A Puppet’s Journey
20-Day Residential Japanese Bunraku Puppetry Workshop – 2023: A Puppet’s Journey was a 20-day residential workshop on Japanese Bunraku puppetry organised by Kalabhi Theatre (R.) Mangalore, with Shravan Heggodu as the resource person and workshop director.
The workshop began on 11 March 2023 and focused on introducing participants to the form and exploring its possibilities within theatre.
The residential format made the workshop an intensive experience. Participants spent their days and nights working with the form, giving them the opportunity to observe, practise and experiment continuously rather than approaching puppetry through a short-duration training programme.
Under Shravan Heggodu’s guidance, the participants explored the relationship between the puppeteer and the puppet, along with movement, coordination and performance. The process allowed them to understand Bunraku not simply as a puppetry technique, but as a theatrical form with its own language and discipline.
The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Jeevan Ram Sullia, Director of Yaksharangayana, Karkala, who spoke about artistic curiosity and the importance of sustained engagement with the arts.
The programme also brought together members of the theatre and cultural community, including Jagadeesh Shetty, Umesh, Suman Kadri, Shravan Heggodu, Ganesh K.V. and Ujwal U.V. The inauguration also marked the beginning of a Kalaripayattu workshop, creating an additional space for physical and artistic training during the programme.
A Puppet’s Journey became an opportunity for participants to spend an extended period with a specialised theatrical form and experience the discipline, coordination and creative possibilities involved in Japanese Bunraku puppetry.
