manipulate festival brochure 2015

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MANIPULATE VISUAL THEATRE FESTIVAL 2015

MONDAY 3 JANUARY 2014

VISUAL THEATRE FESTIVAL #8 30 JANUARY – 7 FEBRUARY 2015

www.manipulatefestival.org

TRAVERSE THEATRE, EDINBURGHTHE LEMON TREE, ABERDEEN BIG BURNS SUPPER, DUMFRIESNORWICH PUPPET THEATRE

Puppet Animation Scotland is a small team and we would like to thank our Board members, festivals volunteers, partners and staff, past and present, for offering their continuing expertise and encouragement!

POLA AMBER Festivals AssistantANDY CATLIN Festival PhotographerCOLIN PURVES Festival Films Technician and Promo Producer D8 Programme DesignJ THOMSON COLOUR PRINTERS Programme printingAND THEN HE ATE ME (Velo Theatre) Cover image

manipulate Visual Theatre and our visiting companies gratefully acknowledge the support of the following partners and organisations:

THE ODYSSEY (The Paper Cinema): ANDY CATLIN – Photo credit

TIckET AND bOx OFFIcE INFORMATION

PERFORMANcES ScREENINGS FILM PASS 3 SHOW PASS 5 SHOW PASS

TRAVERSE THEATRE £16/£12/£8 £8 £25 £38 £64

For other manipulate partners’ ticket and box office information please visit: THE LEMON TREE www.aberdeenperformingarts.com bIG bURNS SUPPER www.bigburnssupper.com NORWIcH PUPPET THEATRE www.puppettheatre.co.uk

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...to the 8th manipulate, our annual celebration of innovative international visual theatre and animated film. With two world, one European, four UK and two Scottish theatrical premieres from Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Scotland, Russia, the USA – and an animation programme from all global points in between – we present a festival designed to entertain, inspire and intrigue... For manipulate we have developed further the festival’s animation programme, inviting five important film-makers at different stages of their careers from Scotland, Estonia and the rest of UK, to present and talk about their work with leading Scottish animator IAIN GARDNER. In addition, animator and lecturer NEIL KEMPSELL will be presenting a special celebration of the life and work of musician MARTYN BENNETT, including the screening of new films inspired by his mixing of music and the moving image. We are also very pleased to present more SNAPSHOTS: ARTISTS@WORK slots than ever before, within which emerging and established theatre-makers and animators from Scotland,

Cyprus and Mexico present a flavour of their current stylistic and technical explorations and experiments. These free events offer an intriguing insight into the creative process and enable us to support the development of new work which we hope will form an important part of manipulate’s main programme in future years. The on-going success of manipulate is due in significant measure to our partnership with our home venue, the TRAVERSE THEATRE, which provides us with a world-class environment within which to present the work of our international artists. We also greatly value the collaboration of our other core venues, the LEMON TREE in Aberdeen and the NORWICH PUPPET THEATRE, as well as a new manipulate partner, the BIG BURNS SUPPER, in Dumfries. So we welcome you to manipulate and invite you to enter a vibrant and captivating world of the best contemporary visual theatre and animated film.

FAY BUTLER Festivals & Projects AdministratorSIMON HART Artistic DirectorJEN WHITE Festivals & Projects Manager

PRESENTS...

WELCOME...

VISUAL THEATRE FESTIVAL #8

ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING SHORT FESTIVALS IN THE SCOTTISH CULTURAL CALENDAR.

THE SCOTSMAN

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Friends meet up again after a long time. On the surface all is great, but what unspoken feelings and connections really rumble on beneath the motivations for this get-together? How are these people truly connected? What happens to the dynamic, to each other, when a third element becomes involved?

Focusing on themes around actions, reactions and consequences, as well as looking at the number three and its societal connotations, this piece explores human relationships, the emotions they contain and how we all affect each other, whether we like it or not.

Told with stunning imagery, thrills, spills, heartbreak, happiness and the odd bit of humour, THREE’S A CROWD is an aerial dance theatre show involving harness flying, aerial acrobatics, circus, dance and theatre.

All Or Nothing is one of Scotland’s leading aerial dance companies creating, performing, training and helping to establish aerial arts in Scotland.

This production has a small amount of spoken

dialogue.

www.aerialdance.co.uk

world PreMiere

A CHARISMATIC COMbINATION OF THOUGHTFUL THEATRE AND pHySICAL SkILL… THAT SUGGESTS A bRIGHT FUTURE FOR THIS EMERGING STRAND OF SCOTTISH pERFORMANCE.

