Jabuti Theatre has been working hard on the next stage of development; making connections in Central and South America to inject that Latin influence into the show!
In 2001 he founded the company Luna Morena, experimental puppet workshop, which focuses on projects of artistic development through puppetry. Luna Morena has participated in festivals in Mexico, Canada, USA, Spain, China, Taiwan, Czech Republic and Colombia. Some of his most recent projects with Luna Morena include "The Silence Between the Waves", "Martina and the Birdmen" from the book by Monica Hoth, "Zaikabaret Apokaliptko" and "Animalario".
In 2004 Miguel Angel founded the International Puppet Festival of Guadalajara (Feast of Dolls) and runs it as Aristic Director.
Her latest film work includes; "Different kind of water - Different kind of Fish", "Couch", "William Blake" and "Halls of Fame".
My City focuses on Soledad and Eibhleann; it tells their stories, together and apart; the clash between them before they build their relationship into a friendship and learn to embrace each others difference as well as the beauty and the brokenness of the world around them. Their two languages, Gaelic and Spanish, are not just the barrier between them, but they also represent their characters with the cultural connotations of their language. I felt it was important to explore the countries and cultures behind the languages to dig deeper into the characters, the way the story is told and also how the themes of communication and environment are approached. For this reason I wanted to start the relationship with Latin American culture by bringing over a Director from Central or South America who could share with me their experiences and influences and add extra depth to the performance.
It was very important for me and for My City to find someone who had puppetry experience, but who had also played with different forms of puppetry and blended it with other artforms; particularly physical theatre. The show will have acrobatics and movement in it, so the understanding of the body is essential, even more so in combination with puppetry which can be quite challenging. After speaking to a range of very interesting performers and directors, both in the puppetry and circus worlds, I met the perfect person to bring over from Guadalajara, Mexico. Here's a little bit about Miguel Angel Guiterrez, Director of Luna Morena, in his own words:
Miguel Angel Gutierrez is a scenic creator who studied at the Art Center College of Architecture and Design at the University of Guadalajara. His background is in design and visual communication.
Miguel Angel has studied with teachers such as: Claudio Hochmann, Hugo Aristimuño (of Argentina), Matasek Petr (Czech Republic), Suzanne Lebeau and Gervais Gaudreault (Canada), Luis Martin Solis, Alberto Villareal (Mexico) and many more.
Check out some of his work on Luna Morena's YouTube channel.
Along with Miguel Angel I will also be working with the fantastic performer, Florencia García Chafuén.
She's also written a little bit about herself:
Florencia García Chafuén is a visual and performance artist originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina where she trained in theatre and drama at the Norman Briski theatre school and movement with Laura Preguerman.
She also studied film making at the Fundacion Universidad del cine in Buenos Aires (FUC) and Physical Theatre in Scotland under the direction of Al Seed and Simon Abbott.
Since moving to Scotland in 1998 she has worked extensively in a wide range of art forms including dance, film, photography, theatre and music. She has performed with a number of different companies and directors both in the UK and internationally.
For one week in February 2013, thanks to Creative Scotland, we will be working on the development of My City in order to get it ready for a rehearsal and tour in autumn 2013. We will also, thanks to Imaginate, be working with a musician for that week with influences from Spanish and Gaelic music.
The whole process will be filmed so you'll get to see the results of week which I can guarantee will be very interesting!! Until then watch this space for more updates...who will be the musician for the week? Do I have any more surprises up my sleeve...?!
Rachael Macintyre
Artistic Director
