Blending fine arts and drama one puppet at a time
You may have noticed a beautiful and detailed art exhibit inside the Purdy Crawford Centre at Mt.A, which can be described as three puppets sitting around a fully stocked dinner table. Or maybe your eye was drawn to the various phrases carefully hung on the wall outside the theatre. In an interview with The Argosy, Stewart, a Mt.A BFA student, describes the collaborative process of creating, curating, and displaying the two pieces for the MFT production, and what inspired her to get involved in the project. Those feelings of wonder and curiosity were exactly what puppeteer, artist, and curator Teagan Stewart was trying to convey, with a goal of setting “a scene that sparked a lot of joy and got people excited about seeing the show.”
The Motyer Fancy Theatre (MFT) recently continued their stacked season by welcoming the first devised theatre production to the stage, titled Nocturnal Variations: A Puppet Cabaret. This work introduced a wide variety of original puppets built and operated by Mt.A students. Stewart, one of the puppeteers in the production and an arts and culture reporter at The Argosy, also was a part of the creative team, taking on the role of curating and creating the lobby exhibit, highlighting “although the purpose of puppets is to come alive in the hands/body of a puppeteer, they are also incredible sculptures.” She continues stating that she “wanted people to be able to see [the artistry of puppets both] before and after the show.”
The first piece Stewart described was a “pantoum poem,” which was a wall installation that uses “found language.” She elaborates by saying “all of the phrases that made up the poem were things performers and the director, Ian [McFarlane], said during rehearsals that I found memorable or notable to write down.” During the rehearsal process of Nocturnal Variations, Stewart paid extra attention to her fellow puppeteers and the creative team, noting meaningful moments of the process through phrases spoken directly by the cast and crew. She describes continuing to write “quotes down and [realizing] that [she] could make something with them, as a way to bring the audience into the creation process a bit.”
The second piece for the production is what Stewart described as “The ‘Alice in Wonderland’ style exhibit curated by herself in collaboration with artist Laura Stinson. When asked to describe the piece in one word, Stewart falls to “playful,” highlighting she “think[s] people found it really exciting to walk into the Purdy Crawford building, and immediately see these beautiful huge trolls seated around an overflowing dinner table.”
Throughout the installation process, Stewart recalls connecting with fellow students and community members who were eager to learn more about the puppets and their scene. The process was “a very accessible art installation, because most people have pre-existing relationships with puppets and fairy tale-like scenes, so they have a reference point” says Stewart. As for her collaboration with Stinson, Stewart says “we weren’t trying to do anything too complicated,” and they remained focused on their goal to set a meaningful scene that connected people to the show, even when they were outside the theatre.
When asked about the inspiration behind both projects, Stewart highlights work done by Peter Schumann, the director of Bread and Puppet. She describes seeing pictures of his exhibits and finding them “very exciting and playful.” She continues explaining she liked the “scrappy quality of painting straight on cardboard and nailing that to the wall.” Stewart recalls drawing inspiration from artist and performer Monster Chetwynd, reviewing how they had “installed their puppets in gallery spaces.. Finally, she playfully draws from “how the Muppets have been installed in museums” noting the use of “furniture and setting a scene.”
Nocturnal Variations is marked as a monumental step in the collaboration of fine arts and drama at Mt.A. When asked about the significance of this, Stewart says “being a part of the puppet show was a really great stepping stone from fine arts to drama, because visuals are such a critical part of puppetry and there was so much making involved in the production.” As a puppeteer, Stewart had the creative liberty to write, direct, and build a puppet scene, combining both fine arts and dramaturgical elements. “I had a great time and learned a lot I wouldn’t necessarily have learned in class” says Stewart, “It was very hands-on, like a studio class, but required a lot of collaboration which I found very rewarding.”
For students looking to get involved, the overwhelming success of Nocturnal Variations hints that more visual and devised theatre is on the way! Stewart urges those interested in getting involved in similar projects to “definitely try!” She highlights an excitement for future projects in this realm, as she is eager to continue creating and “blending” drama and fine arts skills!