“Stream Of Memory” is a play to celebrate relationship between human and nature
Sang and Jun spend carefree days by their playground—the river. One day, an unexpected event takes Sang on a magical encounter with the majestic giant Kali. Meandering across the land, they discover who Kali is, and remember what he once was.
Internationally acclaimed Papermoon Puppet Theatre collaborates with artists and designers from Singapore to perform their biggest production to date—Stream of Memory, an ecological tale of remembrance and reconnection. Created in response to the disappearing rivers consumed by urbanisation and modern life, this lyrical non-verbal production promises to rekindle our memories of nature and deepen our connections with each other.
Audiences can enjoy this enchanting journey through standard theatre seating on chairs or experience a more intimate performance with floor seating.
Duration of performance : 60 minutes (with no intermission)
Recommended Age: 6 and above.
“Stream Of Memory” is produced by Esplanade Theatre By The Bay, Singapore
The play will be premiered on December 13th, 2022
at Singtel Theatre Waterfront, Esplanade, Singapore
MARACOSA, from the Sanskrit language, translates to seing for oneself.
Inheriting a business or traditional art, especially a family legacy, has always sparked dilemmas on the continuing generation.
It has occured in many fields and amongst Asian families.
In this performance, Papermoon Puppet Theater would like to highlight how choices made by the next generation might seem very contrasting to previous generations. What must be passed on must be beyond objects and techniques. The reason to love must also be found, despite in different forms. It must be experienced, seen, and discovered by the next generation.
Non verbal cinematic performance
26 minutes
Synopsis of MARACOSA :
Mbak Malam, an old woman who owns a batik workshop, loves her dear granddaughter named Canting. One day, when Canting fell sick, Mbak Malam decided to tuck her in using a batik cloth decorated with a ‘tambalan’ motif. ‘Tambalan’, which translates to patch work, is believed to mend sadness, cure illness, and fill in losses.
For Mbak Malam, batik is not just any piece of textile commodity, but has a deeper significance. Hence, amongst hundreds of batik cloth, Mbah Malam always manages to find miracles. Motifs of fauna pictured in each of the batik cloths had always kept her company and brought joy. However, this wasn’t so for Canting.
Until one day, Canting experienced the miracle herself amongst the hundreds of batik cloth hung in the grandmother’s old batik workshop.
The miracle made her believe that batik had a different meaning in her life. Her faith had grown because she had seen and experienced the miracle herself.
••••
Team Of MARACOSA
Director & conceptor : Maria Tri Sulistyani
Artistic designer : Muhammad Alhaq
DOP & video editor: Rangga Yudhistira
Puppet makers : M. Alhaq, Beni Sanjaya, Anton Fajri, Pambo Priyojati, Hardiansyah Yoga, Retno Intiani
Puppeteers: M. Alhaq, Beni Sanjaya, Anton Fajri, Pambo Priyojati, Hardiansyah Yoga,
Composer: Yennu Ariendra
Crew: Ega Kuspriyanto
Producer : Papermoon Puppet Theatre and Nona Rara Batik
Mirror is my best friend, because when I cry it never laughs
( Charlie Chaplin )
“KACA CAKA : The Mirror” is a play about the world of imagination that exists in the brain of a 5- years old boy named Caka, every time he saw mirrors. Any mirror.
Seeing a mirror, made him believe that he could be anything.
A karate kid, a ghost, a bird, a robot, or even a walrus.
Everything seems fine, until he saw a big glass window of an old house.
Seeing his big projection in the glass window, made his imagination growing bigger and bigger. He started to make funny and interesting things only for himself.
Until one day, he found that the glass window, is not a usual mirror that he knew.
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cinematic puppet performance
non verbal
table top puppet technique
duration : 32 minutes
available for young audiences and adults
KACACAKA ‘s team:
Original idea : Lunang Pramusesa – Story & Artistic Director : Ria Papermoon (Maria Tri Sulistyani) – Artistic (puppet& sets) designer : Muhammad Alhaq – Set engineer & lighting designer : Anton Fajri -Puppeteer, set builder, puppet buliders : Beni Sanjaya, Pambo Proyojati, Hardiansyah Yoga – Costume by Retno Intiani – Director of photography & video editor : Rangga Yudhistira – Music composer : Yennu Ariendra – Artistic consultant : Iwan Effendi
STORY TAILOR is an intimate puppet performance. We invite audiences to give us 4 words, then we will sew those words to be a performance.
