jigsaw theatre company

Don’t miss Jigsaw’s ‘The Lost Thing’ at the Sydney Festival…

Posted by hil

If you are in Sydney, don’t miss Jigsaw Theatre Company’s production of ‘The Lost Thing’ this week. Its part of the Sydney Festival, and is playing at the Parramatta Riverside Theatre, from Jan 18 – 22. Its great news that the play will also be being presented by the Canberra Theatre Centre in March.

In December at the the annual Canberra Critics Circle Awards, Jigsaw’s artistic director, Greg Lissaman, won the The Canberra Times Artist of the Year award, and the company also picked up a theatre award for ‘the excellence, impact and theatrical creativity of Arborio‘. ‘Arborio’ is going up to the Sydney Opera House later in 2005. All cool news!

More ‘Lost Thing’ puppet pictures

Posted by hil

Here are some more photos of the puppet build for Jigsaw Theatre Company’s production of ‘The lost thing’. The making crew were Imogen Keen and Hilary Talbot, with help from Catherine Prosser and Marie-Martine Ferrari, and designs by Richard Jeziorny based on Shaun Tan’s book ‘The Lost Thing’.

The cat :: carved out of foam, and made to sit on a beanie that one of the puppeteers wears
The janitor :: about 70cm tall
The small version of the lost thing :: about 70cm tall
The booth lady
The parents :: about 80cm tall on their sofa
The seagulls
The tram :: about 40cm long. It has interchangeable cut-outs of the people inside
The tram :: top detail
The boys :: Pete and Shaun are 35cm tall, and the little version Shaun is 25cm
Shaping the utopia lost things out of polystyrene, and painting them in the sunshine :: Imogen Keen, Catherine Prosser & Hilary Talbot
The utopia lost things carved but not finished :: they range in size from about 40cm across (the rower) to 150cm tall (the eye)
The utopia lost things

The Lost Thing plays at the National Gallery of Australia this coming week, 6-9th Oct.

Making the puppets for ‘The Lost Thing’

Posted by hil

As promised below, here are some pictures of the build of Jigsaw Theatre Company’s production of The Lost Thing. Imogen Keen and I have been making the puppets for the production.

The aluminium structure of the Lost Thing itself was made by Brian Sudding, who also constructed the set. We then covered and detailed it, adding tentacles, claws, and eye mechanisms. The designer, Richard Jeziorny, added further painted detail. The whole framework is made to be suspended on another frame, so that the Lost Thing is about 3 metres tall.

Imogen Keen covering the basic shape of the Lost Thing with foam.
Marie-Martine Ferrari (co-founder of the original Skylark Puppet and Mask Theatre) and I covering the foam shell with muslin.
From above, showing some of the aluminium framework inside.
After the first coat of paint.
The boy’s parents on their sofa under construction.
The mysterious janitor, in an early stage of being made.

The photographs were taken by Tim Raupach. I should have some more in a few days time.

The Lost Thing: Jigsaw Theatre Company

Posted by hil

Things have been pretty busy around here as the build for Jigsaw Theatre Company’s upcoming production of ‘The Lost Thing’ nears completion. Based on the book by Shaun Tan, ‘The Lost Thing’ is premiering at the National Gallery of Australia, as the main event of their Children’s Festival. Performances will be in the Small Theatre from 6-9 October 2004, and hopefully will tour to other galleries in time.

I’ll post some pictures of the build soon, but in the meantime, check out Finding: The Lost Thing, an article by Gillian Freeman in the current issue of Artlook. Its an interview with the director, Greg Lissaman, and Shaun Tan, (who is also the visual consultant for the show), and who was recently in Canberra working on the painting of the set with the designer, Richard Jeziorny.

‘The Lost Thing’ : Jigsaw Theatre Company Call for Actor/Puppeteers

Posted by hil

Jigsaw Theatre Company, a Canberra-based, professional theatre company for young audiences established in 1974, is calling for 2 male actor puppeteers for their upcoming production of ‘The Lost Thing’. Based on the book by Shaun Tan, ‘The Lost Thing’ is premiering at the National Gallery of Australia, and is being developed with festival touring in mind.

Contact : Greg Lissaman (Artistic Director)
Tel: 02 62939900
Email: jigsawartistic@ozemail.com.au
Dates : Rehearsals: 6 Sept – 2 Oct 2004; Season: 5-9 Oct 2004
City : Canberra
Salary : $720/week + superannuation and holiday loading
Auditions : By arrangement with the Artistic Director
To express interest in these roles, please email headshots and bios to jigsawartistic@ozemail.com.au.

‘Arborio’ by Jigsaw Theatre Company

Posted by hil

Arborio, a play by Jigsaw Theatre Company is being performed in schools this year, to coincide with the International Year of Rice. Written by Jonathan Lees and directed by Greg Lissaman, it is a comedy telling the story of Marco and Polo, two characters in an unknown place, holding their last grain of rice. While they play imaginary games, tell stories and squabble with each other about where and when they should plant it, they also tell of the importance of rice as a food, and the part it plays in the history and life of many cultures.

An international theme is reflected in the play. The characters, played by Chrissie Shaw and Bridget a’Beckett, assume different accents. This intregued the kids at the performance I saw. And the costumes, designed and made by Imogen Keen, are suggestive of a number of cultures without being able to be slotted into any one in particular. The clothing is imaginative, and beautifully coloured and patterned. Music adds a zest to the play too, with one character playing accordian, and the other a violin. John Shortis, known for his songwriting and performances that reflect ‘Australian history and politics in a way that is funny, satirical and informative’, is the composer.

The set for the play called for the making of a huge grain of rice, and a small cooking pot. I’ve just updated my site to include pictures of both.

A number of funny comments about the idea of such a big grain of rice were made to me when I was making it. I guess thats why I zeroed in on some stories about the world’s biggest seed, the Coco de Mer, which is produced by a palm tree found in the Seychelles. There are a number of these seeds being grown in conservartories around the world. One is in the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, and another in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.