ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar
Figurentheater Wilde & Vogel and Grupa Coincidentia
from Germany/Poland:
Krabat
ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar
Recommended for Ages 13+
REVIEW:
By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara
Black magic, blood, grinding bones, dissonant chords at a volume to rival a punk or metal concert, people transforming into ravens, and magically macabre puppetry make for an interesting evening with Figurentheater Wilde & Vogel and Grupa Coincidentia. We caught Krabat with 5 friends and family members and reactions ranged from enthusiastic adoration to abject loathing. I never expect full consensus from a given audience, and differing views on a show spark interesting conversations. Still, it's a testament to these puppeteers, that they push the boundaries of performance to the extent that they elicit strong, emotional reactions, equally positive and negative.
Don't let the source material, a classic German children's book “Krabat and the Sorcerer's Mill,” fool you into thinking this is a children's show. It's a darkly disturbing, adult piece of theatre set at the end of the 30 years' war (lasting from 1618 to 1648) when a desperate war orphan, Krabat, becomes an apprentice to a master who not only runs a mill, but also sacrifices children and works dark magic. Remember, Germans are the ones who brought us "children's stories" like The Brothers Grimm (die Brüder Grimm or die Gebrüder Grimm) fairytale collections which originally included much creepier versions of the familiar stories we know and love. For example, the evil stepsisters in “Cinderella” cut off their heels and toes trying to make the slipper fit, and themes of mutilation, child abuse, incest, murder, and dismemberment run rampant throughout their folktales.
One of our friends was speechless by the end of the show, and claimed to need time to process what she just saw. Another said it was an uncomfortable, awful audience experience, but the other 3 of us enjoyed it and found the story telling evocative and fascinating. If you enjoy the creepy side of human nature, heavy industrial and ethereal music, and creative storytelling, don't miss this. Recommended.
We caught up with musician Charlotte Wilde of for a casual, post-show conversation. where she told us that she met puppeteer and puppet maker Michael Vogel in college in the late 90s, when she was studying to become a music teacher. The puppetry took off, as a viable career, and they never looked back.
These collaborators from Germany/Poland live around a 10 hour drive from one another, which makes rehearsals complicated. Flights are shorter, but not conducive to hauling puppets and set pieces, so they generally do end up driving. Nevertheless, they have collaborated on quite a few productions and the melding of companies is impressive.
My husband, who's a location sound engineer for TV/film, was intrigued with the low tech mechanics used to create the ambient sound and lighting effects. He even stayed after the show to confirm his theory about the mill shadows, and rhythmic scraping and thumping, created by a lighted, rotating wheel with a phono needle, pictured in the center, below.
We particularly loved the light and shadows, the quirky gears, and the way the puppet, Krabat was pulled around the stage by a string. The play of light and water, as well as the bits with floating plastic were visually gorgeous and accompanied by an equally eerie and beautiful score. The show does eventually have a happy ending, with the redemption of a love story, but it's an intense and gory road to get there. Recommended.
Full Puppet Fest Schedule, including video clips of the productions HERE.
Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, artist, and Mama to 2 amazing adults. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly).
Figurentheater Wilde & Vogel and Grupa Coincidentia
Germany/Poland
The Biograph Theater's Začek-McVay Mainstage, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Lincoln Park
January 25-28
Four shows: Thursday, January 25 at 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, January 26 and 27 at 9 p.m.; Sunday, January 28 at 3 p.m.
70 minutes
13 and up
Tickets: $35-$45
Based on the classic German children's book “Krabat and the Sorcerer's Mill,” a stray war orphan finds shelter with eleven millers and their Master. Strict rules, dark practices, black magic…anything can be endured as long as the bowl is full and the bed is dry. Krabat grows closer and closer to the Master. Finally, it is not heroism, but disobedience - the motive of gaining a friend and a girl who loves him - that breaks the power of the spell. A play about hard times, human falls and the power of first love, Krabat goes straight to the heart with penetrating clarity, power of image, stage humor and a minimum of words. Dark, bold and at the same time incredibly light, it’s a carousel of feelings spinning among great musical landscapes.
