DINA KOBROSLY

“What’s magical about puppetry? You can make a puppet without anything or with a lot of material and the magical thing is that something is not alive and then you give it her heart beat, her breath her movement so this is magical. You create life! You’re a creator, or God for this ‘thing’!”

Dina Kobrosly (28) studied theatre and works as a theatre practitioner, puppeteer and actress. She also frequently manages theatre-related subjects including research. She is currently working on her Masters thesis at the University of Saint Joseph (USJ), which focuses on the puppeteer.

“I studied theatre at the Lebanese University and after that, did a lot of trainings, including puppet training and manipulation, attended the Prague Theatre Summer School DAMU. I also did a lot of workshops in acting and directing in Lebanon and Tunisia, and went to Poland last year where I gave a residency in theatre and puppetry for troubled Polish youth in Lublin.”

Originally from Baalback, Kobrosly is affiliated with the Arab Theatre Training Centre. She also teaches theatre at a public school (Jamal Rawass High School for Boys) and has worked with Asdikaa al Duma and APTF and taught at schools.  

The young puppeteer and theatre practitioner’s first memory of puppetry was a play called Shattie ya denye Sissan [Let it rain chicks] by Karim Dakroub [of the Khayal troupe] to which her mom took her. “I don’t remember anything about the play now, but I remember that the sky was raining with little “sisan” (Arabic for “chicks”)… I think I was happy then.”

She subsequently saw Kello Mn Lzaybak starring Aida Sabra [the character’s name was: Em Oyoun – the mother of eyes] and Issam Bou Khaled [Zaybak]. “I learned the song and I memorized it and kept saying it until it faded away. The song says something like ‘Zaybak, they named me Zaybak, I have no luck, they were cruel to me and my heart is like a lily (Zanbak)…’”

It was once enrolled at university that Kobrosly became passionate about puppetry: “ I had a class at uni in puppetry and I thought it wasn’t enough and I saw myself creating something out of cloth or out of material so I started to see where there were workshops. I took a couple of workshops, and then I went to Prague, and I studied there for 3-4 weeks and subsequently started working with Les Amis des Marionnettes in 2012. This helped me understand how different puppets are made and how they are manipulated.”

Asked whether she had developed a special skill or area of expertise over the years, Kobrosly suggested that: “In Lebanon it’s a package: when you know how to create the puppet and it’s technique, you know how to move it – so you have the urge to give it a voice let it talk. So I think when you make (puppets) you can be a performer – even though it might not be a masterpiece.”

“I love to watch Lebanese puppetry shows! The last

two shows I watched were One Puppet Show (also known as: Massati) by Issam Bou Khaled and

Landscape of our Tears by Collectif Kahraba, which visually, was well made.”

“These two performances are a very powerful turning point in the scene. Most of the puppet theatre in Lebanon is targeting children and it is not addressing adults and youth and these two plays addressed other types of audiences but still also children. In terms of venues, Metro al Madina is trying to make a difference in this sector breathing new life into the art form.”

“Maasati addressed the relationship between the puppet and the puppeteer, the live thing and the dummy: am I alive or am I a rag?”

Given that Kobrosly’s thesis is focusing on the puppeteer, it is not surprising that Bou Khaled’s performance resonated with her. “I’m researching the history of puppetry not just from Lebanon, the history of the puppeteer in the world in general. Usually when you deal with puppetry, the puppet is the centre of attraction but the puppeteer is hidden, in the dark. I’m trying to conduct research on puppeteers.”

Kobrosly believes that Lebanon is a fertile ground for puppetry and puppeteers: “Lebanese people have a lot of good jokes and good stories to tell they tell them with sarcastic intention and the Lebanese people are really – laughs – I don’t’ want to generalize but they are living in a very dire economic and political situation and this kind of situation gives a lot of ideas and from here puppetry can be a conduit to express yourself and the censorship is less [of an obstacle] as you get away with more with a puppet.”