By using variety objects, puppets, shadow theatre, we will present a surprise performance that you might never imagined before.
STORY TAILOR could be presented as a Live performance or Virtual Performance.
In the time of corona, we produced “(IN YOUR POCKET) STORY TAILOR”, where people could requested their own theme, and we sew 3-4 themes into 1 performance, and sent the piece through Whatsapp, directly to the audiences’ phone cells.
We received at least 229 themes, that were sewed and sent to people’s pockets.
We were also asked people if they would like to send ” (IN YOUR POCKET) STORY TAILOR” as presents for health workers, doctors, nurses to entertain them in hospitals. For those needs, we will send the videos for free.
Opening of Yayasan HIVOS, 2021 Story Tailor (In Your Pocket #1 and #2), Online format, 2020 Folk Music Festival, Malang, 2018 Festival Dongeng Internasional Indonesia, Jakarta, 2017 Pasar-Pasaran Ubud, Bali, 2017
1200° is a cinematic non-verbal puppetry and pottery performance with ASMR sounds.
Papermoon Puppet Theatre had a new experimentation on medium, and in 1200° , all of puppets they made were made out of ceramic.
In this piece, they embraced the sound from the materials, from surroundings. The piece would like to give the audience time to pause and to appreciate every little sounds around through ASMR sounds they used.
1200° is a story about pursuing a dream, how a creation tries to make itself… itself.
A little head made out of clay woke up, and found that the body parts that was put for it, was not what supposed to be. The little head tried to dig, to find the body parts that would meet its expectation. With lots of help from it friends, the little head had a journey to be comfort on its own choices.
1200° was part of the closing Program Peduli by The Asia Foundation. Program Peduli was initiated by The Asia Foundation to facilitate and empower marginal communities in Indonesia, including transgender communities, people with different abilities, indigenous people who live in Indonesian jungle, etc.
Papermoon Puppet Theatre started the process of 1200° by doing workshop with transgender communities in Yogyakarta.
People’s comments :
“very clever combination between materials and theme!”
“Because it is a non verbal piece, it allowed audiences to build their own stories. Awesome!”
A Puppet performance that will be fit for all ages, children and adults.
“Based on a story told by a 4-years old boy”
“About friendship between a little boy named Wehea, and beetles around him”
“about learning to appreciate the small things to then be able to appreciate next bigger things”
About life.
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Wehea is a little boy who lives in a big rain forest. Just like any other people who live there, Wehea has a special connection with nature. Even the smallest beings in the forest are his friends.
One day, Wehea sees a very special beetle. He then embarks on an adventure to meet the beetle; the ver special rhinoceros beetle who always searches for the lights and turns out to save his life.
“A Bucket of Beetles” is more than just a story of a beautiful friendship. It is a story about the connection between humans and nature. A story that leaves us questioning ourselves: are we taking care of our water, soil, and air enough?
This play is based on a story told by a 4-years old little boy.
All designs of the animal puppets in the play are taken from his drawings.
Every performances will be followed by a backstage tour.
Papermoon Puppet Theatre’s first cinematic puppet performance.
