:

Lesson #3: Environmental Studies, Cultural Science

Objectives:

1. Research and understand how environmental and economic conditions affect the arts and society.

2. Compare lives in the U.S. to those of present day Japan, Indonesia, England, and Native American people in the U.S. and Canada.

3. Recognize the diversity of ethnic groups and their individual artistic and cultural heritage.

Vocabulary:

Lesson #4 Creative Thinking, Problem Solving

Objectives:

1. Identify the components of a story and learn the process of communicating a point of view.

2. Follow the creative process in a group effort and create a puppet production in the classroom.

3. Reinterpret a message in written, oral, visual, musical and movement forms.

Vocabulary:

ACTIVITIES AND RESOURCES: The following resources can be used to explore any of the lesson objectives suggested and can be made age appropriate by grade.

1. Research: classroom sources, libraries, newspapers, television, Internet, interviews, historical and cultural societies, museums

2. Oral Communication: discussion in classroom before and after performances, presentation of researched information and/or original creations

3. Writing: opinions, reports, fan letters, reviews, fictional stories, scripts, skits, international and/or local email

4. Visual Arts: drawing, coloring, modeling in paper mache or clay, sculpting foam, collage in paper or found objects, making puppets from socks, plastic jugs, cardboard, foam rubber, and craft items.

5. Physical Communication: movement, dance, mime, theatre, puppetry

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"OUT OF THE MIST...A DRAGON"

JAPAN: Japanese Mythology - Library of World Myths and Legends, by J. Piggot

The Book of the Samurai, by S.R.Turnbull

Early Japan, by J.N. Leonard

NORTH AMERICA: Life and Art of North American Indian, by J.W. Warner

The World of the American Indian, by National Geographic Society

Pictorial History of American Indians, by O. La Forge

INDONESIA/INDIA:Land and People of Indonesia, by Datus C. Smith Jr.

The Five Sons of King Pandu, by Elizabeth Seeger

Indian Mythology- Library of World Myths and Legends, by J. Piggot

PUPPETRY: The Art of the Puppet, by Bill Baird

The World of Puppets, by Rene Simmen

Shadow Puppets, by Olive Blackham

The Puppet Theatre of Japan, by A. C. Scott

Bunraku: The Art of Japanese Puppet Theatre, by Donald Keene

FICTION: (Young readers)

The Master Puppeteer, by Katherine Paterson

The Adventures of Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi

PERIODICALS: "National Geographic", "Smithsonian", "International Wildlife", "World"

RESIDENCIES AND WORKSHOPS

WOOD & STRINGS THEATRE provides artist in residence workshops for teachers, students, and families, in puppet construction and production, closely integrated to curriculum. Instructions and material are also available.

For further information contact our representatives at:

907 Shady Circle,

Centerville, TN 37033

TEL (931)729-9911

FAX (931)729-9595

EMAIL

ENJOY THE MAGIC!