Great Small Works produced its fifth toy theater festival during
the fall of 2000, an event which this year became an international one.
The festival consisted of many components: an exhibition of toy theaters
both historical and new which was on display from October 21st through
December 2nd; three weekends of toy theater performances consisting of
six different programs and 24 different shows, from November 2nd through
19th; Sunday afternoon family matinees with different programs geared toward
children; two Saturday afternoon toy theater-making workshops for participants
of all ages; and a free toy theater symposium which discussed the past,
present and future of toy theater.
The exhibition was a complete and pleasing transformation of the gallery at HERE. Curated and designed by our colleagues Laura Helton and Alessandra Nichols, there were more than 60 entries in the exhibit. These entries included examples of historical toy theaters donated by collectors, stage models created by theater artists to test their ideas, toy theaters constructed and used for performances, and art works inspired by the toy theater form. There was a section displaying photographs and samples from toy theater workshops conducted by members of Great Small Works in Mexico, Taiwan, Ohio, Milan, and New York City. And, there were two entries created by children. Having the exhibition begin two weeks before our festival and close two weeks after gave it a much longer life than in previous years. The many daily activities at HERE also gave the exhibition more exposure to a broader audience.
The first event on opening the exhibition was a fund-raising auction. Many of the artists whose work was exhibited in the gallery donated their creations to Great Small Works for auction. With NYFA as our generous hosts, and with food and drink and good cheer, we held the auction next door to HERE's gallery at NYFA:s offices. Great Small Works raised nearly $8,000 through this event, learned (almost) how to perform an auction, and generated excitement about the upcoming festival.
Inspired by a trip to a Toy Theater Festival in Preetz, Germany, in September 1999, members of Great Small Works this year invited some of the international toy theater practitioners we had met. We were delighted to include several more traditional performers alongside the experimental artists we have attracted in past years. Dirk Reimers, our host in Preetz and the owner of a shop filled with paper "curiosities" there, performed "Seven in One Blow" on a stage modelled after the Danish Royal Theater. Robert Poulter, a prolific painter from England, performed two pieces in the traditional style but made entirely from his own designs. Joe Gladwin did a tour de force with his "Dracula," which required toy opera glasses for viewing. A Roda Teatro de Bonecos from Bahia Brazil premiered a St. George and the Dragon play with exquisite carved wooden puppets. Frits Grimmelikhuizen performed his astonishing "Kandinsky Variations" accompanied by electronic music he composed in 1960.
Great Small Works created a new episode of its series "Toy Theater of Terror As Usual," which uses images and texts from current newspapers and magazines. This episode is titled "Strange Weather," and deals with the promises of technology and globalization for the future of work. This piece was performed three times each weekend.
Besides the international performers, Great Small Works invited an assortment of performers with widely varying interpretations of what toy theater can be. Nearly all of the U.S. performers premiered their shows at the festival. Karen Kandel explored her infatuation with miniatures and told a story inspired by the passions of her mother; Stuart Sherman did a truly avant-garde performance piece using texts about toy theater, NewsSharks interpreted the election (which had not yet taken place) with found objects; Laura Heit created the smallest of all toy theaters made from match boxes, which were performed live via video projection; Frank and Joan Gardner showed their remarkable 16 mm film made in 1969 using animated vintage toys. There were many others, each bringing his or her own aesthetic and issues to the mix.
The Sunday matinees included shows specifically geared toward children. Alain Lecucq, a French puppeteer and toy theater expert, performed each weekend. His "Sentimental Wolf" was performed with flat plexiglass puppets, and was an original story based on all of the fairytales which include the Wolf. He was joined each weekend by a local artist: Sam Hack with her "Dog and Pony Show," Franciscan friar Jon Bankert with a classic "Peter Pan," and Great Small Works with "Our Kitchen," whose cabinets magically open like toy theaters to reveal the origins of the ingredients for a pancake breakfast. There were musical interludes between the pieces, and each performance was well-attended and jolly.
Two Saturday afternoons were devoted to toy theater-making workshops. The participants included many children and their parents, and some teachers. They were given a tour of the exhibition and a short introduction to the history of toy theater. Then they were set loose to create their own toy theater stages. Great Small Works provided simple materials - cardboard boxes, magazines (for finding images), paper and cardboard and glue and wire and sticks for decorating the boxes and for making puppets. People split into groups and built small stages. Some had simply an image they wanted to create. Others had slice-of-life moments they wanted to show. Others had stories in mind. Members of Great Small Works assisted with technical questions, and gave advice about realizing the participants' ideas. After a two-hour period, a table was set up on the stage and each group presented what they had created. Some people had very preliminary sketches or simple pictures; others managed actual shows. The spirit, enthusiasm and creativity were truly inspiring. [My favorite was done by a girl about 7 years old who created, with her father, a story called "Yesterday My Friend Sarah Bernstein Pulled out My Tooth." That framing of a moment was for me the essence of theater. ]
Finally, Great Small Works conducted a Toy Theater Symposium. Taking advantage of the presence of several experienced and committed toy theater practitioners, John Bell led a discussion with Dirk Reimers, Robert Poulter and Alain Lecucq about their involvement in the art, and their opinions about its future. They were joined by Dorita Hannah, who gave a more anthropological interpretation of the value of this form of miniature performance.
Great Small Works is very committed to the promotion and practice of
toy theater. It is a form which lends itself to any theme, from grand classics
to current events to personal stories to simply the creation of images.
It is truly simple to make, and yet can involve extraordinarily complex
ideas and even technical feats. It is inexpensive and therefore accessible
to anyone. We have seen successes in the use of toy theater by children,
artists, teachers, activists, intellectuals and many others. Our hopes
in creating Toy Theater Festivals is to inspire people to embrace the form,
to learn ourselves about the endless possibilities and historical uses
of toy theater in order to develop our own shows, and to create a community
of artists interested in joining this exploration together.