See Monkey Sea Mask and Puppet Show:
China Tour
The See Monkey Sea Mask and Puppet Show is the creation of emerging American performance artists. Duskin and Bochay Drum. Since 2002, Duskin and Bochay have been producing mask and puppet entertainments staged in sites where people gather; streets, plazas,festivals and private venues. Their engagement of a viewing public through the recovery of an ancient and intimate form of popular entertainment was developed against the background of the late 20th century’s increasingly mediated cultural environment. In the fall of 2004 See Monkey Sea will tour China, staging mask and puppet shows on the streets and in select venues. Ideally, they will be working with a Chinese digital videographer/artist to create a documentary of the tour.
Why Mask and Puppet?
Mask and puppet entertainments have appeared historically in most cultures. They are characterized by intimacy between performers and audiences, the ability of few performers to play many roles, and the presentation of traditional themes through allegorical storytelling. The use of masks, puppets and dolls is conducive to a largely gestural and visual presentation that is easily accessible to diverse audiences. The legibility of puppets and masks both overcomes language barriers and enables the distillation of large and universal human themes into simple narratives. See Monkey Sea innovates by combining theater with puppets: the human scale actor,masked and unmasked, is choreographed in contrast to the small hand puppets. This contributes spatial elasticity and an expressive scale to the production mis-en-scene, which can be seen as a strategic translation of cinematic moves into live performance.
The Traveling Theater
One person can carry an entire mask and puppet theater company in a suitcase, allowing a mobility that facilitates bringing performance to out-of-the-way locations with low production costs. Prior to the advent of cinema, the traveling show was a staple of entertainment and cultural exchange. With their experimental form of mask and puppet entertainment,See Monkey Sea continues the age-old tradition of itinerant performance such as commedia’del arte,vaudeville, and the medieval troubadour. The traveling performer has an obvious pretext for visiting: to puton a show. It enables a context beyond sight-seeing,creating possibilities for more complex interactions with locals than conventional tourism. At the end of the tour, the performers return home bringing with them the voices and impressions of inhabitants of the far-away places they have visited. By visiting locations off traditional routes of tourism and economic exchange, the performers operate as emissaries between cultures.
Why China?
China has a long tradition of mask and puppet entertainment. The theatrical elements of See MonkeySea should be familiar to Chinese audiences, while theperformance itself introduces a cultural mode unrepresented in American mass media exports to China. The media conglomerates of the United States tend toflood new entertainment markets, giving a falsely homogenous impression of Americans and American culture. Through the unique and intimate context of mask and puppet theater, See Monkey Sea seeks to participate in building new artistic and cultural bridges that will develop in parallel to China’s expansion into the global economy, forging new crosscultural identifications. See Monkey Sea is one demonstration of the truly heterogeneous nature ofAmerican expression.
Why street performance?
Street performance is efficiently and creatively delivered to an audience where it is situated:en-route, conducting business, leisure time outdoors. Art galleries and formal stages have social values that intimidate people for whom these values are unfamiliar. The art world can feel exclusive to outsiders, but this wall of exclusion can be eliminated through face-to-face encounter. Street performance is immediately accessible and invites anyone to enjoy and judge.
Why make a documentary?
See Monkey Sea will create a fixed media piece documenting their experience as foreign street performers in China, and their exchanges with local audiences. They want to collaborate with a local video artist to break the mold of US artists using exotic locations to create sensational romantic pieces that exclude local voices. This collaborative documentation of, and reflection upon this cultural exchange will create new voices in the discourse of trans-national communication and understanding.
The See Monkey Sea Mask and Puppet Show will be arriving in China the first week of October.
If you are interested more information, or would like to help us with venues, resources, or advice please
contact:
Duskin Drum
seemonkeysea@yahoo.com
PO Box 2, Waldron Is, WA, 98297, usa.
