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Little Angel Theatre 小天使剧院

Interview with Slavka Jovanović, Interim Director, Little Angel Theatre

专访小天使剧院临时主任 斯拉夫卡约万诺维奇

The Little Angel Theatre’s modest appearance, tucked away from the London bustle in an old one hundred seater Islington hall, does little to betray its status as the UK’s premier theatrical puppetry company. It is widely seen as being the ‘Home of British Puppetry’, and is one of only three establishments in the UK which is a building-based puppetry company. Since its conception in 1961, the company has brought puppeteering to the forefront of contemporary, boundary-pushing British theatre and reinvented the concept as a legitimate artistic force. They are completely hands-on, with their puppet workshop (located next to the theatre) giving the company a tight knit, close-collaborative feel which stems from their beginnings as a husband-wife venture, with John and Lyndie Wright acting as the founders of the establishment.

小天使剧院位于远离喧嚣的伦敦伊斯灵顿大厅,古旧的百人坐位,朴素的装潢,并不偏离其作为英国首屈一指的木偶剧公司地位。众所周知,它是“英国木偶之家”,并且是英国仅有的三个固定剧院木偶公司之一。自1961年的创立以来,公司将木偶艺术跨越性的推向当代英国剧院前列,并且重塑其作为正统艺术力量的概念。该团队自约翰和琳蒂莱特夫妇创立伊始,便完全以实际经验为基准。位于剧院旁的木偶工作室则与公司密切合作,提供相辅相成的协作。

Though primarily known as a children’s theatre, with past productions including the wildly popular adaptations of children’s classics such as Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox and The Jabberwocky, Little Angel has been sure throughout its tenure to include adult audiences within their sizeable reach. As strong advocates of puppet education, their four puppetry festivals, HATCH, INCUBATE, SUSPENSE and FIRSTS, which seek out new talent, are produced along with the extensive training they give to interested amateurs and established professionals.

小天使剧院虽然以其儿童剧场闻名,经典旧作包括广受欢迎的改编童话“罗尔德·达尔的了不起的狐狸爸爸”,和“无意义的文字游戏”。开设至今,它还赢得了可观数目的成年观众的支持。作为对木偶艺术教育的推广,他们在举办的四个木偶艺术节,“孵化”(HATCH),“酝酿”(INCUBATE),“悬念”(SUSPENSE)和“首创”(FIRSTS)中,通过对有兴趣的业余爱好者与专业人士的广泛培训,大力发掘新人才。


 

 INTERVIEW

 

We spoke to Slavka Jovanović, Little Angel’s current interim director, to learn more about the company ethos.

我们采访了斯拉夫卡约万诺维奇,小天使剧院的临时主任,以加深对他们公司精神的了解。

(1)

We have found that many drama schools and also some of the puppet theatre companies in the UK now offer puppeteering courses and training. What would you say were the key differences between these courses and Little Angel’s courses? What is it in particular that makes Little Angel stand out?

Little Angel Theatre was established by John and Lyndie Wright over 60 years ago. The company continues to be respected both throughout the UK and abroad for the artistic quality of its productions, whether at its home base or on tour, nationally and internationally, to schools, community centres and arts venues, and loved by children and adults alike.

Our productions use every type of puppet and draw their themes, styles and stories from a wide range of cultural traditions. We also programme a wide variety of visiting puppet companies, giving London audiences a marvellous opportunity to experience the diversity of this art form.

Our courses and training programmes are rooted in the tradition of high quality craftsmanship and production values that resonate throughout all departments at the Little Angel. The organisation attracts artists, designers, puppeteers and producers of the highest calibre, who are keen to share their knowledge and expertise. Our education department prides itself on creating a diverse range of training which offers entry at all different ages and stages of development.

我们发现现在英国有许多戏剧学校和木偶剧团开始提供木偶表演课程和培训。你认为这些课程与小天使课程之间的主要区别是什么?小天使有什么特制让它与众不同?