Lebanon has a small but vibrant puppetry scene, which is made up of more women than men! This is why we thought that women puppeteers should be celebrated on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March and the up-coming International Puppetry Day on 21 March.
Our sample of 10 women working in the field of puppetry each shared their professional trajectory, gave insight into focus of their work, their passions and views on puppetry in Lebanon.
The women puppeteers provide insight into the medley of traditions and styles that have infused the Lebanese scene, the wide array of contexts and purposes in which puppets are being used, created and performed. Not surprisingly they are a reflection of the magic and versatility of the medium – and Lebanon’s diversity.

Discover Women Puppeteers in Lebanon – A series showcasing several artists

Compiled by Nathalie Rosa Bucher for Les Amis des Marionnettes

NAYLA KHAYATH

“My specialities are singing and playing the guitar, imitating and interpreting all the voices of my characters, from the mouse to the dinosaur, as well as the wolf, witch, pixies, elves…”

Nayla Khayath (65) is a self-taught puppeteer, scriptwriter and composer who also produces puppet plays. “I write stories myself, perform in English and French, and compose the songs, except for those that belong to the classical repertoire of children’s songs from around the world,” she explained.

“My first attempts at puppetry were during my time as an educator with primary school learners at the Notre Dame de Nazareth College,” Khayath who grew up in Hammana and was trained as a “Technicienne supérieure de pédagogie” (Pedagogue and Teacher) at USJ, recalled.  

“Back then, I initiated children into making puppets and to engage with the characters from behind a puppet theatre. Later on, I did the same with my children during birthday and Christmas celebrations.”

“I got into puppetry through short and Christmas stories that I wrote and that were published in Luxemburg in a children’s magazine called ZACK. The aim was to introduce young Luxembourgers to the French language. It made me think that young Lebanese could benefit from this as well but with puppets. This is how my shows came into being.”

“I have never been trained in puppetry nor have I followed a course in this field,” Khayath pointed out.

Besides being affiliated to the society for the protection of animals founded by her father-in-law Albert Khayath and headed by her husband Samy, a well-known actor and comedian, the puppeteer credits the latter for her full induction into the world of theatre: “30 years of theatre with my husband have nurtured a sense for performances.

For her performances, Khayath uses primarily hand puppets. The main protagonists she has created are Tine and Zbib. According to their creator, “they both resemble all children around the world, curious and naughty, and so keen to discover the world that surrounds them.”

More than for education, Khayath uses puppets for therapy. She pointed out that just like adults, children experience and feel fearful and stressed at times. “Puppets allow children to escape and enter a marvellous and magic world where they are their sole masters.”   

Asked whether she faced challenges working with puppets in Lebanon as a woman, Khayath asserted that: “for me, as a woman, puppets allow me to share my passion for nature and animals with children and to make them happy and to teach them to respect all that surrounds us.”

She furthermore added that she relied solely on herself and benefitted from the full support of Planète de la découverte (Planet Discovery), where she has been working for 19 years.

Lebanon has a small but vibrant puppetry scene, which is made up of more women than men! This is why we thought that women puppeteers should be celebrated on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March and the up-coming International Puppetry Day on 21 March.
Our sample of 10 women working in the field of puppetry each shared their professional trajectory, gave insight into focus of their work, their passions and views on puppetry in Lebanon.
The women puppeteers provide insight into the medley of traditions and styles that have infused the Lebanese scene, the wide array of contexts and purposes in which puppets are being used, created and performed. Not surprisingly they are a reflection of the magic and versatility of the medium – and Lebanon’s diversity. 

Discover Women Puppeteers in Lebanon – A series showcasing several artists

Compiled by Nathalie Rosa Bucher for Les Amis des Marionnettes

March 2017

TATIANA BOTCHAROVA

“Puppetry is an ancient art of making creations that can reach people’s hearts and minds.”

Tatiana Botcharova (50) has vivid and happy memories of a puppet theatre in her southern Russian hometown of Krasnodar: “It was a real one with a large scene, in a two-storey building. The first visit was organised by the school when I was around seven years old. Some professionally made puppets that were out of use were exhibited in the hall and entrance of the theatre – I still remember those fantastic characters.”

A linguist and English teacher by profession, Botcharova has been living in Baabda for many years. Never able to break the spell puppets put on her as a young girl, she also completed a four-year course in visual arts at the School of Arts for Children and Youth in Krasnodar and has been responsible for projecting and creating puppets as well as accessories and scenery backgrounds for Les Amis des Marionnettes since 2000.

