Puppeteers Without Borders , Erica Sapir

A bridge in Mostar.

Impressions from my Participation to the Tenth International Conference
MASK, OBJECT, PUPPET: The Powerful Means Of Theatrical Expression

Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 22nd - 24th February 2008
Organized by the Mostar Centre for Drama Education

The group organizing this tenth conference is a small organization of people very dedicated to theatre, and to the social and cultural fabric of Bosnian society in general, with a special emphasis on youth. They make a point of being apolitical, and all inclusive. Past conferences had participants from several countries of Europe, and the subjects had to do with theatre for social change. Regular collaborators of the group are Eugenio Barba, and Augusto Boal.

Cain.

This time all participants were from Balkan countries (Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Croatia, and Slovenia) which is no small feat considering the hassle they have to go through when crossing the borders of those countries ( as I myself experienced later on), and I was the only European participant. The conference was in Serbian, which everybody could speak with slightly different dialects, and I had a personal English translator.

All lecturers have an impressive record, either as long standing puppet theatre directors with many prizes, or University professors, authors of books, essays. It seemed to me to be the cream of the world of puppetry in Balkan countries!

There were some interactive workshops, and some dissertations, which were interesting considering they were addressed to an audience of young people active in theatre and for whom this was a first immersion into the world of puppetry. I could understand that the concern of the director-organizer, Sead Dulic, was that there were only about ten young people.

Puppeteers without Borders

Cain and Abel.

On the second day I gave a three hour workshop on “Using puppetry in education with special emphasis on Non Violent Communication.” It was held in a primary school and the participants were six teachers, five young actors and some of the conference colleagues. I started with a short enactment of the story of Cain and Abel with walking puppets. The killing of Abel was particularly gruesome, as Cain crushed him completely and threw him to the crowd!

After the killing, I explained a bit about what had moved Cain to his violence: his need to be loved and appreciated, a basic need of all human being, and how with some empathy he could have been able to express his anger at being neglected, without resorting to murder. I spoke about the importance of acknowledging our basic needs, and what those basic needs are, and then I asked the audience to think of some conflict they face in their life or work, and to think of what needs are involved in those conflicts. Then I showed how to make our famous walking puppets, but unfortunately the materials I had asked for were either not there, or very poor and uninspiring.

Able sacrifices a lamb.

The teachers were most timid both in the making of the puppets and in acting out the conflicts, and needed a lot of help, encouragement and prodding. The conflicts they brought in were not very dramatic, and I feel that much longer time would be needed to go deeper into the real problems. Still, I suggested to the teachers they use the technique with the children, and they agreed that they would do that, and hopefully the children will be more liberated in using those kinds of puppets. The next day there was the Power Point presentation of our association, and the showing of the 30 minute DVD. The film and the presentation were very well received, and quite a few of the participants would like to become members, collaborate in the future, and invite us again.

Puppet made in Workshop

Conclusion

A three hours workshop is definitely too short to hope in a definite change in violent attitudes But I hope that what stayed with them was:

1. The idea that violence is the result of our un-met basic human needs
2. The easy technique of the walking puppet making which can be very expressive and effective.

MOSTAR

Tower in Mostar.

Mostar is famous for sad reasons: during the Yugoslav war 1990-1994, the population was decimated; many people became refugees in other countries; the town was razed to the ground; and especially the old town which included the famous bridge originally built on the 15th century by the Turks. The old town has now been rebuilt and declared a UNESCO heritage and is now very beautiful; but all the rest still has horrible scars of destruction, together with some new and ultramodern construction, like the Bennetton shopping centre and few others. All the houses that remain standing have signs of the war.

The surroundings of Mostar are very neglected and war-ravaged as well: fields and fields strewn with plastic bags, ruins, and new, unfinished houses with people already living in them. I could see the beginning of new lavender fields and I could see some vineyards. All new houses in the country side have a little vegetable plot for home use. One unusual thing is the cemeteries: everywhere, many of them, in the midst of the towns (instead of gardens or parks), outside towns, along the roads, on the hills and in the valleys: everywhere cemeteries.

Erica Sapir under a bridge in Mostar.

But there are some jewels: Blagaj: a house for the Sufis, also called the Dervish seat, which overlooks the source of a very swift Bana river. Another beauty is the ancient village of Pocitelj, which was destroyed and rebuilt as well.

These impressions have stayed very strong in me; but mostly I was touched by the courage of the people, their wanting to work for a future which they themselves admit to be almost hopeless; still they stay and they dedicate their lives to the city and its people. The colours which stay with me are the pearl of the mornings, the copper of the sun light, and the emerald of the rivers. My thanks to the Centre for Drama Education of Mostar and G2D (Strategie-Innovation- Marketing) who made this trip possible.