The Train Theater’s annual International Puppet Festival – an eclectic mix of culturally artistic expression – is back for its 35th edition, at Jerusalem’s Liberty Bell Park and surrounding outdoor areas, from August 17-21.
“Art can uplift your spirit, and imagining different worlds can take you to a fantasy of your hidden wishes. Without that, I couldn’t have survived life in Israel these days. Playfulness and imagination can be a resource everywhere, and any time you want,” said festival artistic director Shachar Marom.
The “X-mix” outdoor space, thoughtfully envisioned by Marom and Dafna Kron, will be centered around the colorful theme of “Play,” and will showcase international workshops and events. Here, visitors will encounter a giant Tic-Tac-Toe game board, view floating circus acts, a toy mountain of colors, and hear a children’s choir.
Kron described her excitement for involving visitors in the X-mix children’s choir feature, with its inter-generational and global features that cross cultures and backgrounds.
She added that she considers play to be an important value. “I’m interested in maintaining a playful position throughout life,” she said. “Play is one of the primary sources of life, a biological force that existed even before the invention of culture.
“By focusing on play as this year’s central theme, we hope to encourage a wonderful state of playfulness in both artists and children. We invite the audience to be present in this vital, creative state of play; a state that is also essential for imagining the future,” she added.
Interactive and immersive experiences at the festival
The festival will offer several interactive and immersive experiences. Featured are the opening performances of Awakening, an international contribution from Hungary’s Ladder Art Company, supported by the Hungarian Embassy; as well as What happened to Music? – a dive into music specially created for the Puppet Theater.
There are also premier performances for children: It’s not a Duck, by the Train Theater’s Gahlia Levy Grad and Naomi Yoeli, is a twist on the classic The Ugly Duckling; Scribble in Clothes, by Michal Svironian and Yoni Tal, in which theater pairs with drawing in color; and What and Why, by Irit Haruvi and Yariv Solomon, which features dialogues that promotes friendship and peace.
Adults can also get involved in the creativity. Ombra, a performance by Dor Regev, Michal Holtzman, and Maya Alish, is a presentation rooted in fantasy with contemporary relevance. Listening to Planets, by Ari Teperberg, emphasizes creation amid wartime.
Featured international exhibitions
International exhibitions include original works from Italy, such as Ignazio Borot’s captivating children projects Journeys in Boxes and Milo’s Celestial Symphony. From Germany, there is “The Puppet 4.0,” a virtual museum tour. Festival organizers expect that the activities will appeal to the variety of tastes of both children and adults.
The festival will also host free public events and late-night events, such as a children’s circus by the Train Theater; The Giraffes, by Albert Company (Russia), featuring giraffes dancing in color; a DJ Miko dance party; a Puppet Slam; and dramatic karaoke with Noa Golan.
Marom is excited to present the cabaret, What to do in a Puppet Emergency, by Mark Down, director of the Blind Summit in England, for the festival’s closing. This act mimics coming to the aid of the injured, through comedy.
“I met Mark in Germany. He is an interesting artist, and I think his act is going to be relevant and very funny. To work with an artist on his level is a great opportunity,” Marom said.
Past festival themes have touched on the ideas of escape and safeguarding from Israeli society’s worries. This year, the festival focuses on taking on the mindset of play, something primarily associated with childhood, and rethinking of it as applicable to our “grownup” lives.
“We have been playing since we were born. We experience life through playing and imitating adult behavior,” Maron observed. “There is a moment in life where we are expected to stop playing and be responsible for our adult life, but at the Train Theater and the Jerusalem Puppet Festival, we try to make playfulness an important quality of life.”
One may understand this as a way to balance life’s challenges, as Kron and Marom do, by shaping opportunities and combating life’s heaviness with expressive interaction and lighter elements. A blend of mental and physical safety. As a theme, it couldn’t be more relatable to the current political climate.
Myriad obstacles and changes involving logistics, financial considerations, and delays are part of the work that has gone into preparing for the Puppet Festival, and has kept its collective teams and artistic directors on their toes.
“It’s like a sea full of sharks,” he said. “To have a living art scene, you have to work really hard on the international level. You might have 10 artists lined up, but then something like the recent Israel-Iran War comes up and you end up with only one of those 10 being able to get a flight or willing to come to the country.”
In spite of the struggles, Marom, Kron, the Train Theater, and the contributing artists have continued to work with diligence, enthusiasm, and grace. They take pride in cultivating art that will speak to everyone who takes part in their world of enlightenment.
“Experiencing art is like a form of prayer. It offers a space to reflect and reimagine reality. I hope we can offer our audience that kind of experience. And may this war come to an end – now,” added Kron.
For ticket sales and information, visit www.traintheater.co.il/en/projects.