“I received the basic knowledge and skills on many media – including sculpturing and papier maché at our art school, as well as the artistic taste and a certain perspective on expressive means in general,” she explained. “The puppets were Tamara Keldany’s idea and it has been a great pleasure for me to join the process of creating a play as a creative manufacturer.”

“From the very beginning we agreed on figurative style – meaning that the puppets would look like living beings – not a bucket with eyes pretending to be a king,” Botcharova explained.

“The puppet head and maybe hands are the most expressive parts of it. Over the years, we have been experimenting with different media, starting with orthodox clay under papier maché and trying different supports for the structure: cardboard, bottles and even self-hardening isolation for the construction.

For our latest creations, we have reached an optimal structure to manipulate, which is very light in weight and robust for the head. It features a polystyrene core with glued fabric above, using plastic tubes instead of wood.

“I can make different kinds of puppets, with the exception of string puppets – though I have made some. I still believe the “biomechanics” of a string puppet structure requires more study to move them naturally and effortlessly.”

“I started with the simplest glove puppets – there was some evolution in this field. Then there was a period of making more rod puppets, which we still make. They have the advantage of being big in size and very present in the scenery.”

The type of puppets Botcharova makes greatly depends on their use in a specific project. While she created “table puppets” – full body figurines manipulated from the handle behind the body, for a play “Stories of our Village”, she conceived “flat” – cardboard characters – with some “freedom of manipulation” with rods for the troupe’s production “The Queen of Colours” [La Reine des Couleurs].

 “Besides, we often use “shadow” puppets – of different sizes, colourful or not, usually made of cardboard. They have various effects and “freedom of manipulation”, reminding the audience of “magic lantern” or basic animation films.”

“Each kind of puppet has its specific expressive means – its shape, accents, grotesque details – all this aims at the accentuation of the general impression made by this character.”

Botcharova is mostly busy with manufacturing. “During my active participation in the performances – I usually manipulate “mute” puppets and elaborate the expressiveness through the movement alone.”

Botcharova believes that puppets have a magic impact on human beings.  “They refer to the ancient magic rituals when divinities, spirits and concepts were materialised through anthropomorphic representation. Puppets can be an efficient way to build up a scenery – the grotesque aspect of the characters’ appearances and the play produce strong emotional responses from the “basic repertoire” of human emotions, which refers to our own experience of playing with dolls during childhood.”

The set artist and puppet maker, pointed out that the humoristic and symbolic way of presenting ideas with puppets allows to convince through laughter and by doing so, avoid moralisation. “It is the same subtle way as teaching children through situational reasoning that exists in traditional fairy tales. As Marx said: “With laughter humanity says goodbye to its past.” 

Though her work is based in Lebanon, Botcharova observes with big interest what she refers to as the “exotic” traditions of puppet theatre, for example Chinese and Japanese: “They had another concept of theatre – the stories had an internal algorithm, symbolism. This was supposed to create a predictable effect on the audience, an expected transformation. The spectators left the theatre with a different mind-set – as if tuned to beauty, virtue and harmony. Some of them were played for centuries – so everyone knew the plot – the point of interest hence became the refined interpretation. Briefly put it was a sort of psychotherapy by the theatre, which means – social problems are not necessarily the main goal to reach through puppets – but stories that make people sensitive to the harmony inside them. A quiet, happy, generous person will naturally make better choices!”

“It comes without saying that puppets remain an effective tool for mass media: to advertise, to promote or to introduce an idea. To sum up this idea – I would like to work more on refining the expressive capacities of puppets – and the stories by themselves. Something less mindful, entering gently through the door of the heart.”

“I understand that it is a matter of personal choice – as in the field of poetry there was Shakespeare with his sonnets and Mayakovski with his slogans,” she added. “Each one had to express what he resonated with. Finally, I believe it works this way: our soul resonates with some ideas, tastes, places and people – indicating to us that our objective must be somewhere close.”