THE SCOTSMAN

THREE’S A CROWD

THEATRE PERFORMANCE

all or noTHinG aerial dance THeaTre/ScoTland7.30PM75’, 14+

UBU ROILUDENS ENSEMBLE

CYPRUS, 35’, 12+

Free. For more details about this snapshot of

artists’ creativity, see page 17

6:O5PMSATURDAY 31 JANUARY 2015

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Thomas Hicks presents and talks about a programme of his films, together with a selection of international animation which has inspired and excited him.

Over the past ten years award-winning filmmaker Thomas Hicks has established an international reputation as a leading creator of visually striking animation complementing the music of artists as diverse as Gravenhurst, Joshua Radin, Skunk Anansie and Paul McCartney.

Thomas presents ten of his films which display his mastery and juxtaposition of a wide range of animation techniques through which he has created his own inimitable style, articulating dynamic visual worlds to complement and balance the music of other artists.

Thomas has also chosen the following international films which impress him with their creative and stylistic energy, humour and innovation:

CIRRUS cyriak/uk 2012, 3’

Through seemingly spontaneous invention, a fascinating manipulation of early film which demonstrates a masterful understanding of the dynamics of film-making.

BLACK LAKE david o’reilly/ireland 2010, 3’

A beautiful and playful unravelling of 3D software processes.

BACKBONE TALE Jérémy clapin/France 2004, 10’

A sweet and gentle story of almost-missed true love.

MUSIC & MOVING IMAGES:eXPeriMenTS & eXPloraTionS

ANIMATION SCREENING

THoMaS HickS/enGland9.00PM90’, 14+

LIVEMuSIC!

Join us after the 9.00pm show in the Traverse Bar for live music from some

of Edinburgh’s finest local musicians!

SATURDAY 31 JANUARY 2015

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Within fragments of reality and drifting dreamscapes that transform body, time and space, a creature - a state of being? - claws its way through visions and nightmares best kept hidden in the darkest recesses of our minds. Without logic, illusive images and shattered stories pass us by, creating roller-coasters of memories and associations.

With each morphing movement the creature seduces us, the voyeurs, bringing us face to face with one great fear - that nothing is what it seems. Spiralling through the discomfort of non-control, both creature and we face but one burning question: where does a dream end and hard reality begin?

Premiered in 2013, THAT’S IT is Sabine Molenaar’s first solo piece, winning a major award at the ACT festival in Spain, as well as the prize for best female talent at the Theater Aan Zee Festival, in Belgium. Her new work, TOUCH ME, will premiere in 2015.

This production has no spoken dialogue.

Uk PREMIERE

SAbINE MOLENAAR LEAVES THE AUDIENCE DUMbFOUNDED… TAkING yOU INTO AN ARTIFICIAL wORLD OF FADED GLAMOUR. HER bODy IS A pLAyTHING FOR FORCES THAT TwIST, DISTORT, EXHAUST, AND FOLD IT. MOLENAAR bRINGS bEAUTy AND MADNESS TOGETHER IN A wAy THAT FASCINATES AND THAT SENDS SHIVERS DOwN yOUR SpINE.

DE MORGEN, BELGIUM

THAT’S ITTHEATRE PERFORMANCE

SandMan/BelGiuM7.30PM50’, 14+

MONDAY 2 FEbRUARY 2015

An evening of films and conversation about the challenges and rewards of finding the right new images to fit the conceptual and emotional world of music which already exists.

Over the past four months Thomas Hicks has been working with third year digital media students at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen to help them create seven short films - their creative responses to the following songs of three up-and-coming bands and musicians from the North East of Scotland:

SNOWFLAKE & SOLITAIRE Leanne SmithOLD TOWN & USUAL WAYS Casino CircusAT NIGHT I DREAM OF STORMY SEAS, COMMIT & TAKING A FALL FOR ME IndianRedLopez A particular, potent inspiration for this work was the two films created by Neil Kempsell in collaboration with leading Scottish musician MARTYN BENNETT.

Martyn was highly influential in the development of Celtic fusion, a blending of traditional Scottish and modern music styles and techniques.

Neill Kempsell will present and talk about:

HALLAIG (2004, 9’)An exploration and visual interpretation of the poem by Gaelic poet Sorley MacLean which describes the tragic memories and loss of a Highland community on the Island of Raasay.

