"Lesson in Writing": An article from "Image Music Text" by Roland Barthes (1977).
Article Overview
This article compares western puppetry (and western culture in general) with Japanese Bunraku theatre (otherwise known as Ningyo Johruri). There is a detailed analysis of Bunraku, with a special focus on the puppeteer. There are also some very thought-provoking observations made by Barthe, which I can only describe as ‘puppet theology’, where he reflects on the puppet, the actor, and the relationship between both. Although this reading is short and almost 3 decades old, it is full of interesting and profound ideas that are still very relevant to the contemporary performer.
How is it useful for puppeteers?
The article makes you think about the importance of discipline as a performer. The main operator’s face is left uncovered and yet remains “smooth, clean, impassive, cold like ‘a white onion freshly washed’.” The two other operators, though covered up, also remain fully visible on stage. Yet all three become almost invisible to the audience as they work together to create “eminently transitive” actions. They become merely the way of passage for the action to travel to the puppet, without drawing any attention back on themselves. Barthe describes this as getting ‘rid’ of the actor, (which parallels Edward Gordon Craig’s theories on the Ubermarionette). What a challenge this is to us as exposed operators – to keep our own bodies still and our faces stoic (or covered up!), as we channel all our energy into the puppet.
This article also made me think of what we have been learning about the stillness of the puppet. Keeping in tradition with the minimalist nature of Japanese art and theatre, it seems that Bunraku finds much of its meaning in stillness and silence – to the point that the sources of Bunraku theatre are exposed in their ‘void’. What’s more, all of the actions of the operator are decisive and precise. This then challenges us to look at our shows and strip them of all unnecessary actions until we are left with the essential gestures (including pauses) to convey our story.
An interesting quote from Barthe
“If the manipulator is not hidden, then why and how turn him into a God? In Bunraku, the puppet is held by no thread; without a thread, there is not longer any metaphor, any Fate; puppet no longer aping creature, man is no longer a puppet in the hands of the deity, the inner no longer controls the outer.”
Barthes, R. (1977). Lesson in Writing. In S. Heath (Ed. and Translator), Image Music Text: Essays Selected and Translated by Stephen Heath (pp. 170-178). Great Britain: Flamingo.
Article Overview
This article compares western puppetry (and western culture in general) with Japanese Bunraku theatre (otherwise known as Ningyo Johruri). There is a detailed analysis of Bunraku, with a special focus on the puppeteer. There are also some very thought-provoking observations made by Barthe, which I can only describe as ‘puppet theology’, where he reflects on the puppet, the actor, and the relationship between both. Although this reading is short and almost 3 decades old, it is full of interesting and profound ideas that are still very relevant to the contemporary performer.
How is it useful for puppeteers?
The article makes you think about the importance of discipline as a performer. The main operator’s face is left uncovered and yet remains “smooth, clean, impassive, cold like ‘a white onion freshly washed’.” The two other operators, though covered up, also remain fully visible on stage. Yet all three become almost invisible to the audience as they work together to create “eminently transitive” actions. They become merely the way of passage for the action to travel to the puppet, without drawing any attention back on themselves. Barthe describes this as getting ‘rid’ of the actor, (which parallels Edward Gordon Craig’s theories on the Ubermarionette). What a challenge this is to us as exposed operators – to keep our own bodies still and our faces stoic (or covered up!), as we channel all our energy into the puppet.
This article also made me think of what we have been learning about the stillness of the puppet. Keeping in tradition with the minimalist nature of Japanese art and theatre, it seems that Bunraku finds much of its meaning in stillness and silence – to the point that the sources of Bunraku theatre are exposed in their ‘void’. What’s more, all of the actions of the operator are decisive and precise. This then challenges us to look at our shows and strip them of all unnecessary actions until we are left with the essential gestures (including pauses) to convey our story.
An interesting quote from Barthe
“If the manipulator is not hidden, then why and how turn him into a God? In Bunraku, the puppet is held by no thread; without a thread, there is not longer any metaphor, any Fate; puppet no longer aping creature, man is no longer a puppet in the hands of the deity, the inner no longer controls the outer.”
Barthes, R. (1977). Lesson in Writing. In S. Heath (Ed. and Translator), Image Music Text: Essays Selected and Translated by Stephen Heath (pp. 170-178). Great Britain: Flamingo.
An interesting review. This account by Barthes was significant in my life as a puppeteer- I was never comfortable with the writings of Craig and von Kleist because they enthusiastically expounded on the virtues of the puppet to replace the ego centred actor. Barthes by contrast extols the puppeteer and his work-as something great and avoiding the fetishistic approach of Western puppeteers who prefer to be hidden and creating life- of course that is 30 years ago and since then like Barthes we have all learnt from Japanese puppetry.
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