“What was very
moving working with the Masassit Mati team was the passion and love the Syrian
artists had despite the terrible situation they were facing. Their tool was
their profession and freedom of expression and dignity was at the core of the
work.”
Like most of her fellow
puppeteers, Marielise Youssef Aad (32) who comes from Al-Qaa, a small village
in the Baalbek-Hermel
Governorate in the very north of Lebanon,
fell for puppets at a young age.
“My first professional
encounter [with puppetry] was within the Lebanese university curriculum: a
course by Karim Dakroub.”
Since then, Aad went on
to graduate from the Lebanese university’s Institute of Fine Arts with a major
in theatre and is currently pursuing a Masters at Saint Joseph University (USJ),
also in theatre, which she expects to complete by 2018.
She presently works as
an actress, puppeteer and clown doctor and is a member of Ibtissama association as a clown doctor. “I have previously
worked with Khayal, Catharsis: Lebanese Centre for Drama Therapy, Dar el Aytam, Ettijahat – Independent Culture, Marhabtein, Masasit Mati, the American
University of Beirut (AUB) theatre initiative and many other associations,
troupes and cultural structures.”
Aad who performs in
Arabic, French and English has also participated in the highly satirical Syrian
puppetry project Masasit Mati, a significant and certainly the most political
puppetry show to come out of the region in the past five years. The rowdy,
forthright finger puppets deliver a blistering commentary on Syria and have
been shared widely, effectively becoming an Internet sensation. A series of
five episodes of Top Goon Reloaded:
Intimate Diaries of Evil were commissioned by and showcased during the Shubbak Festival in
London last year.
Quizzed about puppetry
in Lebanon, Aad argued that puppeteers were faced with the same challenges as
any other performers in Lebanon, adding that artists today face an
international agenda and speed of production. When it comes to women, however,
she suggested that: “it’s about the skill and not the gender.”
The performer concurred
with her colleagues, arguing that it is usually labelled as a form of
children’s entertainment. “But efforts to change this perspectives are starting
to be effective. I can mention Landscape of our
Tears (”Paysages de nos larmes”) by Collectif Kahraba and Maasati (One Puppet
Show) by Issam Bou Khaled. Audiences in Beirut responded well to both plays.”
“I used to admire the
sensibility of Collectif Kahraba’s work and so I felt honoured to be solicited
to collaborate with them and become a member of this group,” Aad put forward.
Besides following some of the local and regional productions, she is a great admirer
of Philippe Genty’s work and South
African puppetry performance and design company Handspring Puppet Company.
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
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