MACKAY’S MEMOIRS (2014, 14’)Commissioned for the opening of the Scottish Parliament and performed by the City of Edinburgh Music School Chamber Orchestra, this piece splices the styles and techniques of traditional pipe melodies with those of contemporary music.

www.MarTynBenneTT.coM

MUSIC & MOVING IMAGES: eleGieS & inSPiraTionS – MarTyn BenneTT

ANIMATION SCREENING

THoMaS HickS/enGland, neil keMPSell/ScoTland9.00PM90’, 12+

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MONDAY 2 FEbRUARY 2015

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AND THEN HE ATE MEVelo THeaTre/France7:30PM70’, 14+

The house is the story…

A little fragile house, a potent symbol of welcoming hearth and home, becomes an arena for all our fears when the wolf waits threateningly outside.

The wolf is in no hurry. He waits to devour all he can catch, as countless ancestors before him have done.

All the wolf asks of us is to tell many tall tales within which…

He is the hero.

The house is the story…

A theatre of images and emotions, an illustrated book, a visual theatre piece which explores the poetry and symbolism of house and home. A show about time, about love, about the everlasting fears that lurk within us all.

Since 1981 the award-winning French visual theatre company Velo Theatre has been creating a vivid poetic universe within which its exploration of objects, their potent symbolism and the powerful emotions they can evoke, has inspired and entertained audiences around the world.

This production has some spoken dialogue.

WWW.VELOTHEATRE.cOM

Uk PREMIERE

THEATRE PERFORMANCE

MACBAG CLYDEBUILT PUPPET THEATRE

SCOTLAND, 35’, 12+

Free. For more details about this snapshot of artists’ creativity,

see page 17

6:O5PM

A THEATRE OF IMAGES AND EMOTIONS, THE pRODUCTION SpRINGS FROM THE wORLDS OF pERRAULT AND LEwIS CARROLL, CREATING A DARk AND VIVID ATMOSpHERE STRAIGHT OUT OF CHARLES DICkENS AND THE FILMS OF TIM bURTON.

LA MARSEILLAISE, FRANCE

TUESDAY 3 FEbRUARY 2015

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OPPRESSEDCREATURESÜlo PikkoV/eSTonia9.00PM90’, 14+

Ülo Pikkov presents and talks about a programme of his films, together with a selection of international animation which has inspired and excited him.

One of the most important of Estonia’s brilliant younger generation of animators and winner of many leading international awards, Ülo will screen four of his films showcasing his imaginatively surreal and darkly humorous style: TaSTe oF liFe (2006, 12’), dialoGoS (2008, 5’), Body MeMory (2011, 10’), and THe end (2012, 6’), as well as an excerpt from his latest short, Tik-Tak, which he completed at the end of 2014.

Ülo has also chosen the following films which give a fleeting flavour of the creative and technical dynamism and innovation which characterise Polish animation throughout the second half of the 20th century:

SUN Julian antonisz/Poland 1977, 4’

A kaleidoscopic celebration of nature, created without a camera.

cAGES Miroslaw kijowicz/Poland 1966, 8’

Although the bars of a cell separate them, perhaps the jailer and the jailed are not so different.

SOUP Zbigniew rybczyński/Poland 1975, 10’

The Oscar-winning director’s dissection of the arc of an everyday love affair.

ANIMATION SCREENING

TUESDAY 3 FEbRUARY 2015

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A grinding and visceral theatre experience about the cyclical nature of oppression, betrayal and rescue. Evocative physical theatre, tightly synchronized dance and world-class aerial performance combine to create an otherworldly environment which explores the symbiotic relationship between capture and containment.

Since its formation in 2006 the company’s innovative and exuberant approach to choreography and theatricality has captivated audiences around the world.

www.PaPerdollMiliTia.coM euroPean PreMiere

A contemporary elaboration of Tristan and Isolde’s tragedy. Two lovers, strongly physically attracted, are separated by the things they cannot control. A perfect day, a perfect world, but suddenly it all gets twisted... BANG... just one shot, a single word, and everything ends...

Following its very successful run during last year’s Fringe of MARIA ADDOLORATA, CEC returns to Edinburgh with its a taste of its new production.

Partial female nudity.

www.ceccoMPany.orG uk PreMiere

THREE COMPANIES/ ONE TRIPLE BILL7:30PM65’, 14+ These pieces have no spoken dialogue.

uncHainedPAPER DOLL MILITIA/USA 20’, 14+

Frankenstein – a classic horror story. Experienced primarily from the viewpoint of a Frankenstein’s monster, this solo piece explores the book’s and contemporary society’s parallel obsessions with idealised beauty, social conformity and the isolation all too easily felt even when surrounded by the power and means of constant communication and virtual interaction.

