Jury Members
Doug Paraschuk
theatrical designer
Stratford Festival
Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Terry Snyder
puppeteer
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A.
Takashi Hoshino, chairman PUK Puppet Theatre
Tokyo, Japan
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Production Title: "Catch Your Breath"
Premiere Date: 10 October, 2002
theatre rites, London, England
Arlyn Award presented to Sophia Clist
at Canada House, London, on 1 July, 2002
(Click Thumbnail to Enlarge)
Designer's Statement
"The design goal was to create an installation from nothing which would gradually, throughout the show become the components of an installation which the children in the audience can enter. All of the 'set' was to emerge out of bags by either folding or contracting, and then receive video projections upon them. The shapes were to be kept as pure as possible e.g. triangles, squares and circles. The theme of the show to be reflected in the design was how children define their sense of space in relation to others around them. The child centered puppet, designed in the same way as the set, was to be seen in various different internal and external landscapes."
Jury's Comment
"The constructions, both puppets and installation, were simple but contrived so well that everything on the stage emerged magically and captured the spectators' minds throughout the show. The combination of a variety of visual elements - geometric structures, soft sculpture, with light and projections all worked well together. The cohesiveness of ideas flow one from another so that puppets, sets and puppeteers all become one. At every turn something blossomed forth to rivet attention and carry on the visual story. The clever use of texture, such as the contrast between smoothness of the set material and the fuzziness of the 'animal' character is particularly appealing. The entire show seems to operate on a child-like level that zooms to adult level with ease."