this performance also has the cinema version
Journey of “A Bucket of Beetles”
Puppet performance “A Bucket Of Beetles”, Chicago International Puppet Festival, USA ( January 2024)
Puppet performance “A Bucket Of Beetles”, Sydney Festival, Australia ( January 2024)
Puppet performance “A Bucket Of Beetles”, IFI Yogyakarta, ( June 9th-11th,2023)
Puppet performance “A Bucket Of Beetles”, Salihara Theater, Jakarta, Indonesia ( March 10th-12th, 2023)
Virtual Cinematic Puppet performance “A Bucket Of Beetles”, Centrum Sztuki Dziecka w Poznaniu , Poland ( Oct 22nd, 2021)
Virtual Cinematic Puppet performance “A Bucket of Beetles”, Think Arts Festival, India (Nov 16th – 21st, 2021 )
Virtual Cinematic Puppet performance “A Bucket Of Beetles”, Australia Arts Councill ( June 3rd , 2021)
Virtual Cinematic Puppet performance “A Bucket Of Beetles”, at ASSITEJ Online Festival ( March 24th, 2021 )
Virtual Cinematic Puppet performance “A Bucket Of Beetles”, at Kochi, Japan ( 27 Feb, 2021)
virtually performed under series of discussion about”Puppetry and Ecology” (October 25, 2020)
virtually performed at Theatre Department Hunter College, CUNY (October 1, 2020 )
August 1-2, 2020 : world premiere, virtually presented
Puppet performance “A Bucket Of Beetles”, at Wakabacho WHARF, Yokohama, Japan (28 February- 1 March 2020))
Audiences’ comments :
“speechless, it gave me goosebumps!” “magical performance for family” “here is to our continuous effort to collectively cultivate interspecies, intergenerational, and intergroup collaboration towards peace and climate justice” “the backstage tour was amazing!” “love all the details in the show” “never imagined a virtual performance could be this warm” “Glad i could watch this virtual production from East Indonesia” “Love this piece so much, i watched this in Chile!” “a little child story, to a masterpiece!”
“The piece is well crafted, incredibly nuanced and extremely bittersweet. Against an intricate and mobile set, the performers skillfully manipulate the puppets with precision and finesse, taking the audience through a sensitive journey that is not overtly sentimental.The moment of stillness also give us space to reflect on the certainty of time and the fragility of life.The piece is not about death. Instead, it is a hopeful poem reminding us that the ones we love will never leave us. Death ends a life, not a relationship.”
Caleb Lee,Researcher of Southeast Asian Theatre for Young Audience, Singapore.
ABOUT
PUNO (Letters To The Sky) is an original play by Papermoon Puppet Theatre about dealing with losing the beloved one.
Got inspired by a loss of parents, brother, best friend, and child, this play is dedicated to the people who missed their beloved one who already passed away.
PUNO (Letters To The Sky) is inviting audience from age 7+ to learn how to feel the loss as an emotional experience, so we could appreciate what we have today.
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Tala is a little girl trying to cope with the departure of her beloved father, Puno. As a young girl who has lost her father, she feels anger and sadness at the thought of being neglected by her loved one. She writes about her feelings towards her father, but she could never sent it…
Until, she finds out that the souls of your loved ones remain around for 40 days after their death. Now, Tala has the chance to live alongside her father Puno for 40 more days. Will Tala share with Puno the contents of her letter? How will she say goodbye to him at the end of 40 days?
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2021
24 March 2021 : Screening Cinematic Puppet performance “PUNO (Letters To The Sky)”, Mirai Festival, Japan
2020
14-16 May, 2020 : ASSITEJ 20th World Congress & Performing Arts Festival in Tokyo, Japan (postponed to 2021)
22-24 May, 2020 : Performance of “PUNO (Letters To The Sky)” in Wakabacho WHARF, Yokohama, Japan (postponed to 2021)
2019
22-23 June, 2019 : Performance of “PUNO (Letters To The Sky)” in Wei Wu Ying Arts Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
15-17 February, 2019 : Performance of “PUNO (Letters To The Sky)” in Rafi Peer International Puppet Festival, Lahore-Pakistan,
2018
4-8 July : Performance of “PUNO (Letters To The Sky)” in Indonesien Francais Institute, Yogyakarta-Indonesia
6 June : Performance of “PUNO (Letters To The Sky)” in CSB SDA Black Box Theatre De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, Manila, The Philippines
3 June : Performance of “PUNO (Letters To The Sky)” in Spotlight Theatre, Manila- The Philippines
29-30 May : Performance of “PUNO (Letters To The Sky)” at 100&100 More Festival in The Artground, Singapore
19-20 May : World premiere of “PUNO (Letters To The Sky)”- the new version of “Surat Ke Langit” at Bangkok International Children Theatre Festival (BICT Fest) in Creative Industries, Bangkok-Thailand
