![]() "But sometimes the puppet may not move the way you want it to move, so from there I'll redesign it and rework my ideas." For example, if I want to build a juggler, I will design the controller and the strings based on that. "I first need to have a concept - an idea of what I want the puppet to do. So, what does it take to create a puppet? According to Frankie, it's more than just getting crafty. While several of them are displayed at his workshop in MacPherson, he shares that there are many others that have been put away in storage. To date, Frankie has created more than 300 puppets and marionettes by hand. I guess that was my training ground," he mused. "From there, I started to learn about levers, springs and stuff. He also credits his inquisitive nature, which spurred him to take things apart and try to put them back together. It was a lot of trial and error from what we saw on television, and from there I would reverse-engineer and experiment from there," explains the 60-year-old, who performs with his puppets at events. Now that he's been in the business for more than 30 years, Frankie tells AsiaOne that he actually wanted to be a magician, but decided to turn to puppetry as it was an untapped market back in the 1980s. This ordinary evening routine of his would eventually inspire him to become a puppeteer himself, going by the stage name Frankie Malachi. Tickets at S$35 from SISTIC.Why I Do What I Do is an original AsiaOne series where we showcase people with uncommon professions and what it takes to get there.Īs a child, Frankie Yeo loved watching The Muppets on television every night while having dinner. The Finger Players Season 2016: The Collectors runs until April 10 (except April 4). It is a lesson that perhaps we all can note. “They believe in the importance of continuing and promoting traditional art forms so that the future generation of academics or practitioners will always have a reference point.” “Both have very different resources to work with but they share the same passion and ideology. “Zhuang Lie is trained by a state-owned company while Master Li Yi Hsin inherited traditional hand puppetry passed down from his great-great grandfather,” explained Tan. Zhuang will even be fusing the ancient art of calligraphy into her string puppetry, a feat she managed to achieve after years researching and experimenting. The production is further strengthened with performances of traditional hand and string puppetry by 68-year-old Li Yi Hsin from Hong Kong and 41-year-old Zhuang Lie from China, respectively. ![]() In addition, the lobby of the centre has been converted to house the collectibles belonging to the artists involved in the production, which are exhibited to show audiences a part of their personal lives. Other stops include the carpark, where the past merges with present as the two late arts practitioners, puppet master Li Bo Fen and Christian Sergeant, appear in video installation as well as the rehearsal studio, where sound artist Bani Hakyal focuses on the tradition of oral delivery. It proceeds to discuss topics of migration and memories of the past under the mango tree as audience members sit on low, red plastic stools - a throwback to the days when communities gathered for outdoor shows. For instance, the show kicks off with Tan playing tour guide, entering Centre 42 in a truck - a reference to how Chinese puppeteers used to serve as travelling entertainers in the old villages. The duo created different zones in Centre 42 to touch on these themes. In prolonging, modifications are made to the form to stay with time.” It probably will stay untouched in a display case, in a repository or in a digital form living eternally in the cyberworld. “In preserving, the art form ceases to continue. “The agenda of this show is to view and explore traditional art forms from various angles, such as the concepts of preserving versus prolonging,” explained Tan. Jointly helmed by Finger Puppets’ co-founder Tan Beng Tian, and Lim Chin Huat, the former artistic director of defunct dance troupe Ecnad, the show invites the audience to “tour” Centre 42 at Waterloo Street, an old bungalow that has been turned into the backdrop of the production, which ponders on whether traditions and memories ought to be remembered and preserved. And it is apt for a company dealing with the art of puppetry that the first of the trio is a site-specific production called The Collectors. SINGAPORE - Theatre company Finger Players kicks off its season this year with not one or two but a triple bill of plays this month.
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