Thai Teaching Cert: Module 6 Art, Drama and Music
Characteristics of Thai Visual Art:
For our Thai Teaching Certificate which all teachers at international schools must complete we were entertained by some puppet masters for our Art, Drama and Music module.
Buddha Art:
Thai Musical Instruments
Shadow Puppets:
The Puppet Show:
We watched a performance by a group of puppeteers who used what they called a “Three Person” puppet. It takes three people to control all aspects of the puppet, and the people that control the puppet move with the motions that the puppet makes. They become one being, and with their movements so fluid you soon forget about the three people behind the puppets and focus in on the motions of the puppet itself.
Their movements were so life like and it was a great demonstration of Thai puppetry. In the end it’s great to learn about the arts of different cultures, their music, their ways of life. Just another benefit of being an international educators.
Interesting how different cultures view puppetry. A couple I know recently travelled to Cambodia and did some puppetry for folks there. Apparently, the Cambodians were totally non-plussed by the whole idea and simply didn’t ‘get’ it. Now I don’t know if it was the type of puppetry they didn’t get or puppetry per se, but it was a complete washout.
I have seen documentaries about the sort of puppetry you describe. It wasn’t in Thailand, though – I think it was in Japan. Fascinating how the three people meld together to express a single character.