Figurentheater Wilde & Vogel was founded in 1997 by musician Charlotte Wilde and puppeteer and puppet maker Michael Vogel, first in Stuttgart, from 2003 in Leipzig, where Wilde and Vogel are co-founders of the International Centre for Animated Theatre Westflügel. Their repertoire includes classical drama, adaptations of novels, poetry and original works. Figurentheater-wildevogel.de *see longer bio above
Grupa Coincidentia was founded in 2009 by Dagmara Sowa and Pawel Chomczyk, graduates of the Bialystok Puppet Art Department of the Theater Academy. Coincidentia has produced over a dozen performances in collaboration with artists such as Michael Vogel, Lukasz Kos, Christiane Zanger, Pawel Aigner, Michal Walczak, Robert Jarosz, Christoph Bochdansky, Pawel Passini, Robert Drobniuch and Konrad Dworakowski. Coincidentia's shows have been presented at numerous festivals in Europe, Asia and North America and have been honored with many awards (including The Bank of Scotland Herald Angel, Total Theater Award Edinburgh, Grand Prix of the Konteksty Festival, the Grand Prix of the MFTL in Torun). Coincidentia collaborates on a permanent basis with the German independent scene Lindenfels Westfluegel in Leipzig and the Figurentheater Wilde & Vogel. In 2016, Grupa Coincidentia established Siedlisko Kultury Solniki 44 - an independent cultural center located in the forest in Podlasie region, which has hosted dozens of theatrical performances, artistic and educational workshops, works in progress, concerts and panel discussions. In 2018, the center initiated LasFest - International Theater Festival in the Forest, and in 2020, LasKids - a festival addressed to children's audiences. Both include independent theaters, laboratory works, concerts, student shows, meetings with artists, film screenings and unconventional events combining art with nature. grupacoincidentia.pl
More Fabulous Puppet Fun From Figurentheater Wilde & Vogel
from Germany:
Spleen
at The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival
Ages: 16+
REVIEW:
By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara
If dissonant amplified violin, brutally loud electric guitar, creepy puppets, and esoteric 19th century poetry recorded by children is your jam, you have found your happy place! Figurentheater Wilde & Vogel's Spleen is wonderfully weird. This dynamic duo melds puppetry and an original score to breath new life into text well over a century old, and completely relevant today. Spleen inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s collection of poems “Le Spleen de Paris,” published posthumously in 1869.
Baudelaire's words, paired with an eerie assortment of puppets, is the show you never knew you needed to see. Charlotte Wilde arranges, composes and plays the music (violin, guitar and keyboard instruments) and brings compelling emotion and punctuation to the performance.
We couldn't look away from the demonic, little creature that seemed self propelled, and others that moved unaided. We also adored the puppets animated by the shockingly limber and talented puppeteer and puppet maker, Michael Vogel. The craft and design of these puppets is fabulous and leaves a lasting impression. The plot may be too baffling and esoteric to ever be mainstream, but we enjoyed it immensely. Recommended.
Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, artist, and Mama to 2 amazing adults. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly).
Spleen
The Biograph's Richard Christiansen Theatre, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Lincoln Park
January 19-21
Four shows: Friday, January 19 at 9 p.m., Saturday, January 20 at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.; Sunday, January 21 at 5 p.m.
70 minutes
16 and up
Tickets: $20-$30
Spleen is a kaleidoscope of pictures, songs and miniatures, inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s collection of poems “Le Spleen de Paris,” published posthumously in 1869. Mankind on the threshold to modernity is described in scenes played out between thirst for life and longing for death, between a romantic search for infinity and a brutal triviality. The performers are on the stage with puppets and musical instruments, while Baudelaire’s texts are spoken by children recorded on tape. The magic of this kaleidoscope develops in the imagination between actors, material and audience - a sequence of pictures and live music that wants to counterpoint Baudelaire’s vision of the world and open it for a new understanding for the present.
Figurentheater Wilde & Vogel was founded in 1997 by musician Charlotte Wilde and puppeteer and puppet maker Michael Vogel, first in Stuttgart, from 2003 in Leipzig, where Wilde and Vogel are co-founders of the International Centre for Animated Theatre Westflügel. Wilde, who studied music, English and history in Karlsruhe, arranges, composes and plays the music (violin, guitar and keyboard instruments). Vogel studied in Prague with Milos Kirschner and the Spejbl & Hurvinek Theatre, and studied puppet theater in Stuttgart at the University of Music and Performing Arts. Today, puppetry and live music are the artistic means of Wilde & Vogel’s theater, with a repertoire including classical drama, adaptations of novels, poetry and original works. Themes and dramatic material for the productions are manifold, and are always reduced to the essence, to open space for imagination beyond the visible for the audience. figurentheater-wildevogel.de
Everything you need to know about the 6th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival January 18-28, 2024
January in Chicago isn't all dreary, cold, and grey. Puppet fest is back to put some color and joy into your January. Here at ChiIL Mama and ChiIL Live Shows, we've covered the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival every year since it's inception. We're elated that they're now an annual fest instead of every other year, and we'll be out to review as much of the fest as possible once again in 2024. Check out the schedule below to save the dates. There'll be plentiful family friendly and adult puppet fun and we'll have the scoop right here.
Tickets are now on sale for the 6th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, the largest of its kind in North America, returning January 18-28, 2024, at venues large and small throughout the city.
The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival is the largest event dedicated to the art form in North America. In the heart of winter, the Festival spans 11 days and dozens of Chicago venues, sharing 100+ puppetry activities with 14,000+ guests. The festival includes performances, the Free Neighborhood Tour, a Puppet Hub open throughout the festival on the fourth floor of the Fine Arts Building, a symposium, the Catapult Artist Intensive, workshops, and more.
Visit chicagopuppetfest.org for tickets and information about the 6th Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, and sign up for the festival’s e-news.
Follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo, hashtag #ChiPuppetFest.
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