The Old Man and the Monkeys & Other Chinese Tales are five traditional and not-so-traditional stories of ancient China performed by Dragon Arts Studio. For two weeks only, September 24-October 5, Center for Puppetry Arts will present fables of compassion, consideration and cunning, along with the greatest ping pong match of all time. As part of their final tour before retiring, this performance is Atlanta’s last chance to experience the distinguished puppetry skills of the renowned Dragon Arts Studio artists Yuqin Wang and Zhengli Xu.
The Old Man and the Monkeys & Other Chinese Tales includes five distinct vignettes:
- When an old man, tired from carrying his load, stops under a tree to rest, he unwittingly sets himself up to be the center of some naughty monkeys’ amusement. The monkeys enthusiastically play with and eventually carry off the old man’s goods, leaving him quite befuddled when he awakes. Tales of clever and playful monkeys are popular throughout China and The Old Man and the Monkeys perfectly captures this element of Chinese storytelling.
- In The Crane and the Tortoise, a proud and beautiful crane flies to a pond and lands near the shore, interrupting a turtle’s peaceful rest. This little turtle is exceptionally witty and uses his cunning to outsmart the self-important crane, who keeps pestering him.
- A farmer’s daughter and her donkey share a special connection in The Donkey’s Best Friend. The two only want to play, but the farmer insists on burdening the donkey with a heavy load, much to his daughter’s disapproval. Eventually the donkey collapses and the daughter helps her father understand that a heavy load needs to be shared in order to be bearable.
- The Dancer emerges from the mist and with graceful movements and enchanting music evokes the exquisite art of ancient fairy tales.
- In The Super Duper Ping Pong Match, the puppeteers use ingeniously simple effects to perform the best and most hilarious ping pong match ever seen. Two competitors duke it out as the ping pong continually grows in size, adding a comical twist to this vignette that will have the audience bursting with laughter.
In a recent interview with Macaroni Kid, Wang and Xu replied (as translated by their daughter Brenda) to the following questions:
1. Why is puppetry such an important part of your lives?
The traditional art doesn’t belong to only one country. It is the treasure of the whole world. We want not only Chinese people to know this traditional art but people all around the world, to let more people know about the Chinese culture, the history and the puppet art.
2. What is Chinese Puppetry and how is it different than what American audiences think of puppetry?
Chinese puppetry has more than one thousand years of history. It started decades ago as cultural ritual, and later became a form of entertainment to the royal family and common public. Through many centuries, the Chinese have developed puppetry into a high art form. Chinese puppetry has developed tremendously over the years. It combines artistic expression with detailed hand craft, traditional Chinese Opera movements and music, beautifully-engineered mechanical puppet parts and western technology to tell the story.
3. The puppets in The Old Man & The Monkeys are beautiful and very life-like. How long does it take to make puppets like these and what kind of materials do you use?
We are specialize in rod puppets, which will be the main puppet form for the show. The traditional Chinese rod puppet is about thirty to forty-two inches in length, with a solid torso and arms. The puppet is supported by a large, central wood rod, and the hands of the figure are operated by two small steel rods. The head and body are normally made of paper mache because of the light weight. Different charactersrequires different moves (such as dancing moves, blinking eyes, hands that can squeeze, etc.) so structures and controls are made differently too. The most difficult puppet to make in this show, we think, is the crane, especially it's wings that have to be able to open to fly. It took about a month to design and build.
4. How do you perform a story without words and make it interesting to an audience of all ages?
The lead puppeteers Yuqin Wang and Zhengli Xu cannot speak English well. With over 50 years of experience performing with puppets, they are able to communicate with people from all over the world through their puppets. In the hands of a skilled puppeteer, the rod puppet is capable of expressive and elegant movements. In order to create a realistic sense of vitality, the puppet is seldom held perfectly vertical but is shifted slightly forward and then backward to give a sense of lifelike movement. Our puppeteers stand and work behind a five-to-six foot curtain, which creates the illusion of a stage at its top edge.
5. How were you able to bring ancient Chinese tales to an American audience not familiar with them?
The children love the humor in the stories, and the way it is presented. It teaches the audience insight into Chinese folklore and culture. Our puppet performance is a perfect springboard for teaching about Chinese culture and exploring connections between ancient and modern quest stories.
6. Which of the ancient tales is your personal favorite and why?
Each one is different from all others and has something special about it. It's hard to tell which one is our favorite because we like them all. But we want to know which one is your favorite. So come to see us!
PERFORMANCES: September 24 – October 5
Show times:
PERFORMANCES: September 24 – October 5
Show times:
· Wed – Fri: 10 a.m. & 11:30 a.m.
· Sat: 12 p.m. & 2 p.m.
· Sun: 1 p.m. & 3 p.m.
TICKETS: Recommended for ages 4 and up
TICKETS: Recommended for ages 4 and up
TICKETS ARE $9.25 (MEMBERS) / $16.50 (NONMEMBERS) AND CAN BE PURCHASED ONLINE AT WWW.PUPPET.ORG OR BY CALLING THE TICKET SALES OFFICE AT 404-873-3391.
Tickets include museum admission as well as the Create-A-Puppet Workshop, where children can make their own Mischievous Monkey hand puppet.
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Tickets include museum admission as well as the Create-A-Puppet Workshop, where children can make their own Mischievous Monkey hand puppet.
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