Lebanon has a small but vibrant puppetry scene, which is made up of more women than men! This is why we thought that women puppeteers should be celebrated on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March and the up-coming International Puppetry Day on 21 March.
Our sample of 10 women working in the field of puppetry each shared their professional trajectory, gave insight into focus of their work, their passions and views on puppetry in Lebanon.
The women puppeteers provide insight into the medley of traditions and styles that have infused the Lebanese scene, the wide array of contexts and purposes in which puppets are being used, created and performed. Not surprisingly they are a reflection of the magic and versatility of the medium – and Lebanon’s diversity.

Discover Women Puppeteers in Lebanon – A series showcasing several artists

Compiled by Nathalie Rosa Bucher for Les Amis des Marionnettes
March 2017

RASHA KHALIL

“I was so influenced by the fist puppet my grandmother did for me when I was a little girl.”

Rasha Khalil (31) is a puppeteer and puppet maker who uses the power of her favourite medium for educational, entertainment and awareness-raising purposes.

Besides being a recreational activities coordinator and KG teacher, Khalil is also affiliated to the Arab Puppet Theatre Foundation (APTF). Her work with the latter often takes her to schools and refugee camps across Lebanon where she performs in Arabic.

Besides having been enchanted by her grandmother’s puppets as a child, Khalil fell for muppets early on:  “As for theatre, I once saw a show with muppets and I felt that this is my field and where I want to be.”

She has taken courses for almost three years in puppet making, theatre drama courses, early childhood education, learning through actions courses

and credits Arab Puppet Theatre Foundation and Mister Abed Abdo for having taught her how to progress as a puppeteer and become a specialist in muppets.

“People, adults and children, like my puppets,” Khalil pointed out. “In most cases I use puppets for education and awareness-rising for children and teenagers and they get my message. Parents support that strongly. Adults are also able to interact with my messages when it comes to rising awareness about Palestine, the camp, the daily life, early marriages, and reproductive health, for example.”

“I do puppet shows for so many issues and most importantly about Palestine,” Khalil who lives in Burj el Barajneh, a large Palestinian camp, south of Beirut, stated, underlining that she hailed from Kwikat in Palestine.

“Among the issues I address are the right to return and the daily life in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon. Our messages are for children and adults.”

Khalil is a pioneer, when it comes to being a woman puppeteer based and working in Palestinian camps. “As a woman, I used to be the only woman in the camp who performs puppetry and make a tour inside the camps,” she said.

“I create the script, I make the decorations, I make the puppets, I give roles to each puppet and for the one holding the puppet.”

“People like everything about puppetry, and so many ask me to give workshops and some ask me to invite them whenever I have a show,” Khalil said. “Also some ask me if they could work with me or in the field.”

For the young, dynamic puppeteer, a perfect day means getting on stage and sharing an important message. “It’s about making it possible for people to get influenced and like the message and for my message to get received,” the puppeteer asserted.

Being based in a Palestinian camp in Lebanon is not easy, Khalil readily conceded. “We get no funds, and not all people consider theatre and puppets to be important, that it is useful to transmit a message to them…”

“Theatre in general is life for me, I can express so many things, I improve myself and grow [as a person and artist] and I wish that one day my work and talents will reach everywhere in the world.”

“One day, I dream and wish to make a traditional Palestinian puppet exhibition and tour it in every country of the world.”

Lebanon has a small but vibrant puppetry scene, which is made up of more women than men! This is why we thought that women puppeteers should be celebrated on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March and the up-coming International Puppetry Day on 21 March.
Our sample of 10 women working in the field of puppetry each shared their professional trajectory, gave insight into focus of their work, their passions and views on puppetry in Lebanon.
The women puppeteers provide insight into the medley of traditions and styles that have infused the Lebanese scene, the wide array of contexts and purposes in which puppets are being used, created and performed. Not surprisingly they are a reflection of the magic and versatility of the medium – and Lebanon’s diversity.

Discover Women Puppeteers in Lebanon – A series showcasing several artists

Compiled by Nathalie Rosa Bucher for Les Amis des Marionnettes
March 2017

SUHA NADER

“Art is art. It’s a creation; it’s never just for a certain category, or group of people.”