“看猴子海洋”的面具木偶表演：
中国行
美国新派地下综艺艺术家团体“看猴子海洋”以面具和木偶表演的形式，创造了一个新兴的艺术表达空间。
“看猴子海洋”的成员为Bochay和Duskin兄弟。自2002年，他们就开始通过面具和木偶进行创作，在人们聚集的场所，如街道，广场，节日和私人聚会场所等，都是他们表演的舞台。他们誓言要通过这一属于大众娱乐的方式，使远古而又亲密的形式的复苏引起公众的关注，并使其在20世纪末的背景下发展起来，逐渐地成为文化的媒介之一。
2004年秋，“看猴子海洋”将游览中国，并在街道上和在挑选出来的举办地点展现面具和木偶表演。最后，他们将与另一位美国录像艺术家Cindy和中国的数码影像和图片工作者/ 艺术家合作，完成一部关于本次旅行的纪录片。
为什么选择面罩和木偶？
面具和木偶表演出现在人类历史上大多数文化里。表演者与观众之间的亲密联系，通常的极少的表演者扮演许多角色的能力, 对传统主题或寓言的故事进行演绎等，是面具和木偶表演的特点。
假面具、木偶和玩偶的使用，有助于消除文化背景的差异，益於在更大程度上进行视觉的表现和传达抽象的观念，更容易地吸引各种各样的观众。面具和木偶两者的易读性，既克服语言障碍又可以使宏大主题升华、转化成为简单的故事。
“看猴子海洋”把木偶与戏剧表演结合起来：人既是表演者，又是伪装者（戴上假面表演），以设计过的舞蹈动作和手上的小布袋木偶形成对比。
旅行的剧院
将所有的参加表演的面罩和木偶装在一只小提箱里，让这次旅行变的自由而容易。在电影普及之前，旅行显然是娱乐和文化交流的方式之一。
由于他们的面具的实验形式及木偶表演的娱乐性， “看猴子海洋”可以继续那些古老的传统 (例如滑稽歌剧和那些中世纪抒情诗人，arte)。 旅行的表演者对于游走有明显的理由：节目在路上。它在观光以外使交流成为可能，比传统的旅游为更复杂的是与当地人互动及交往。
在旅行结束时，表演者带着他们访问的遥远地方的居民的印象回家。 通过这种交换，那些游走的表演者成为了文化之间的使者。
为何选择中国 ？
中国一直有面具及木偶娱乐表演的传统，这让“看猴子海洋”的中国之行变得容易很多。通过这种独特而亲密的面具及木偶表演，“看猴子海洋” 寻求叁与建构一座新的与中国进入全球的经济的发展平行的艺术与文化的桥梁，锻造一种新的跨文化的身份认同。
在行走中，记录下并见证发生在中国的一切。同时，“看猴子海洋”立志展现其眼中真实的美国，以达到交流的目的。
为什么街头表演？
街头表演随机而有效：在途中，在路上，在户外业余时间。艺术博物馆一直以其霸权威吓及拒绝那些对于艺术不熟悉的人，这让艺术为某类人所专有。但是，被拒绝的这堵墙，可以通过面对面的相遇而消除。街
头行为表演，使艺术与大多数人进行及时的交流，并且可以邀请任何喜爱它的人作出他自己的选择。
为什么做一部纪录片？
“看猴子海洋”将通过图片及数码影像的方式，记录下他们在中国和当地人进行的文化交流的场景。当旅行结束时，“看猴子海洋”将带着这些声音和图像在美国继续这种交流。
10月，“See Monkey Sea”的面具和木偶秀到达中国的第一周。
如果你想得到更多的资讯，或者想为我们提供更多的演出地点、资源和建议请
联系：
Duskin Drum
seemonkeysea@yahoo.com
PO Box 2, Waldron Is, WA, 98297, usa.
图片链接:
10月22日“偶然-Momentum”的一场表演
10月23日“偶然-Momentum”的一场表演
10月24日“偶然-Momentum”的一场表演
相关文章:
“偶然-Momentum”的一场表演
关于“See Monkey Sea”的表演艺术
Sea Monkey See 重庆到此一玩
影像链接:
www.academic.evergreen.edu/d/Drudus07/war.mov
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