Language of the Inanimate - A Reductionist Approach to Realism by Adapting Marionette Movement through a Physiological Study of Animal Motion

Abstract

This paper is based on a practical project involving an in-depth study of animal physiology and locomotion with a view to constructing five animal marionettes in which the focus was on their movement. The purpose was to make them come across to an audience realistically and convincingly solely based on their movement. The researchers attempted to reject the emphasis placed on visual accuracy in modern realism and naturalism, arguing that, in the case of inanimate objects such as puppets, realistic and convincing approximations of reality did not need to rely on visual accuracy but could rely on movement. To prove this, the marionettes were not given the physical attributes of the animals in their natural state. To test the effectiveness of reliance on movement, the marionettes performed for an adult audience consisting of thirty respondents whose ages ranged from 18 to over 60. In analysing the data, the respondents were divided into three age groups: 18–39, 40–59, and 60+. Each respondent was ascribed a number to ensure confidentiality. The performance was deliberately devoid of the usual attributes of the theatre such as storyline, character roles, sound and lighting. The respondents evaluated the effectiveness of the animal marionettes and completed an open-ended questionnaire. The findings indicated that the realistic movement of the marionettes was so effective that it persuaded the respondents to view the marionettes as convincing and realistic.