Mar ~ Marionetas | Espinho International Puppet Festival

Mar~Marionetas - Festival Internacional de Marionetas de Espinho 2024

Sea Monsters [ WORKSHOP ]

• Teatro e Marionetas de Mandrágora
• M/6 . 30mins . free access


• this workshop for families takes place cyclically during the established period
  Teatro e Marionetas de Mandrágora is a resident company in Espinho and is based at FACE - Fórum de Arte e Cultura de Espinho.

Sea Monsters

Is it a fish, is it a dolphin, is it a monster?

Sometimes the image that launches us into a playful and educational activity is right in front of us. An image that can be found in the old Brandão Gomes Factory, the current Espinho Municipal Museum, as well as in various sculptures in the city, in addition to its presence throughout the country. Although its origin is uncertain, we do know that the Brandão Gomes Factory used it as a brand image.

We can only imagine our encounter with these creatures on the beach. And imagining is something we do so well.

This is a puppet-making workshop that starts from the imagery of the territory, from its identity, so that we can get closer and use this relationship as material for theatrical play and for appropriating the identity of a place.

what the festival has to say

This workshop involves bringing young people into contact with a different creative reality, where dramatization is achieved through the construction of the scenic object, the puppet. This puppet, with its simple structure, evokes the imagery of the sea monsters that have populated and are still present on sea maps and in the minds of sailors confronted with the unknown of the sea.

And since there is no end to imagination, these monsters can populate any mind.

Each young person will create their own puppet, which will be the starting point for a wider project around stories that deal with the presence of the sea monster.

Teatro e Marionetas de Mandrágora

Teatro e Marionetas de Mandrágora is a professional puppet theater company with artistic direction by Clara Ribeiro and Filipa Mesquita and art direction by enVide neFelibata. The company was founded on April 2, 2002. In the symbiosis of a symbolic language that combines heritage and traditional legacy with contemporary society's thought and dynamics, often in a not-so-peaceful dialogue, a fundamental element emerges: the puppet. This element supports us in the search for our own cultural identity.

Our goal is to discover the aesthetic, visual, scenic, and dramatic potential of the puppet itself, as well as in its relationship with the actor, and in this discovery, explore the dramaturgy that characterizes us: to explore culture, belief, and legend allied with the city, technological exploration, and the speed of the global village. Throughout our artistic journey, we have presented various proposals to different audiences, including adults, youth, school, and family groups, as well as in basic and specialized training. One of our major commitments is the national and international tour of our projects. Decentralization, community work, partnership creation, and social and inclusive value are predominant concerns in our daily activities.

Over these 22 years, we have established the company as a contemporary artistic creation structure through dozens of show proposals presented nationally and internationally, whether they are our own creations or collaborations with other national and international cultural structures and entities. Our premise is to provide space for the creative freedom of our artistic team, ensuring the existence within the structure of various languages and diverse visions that unite in the common goal of developing the art of puppet theater. Reflection on social fragility issues and a keen eye on traditions and heritage form the basis of the Company's dramaturgy, consolidated in distinct yet simultaneously convergent perspectives.

Dialogue with diverse audiences and the involvement of creation in different contexts and spaces, as well as the intersection between entities and structures, is fundamental, creating multidisciplinary proposals aimed mainly at artistic communication with audiences. Noteworthy is our collaboration with numerous educational services in the implementation of activities in institutions such as monuments, museums, and heritage buildings.

links

• ei.marionetasmandragora.pt
• loja.marionetasmandragora.pt
• marionetasmandragora.pt
• facebook.com/marionetas.mandragora
• instagram.com/marionetas_mandragora
• youtube.com/@MarionetasMandragora

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that's how

This workshop, which was open-air for the first few days, was sold out, and the weather was so good, it brought to the Festival the possibility of challenging the little ones, accompanied by their families, to be puppet builders.

Fish, inspired by the logo of the old Fábrica Brandão Gomes, where the Teatro e Marionetas de Mandrágora is based.

The children came up to us and said “look at my fish” and took this memory home with them.

The workshop was sold out, sometimes with more participants than we had originally planned, but we're going to do it again and those who weren't there can now make their own sea monster. In two sessions we exceeded the expectation of 100 children, so despite the tiredness in our arms, we are very pleased with this incredible turnout.