Spotted Stripes Circus is a new Scottish company which uses contemporary circus techniques to create dynamic and challenging multi-media theatre.

www.FaceBook.coM/SPoTTedSTriPeScircuS world PreMiere

TriSTiSSiMoCEC/ITALY 20’, 14+

welcoMe My SonSPOTTED STRIPES CIRCUS/SCOTLAND 25’, 14+

THEATRE PERFORMANCE

WEDNESDAY 4 FEbRUARY 2015

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A series of five interlocking vignettes, this compelling solo puppetry-and-mask performance presents the humorous and touching interplay of different puppet characters and their manipulator who might appear as a masked figure, a calm neutral presence, or simply a voice from the sky.

Each of Eric Bass’ intricate handcrafted rod puppets are characters in the autumns of their existence. They act out their stories in precise and evocative gestures as they examine their pasts, engaging with their former selves, and ultimately facing their own deaths. Eric combines his own superlative craft with traditional Japanese Bunraku methods of puppetry.

The multi award-winning company Sandglass Theater presents this classic puppetry production which has been presented to great acclaim throughout the world for the past twenty five years.

This production has some spoken dialogue.

www.SandGlaSSTHeaTer.orG

ScoTTiSH PreMiere

ASCENDS THE AbSOLUTE HEIGHTS OF THEATRE… IN MOVING, pOETIC SEqUENCES pRESENTED wITH EXTRAORDINARy DEpTH OF VISION AND FEELING.

SUNSHINE COAST DAILY, AUSTRALIA

AUTUMN PORTRAITSSandGlaSS THeaTer/uSa9.00PM70’, 14+

THEATRE PERFORMANCE

WEDNESDAY 4 FEbRUARY 2015

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Butterfly is a kite maker. Her life has been shattered following the departure of her lover. Alone and grief-stricken Butterfly decides to conjure a whole new world for herself in her head, as happy and as close to perfection as her imagination can get. But as Butterfly flits more and more completely into this imaginary place her beauty begins to fade and her tale takes a further, tragic turn.

This striking adaptation of Madame Butterfly explores themes of love and loss, and of hope and disappointment, in Ramesh Meyyappan’s celebrated visually poetic and multi-disciplinary

style. Complemented by Gavin Glover’s expressive puppets this unique interpretation creates a lush, textured and innovative piece of visual theatre within which age-old themes are articulated afresh for contemporary audiences.

Ramesh Meyyappan is theatre creator whose solo performances and collaborations have received great national and international acclaim. His production SNAILS & KETCHUP was a particular high point of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.


www.raMeSHMeyyaPPan.coM

uk PreMiere

BUTTERFLYraMeSH MeyyaPPan/ScoTland,SinGaPore, 7.30PM70’, 12+

GIVEN THAT bUTTERFLy, IN wHICH NO wORDS ARE SpOkEN, IS ROOTED IN pHySICAL THEATRE, DANCE AND pUppETRy, IT IS UNSURpRISINGLy VISUALLy ARRESTING....THE EFFECT IS AbSOLUTELy bREATH-TAkING.

INKPOT REVIEWS, SINGAPORE

KNOCK KNOCK THEATRE JINKS


Free. For more details about this snapshot of artists’ creativity,

see page 17

6:O5PM

THEATRE PERFORMANCE

THURSDAY 5 FEbRUARY 2015

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POWER & PUPPETS: SMall STorieS in a BiG worldclaire laMond/ScoTland9.00PM90’, 14+

Claire Lamond presents and talks about a programme of her films, together with a selection of international animation which has inspired and excited her.

Drawn to small stories that reflect powerfully and engage emotionally with our society’s wider political and social environment and challenges, award-winning animator Claire Lamond screens three of her own films: all THaT GliSTerS (2012, 8’), SeaMS & eMBerS (2012, 7’) and Sea FronT (2014, 8’).

Together with the following shorts, Claire’s choices articulate with humour and poignancy a wide range of human issues with both big and small “p” political subjects and contexts:

DOG Suzie Templeton/england 2001, 6’

A young boy longs for reassurance about how his mother died while he and his Dad protect each other by holding their agony inside.

THE bIGGER PIcTURE daisy Jacobs/england 2014, 8’

The life-size animated tale of two sons, one ageing mum, and no end in sight.