From a young age, Suha Nader (31) became fascinated with puppets. “I don’t recall going to the theatre as a child but I remember watching puppet performances on TV on Sunday mornings,” the actress and puppeteer who is affiliated to Asdikaa al Duma, Kawalees and AL-JANA observed.

“I would sit in front of the TV – it was my magical moment – watch the show, no one should talk to me, and I do remember feeling mesmerized. It was magic for someone to be holding a doll and bringing it alive!” 

The shows were Lebanese productions and Fadia Tannir, now her colleague at Asdikaa al Duma, used to perform in some of them. “I used to come close [to the TV screen] and try to see the faces [of the puppeteers]-they would cover their faces with fabric.” 

It was only years later that Nader’s interest in performing arts sparked and she took up drama studies at the Lebanese University, which included a course of puppet making. Besides, she also went into marketing and advertising studies.

“In 2007, while I was in my second year, I got offered a job at a summer camp. Preparing children's activities was part of my job description, in order to engage the kids. That’s when it hit me: I could do a small puppet show! Taking that as a challenge for the first time, it never occurred to me that this will be my career." [...] "Back then I had no tools to rely on but my imagination. I had to create a star so I dismantled lighters with different intensities and used their flashlight system to make the illusion of a fading light. I loved how much you can do [with quite simple means].”

The company running the camp subsequently hired Nader for their endutainment centre. “They built a stage and asked to take me a day out of the week and set up a puppet show for people to come and watch. That is how I started doing puppets, some 2 meters high and I did everything from sewing to script writing, coming up with songs, playing music – creating an entire show that people would come and watch Ozo Bozozo (Journey of a clown).” 

In 2010, Nader eventually met Tannir and was invited to come to Asdikaa al Duma. "This is where my career as a professional puppeteer started.” Nader concedes that “I can create puppets but it’s not my passion, I like to perform and manipulate.”

Asked what it was like being a woman working in puppetry, Nader highlighted that there were more women than men in puppetry in Lebanon.

“We, as Les Amis des Marionnettes, we are three women and we carry all our gear – a mobile theatre comes with a lot of equipment – and when we reach schools we take these huge bars and sound system and bags out of the car and they all look at us and they ask: ‘you don’t have men to help you?’

‘No… we have been doing this for a long time and we’re quite fine.’ You can see it in the faces of young and old, they surround us, watch us as we set up the theatre. They have their heads turned and this gives us a good feeling: women can do this and they ace it and they do quite a good job.”

For Nader, the best days are spent performing: “It means going to a place with no expectations. Usually we don’t know what we’re heading to so it’s best to have no prejudgement about what’s ahead, it’s always a surprise. What makes it a great day is when we perform and the audience watching come to us afterwards with their mind changed about puppets. Then we realise that they had some expectations but they were blown away by the show. This gives me a great feeling!”

Among the challenges puppeteers in Lebanon face, Nader points out that they are not appreciated as much as they should be and neither is the art form. “Many believe that it’s easy to be a puppeteer as you’re not performing exposed to the audience. But let me tell you, it’s difficult to make the audience believe these puppets are alive, not to “drop” the spell they get under. They see them walking, talking, breathing – they ask questions and wait for answers back – it’s like a ball that you shouldn’t drop!”

It [puppetry] needs to be more appreciated. It’s when people see the performance, then they go like: I had no idea it needs so many skills! They see us from the back [of the theatre], with the puppets, manipulating, creating the scenes and realise that it’s not that easy. Many people also believe that puppets are just for kids. Art is art. It’s a creation; it’s never just for a certain category, or group of people.”

While not connected to the regional puppetry scene, Nader closely follows what other companies and performers in Lebanon do. “Because we are very few, we are only three troupes, I do look for them. Collectif Kahraba’s work attracts me most.”

“Social media has connected all the puppet work in one place – we are now open to more puppeteers that we can collaborate with,” Nader said. “Last year we collaborated with a Spanish troupe, Marionetes Nòmades, through UNIMA.”

Nader performs mostly in Arabic but has started taking on small parts in French. She believes that puppets can be used for a range of objectives: educational, political [in a civic sense], raising awareness and entertainment.

