“Crescent Moon Bear” by “ParaMana” Puppet Theatre
The play:
The Crescent Moon Bear is an adaptation of a traditional story borrowed from the Japanese oral tradition. It is a shadow theatre performance for children and teenagers that talks about love, universal values and moreover about the bravery of a little girl who in order to save her father’s soul sets off to a dangerous journey into the deep forest.
Through the various themes and messages conveyed in the play we wanted to talk about the irreversible consequences of war. War is part of human history some may say part of human existence.
Children do conceive and question the social and existentialist issues within the community they grow. As parents, teachers and educators we know that very well. Thus how can one talk to a child about the vanity of war? How is it possible to clarify the irrational , the absurdity of war? The illogical, thus the absurd is inexplicable, its dimensions are beyond common sense. On the contrary, we may teach our children History convey sincerity and openness and above all inspire them universal values, so they may become authentic people. To face them as adults to-be who one day will create a world based on truth, equality and communal values.
Thus, through The Crescent Moon Bear we approach children by talking about love, persistence, faith, courage, and bravery. One’s love can move mountains! so they say.
Through the use of innovative techniques we compel you to watch a very personal piece of art-work produced by ParaMana Puppet Theatre. This performance is based on three dimensional shadows, experimental shadow theatre, and projections of images through a wooden hand made projector, live narration and electronic music.
ParaMana Puppet Theatre
ParaMana Puppet Theatre is composed by independent artists that derive from various artistic backgrounds: creative writing, painting, theatre, arts, music and poetry. All of us use and share our artistic knowledge and sensibilities for the expansion of Experimental and Modern Puppet Theatre in Greece. Our main motif is the love that each nourishes for his art and the instinctive interest to share with the public our thoughts and concerns through this unique medium: the Puppet.
We experiment, we discover, we learn and enrich our techniques every day. But above all we travel! This is our way to escape from the repetitive and cruel reality of an adult’s life: by drifting away from the unconsciousness of dreams, to the realism and reality of life. What a beautiful and interesting game that is: to be alert!
From 2007 ParaMana Puppet Theatre organises workshops of construction and animation for adults and children and builds puppets, masks and set design for other theatre and production companies (Anemon Productions, ARTE Channel, ERT Channel) in Greece.
Since 2006, ParaMana Puppet Theatre has created three shows: Femme Squelette, 02-02, and The Crescent Moon Bear.
ParaMana Puppet Theatre is experimenting on various puppet techniques: Bunraku, Human Size Puppets, Three dimensional Shadow Theatre, rod puppets and table top puppets.
The company has performed in various venues and festivals in Greece and abroad:
International Puppet and Mime Festival in Kilkis (GR), Imagini dellinterno in Pinerolo (IT), Festival Mondial des Theatres de Marionnettes á Charleville-Mezieres (FR), Cultural Festival of demos Kazantzakis – Crete, MCF Michael Cacoyannis Foundation – Athens, Epi Kolono Theatre, Cantina Social, Quilombo Centro Cultural, SIX D.O.G.S, etc , and in the streets of Thessaloniki, Crete, Patras, Athens etc.