ScARED Patricia Sourdes/France 2012, 5’

A gentle but poignant tale about a girl living with anxiety. bALANcE wolfgang & christoph lauenstein/Germany 1989, 8’

When your whole world is a floating platform how do you maintain the balance? UNISON bEAR Jerry Hibert/england 1995, 1’

Join the union! SEVEN MINUTES IN THE WARSAW GHETTO Johan oettinger/denmark 2012, 7’

Based on an actual event, a little boy finds himself in the middle of the brutal world of the Holocaust.

ANIMATION SCREENING

THURSDAY 5 FEbRUARY 2015

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Imprisoned and alone, the magnetic ballerina flutters inside a minimalist yet multi-dimensional space created to expand our perception and experience of dance.

Extremely intense unceasing sequences fuse with an explosive collage of sound and interactive lighting to articulate a transcendental, vulnerable and challenging personal testimony of an obstinate obsession with movement.

Image and sound in motion – Retro-expression in movement – Dance as industrial design.

In 2013 THE DANCE OF THE MAGNETIC BALLERINA was selected by the prestigious European Network Aerowaves as one of its priority performances and together with her previous solo, FRACTURED, Andrea has presented her work at numerous leading festivals and theatres throughout Europe.

Andrea also regularly performs in Françoise Denieau’s baroque dance productions, which have been presented all over France, including at the Opéra Comique, and Cité de la Musique in Paris and at the Opéra Royale, Versailles, as well as in London, Luxembourg, Switzerland and at the Bolshoi in Moscow.


ScoTTiSH PreMiere

DANCE OF THE MAGNETIC BALLERINA

THEATRE PERFORMANCE

andrea MilTneroVÀ/cZecH rePuBlic7.30PM35’, 14+

KIKA MARIEL RODARTMEXICO, 35’, 14+

Free. For more details about this snapshot of an artist’s creativity,

see page 18

6:05PM

THROUGH DANCE MILTNEROVá’S SILHOUETTE CONTINUALLy TRANSFORMS ITSELF LIkE A MAGNETIC AND MAGNETISING bALLERINA...RAVISHINGLy bEAUTIFUL AND A THRILLING SELF DESTRUCTION THROUGH MOVEMENT.

MÄRKISCHE ALLGEMEINE, GERMANY

FRIDAY 6 FEbRUARY 2015

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ANIMATEDNIGHTMARES

ANIMATION SCREENING

roBerT MorGan/enGland9.00PM90’, 14+

Robert Morgan presents and talks about a programme of his films, together with a selection of international animation which has inspired and excited him.

On this dark and cold February night leading BAFTA nominated animator Robert Morgan shares with us his strikingly singular and macabre vision of things that go much more than just bump in the night.

As well as his own award-winning work: BoBBy yeaH (2011, 23’), THe caT wiTH HandS (2001, 4’), THe SeParaTion (2003, 9’) and d For delouSed (2014, 5’), Robert has also chosen the following international films which animate certain imaginative dark recesses which might be better left unseen...

HEN, HIS WIFE igor kovalyov/russia 1990, 13’

A married man notices that his wife is, in fact, a hen. MEAT LOVE Jan Svankmajer/czech republic 1989, 1’

The title says it all. NIGHTMARES #1_UNIcORN Grace nayoon rhee/uSa 2012, 2’

A fragmentary nightmare involving unicorns. THE EEL dominic Hailstone/england 2004, 6’

A short horror film about an eel who gets fed up of being in his tank and decides to have a party.

BAND NAMEJoin us after the 9.00pm show in the Traverse Bar for live music from some

of Edinburgh’s finest local musicians!

LIVEMuSIC!

FRIDAY 6 FEbRUARY 2015

15 SATURDAY 7 FEbRUARY 2015

Unlucky in love a hero meets his alter ego in a place out of time. A desperate performance duel begins where theatrical truth and everyday reality collide head-on. A battle about the essence of passion and jealousy, this is boxing with shadows, this is fencing with names – Carmen and Jose - as two larger than life characters fight for the answer to the question: what is it to love to one’s dying day?

Founded in 1989, the Russian performance group AKHE grew out of the vibrant and wildly independent underground art scene in Moscow and St Petersburg. Quickly becoming a cult icon in Russia, the company started

to tour internationally to leading progressive festivals, rapidly gaining a reputation as celebrated masters of the avant-garde, known to push theatre to its very limits.

Creating a unique dream theatre of chaos filled with countless absurdities and inspired events, AKHE’s shows combine insightful psychological play with dynamic images and endlessly fascinating stage pictures.

This production contains a brief section of male

nudity.