“I love it that we are a mobile group and can reach all kinds of audiences. You can easily deliver a message with a puppet play, touching all these points and it will be understood and not judged – it will make an impact on the mind, and this is what we aim for at Les Amis des Marionnettes.”

Looking ahead, Nader expressed hope that one day, Lebanon will have a national puppet theatre: “I have this wish: if one day we have this joint theatre, that will be free of charge, I would love this place to bring together all the puppet troupes, do workshops and introduce puppets to the public.”

Lebanon has a small but vibrant puppetry scene, which is made up of more women than men! This is why we thought that women puppeteers should be celebrated on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March and the up-coming International Puppetry Day on 21 March.
Our sample of 10 women working in the field of puppetry each shared their professional trajectory, gave insight into focus of their work, their passions and views on puppetry in Lebanon.
The women puppeteers provide insight into the medley of traditions and styles that have infused the Lebanese scene, the wide array of contexts and purposes in which puppets are being used, created and performed. Not surprisingly they are a reflection of the magic and versatility of the medium – and Lebanon’s diversity.

Discover Women Puppeteers in Lebanon – A series showcasing several artists

Compiled by Nathalie Rosa Bucher for Les Amis des Marionnettes
March 2017

KATIA DAKROUB

“I think I’m very special because I’m working in theatre. I’m proud of it, I love it! I hope all people love their work, it’s very important.”

For the past 11 years, Katia Dakroub (39) who originates from St. Petersburg (Russia) has been living in Lebanon, teaching at the Lebanese University’s drama department, as well as working with her husband Walid Dakroub, a scenographer and Beirut-based puppet theatre troupe Khayal.

“I’m an actress and perform at times and I sew the outfits for the puppets,” she explained. “My husband works a lot for TV shows, some local and also sometimes for Qatar or other Arab countries. I can do everything with my hands – I’m from Russia, we can do a lot of things, just show us once and I can do it!”

Dakroub indeed boasts a number of skills: Though Russian by birth, she speaks fluent Arabic and even knows how to switch into different Lebanese regional dialects. Given that the troupe she’s affiliated with moves around a lot, she has seen all Lebanon and performed in venues from north to south. In addition to this, Dakroub also boasts practical talents:

Like many of her colleagues, she became enchanted with puppets and puppetry from a young age. “As a small girl, I would make small dolls out of fabric that I would sew. These would be cats, dogs and also small people. Then at the age of 10 I went to a children’s theatre, that made me think of going into theatre. Besides attending a “Children for Children” School, she started going to drama school where she did attend classes in acting and puppetry. 

Dakroub who holds a Masters degree, eventually completed a four-year degree in general acting with some acting with puppets, a two-year degree in stage movement in her native St Petersburg. She learnt fencing for the stage as well as stage fight at university, which she thought could help her for her work in Lebanon, which is mostly in academia.

“At university, I teach acting, movement, fencing and etiquette to art, designers and acting students in the drama department-no puppetry. I love to use subjects, maybe like object theatre, and short stories by Chekov. November, December are high season, that is when I work at Khayal a lot otherwise I am more involved at university,” she explained. “I have been working with Karim [her brother-in-law, Karim Dakroub, founder of Khayal] for 11 years.”

Asked about the main differences between puppetry in Russia and Lebanon, Dakroub pointed out that puppet theatre in Russia was puppet theatre; in Lebanon it’s a mix with puppets created for each show.

She also noted that a lot of songs are used in Lebanese productions. “In Russia you can have an entire play without a song except maybe at the end. I was surprised about how prominent music is and how much the public needs music here.”

“It’s difficult for theatre in Lebanon, there is no government support,” Dakroub observed pointing out that while in Russia there was not much support either at least repertoire theatre did get some support, and there were opportunities in cinema and theatre.

“The overall situation and living conditions here has become worse, so it has become more difficult for shows to be sold,” Dakroub underlined. “The last 2-3 years have been difficult maybe there are more companies…?”

Another difference between Lebanon and Russia she highlighted was that in Lebanon, puppet theatre is labelled for children. “In Russia it’s different, there are a lot of plays for adult persons, in Lebanon it’s more difficult [to attract adult audiences]. Our last show was for adults: “Ya Amar Dawe Al Nass” [Full Moon].”

