By Sarah Carnvek
It's hard to argue with more than 10,000 audience members about Jerusalem's popularity in puppetry. Since 2001, the largest festival of puppet theater in Israel – and one of the biggest in the world – has taken place in the heart of Israel's capital city.
Three main halls at the Train Theater, a community center, an amphitheater in a public park and outdoor courtyards all play host to Israeli and international puppeteers for six days every August.
The Israeli production “Gulliver: The Journey to Lilliput” was featured
at the 2012 festival. Photo by Itay Weiser
“The production of an international festival fulfills two goals of the Train Theater as a creating theater," says Dalia Yaffe-Maayan, Train Theater director and artistic director of the festival. "The first is inspiring the audience and giving them a cultural enjoyment, and the second is development and promotion of the puppet theater field, by enriching the artistic world of Israeli creators through dialogue with international creators."
The Train Theater initiated the International Festival of Puppet Theater in 1983. Since 2001, it has become an annual event.
The two festivals don't clash. Rather they help focus the spotlight on Israeli creativity.
"Israeli puppeteers are known as being very independent, creative and sophisticated with lots of surprises. There's a lot of talent in Israel," says Yaffe-Maayan.
Toddlers at the front
While there are always a half-dozen performances for the over-18 crowd, the bulk of this year's event was aimed at the very young, in line with a world trend in using puppet theater to engage the senses of toddlers.
This year's event included nine Israeli premieres among the 100 shows on the festival bill. Artist and screenwriter Len Levitt, a creator of Sesame Street and recently arrived resident of Ra'anana, debuted his new performance, “Something Funny at the Puppet House."
“The stars of the show are Wilbur and Toast, the two best friends,” Levitt told The Jerusalem Post. “It’s really about them playing together and the different things that happen to them and them trying to get along with each other when their agendas are not always the same.”
Sesame Street veteran Len Levitt debuted “Something Funny at the
Puppet House" at the Jerusalem festival.
While Levitt has ample experience under his belt, the other Israeli artists are creating new styles all the time. And that's what the global audience loves about Israeli puppetry.
"The festival has become a key event for Israel every year due to the emphasis on various performances suitable for all ages, which present the newest innovations in puppet theater. The festival promotes the Israeli creation and honors artists that have made their mark in the field. We also combine puppeteer students’ works in the festival in order to build the new generation of Israeli puppeteers," says Yaffe-Mayaan.
Before the Train Theater was established in Jerusalem, puppetry in Israel was very much an individual hobby. And then in 1981, four independent puppeteers -- Mario Kotliar, Michael Schuster, Alina Ashbel and Hadass Ophrat -- joined forces to perform shows from a train wagon in a city park. As the years passed, the Train Theater became a creative and inspirational source of puppetry in Israel.
Still, with no “Punch & Judy” to fall back on, Israelis are constantly forming their own tradition of the ancient art.
"We don't have a tradition of this art form in Israel. And because there is no tradition, Israelis can create a new language in puppetry," says Yaffe-Maayan.
International exposure
Every year, the International Festival of Puppet Theater hosts an International Exposure Program. Festival directors from around the world come to Israel's flagship event to scour for talent for their events.
This year, festival directors from the Czech Republic, Germany, Scotland, Slovenia, India, Latvia and Denmark took part in the program.
"The world is very excited by our young artists," says Yaffe-Maayan. "We are invited abroad a lot."
In addition to the scouting directors, puppeteers from Belgium, England, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary and The Netherlands came to Jerusalem to join in this year's festivities.
"The festival is the most important event in its field, and brings the best international and local creation," said Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. "The International Festival of Puppet Theater is a first-rate event, with an established reputation in Israel and abroad and serves as a main event in the Jerusalem culture calendar."
Sums up Israeli Sports and Culture Minister Limor Livnat: "The uniqueness of the festival lies in the exposure of challenging, intriguing and diverse creations, with a rich visual language -- a true celebration to the soul and a feast for the eyes."