This production has a small amount of spoken

dialogue.

www.akHe.ru

MR CARMENTHEATRE PERFORMANCE

THeaTre akHe/ruSSia7.30PM60’, 16+

THE SHEER CRAFT THAT UNDERpINS THE VISUAL GAGS, OR THREADS TOGETHER THE SyMbOLISM OF RED ROSES, RED wINE, pLAyING CARDS, CIGARS AND kNIVES – ALL kEy MOTIFS IN THE STORy – IS AN AkHE HALLMARk, AND A THING OF bEAUTy AND wONDERMENT. THE HERALD

CROCKETT’S FALL ANNA HUGHES

UK, 35’, 14+

BELLAG AGUS BEAUTY IAIN CRAIG



see page 18


see page 18

6:O5PM5:O5PM

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SATURDAY 7 FEbRUARY 2015

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

ANIMATION SCREENING

will anderSon & ainSlie HenderSon/ScoTland9.00PM90’, 14+

Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson present and talk about their newest film MONKEY LOVE EXPERIMENTS (2014, 9’) together with a selection of international animation which has inspired and excited them.

Following their graduation from Edinburgh College of Art’s Animation Department, Ainslie and Will haveenjoyed significant creative success and recognition over the past three years. Jointly and separately they have won over 40 major awards between them for their films, including THE MAKING OF LONGBIRD (BAFTA Winner 2013) and I AM TOM MOODY (BAFTA nomination, 2014). As well as MONKEY LOVE EXPERIMENTS (Outstanding Contribution To Short Film – Edinburgh International Film Festival 2014) Ainslie and Will have also chosen the following international films:

UNITY Tobias Stretch/USA 2014, 6’

A transcendental dream-like stop-motion masterpiece.

PLEASE SAY SOMETHING David O’Reilly/Ireland 2009, 10’

A troubled relationship between a cat and mouse set in the distant future.

THE MEANING OF LIFE Don Hertzfeldt/USA 2006, 13’

A sprawling abstract film about human evolution.

SkHIZEIN Jérémy Clapin/France 2008, 14’

Having been struck by a 150-ton meteorite, Henry has to adapt to living precisely ninety-one centimetres from himself.

DAD’S DEAD Chris Shepherd/England 2003, 7’

Through a series of ghostly reminiscences a young man tries to piece together fragmented moments from the past. bROTHER Adam Elliot/Australia 1999, 8’

A touching portrait of an older brother.

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UBU ROI

KNOCK KNOCK

ludenS enSeMBle/cyPruSSaTurday 31 January, 6.05PM35’, 12+, FREE

THeaTre JinkS/ScoTlandTHurSday 5 FeBruary, 6.05PM35’, 14+, FREE

Director Philippos Philippou and dramaturgist Vangelis Makriyannakis will demonstrate the use of 3D mapping in their forthcoming production of UBU ROI by Alfred Jarry. They will also discuss how their approach to the play and the use of this technology is an evolution of Jarry’s radical critique of power through form.

The Ludens Ensemble creates innovative international multi-art form collaborations and will present its complete production of UBU ROI at manipulate in 2016. This project is part of the European Capital of Culture Pafos 2017.

WWW.PITF.CO.UK

A project in the early stages of development, this is an exploration intoidentity and horror through the medium of puppetry. Under the guidance of Puppet Animation Scotland, mentor Rene Baker and with the assistanceof Physical Theatre Scotland, Emma King and Catherine Elliott will sharetheir ongoing creative investigations.

Knock Knock... Who’s there?

Emma started a love affair with puppetry in 2012 and has been exploring its possibilities ever since.Catherine is currently studying an MLitt in Theatre Practices at the University of Glasgow.

MACBAGclydeBuilT PuPPeT THeaTre/ScoTlandTueSday 3 FeBruary, 6.05PM35’, 12+, FREE

Best known for making work for children, Clydebuilt’s Leigh MacAlister and Steve Smart wanted to stretch their creative muscles in a new direction. Along with Eszter Marsalko, the project’s dramaturg, they will present some short excerpts and talk about the development of their ideas for a piece based on Macbeth which does not rely on words.

Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre has presented its work successfully throughout the UK for the past twenty years as well as touring internationally. This project has received support from Puppet Animation Scotland’s Creative Fund.

www.clydeBuilTPuPPeT.co.uk

SNAPSHOTS: ARTISTS@WORk

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KIKA

CROCKETT’S FALL

BELLAG AGUS BEAUTY

Mariel rodarT/MeXicoFriday 6 FeBruary, 6.05PM35’, 14+, FREE

anna HuGHeS/ukSaTurday 7 FeBruary, 6.05PM35’, 14+, FREE

iain craiG/ScoTlandSaTurday 7 FeBruary, 5.05PM35’, 14+, FREE

Jiquilpan, Michoacan. A town. A story. A child is born. A man is murdered. Mexico. All is changed.