Dakroub is a fan of Collectif Kahraba: “I love Kahraba, I saw them at the festival on the stairs, I love their puppets it’s shadow theatre, it’s beautiful, Eric [Deniaud] can do very beautiful puppets. The show about the Odyssey was very nice, I loved it. All my friends were in this festival and also big puppets.”

Besides straddling academia and working with her husband and Khayal, Dakroub also works with different actors also from other NGOs. Khayal’s productions are for specific ages, some of them with an educational focus, such as “Shou Sar Bi Kfar Menkhar”, which is about noses that leave a village because it has become too smelly. Some of them are purely for entertainment.

“For me it’s very light, all this – I work in hospitals as a clown doctor, I really can give children with cancer joy and light: with all my soul I give everything, I’m not a doctor, I’m doctor clown – it’s different but it’s very important as I can give a part of my heart, I can give smiles.”

Her doctor clown character is called Dr Lamba so Dakroub can light everything: “I have a small hand puppet with me, an owl. Small children sometimes get scared, but there was a young boy in Makassed Hospital, Hassan, who was three years old and he laughed for half an hour. The owl was eating everything, his lunch and even his blanket and his parents told me: he’s been in hospital for 10 days and this is the first time he is laughing!’ I love my character!”

“In normal acting you express – with puppets it’s indirectly; I give my entire emotions, my heart, soul to this small thing. I can be freer in this situation and I can say something that I could not in a normal (stage) situation as puppets they are not shy.”





Lebanon has a small but vibrant puppetry scene, which is made up of more women than men! This is why we thought that women puppeteers should be celebrated on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March and the up-coming International Puppetry Day on 21 March.
Our sample of 10 women working in the field of puppetry each shared their professional trajectory, gave insight into focus of their work, their passions and views on puppetry in Lebanon.
The women puppeteers provide insight into the medley of traditions and styles that have infused the Lebanese scene, the wide array of contexts and purposes in which puppets are being used, created and performed. Not surprisingly they are a reflection of the magic and versatility of the medium – and Lebanon’s diversity.

Discover Women Puppeteers in Lebanon – A series showcasing several artists

Compiled by Nathalie Rosa Bucher for Les Amis des Marionnettes
March 2017

TAMARA KELDANY

“Puppets are so poetic, very therapeutic and a great means of communication.”

Tamara Keldany’s first introduction to the world of puppetry was through the popular German “Kasperle Theater”:

“We always played puppets at home with friends, and friends of my parent’s, both in Berlin and in Beirut, the two cities where I grew up and that shaped me. So my induction into the world of puppetry was quite German. At the time, I was not aware of anyone doing it here [in Lebanon].”

Keldany (52), is the director of Beirut-based puppet company Asdikaa al-Duma/Les Amis des Marionnettes that she founded in 1984. “Having played so much with hand puppets I challenged myself to build a [string] marionette and walked it from home to university. It was great walking the streets with the marionette and interacting with people,” Keldany recalled. “My friends at university loved it and so we soon started building more marionettes, writing scripts and rehearsing a lot to make sure we’d manipulate correctly. Our plays featured five friends coming from the five mohafazat (regions) of Lebanon and solving the problems by being united.”

The self-taught puppeteer is a degreed translator and this is how Asdikaa al Duma started at the University Saint Joseph’s (USJ) Ecole de Traducteurs et d’Interprètes de Beyrouth, (School for Translation and Interpretation).

After nine years of the civil war raging in Lebanon, by 1984 the country was divided and people would be afraid of crossing to other regions. “Nonetheless, we toured in all regions we could reach with our message of “Unity makes strength", performing in Arabic of course, in theatres and other venues and as much as we could also, for underprivileged audiences.”

For the 40 years of UNICEF in 1986, Asdikaa al Duma had the privilege of manipulating the various puppets and marionettes in a TV vaccination campaign for which Paul Mattar wrote a wonderful, very poetic story,  “Hikayat oum Oyoun” about a 40 year-old man called Younes Seif, who went out into the world trying to eradicate illness.

