Paper short abstract:

Whether performed as object theater, as adult puppetry, or in various traditional styles, puppetry has always been a tool to express subversion, or 'demons rather than institutions' of society. What are puppets called upon to do or perform by puppeteers, artists, and community builders?

Paper long abstract:

What are puppets called upon to do or perform by puppeteers, artists, and community builders? This paper draws from participation in a puppetry intensive with Sandglass Theater in the summer of 2016, from applied uses of puppetry in community building in Istanbul, and from a broader literature on performing objects. The conception of the puppet or performing object as an "actant" (Latour) or as a "text" that has its own volition creates profound and powerful avenues for empathy, ethical exploration and poetic economy. Training as a puppeteer, one of the first things we learn is to "animate" rather than "control" a puppet. This is particularly the case with puppet performance that involves the co-presence of actor and puppet together. Puppetry and material performance problematize notions of text, story and narrative in ways that deepen and challenge concepts in folklore and ethnography.