by Dr. Helmut von Kügelgen - International Waldorf Kindergarten Association The struggle for the legal security of a freely chosen, humane education in the pre-school age demands spiritual decisions from which parents and teachers can no longer hold back. Independently from the success of these efforts, however, we must not neglect the concrete questions of the creation of a counterbalance against a civilization inimical to children.
Whatever can be done to offer children enlivening soul nourishment must be begun. In the late fall, children are more and thore withdrawn from nature - in so far as they can reach it all - and are brought into the house and indoor occupations. It is also the time for the first thoughts about Christmas and Christmas presents, so the educational experience should lead to understanding with the heart and to action. How incongruous it must have seemed in the year 1917 in the tragic last phases of the first World War and in the beginning of his open political and social activity, that Rudolf Steiner should have been concerned with the establishment of a marionette theater. But he devoted his full attention to this theater.
2 Comments
The puppetry impulse is one of the most important art therapy impulses for the coming century. Why? Because with hand and string puppets something is possible that cannot be achieved in theater or in movies, namely that the spiritual and soul expressions of the players are completely in the service of the images that are created with the help of the puppets.
Fairy tales, plays and everyday scenes that are presented in this innocent fashion come to life in a way that allows the onlooker, especially the child, to take in the content consciously, without the overpowering soul impact of real theater drama. The spiritual image content appears in the foreground and the imaginative capacity receives rich nourishment while at the same time the constitution of the child is guarded from impressions that are too forceful and that would disturb the flow of images. The marionette play is, for adults, a conscious, and for children, an unconscious, education in imaginative vision, and therefore it is an activator of the highest order of the forces of self-healing. The marionette and puppet theater is on top of everything, the only effective alternative to television and the multi-media culture of our day. I want to hereby warmly speak out on behalf of the Goetheanum in support of encouraging a worldwide puppet theatre culture, and beg everyone that reads this to consider how they can financially and otherwise contribute to this goal. ~ Michaela Glöckler, M.D., Director, Medical Section, Anthroposophical Society in Rundbrief Michaeli 1999 no. 37 Cultivating Moral Imagination Through Puppetry ~Hosted by Ripples Puppetry of Olympia, Washington
"The human being produces concrete mental pictures from the sum of his ideas chiefly by means of the imagination. Therefore what the free spirit needs in order to realize his ideas, in order to be effective, is moral imagination. This is the source of the free spirit's action." ~ Rudolf Steiner, The Philosophy of Freedom Dear Friends of Puppetry! This gathering of puppeteers is meant to link to the East Coast puppetry conferences which have been led by Janene Ping and others. It has long been a dream of Janene’s to have West Coast gatherings alternating with East Coast gatherings. Janene has been working with us in imagining and planning the conference and will join us as a presenter and participant in the conference. I was fortunate to be able to attend last year’s conference in Hawthorne Valley. It was extremely inspiring and delightful! I am happy to be a part of the planning and hosting of our West Coast conference! Please contact me with questions or to let me know if you are interested in attending! Registration will open in February and the cost will be $425 (USD) for the 5 days. Please use the pre-registration form if you are interested in receiving updates and registration information as it becomes available. Presentations
Workshops
Performances
Please let us know if you or your group would like to bring a puppet show to share! (You will receive a discount on your conference fee for this!) ~ Marjorie Rehbach www.ripples.us Event Type: Children
Age Group(s): Children 3-6 years, Children grades 1-3 Date: 1/27/2017 Start Time: 10:30 AM End Time: 11:00 AM Description: Ripples Puppet Theatre presents a puppet show based on the Ukrainian folktale, "The Mitten". This charming story about animals sharing a home in a lost mitten is accompanied by live music and storytelling. Sponsored by the Friends of the Tumwater Timberland Library. Library: Tumwater Timberland Library Map to the Tumwater Library Monday January 09, 2017 (9 am - 12 noon)
Focus: The Middle Senses - Smell, Taste, Vision, Warmth Artistic Activity: Watercolor Painting Saturday January 14, 2017 (9 am - 12 noon) Wet Felted Pictures (with Patricia Namit) - Cost: $65 More info ... |