Dealers trading drugs, trading dreams, trading lives. A town forced to change at gunpoint. Tired, a boy decides to take action. But maybe his steps take him down a road with no return. During her recently completed master’s degree in Puppetry and Digital Animation at Nottingham Trent University, Mariel explored the boundaries between physical and digital animation. This piece is inspired by the current socio-political situation in her native Mexico.

www.MarielrodarT.wordPreSS.coM

A culmination of printmaking, sound, stop-motion animation and performance, the aim of this film is to mimic the cyclical inner narratives - and the discomfort they can cause - which often appear during periods of turmoil and uncertainty in an individual’s life. After its screening Anna will talk about her piece, and the challenges of teaching herself to use animation software to achieve her creative ideas.

Anna made this body of work during the final year of her fine arts degree at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee, and was exhibited in May 2014.

www.crockeTTSFall.co.uk

Synthesising elements from his Gaelic upbringing and family folk-lore, Iain presents his first animated film which celebrates the particular character and natural beauty of Skye, the isle of his birth.

A successful illustrator and graphic designer, Iain received a Puppet Animation Scotland Creative Fund award in 2012 to develop this piece.

www.iaincraiG.eu

SNAPSHOTS: ARTISTS@WORk

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BEYOND THE SCREEN: conTeMPorary SHadow THeaTre

FaBriZio MonTeccHi/iTaly Sunday 1 – TueSday 3 FeBruary10.00aM – 5.00PMSuMMerHall, edinBurGH

This workshop offers an opportunity to explore the techniques and styles of contemporary shadow theatre, and engage with a deeply theatrical language and intangible art form which has enormous expressive and communicative possibilities.

Over the past 30 years Fabrizio Montecchi and his company Teatro Gioco Vita have explored the medium of light and shadows in a series of award-winning productions which have been celebrated by audiences around the world.

As well as regularly leading workshops, Fabrizio has also written many books and articles about his insights into this beautiful and versatile art form. www.TeaTroGiocoViTa.iT

MASTER cLASSES

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BODIES & OBJECTS: eXPloraTionS & eXPeriMenTSPolina BoriSoVa/ruSSiaTHurSday 5 – SaTurday 7 FeBruary10.00aM – 5.00PMSuMMerHall, edinGurGH

Designed for professional puppeteers as well as students of acting and artists interested in exploring a new approach to puppetry, this workshop is based on a mouvement discipline.

Participants will, through a process of progressive self-reflection and guided physical skills development, discover and develop insights into their own innate physicality. They will then learn how to translate this knowledge into a more dynamic and powerful relationship with puppets, objects or partner practitioners they perform with.

Growing up and working within a well-known, multi-generational Russian theatrical family, Polina studied puppetry and contemporary physical theatre in Moscow and France, creating the award-winning production GO! which was presented at last year’s manipulate.

MASTER cLASSES

21 FESTIVAL PARTNERS

manipulate@ THE TRAVERSE THEATRE, EDINBURGH

manipulate@ THE LEMON TREE, ABERDEEN

The Traverse Theatre is celebrating an ‘itch free’ seventh year of partnership with manipulate & Puppet Animation Scotland, and extends the festival a warm welcome ‘home’.

Our relationship with manipulate is one of our key strategic alliances, delivering on one of the Traverse’s founding principles: to keep the spirit of the Festival alive in Edinburgh year round. manipulate is our first festival partner of the year and we relish this opportunity to work closely to present the best of new visual theatre and animation, as manipulate continues to delight, surprise and excite audiences with a truly international programme of theatrical excellence and innovation.

We share with manipulate, and our other partners throughout the year, a common artistic ambition to inspire people from far and wide to join us in the Festival experience. Therefore, we warmly welcome our audiences to the Traverse and this year’s manipulate Visual Theatre Festival

LINDA CROOKS Chief Executive

www.TraVerSe.co.uk

manipulate is a Scottish success story, and Aberdeen Performing Arts is delighted to be developing our relationship with this very exciting festival.

In 2015 we will host a weekend of performances of top quality international work at The Lemon Tree immediately prior to the main part of the festival taking place in Edinburgh, contributing significantly to the repositioning of The Lemon Tree as a vibrant hub for contemporary performing arts in the north east of Scotland.