小天使剧院是约翰和琳蒂莱特夫妇在60年前建立的。该公司长久以来享有英国全国与海外好评,无论在其大本营还是在巡演,在国内, ,国际,学校,社区中心或艺术场地,皆以其艺术含量与制作品质闻名,贯彻始终。并赢得儿童和成年人的共同喜爱。

我们的制作使用所有类型的木偶,并从广泛的文化传统中汲取主题,风格和故事。我们还编排其他各种来访木偶艺术公司的节目,给伦敦观众一个绝佳机会去体验这种艺术形式的多样性。

我们的课程和培训项目都扎根于贯穿各部门与小天使传统共鸣的高品质工艺和产品价值。我们的组织吸引了业界最优秀的艺术家,设计师,木偶艺术家和生产者,他们共同热衷于分享他们的知识和专长。我们的教育部门致力于钻研和提供所有年龄阶层,不同发展阶段的培训项目。

(2)

We know that the founder of Little Angel comes originally from South Africa, and that the     company Handspring, who created the puppets in War Horse, are also South African. Would you say that puppet culture is more developed in South Africa? And as the home of British puppet theatre, how does Little Angel introduce this puppet culture from other countries and develop them here?

It is true that both John Wright and Adrian Kohler & Basil Jones (founders of Handspring Puppets) have South Africa in common and that the country has a long and rich cultural history. Puppetry was present in traditional cultures but was introduced as a form of entertainment, mainly for children during the colonial era. It is now a thriving contemporary art form. Puppetry is widely used to entertain and educate children and adults. It is used in theatre and television, in artistic work, in therapy and in commercial production. South Africa is host to the largest international puppetry and visual performance festival on the continent, Out The Box.

As already mentioned in the opening question Little Angel Theatre programmes a range of diverse productions from different cultural traditions, as well as producing it’s own productions such as “Handa’s Surprise”, set in in a village in Kenya, and “The Grass is Always Greener – Karagoz Comes to London”, a play about the Turkish counterpart of Mr Punch (of Punch and Judy fame) and utilising the traditional style of Turkish shadow puppetry.

Through our adult training programmes as well as the far reaching Education and Participation Programme we introduce a wide range of puppetry styles and traditions.

我们了解到,小天使的创始人原本来自南非,而创造了“战马”舞台剧中的木偶的Handspring公司也来自南非。你认为,这是否说明了南非的木偶文化较有更好的发展?而作为英国木偶剧院之家,小天使是如何引进来自他乡的木偶文化,并在此地生根发芽的?

无疑,约翰·莱特和阿德里安·科勒和罗勒·琼斯(Handspring木偶公司创始人)共同具有南非背景,南非有悠久而丰富的历史文化底蕴。木偶艺术作为传统文化,一开始是以娱乐形式进入殖民地时期的孩子的世界的。它现在是一个蓬勃发展的当代艺术形式。木偶戏剧被广泛用于娱乐和教育儿童与成人。它被剧场,电视,艺术作品,心理治疗和在商业化制作接纳应用。南非举办最盛大的国际木偶艺术和视觉艺术节,开箱偶戏节。

小天使剧院除了上文提到的多元文化传统的节目外,自己也编排新项目,如“汉达的惊喜”,是发生在肯尼亚的一个村庄的故事;“另一边的山草更绿 – 卡拉格兹上伦敦记”,则是土耳其版本的潘先生(著名木戏剧“潘与茱蒂”),并注入了传统风格的土耳其皮影戏元素。

通过我们的成人培训计划,深远教育和参与计划,我们推崇全方位的木偶戏风格与传统。

 

(3)

Little Angel has many different puppet festivals – why are there more than one, and what would you say was the difference between them?

A core policy of Little Angel Theatre is to support new artists and new work. There is a strategic development programme which provides opportunities for Research & Development (R&D) as part of INCUBATE, through to scratch performances in the theatre during the annual HATCH festival held in September. We also give companies the opportunity to premiere new work during the annual FIRSTS festival in March.

Every two years Little Angel produces the SUSPENSE festival, showcasing puppetry theatre for adult audiences. This 10-day festival runs across multiple London venues and features the best in current adult puppetry work from both the UK and abroad. The next festival will commence on 30th October 2015.

小天使有许多不同的木偶艺术节 – 为什么会有不止一个? 他们之间的区别是什么?

小天使剧院的核心政策是支持新的艺术家和新作品。九月份举行的年度HATCH“孵化”艺术节主要针对新的木偶艺术家,公司与正在制作的剧本。INCUBATE“酝酿”的其中一个重要意义在于设立战略发展项目,为研究与发展 (R&D项目)提供机会。三月的年度FIRSTS“首创”节为木偶戏剧公司提供首映他们新制作的机会。

小天使的SUSPENSE “悬念”艺术节每两年举行一次,是专门针对成人观众的木偶戏剧节。这是一个为期10天的艺术节, 在伦敦多个场馆举行活动,挑选来自英国国内外当前最优秀的成人木偶戏。下一次的悬念节日将在2015年10月30日举行。

 

(4)

Where did the name ‘Little Angel’ come from?

