Theatre  „Kubuś” announces the launch of the second edition of  „International contest for realization of a puppet, animated object or theatre form ANIMATUS”.

„Animatus” is an international contest for the concept and realization  of a puppet, animated object or other theatrical form, which is initiated by the Theatre of  Actor and Puppet "Kubuś" in Kielce in 2018. The first edition of this contest attracted several dozens of applications both from Poland as well as from abroad. Three of them were realized in a form of installations presented in Kielce. The final part of last year’s edition lasted a few days and along with presentations of awarded objects, the audience could see performances of invited theatre creators as well as debates and lectures. Today, thanks to granted financing from the Ministry, the contest may be launched again. The enrollment  for  the second edition starts on the 3rd of June. 

The project is carried out in cooperation with the Center of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko, the Design Institute in Kielce and the Toy and Fun Museum in Kielce and aims to find new forms of expression in the field of puppet theater (including puppet theater for adults) and supporting  innovative stage design projects.

The main idea of the event is exploring the theatrical form in confrontation with the development of new technologies and various aesthetic concepts, so the competition has got an  is interdisciplinary character. We invite adult creators of various arts, visual and theater performances  who do not have to be graduates of artistic  schools.

The competition task is to prepare the original design of a puppet/ animated object / theater form, intended to be used in a theatrical etude or performance. The deadline for submitting applications and projects,  info@animatuscontest.pl , expires on the 20th of August 2019. Detailed terms and conditions for participation in the competition are specified in the regulations (available to download below).

The submitted works will be assessed by a professional jury who will select the most interesting projects to the second stage of the competition. Then, by September 10, 2019 these authors will present detailed assumptions of their proposals. After that,  the Competition Commission will eventually select three winners of the competition.

Each of the winners will receive an award of 1100 Euro and will take part in artistic residency, within  which they will carry out their competition project.

The organizer of the competition will provide residents with free accommodation and board in Kielce, as well as workshops and materials necessary for the realization  of the project and technical assistance in the form of qualified employees.

Available to the winners will also be consultants: set designers, constructors, actors, puppeteers and directors. During the residency, the laureate is obliged to perform the awarded project, which will be finally presented during the audience show in Kielce.

The word ANIMATUS, derived from Latin, means "animated, gifted with life", and as we know, the foundation of puppetry lies in the assumption of animated matter. Professor Halina Waszkiel, searching for a new definition of a puppet, created a name that best describes contemporary puppet forms, ie: "ANIMANT - an absolutely arbitrary material or non-material object (e.g. shadow) subjected to animation by the artist-animator. (...) An animant can be a human-like puppet, hand puppet, stick puppet, rod puppet,  shadow marionette, shadow puppet, mask, any object, a piece of material, even a streak of light, but treated as a stage character, dialogue partner, carrier of ideas, aesthetic object,  building a metaphor, something what the actor introduces to the stage and shows viewers as the third element of the performance.

The essence of the theater is the meeting of the actor and the audience. The essence of the puppet theater is a meeting of three partners: an actor, a spectator and a puppet. And it does not matter if the actor is visible to the audience  or hidden behind the screen - he is always there anyway. "

The competition is to be an impulse to create contemporary animants, not only in theory, but most of all in practice. The idea behind the project is searching for the original forms of the art of puppetry, which may use more and more new technological means, including  virtual reality and 3D printing.

We hope that "Animatus" will be an attractive challenge for artists, enabling them to develop and create creative explorations.

We invite you to participate in the competition.

For any  questions and enquiries please contact us by email: info@animatuscontest.pl or call  us +48 698 859 302 coordinator of project Karolina Gregorczyk

The "Animatus" competition is realized by the "Kubuś" Puppet and Actor Theater. Project co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland and the Mayor of Kielce.