The puppets

We chose to explore these worlds in depth using three mediums: body, shadow and table puppets.

​

Body puppets

Seeing Inside Daddy’s or Mommy’s Tummy…
In this part, the top half (torso and stomach) of the actors playing the father and the mother is like a small portable shadow-puppet theatre. The bodies are oversized and lit from the inside so the performers can work the shadow puppets. Furthermore, the mother’s tummy is stretchable, which helps recreate the inner movements of the fœtus. The puppet bodies offer various possibilities to portray emotions and sensations experienced by the parents.

​

Colored ... Shadow puppets

Going into the uterine and imaginary world of the yet-to-be-born baby…
The coloured shadow puppets are made up of acrylic plastic (Plexiglas) that is cut and painted with stained-glass paint or coloured with stage-lighting gels. As a result, the projected shadow is not black but coloured with various textures. In addition, projections through stained glass allow us to create luminous aquatic atmospheres. Thin rods and strings that provide greater fluidity of movement are used to work the shadow puppets.

​

Table puppets

Depicting the Development of Emotions…
This style of theatre features small-size puppets and puppeteers work in full view on a small table. Each of the baby’s body parts is a puppet in itself with all the emotions it can convey: the legs dance, the fists hit, the navel screams “Me! Me! Me!” In the end, the baby is put together, ready to live outside mother’s womb.

Putting into Action a Fascinating Machine: the Human Body…
Using the pinball machine as a basic concept, we built a huge inner body in which puppeteers can give life to the inner struggles of the human body. They work both objects and small puppets to depict the inner gurgling sounds, impulses and struggles.