A new collaborative project with Soraya Daigre, Cie Contrepoint. A storytelling show using kamishibaï, puppets, music and singing.

The discovery of this concept of kamishibaï, a Japanese form of theatrical storytelling, completely enchanted us. The story of OH! was born, inspired by a short sequence from our show Carried in the wind.

To this day, the project is still in the creation progress, images are taking shape, ideas are being born and are evolving. There is not much yet that we can describe as finished and least of all as permanent.

In random (dis)order, things that are being made and things under consideration: 19 painted images, accordion music, songs, musical instruments and objects, made by us as an accompaniment throughout the story, a “jig” doll caterpillar marionette, one or more butterfly puppets, study of “yoga of laughter” techniques…

We imagine this show adaptable both for the stage and street performance.

The jig doll caterpillar puppet will be inspired by the folk puppet “Jig Doll” – a kind of doll with loose limbs that dances or “jumps” at the end of a board or vibrating platform. Except that ours is going to be a marionette. The caterpillar has 14 legs… when it dances on the board, to the sustained rhythm of accordion music, it will resound (theoretically) like a percussion instrument. When we play outside, its role will be to attract the attention of passers-by. When we play inside, it will be to welcome the public. That’s the idea anyway.

We will look for ways to make this musical picture story interactive and participatory. One of the obvious ways – we hope to get the children to sing. Therefore, in composing the songs, we will look for lyrics and melodies easy to remember. In the story, the caterpillar discovers a talent: being able to make great faces! Children must certainly have this same talent… we will look for a way to exploit it. Then, above all, the caterpillar is always overwhelmed with laughter when it manages to startle other animals with its grimaces. We aren’t really familiar with the yoga of laughter, but there are techniques that make those who practice it fall apart laughing! Is it usable here? To be seen.

A joyful, playful project after all!

The first three images: