Shadow play
The shadow play , also shadow theater , is a form of theater in which a story is told by casting shadows on an illuminated surface.
shadow
Two-dimensional figures , sometimes covered with colored foils, are often used to create the shadows and are drawn close to the canvas. Three-dimensional figures or actors can also cast shadows on the screen. If the light source behind the projection surface is punctiform, figures can be seen clearly even if they are further away from the screen. They then appear enlarged or in distorted proportions. If, on the other hand, there is a diffuse light source, the figures only appear sharp when they are close to the projection surface. Several colored light sources can lead to the creation of colored shadow images. "Negative" shadows are achieved by using a stencil that fills the entire projection surface. This makes the figure appear white. Some shadow figures have a mechanism in them to make movements appear more real.
audience
With a translucent projection surface, the audience usually sits on the side facing away from the light source . At the Indonesian shadow theater Wayang -Kulit, the audience can sometimes choose to watch the shadow player at work from the back of the shadow theater.
volume
In the case of shadow play, the production of the auditory and visual impressions can take place separately. A narrator tells the story while a shadow player creates the shadows.
history
The Chinese shadow theater (皮影戲, Píyǐngxì ), the Wayang Kulit Theater in Indonesia, the Sbek Thom in Cambodia and the Nang Yai or Nang Talung in Thailand have a centuries-old tradition. In the Middle Ages, the shadow play came to Asia Minor, where it is still a tradition as a Karagöz theater during Ramadan. During the Ottoman rule it came to Greece where it is called Karagiozis . However, shadow theater probably came to Europe directly from Asia. As an amateur theater , it replaced the classic theater for the lower classes , especially in rural areas. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the shadow play enjoyed great popularity in Europe, especially in France as ombres chinoises .
History of the technology of shadow theater in Germany
Since the heyday of shadow theater in Romanticism, more and more mobile characters have been developed , especially in France (1885 in the cabaret Le Chat noir ) and later in Germany ("Schwabinger Schattenspiele"). With plug-in mechanisms, the player can fix figures on a playing rail. In this way, it is possible to carry out differentiated animations beyond the traditional movement of the figure's arms alone. In Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, this development was mainly promoted by EM Engert and M. Cordes, who created scenes with astonishingly lively effect by coupling parts of figures and strings. In the middle of the 20th century, the mechanical engineer Otto Kraemer set new standards with many productions and publications. Every two years a festival of classical shadow theater takes place in Hanover.
Modern shadow theater
Modern shadow theater has been developing since around 1980 and is particularly widespread in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan. Fabrizio Montecchi from the “Teatro Gioco Vita” from Italy, Luc Amoros from the “Compagnie Amoros et Augustin” from France and the Swiss physicist Rudolf Stössel, who died in 1998, are considered to be his pioneers.
Difference between tradition and modernity
While the traditional Asian shadow play has always been characterized by fixed light, flat figures guided on a rectangular shadow screen and players standing behind the screen, contemporary shadow theater, on the other hand, is a lively form of expression in which both light and shadow objects can be moved in the room .
The trigger for this new form of theater was the development of halogen light , the small point-like radiation source of which enables a clear contour of the shadow, even when the figure casting the shadow is lifted from the shade and moved.
Extension of the dramaturgical possibilities
The halogen light led to an expansion of the representation. By removing the object from the shadow screen, the shadow can also be distorted and overstretched and is no longer just an image of the figure. By moving the figures in space while maintaining the sharpness of the contour on the shadow screen, three-dimensional figures and scenes can also be used and apparently three-dimensional shadow images can be created. It is not only played behind, but also in front of the screen. The sharpness of the image created by halogen light makes it possible to use new materials such as profile glasses, colored and polarizing foils. By using current regulators (dimmers) and iris diaphragms, the dramaturgical means of the genre are expanded.
Shadow theater center, festival and courses
In 1988, on the initiative of Rainer Reusch, the first shadow theater festival took place in Schwäbisch Gmünd. A year later, an International Shadow Theater Center (ISZ) was founded in cooperation with the World Association of Puppeteers (UNIMA). An archive with information on important theaters was set up, the hitherto little-known contemporary shadow theater was researched, the results published in four books and a film called "SchattenWelten" was produced. In addition, courses in modern shadow theater have been offered since 2008.
See also
- Sebnitzer shadow play , a shape of the Christmas pyramid
- Karagöz Theater , Turkish shadow theater
- Arabic shadow play
- Tholpavakuthu , shadow play in the southern Indian state of Kerala, which is part of a Hindu ritual
- Chamadyache bahulya , shadow play in the south of the Indian state of Maharashtra
Exhibitions
- The world of shadow theater. From Asia to Europe . Linden-Museum , Stuttgart, October 3, 2015 to April 10, 2016
literature
- Georg Jacob : The history of the shadow theater in the Orient and Occident . 2nd expanded edition, Heinz Lafaire, Hannover 1925, reprint 1972, ISBN 978-3764804114
- Jasmin Ii Sabai Günther, Inés de Castro (ed.): The world of shadow theater. From Asia to Europe . (Exhibition catalog Linden-Museum) Hirmer, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-7774-2482-8 .
Web links
Shadow theater in Germany:
Individual evidence
- ↑ The world of shadow theater. Exhibition texts. Linden Museum