But the happiness of making people happy was stopped by yet another round of civil strife, which tore the team apart, and Keldany (who had also studied marketing) found herself working in Travel Industry Marketing at Eurodisneyland Paris. “It was a great experience, not only the opening of the park and resort, but every single event was a show, a very detailed ‘mise en scene’, and I loved it”.

Back in Lebanon in 1997, by then mother of two kids, who gave her a lot of inspiration, she slowly started reconstructing a Les Amis des Marionnettes team, surfing on the encounters life provided. This time they performed in French because the team members where not fluent in Arabic. “Every change is enriching and we slowly built a new audience”.

“When Tatiana Botcharova joined the team, she modelled these wonderful puppets and we had a lot of fun writing plays,” Keldany remembered. “Between Russian, German, Lebanese and French culture the mix was one of a kind. We felt it was time to switch to Arabic again and we looked for somebody able to perform in Arabic. This is how Fadia Tannir came on board.”

Together with her troupe, Keldany has performed all over Lebanon, in theatres as well as in schools, in closed formal settings as well as open air or during festivals and in refugee camps. She easily switches between languages, able to perform in French, Arabic, German as well as Russian, which also gave the troupe the opportunity to perform in Germany and Austria during festivals in 2010.

Regarding Lebanon’s multilinguism, Keldany pointed out that: “when you perform the play in another language you effectively rewrite the play. You have to adapt, not just translate, especially the rhythm and references and many other things change. It was great performing in German during the festivals in Germany and Austria and our play about “The Colours of Lebanon” really reached its’ purpose”. This, of course, requires linguistic aptitude but also great insight and knowledge of cultural issues and references.

“Puppets can address all the diversity we have in Lebanon and often say things that actors cannot say and it is accepted because it’s just a puppet talking... For example, in our play about the importance of women (Tales from our Villages), there are a lot of things that are said that would be very difficult to say as a person even an actor.”

Besides a repertoire that features original plays, Asdikaa al Duma often collaborates with organisations in awareness raising campaigns. “This play about the importance of women in rural settings was commissioned by the National Observatory of Women in Rural Areas (Nowara) and CTM-Onlus, an Italian NGO that we had already worked with.”

“We use puppetry for awareness-raising. This is our official mission!” Keldany underlined. “People accept puppets more. Puppetry is interactive, it’s live, we can adapt to the public, and since all our plays are interactive and live, we can always answer questions. It is tailor-made it’s easier to take puppets and the puppeteers than actors. And the reach is rather impressive: our play about Water (A la Poursuite de l’Eau) reached over 61,000 spectators.” 

Other subjects the troupe has touched on are respect (L’Elixir du Respect) and civility, highlighting the importance of a clean environment (Histoires d'Arbres), protecting cultural heritage (The Colours of Lebanon), tackling gender issues and taboos, as for example breast cancer (An ounce of prevention). “It is something we don’t speak about,” Keldany pointed out. With reference to International Women’s Day, Keldany added that the troupe often work with women in vulnerable communities to sensitise them.

“Puppets are a superb therapy,” she highlighted. “Seeing that we often engage with the audience and we invite audience members to move the puppets, we get strong responses. Some children that did not speak a word suddenly start talking. Women who were silent and never share their worries suddenly let out all they have been holding back. I also remember a Syrian refugee woman, dressed all in black, drawing only in black who after only three sessions came dressed in colourful clothes and put together a lovely play. This is the best reward we can ever hope for with the work that we do!” 




Lebanon has a small but vibrant puppetry scene, which is made up of more women than men! This is why we thought that women puppeteers should be celebrated on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8 March and the up-coming International Puppetry Day on 21 March.
Our sample of 10 women working in the field of puppetry each shared their professional trajectory, gave insight into focus of their work, their passions and views on puppetry in Lebanon.
The women puppeteers provide insight into the medley of traditions and styles that have infused the Lebanese scene, the wide array of contexts and purposes in which puppets are being used, created and performed. Not surprisingly they are a reflection of the magic and versatility of the medium – and Lebanon’s diversity.

Discover Women Puppeteers in Lebanon – A series showcasing several artists

Compiled by Nathalie Rosa Bucher for Les Amis des Marionnettes
March 2017