1. Does this puppet have a name?
Yes. This is Maiko, but I call it “Grandpa” when I take it off from my head.
2. What is it's role in the show?
Maiko is one of the drifters who is floating between reality and daydream. Maiko is also the chair of the National Sheepshair Sheep Association.
3. What is it made of?
Foamcore with a printed face.
4. Anything else you'd like to tell us about it?
So far, I have been putting this grandpa face on and wearing my elementally school’s coat every time I’m on the stage.
I don’t know if Maiko is a “he” or “she”, an “old person” or “kid”. The only thing I know is that this is a foreigner who lives in USA.
La MaMa presents
NO NEED FOR
A NIGHT LIGHT
ON A LIGHT NIGHT
LIKE TONIGHT
created by Maiko Kikuchi
November 19 - 22, 2015 - Four Performances Only!
Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:30pm; Sunday at 6pm
Tickets: $20 Adults; $15 Students/Seniors - only a handful of $10 tickets left!
2, 3 and 5-Show Ticket Packages Available
For tickets and info: CLICK HERE
Maiko Kikuchi's No Need For A Night Light On A Light Night Like Tonight comes to The First Floor Theatre at La MaMa as part of the 2015 La MaMa Puppet Series in November. Maiko took time out from rehearsals to answer 6 Questions for La MaMa Blogs. There is limited seating for this show and tickets are selling fast!
1. What was the original inspiration for creating No Need For A Night Light?
Tongue twisters. I am intrigued by the fact that tongue twisters’ sentences are structured only for making peoples tongue’s twisted. Then, I became curious how these would look if I repurposed their meaningless idioms, and actually brought them to life.
2. What should the audience expect from the show?
Please relax, and just watch the strangeness, awkwardness, and silliness that is happening in front of you. Don’t try to catch any purpose from it, because making up something without purpose is the whole purpose of this show.
3. In addition to puppetry, also work in sculpture, painting, drawing and animation). What does puppetry satisfy for you that the other mediums do not?
To be honest, it’s hard for me to distinguish between each medium because they all become the same tool for making my strange daydreams visible. If you would like to know specifically what kind of tool the puppetry is, I would say, that it is a tool that allows me to be one of the components of my daydreams and to share every single moment with whoever is there.
4. Who has inspired you?
The first person who inspired me is my father. He is not an artist, but a psycho analyst, who is part of the lineage of Freud. I do not have any knowledge of his professional field, but my interests, “The boundary between real and dream” was formed originally in my child hood through talking and playing with him. He is still a good listener and carefully listens to my ideas which I come up with through and in my daily life.
5. What was the last good book you read?
The children’s book “Fortunately” written by Remy Charlip, who is a book author, illustrator, dancer, and performer. My honourable friend David Vaughan, who is a 91 year old dance archivist, lent me this book, simply saying “I think you would like it”. A few days later, I unfortunately got a cold, although, fortunately then I had the time to read this book repeatedly while I was sick in my bed. I loved the book. He knew it.
6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you?
La MaMa is the very first theatre I got to know after I came to the U.S. At that time, I didn’t even think that I would create and perform a theatre piece in my life. Five years have past since then, and I have been given the opportunity to be on the stage at La MaMa. Now, I’m getting ready to share my daydream there, and this makes me feel as if my life were a part of a funny dream of a giant who is sleeping somewhere.
La MaMa presents
No Need For
A Night Light
On A Light Night
Like Tonight
created by Maiko Kikuchi
November 19 - 22, 2015 - Four Performances Only!
Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:30pm; Sunday at 6pm
Tickets: $20 Adults; $15 Students/Seniors - only a handful of $10 tickets left!
2, 3 and 5-Show Ticket Packages Available
For tickets and info: CLICK HERE
Our friends at HowlRound recently ran an in-depth series on several different aspects of Puppetry and Puppet Performance. With our upcoming 2015 La MaMa Puppet Series that includes World Premieres by Tom Lee and Koryu Nishikawa V, Ibex Puppetry (Heather Henson & Ty Defoe), Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre Company and Maiko Kikuchi we wanted to share these great articles.
One Thirty-Second of an Inch to the Left: A Measured Look at Puppet Building
by Matthew Laird
Puppet builder Matthew Laird discusses the joys and challenges of crafting puppets for live performance.
Puppetry: Theatre or Television
by Pam Arciero
Pam Arciero, Oscar the Grouch's girlfriend Grundgetta Grouch, considers the differences between being a puppeteer on television and on stage.
Puppetry for the Modern Shaman
by James Godwin
Puppeteer James Godwin explores the philosophical and spiritual implications of puppetry.
Why Puppetry? Musings of a Solo Puppet Artist
by Marsian De Lellis
Solo puppet artist Marsian De Lellis discusses his inspiration and process for creating object/puppet
Puppetry, the Insular Art That Takes a Village
by Jean Marie Keevins
Puppeteer Jean Marie Keevins reports on 2015 National Puppetry Conference and the Puppeteers of America National Puppetry Festival.
The 2015 La MaMa Puppet Series runs November 5 - 29, 2015, all all of the La MaMa venues. Discount Packages available for people who want to see multiple shows.