BEN TORRIEDirector of Programming & Creative ProjectsAberdeen Performing Arts

www.aBerdeenPerForMinGarTS.coM

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FESTIVAL PARTNERS

manipulate@ THE BIG BURNS SUPPER, DUMFRIES

manipulate@ NORWICH PUPPET THEATRE

Since 2012 we have sent races pulsing with our non-stop, head-banging modern interpretation of what a celebration of Robert Burns could look like. As one of Scotland’s fastest growing cultural events we embrace the fresh, the different, and diverse, and we present a fistful of top notch shows to our hungry audiences who help make it the world’s biggest Burn’s Night celebration.

www.BiGBurnSSuPPer.coM

manipulate will be celebrating its fourth year at Norwich Puppet Theatre with a rich and challenging programme of world class visual theatre and animated film.

The festival has become an important part of the Norfolk arts calendar, drawing local and national audiences to our theatre and helping significantly to maintain Norwich Puppet Theatre as a dynamic centre for the arts in the east of England.

JOY HAYNES Director

www.PuPPeTTHeaTre.co.uk

cec/iTaly7.30PM50’, 16+

THEATRE PERFORMANCE A powerful, life-enhancing, funny investigation – and not a safe one for that matter – of a real moment of suffering and release. Two ordinary people, everyday contemporary victims trying to survive events. At the same time, trying to survive themselves, and each other.

Marvellous, muscular physical theatre and dance from this leading international award-winning company. www.ceccoMPany.orG

THE SUppLENESS AND qUICkNESS OF THE CHOREOGRApHy kEEpS THE DANCE MOVING AT pITCH-pERFECT pACE...pASSAGES RIppLE wITH GORGEOUS SENSUALITy. THE LIST

MARIA ADDOLORATA

www.puppetanimation.org

@puppetanimascot

www.manipulatefestival.org

@manipulatefest

www.facebook.com/

puppetanimationscotland

+44(0)131 5601298

[email protected]

DAILY DIARY

TRAVERSE THEATRE THE LEMON TREE bIG bURNS SUPPER SUMMERHALL

TRAVERSE THEATRE THE LEMON TREE NORWIcH PUPPET SUMMERHALL THEATRE

FRIDAY 30 JANUARY douBle Bill: TriSTiSSiMo & welcoMe My Son Page 9

SATURDAY 31 JANUARY uBu roi Page 17 BuTTerFly Page 11 Maria addolraTa Page 22 THree’S a crowd MuSic & MoVinG iMaGeS: Page 3 BandS – liVe MuSic & FilMS Page 6 MuSic & MoVinG iMaGeS: eXPeriMenTS & eXPloraTionS Page 4

SUNDAY 1 FEBRUARY and THen He aTe Me MaSTerclaSS: Page 7 Beyond THe Screen Page 19

MONDAY 2 FEBRUARY THaT’S iT Page 5 MaSTerclaSS: Beyond THe Screen MuSic & MoVinG iMaGeS: Page 19 eleGieS & inSPiraTionS Page 6

TUESDAY 3 FEBRUARY MacBaG Page 17 MaSTerclaSS: Beyond THe Screen and THen He aTe Me Page 19 Page 7

oPPreSSed creaTureS Page 8

WEDNESDAY 4 TriPle Bill: Mr carMen MaSTerclaSS: FEBRUARY uncHained, TriSTiSSiMo & Page 15 BodieS & oBJecTS welcoMe My Son Page 20 Page 9 auTuMn PorTraiTS Page 10

THURSDAY 5 knock knock Page 17 caBareT niGHT MaSTerclaSS: FEBRUARY www.puppettheatre.co.uk BodieS & oBJecTS BuTTerFly Page 11 Page 20 Power & PuPPeTS: SMall STorieS in a BiG world Page 12

FRIDAY 6 FEBRUARY kika Page 18 auTuMn PorTraiTS MaSTerclaSS: Page 10 BodieS & oBJecTS dance oF THe MaGneTic Page 20 Ballerina Page 13 aniMaTed niGHTMareS Page 14

SATURDAY 7 FEBRUARY BellaG aGuS BeauTy BuTTerFly Page 18 Page 11 crockeTS Fall Page 18 Mr carMen Page 15

wHaT’S loVe GoT To do wiTH iT? Page 16

manipulate festival brochure 2015

Documents

visual theatre festival

passtraverse theatre

established theatremakers

festivals animation

main programme

work slots

development of new work

aberdeen big burns supper