War Horse as an ispiration

Last week Libby showed us a movie, War Horse.

War Horse is a thrilling and spectacular production based on the celebrated novel by Michael Morpurgo.

The First World War is the backdrop for this tale of bravery, loyalty, and the extraordinary bond between a young recruit and his horse.

Actors, working with astonishing life-sized puppets by the internationally renowned Handspring Puppet Company (http://www.handspringpuppet.co.za/ - webmaster@handspringpuppet.co.za), take audiences on an unforgettable journey through history.

The play is now on the New London Theatre.

Why am I including this on my journal?

I didn’t see the play, but just by watching the movie that shows all the work they had to do in order to reach to that great result, I was impressed. I was impressed but what you can do if you really want it. At a first moment, I would have never thought that the idea of using life-sized puppets in a play with human actors would have work.

I’m really surprised, but, more than this, I’m motivated. In this last period we started talking about Research Investigation, and different assignment we will have to do next year.

A very important point, for this theatre course will be the Independent Project. It is not all about mark. I think that the Independent Project is when we have to come out with our own ideas and be creative, see what could work, try to realize a “dream”. In my case, this will be the first time I will be directing my own play. I really want it to be great and I will do my best in order to reach this result.

I haven’t started working on my IP yet; but I was thinking about a play that includes the novel Akara-Ogun e la di Benin City (http://www.gfbv.it/3dossier/vda/benin.html) and the story of somebody very close to me, who is “one of the many Akara” that are in our society. I’m not completely sure whether or not I’m going to do this project; but, since it is originally a very sad story, I want to use “irony” to tell it. I thought about the title “Just Life” some months ago, but now, I think that I would really like to include a life-sized puppet (giraffe or african animal) - (life-size money puppet, "alive" would be amazing, look if there would any chance to make it possible),  on the story. I’m not sure how I’m going to do this; perhaps I have a role for the teddy bear. He is a very old puppet who has had many different owners, he was the best friend of Akara-Ognu when she was young, and the only “person” she trusted. Akara is now nineteen and she is trying to understand herself looking back to her past and telling her story to the puppet, who she abandoned, when she grow up and became a “women” (prematurely).

Her teddy bear knows only the happy part of her life, her happy childhood; but now, she feels that she will feel better by sharing all her story and feelings with the puppet.  By the end of the play, she will grow up. She will realize that she still have to work on a lot of aspects in order to leave a better life; at least now she knows them.

They are several (2/3) people acting Akara-Ognu, (in the different stages of her life). One of the Akara-Ognu is the storyteller (puppeteer), who is going to tell the whole story sitting on the stage under the central spot light on the downstage. Brechtian style; she snaps the audience to reality. While she is telling the story, the other actors are going to mime/act on the stage.

Realistic story in contrast with the irony used to tell it and the presence of a puppet. Humor enters occasionally to give balance to the play. It still have to be serious and realistic, costanly send a message and (Stanislavski) the audience have to be "kind of personally involved".


Other style I would like to investigate on and perhaps use in my IP: Mime, Pantomine, Theater of the Oppresed (Augusto Boal), Absurd Theatre ...

Now, if this is what I want to realize, I have to start, keep on going, step by step. 
It's not going to be easy.