To echo The Stage, a new museum space dedicated to scenography, the first part of the exhibition immerses the visitor into the creative process of a puppet show, reminding him that preparing  a performance is more than manufacturing puppets in a workshop. It also implies the office, the dramaturge’s and director’s stage platform, the interpreter’s rehearsal room and the costume designer’s table.

The focus is then put on ‘matter’… from shapeless to form or vice versa. The visitor is shown how, in plain sight, matter dramatically impacts the transformation of  a puppet’s shape, should it be made of glass, foam, wax or brown paper. Works by Renaud Herbin, Philippe Genty, Elise Vigneron, Johanny Bert and by Compagnie Les Anges au Plafond illustrate this point.

Thanks to puppets by Géza Blattner  and Compagnie Arkétal, the exhibition elaborates on the stylization of puppets as objects and analyzes their body language. With works by Edward Gordon Craig, it evokes attempts to reach the essence of the scenic game and with a performance by Théâtre aux mains nues, it refers to Stanislavski’s theatrical theories.  

In addition to Georges Lafaye’s “théâtre d’animation”, an animated painting by Dubuffet and painted rolls by Roland Shön put abstraction at the core of a puppet theatrical genre where forms fade away and where the notion of character dissolves.

In the following showrooms, the visitor learns about shadow, paper theatre, screen or pop-up techniques which allow contrasts and alternatives between two and three dimensional effects as well as games with plane and perspective as can be seen in Jean-Pierre Lescot’s works, in Alain Lecuq’s Papiertheatre and in Compagnie des Ombres Portées’ shows.

The study of “castelets”, or decorated sets, and blank stages brings forth this question : Where do puppets/puppeteers stand ? Scenic devices or models from performances by Gaston Baty, Alain Recoing, Le Vélo Théâtre, Emilie Valantin, Dominique Houdart and Jeanne Heuclin, and Francois Lazaro, present some artists who remain hidden while others stand in plain sight.

The next showroom tries to defy the law of gravity using circus puppets, to discuss virtuosity and to remind the visitor of the importance of ‘lightness’ in cabaret shows. Scenes by Jacques Chesnais, Philippe Genty and Georges Lafaye exemplify this genre.

With La Mue/ette’s L’un dans l’autre, the emphasis is put on puppets called « marionnettes à prothèse” (puppets with prosthetics) as well as on hybrid bodies, objects and spaces.

The exhibition continues with “théâtre d’objet”, and in particular on its “documentary” format by Compagnie La Bande Passante, and with the way the object, whether it is a set piece or a part of the game, works in the unfolding of the story.

The inquiries on the metamorphoses of bodies, characters, robots, animals, plants and more reappear to suggest the poetic and utopian worlds the puppets explore. Works by Philippe Genty, La Licorne, Zaven Paré, Roland Shön, Renaud Herbin, not to mention the astonishing creatures of Houdart-Heuclin’s Le Misanthrope, typify this approach.

Finally, the visitor encounters super realistic puppets from performances by Yngvild Aspeli or Bérangère Ventusso. The puppets’ duplicate or distorted bodies play with illusion and signal the richness of the bond between the body of the puppeteer, the puppet per se and the spectator. In the same stream of thoughts , the visitor can admire Émilie Valantin’s Faust, Roman Paska’s skeletons, as well as the puppets and costumes from Ariane Mounchkine’s Tambours sur la digue.

L’article The exhibition “Marionnette” est apparu en premier sur CNCS.

L’article Browse the special issue Auvernha x CNCS est apparu en premier sur CNCS.

• 2 and a half years to complete

• 2,000 m² new space

• 300 m² space dedicated to theater design open to the public

• 1,300 m² additional storage space

• 1 km-long storage space for the collections

• 7.4 million euro budget

• 10,000 m² total surface area for the CNCS, 4,000 m² of which is open to the public

Cover photo: © Joël Bonnard – ATELIERS ADELINE RISPAL, architecture &
scenography

L’article La Scène – Key figures est apparu en premier sur CNCS.

As an extension to the museum’s existing collections storage, the new facilities will provide much needed space for new acquisitions, as the museum continues to enrich its collections. Over the next fifteen to twenty years, the museum will be able to significantly increase its capacity in costume conservation. Emblematic and significant pieces for the CNCS, including stage costumes from Line Renaud, Dalida and Alain Bashung, as well costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier or inspired by Pablo Picasso, have been among the first to join the new storage space. Specifically designed for the conservation of fragile heritage collections, these facilities are equipped with the latest climate control technology. Particularly sensitive to light, dust and variations in humidity and temperature, the textile collections are stored between 18 and 20°C (64-68°F) with a relative humidity of between 45 and 60%. Levels 1 and 2 have been fitted with a high-density motorized mobile shelving system that optimizes storage capacity. This innovative solution lowers building costs by eliminating the need for a slab between these two levels.
 
Cover photo: © Nicolas Anglade – ATELIERS ADELINE RISPAL, architecture & scenography

L’article New innovative collections storage est apparu en premier sur CNCS.

The project centers around the creation of a new exhibition space dedicated to theatrical design and directly linked to the museum’s collections of stage costumes. Visitors will be able to discover this artistic discipline and its production process for the first time, with an exhibition in three acts: 

the initial design, when the set designer will discuss the director’s vision for the production whilst considering the stage space and technical equipment;
the creation of the scenic elements in the production workshops, including backdrops, set construction, painting, sculpture, textiles and props, showcasing professions with rare and specialized expertise:
the performance, with the elements of the theatrical design recreated on a stage including a set, rigging, curtains, scenery and props.

The exhibition begins with video interviews made especially for the exhibition, giving a voice to set designers from different generations and with different aesthetic styles, such as Yannis Kokkos, Robert Carsen, Chantal Thomas, Eric Soyer or Louise Sari, who share their vision of the profession.

The visitor then enters a large 300m 2 space that recreates a workshop, offering an informative and immersive look at the different trades involved in bringing a set design to life. A large collection of objects – sketches, drawings, scale models, plans, accessories, tools, material samples, extracts and audiovisual interviews – from institutions or theater companies and from national and regional opera houses, allow visitors to understand and explore these little-known professions.
To offer visitors concrete examples from the world of theatrical design, the exhibition will feature rotating set designs, showcasing creations from French set designers.

For the opening, the CNCS will welcome the Comédie-Française, showcasing the work of Eric Ruf, general administrator and set designer. Designs, sketches, story-boards, accessories and video extracts will be featured, as well as part of the scenery from the Comédie-Française’s 2006 production of “Cyrano de Bergerac” directed by Denis Podalydès, for which Ruf was the set designer. This theatrical masterpiece won six “Molière” awards for best directing, best scenery and best costume design for the work of
Christian Lacroix, honorary president of the CNCS.

Cover photo: © Nicolas Anglade

L’article La Scène – A space dedicated to theatrical design est apparu en premier sur CNCS.