Tomorrow’s puppetry in Africa – Dramaturgies and digital exeriments

A training cycle for the puppetry artists of the African continent.

UNIMA international, its commissions Africa and Professional Training, in collaboration with the National Centres of UNIMA in Tunisia, Kenya, Togo, South Africa, Burkina Faso and the representative in Uganda, launch together a training cycle in 2023 for puppetry artists of the African continent on the theme: Dramaturgies and digital experimentations. 

For this project, the partners wish to work with other National Centres and representatives from the continent who are invited to apply after having read the call for applications by writing a letter of motivation to mario.puppet-africa@unima.org.

Five trainings will be held from February to June 2023. 

The call is launched for the first two trainings which will take place from 10 to 16 May.

Deadline for applications: March 25th

THE WORKSHOP

Puppetry and dramaturgy in public spaces 

Animated by Athanase Kabre, Burkina Faso and Evelyne Fagnen, France

Dates: 10 to 16 May 2023

Duration: 5 days

Time: 9:00 – 12:00 GMT

Format: Mixed (live and digital)

Language: French

Number of participants: 60 participants, including 6 groups of 8 people at a distance and 12 participants in person

The aim of this training is to consolidate the work of puppeteers who have already been working for many years in the public space by providing them with theoretical and practical support on :

• Dramaturgical writing and the particular conditions of a performance in a public space
• The constraints and specificities of creation in this sector.

These are therefore training-action courses, the aim of which is either to bring out writing projects through a workshop approach, or to build on the projects and centres from which the trainees come in order to work towards their consolidation.

The training will be based on two modules, combining practice and theory:

• Module 1: Writing a puppet show in a public space

This training around the writing of shows in public space will bring together professionals of puppetry arts in order to take into account the specificities of the public space in the artistic writing of their show.

The aim of this course is to work on the origin of the artistic act, namely writing.

• Module 2: Creating for the public space; What staging for what choreography?

Through this module, Athanase KABRE and Evelyne FAGNEN will work with puppeteers on the staging and artistic creation in the public space, with the specificity of the African context and the use of existing means here.

Full call for applications

Application form

TARGET AUDIENCE

This project takes into account the professionalization component of the puppetry art in French-speaking African countries. For this purpose it is addressed in general to the amateurs and to the professionals of puppetry art in Africa and more particularly to the young professionals of the sector stemming from the centres UNIMA of the West, the Center and the North Africa.

FORMAT

This course will be run by the trainers in Burkina Faso and also in a distance format, piloted by National Centres in other French-speaking African countries who wish to become partners.

A total of 60 participants are expected:

• 6 groups of 8 people at a distance
• 12 participants in Burkina Faso

In presence, in Burkina Faso: 12 places open – 6 for puppeteers from Burkina Faso, 6 for puppeteers from other countries. A mobility grant is available to help with travel costs.

At a distance, in a group of 8 from another country: It is open to puppeteers from all the French-speaking countries of the continent that have a national centre in their country. The 8 puppeteers selected by country will have to go to the place where the course will be organized.

THE TRAINERS

Athanase KABRE

Puppeteer, director and artistic director of La Compagnie du Fil, Athanase KABRE started acting in 1986, during his studies of Modern Literature, option Performing Arts, in Burkina Faso. He took his first steps in puppet theatre in 1991.

After a period of teaching as a French teacher in high school and college, Athanase KABRE created La Compagnie du Fil in 1998. As a builder, manipulator and trainer, he writes and directs shows for children and adults. He was the first president of the Burkinabe Centre of UNIMA and participated in the setting up of the African Commission at the Perth Congress in 2008.

Alessandra AMICARELLI

Graduating with honors from École Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette in Charleville-Mézières (ESNAM), Alessandra AMICARELLI is the founder of Compagnia StultiferaNavis, a contemporary puppet theater company. She opened the doors of SPAZIO LABORATORIO FONTANILI – TEATRO ANIMATO, a place of research, creation and development of projects around contemporary puppetry arts. She regularly directs workshops and professional trainings and is currently in charge of the course in “Digital Animation” ANIMATERIA high training course for expert animators in the techniques and languages, analog and digital, of puppet theater.

Since 2020, she is a member of the Professional Training Commission and of the Publications and Contemporary Writing Commission of UNIMA International. In 2020, she gave life to the independent editorial project ANIMATAZINE, an international fanzine dedicated to animated theater, which won in 2022 the ANCT Award for Criticism from the National Association of Theater Critics. From 2021, she is elected International Councillor of UNIMA Italy.

This project is supported by UNESCO and coordinated by UNIMA Internationale in cooperation with its commissions Unima Commission Afrique and UNIMA-Professional Training Commission and in partnership with National Centres of UNIMA in Unima Tunisie, Togo, Kenya, UNIMA SA (The South African Association of Puppetry), Unima Burkina, and the representative of Uganda.