The theatre is named after the local tube station and surrounding area, the “Angel” (which takes its name from the famous “Angel Inn” which has been a landmark in Islington since the 16th Century) .

“小天使”这个名字是怎么来的?

“天使” 的名字来自于剧场所在地的地铁站及地理位置(天使之名来源于16世纪以来伊斯灵顿著名地标“天使驿站”)。

(5)

Besides producing your own shows, you also work with other companies, such as the ENO. How do these collaborations come about? Can you tell us about the challenges you face in collaboration and the difference in creating your own show and collaborating with other companies?

Little Angel has always worked in collaboration with a variety of artists and companies, from the ENO to the RSC, to Kneehigh and Polka. It’s great to work in partnership with other companies and organisations. We have such a lot to learn from and share with each other. It’s also a great way to share costs and resources. Challenges can come in many shapes and sizes. When we did a co-production of The Tempest with the RSC, we had the challenge of scale. The Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon is much much larger than the Little Angel theatre, which only seats 100 people. We had to create a different version of the play when it transferred to the Little Angel, as the stage is about a sixth of the size! This entailed getting rid of 4/5 of the set!

除了制作自己的节目,你们也与其他公司,如ENO工作。你们是怎样进行合作的?请问你们在与合作中遇到的主要挑战是什么?独立制作与合作制作间有什么区别呢?

小天使一直以来都与许多艺术家,剧场公司合作。从ENO到RSC,从Kneehigh到Polka剧院。与其他公司和组织工作是一件很好的事情,因为我们都能从对方那里学习到许多东西,并且可以分担成本,分享资源。工作中挑战来自于不同方面,有大有小。比如,我们与RSC合作的“暴风雨”制作中,有项目规模的挑战。小天使是一个百人剧场,Stratford-Upon-Avon的天鹅剧院比小天使剧院要庞大许多。由于小天使的舞台是天鹅剧场舞台的六分之一大小,我们把项目搬到小天使时必须制作一份新的规划,包括精简80%的人员!

(6)

How many puppeteers does Little Angel train every year?

Little Angel Theatre runs courses and classes for people of all ages over 45 weeks of the year, more or less. Over 400 adults pass through our training centre every year. We also run courses and professional development off site. Furthermore we have a vibrant programme for young puppeteers through our youth programme.

小天使每年培训多少为木偶操纵师?

小天使剧院一年里为各年龄阶层人士提供的课程超过45周。每年超过400个成年人来我们的培训中心。我们还开办场外课程和专业发展课题。此外,我们的青年培训计划为新一代的木偶人提供精心项目。

 

(7)

How are these puppets created and how do you breathe life into them as characters? What would be the biggest challenge of both creating these puppets physically and also making them come to life onstage?

Puppets for our professional productions are conceived, carved and costumed in the atmospheric workshop adjacent to the Little Angel Theatre. We also run professional development training weeks with master puppet makers in the very same space. In addition to this we run additional training courses in puppet making and performing at our new Studios in Islington, just 5 minutes walk away from the theatre. You can learn to make and perform with many different types of puppets, including table top, rod, shadow, glove and objects. The challenge of making a puppet is thinking about how you want it to move. The same challenge relates to the performance aspect. In addition, as a performer you need to concentrate on other aspects such as giving the puppet life and breath, giving it focus and imbuing it with emotion.

你们的木偶是如何制作的,你们如何为他们的角色带来生命?制作这些木偶以及把他们带上舞台时你们面临的最大困难是什么?

我们专业制作的木偶是在小天使剧场旁边那充满艺术氛围的作坊中进行设计,雕刻与配装的。在此空间我们还举行木偶艺术大师的专业发展培训周。除此之外,我们在伊斯灵顿距剧场步行5分钟的新工作室里进行木偶制作与演出的额外培训课程。人们可以在这里学习制作与操作不同样式的木偶,包括桌面,棒,阴影,手套式和其他物体。制作木偶的挑战是去想像你将让他如何移动。同样的挑战涉及到演出方面。由为重要的是,出演者需要专著许多细节,如赋予木偶生命与 气息,让他受到关注,并为它灌以情感。

 

                   

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