Thingumajig Theatre
Encyclopedia
Puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...
who creates and performs innovative visual theatre, giant puppets and outdoor performances. Founded in 2005 by Korean American
Korean American
Korean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...
puppeteer Andrew Kim and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor/musician Kathy Kim, Thingumajig Theatre is based in Hebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and lies 8 miles west of Halifax and 14 miles north east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the River Hebden .A 2004 profile of...
and Todmorden
Todmorden
Todmorden is a market town and civil parish, located 17 miles from Manchester, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and has a total population of 14,941....
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
History
Horse and Bamboo Theatre
Horse and Bamboo Theatre or Horse + Bamboo Theatre is a British theatre company founded in 1978 by Bob Frith. The company works with a commitment to strong narratives but using visual, physical, and music-based forms rather than text. In particular it uses distinctive full-head masks...
in 2002. Since then, they’ve worked together as makers, performers and directors for In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre
In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre
In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre is a puppet company from Minneapolis, Minnesota. HOBT began in 1973 as Powderhorn Puppet Theatre, named for a neighborhood park and lake in Minneapolis, and changed their name in 1979...
, Islewilde
Islewilde
Islewilde is a community-created art and performance festival that takes place each August on Vashon Island, WA.-History:Islewilde was founded in 1992 by UMO, a Vashon Island-based physical theater troupe, who patterned Islewilde loosely after Vermont's Bread and Puppet Theater...
Festival, Oregon Country Fair
Oregon Country Fair
The Oregon Country Fair is an annual three-day fair held in Veneta, Oregon, United States. Located in the Willamette Valley, the site is about west of Eugene along the Long Tom River. Annual attendance is approximately 45,000, and the fair has around 350 booths each year...
, Vancouver’s Public Dreams Society
Public Dreams Society
Public Dreams Society is a non-profit organization and a registered charity aimed at celebrating and strengthening the community spirit in Vancouver. The group was founded in 1985 by Dolly Hopkins, Paula Jardine and Lesley Fiddler...
and Taiwan’s Dream Community. In 2005, with their first full-length play, “The Vertigo of Sheep” which was awarded a UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence, they formed into a permanent theatre company.
In 2006 they moved into the old Sunday school room in Wainsgate Chapel in Old Town, West Yorkshire
Old Town, West Yorkshire
Old Town is a village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. Situated on a hilltop above Hebden Bridge and across the Hebden valley from Heptonstall. Both Old Town and nearby Pecket Well are served by Wadsworth Parish Council...
, which now serves as their workshop and rehearsal space.
In 2008, Thingumajig Theatre joined forces with HEADS, a Hebden Bridge participatory arts organisation, and produced the Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade
Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade
The Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade is a community-made parade in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England. Produced by local arts organisations Handmade Parade CIC and Thingumajig Theatre, the parade celebrates the creativity, variety and the uniqueness of Hebden Bridge and its surrounding areas...
, a vivid, non-commercial community-generated parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
. This event is now produced by Handmade Parade CIC.
Plays
Thingumajig Theatre has created several puppetPuppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
and mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
plays for both children and adults. These plays, written, designed, built and performed by Andrew Kim and Kathy Kim, are notable for their innovative use of imagery and live music.
Plays by Thingumajig Theatre
'The Vertigo of Sheep' 2005
'Want' 2007
'The Mystery of the Sock Snatcher' 2007
'A November Day' 2008
'The Difference Engine' 2009 (Produced by Walk the Plank; written and directed by Thingumajig Theatre)
'Hippochondriac' 2010
Giant Puppets and Community Events
Thingumajig Theatre also creates and performs giant puppets for outdoor events and performances such as parades, pageants and festivals. They have also directed and led several community-generated events such as the ConwyConwy
Conwy is a walled market town and community in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales. The town, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy, formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. Conwy has a population of 14,208...
Lantern Parade and Pageant, the Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
Halloween Lantern Carnival Finale and the Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade
Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade
The Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade is a community-made parade in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England. Produced by local arts organisations Handmade Parade CIC and Thingumajig Theatre, the parade celebrates the creativity, variety and the uniqueness of Hebden Bridge and its surrounding areas...
.
See also
- In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask TheatreIn the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask TheatreIn the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre is a puppet company from Minneapolis, Minnesota. HOBT began in 1973 as Powderhorn Puppet Theatre, named for a neighborhood park and lake in Minneapolis, and changed their name in 1979...
- Horse and Bamboo TheatreHorse and Bamboo TheatreHorse and Bamboo Theatre or Horse + Bamboo Theatre is a British theatre company founded in 1978 by Bob Frith. The company works with a commitment to strong narratives but using visual, physical, and music-based forms rather than text. In particular it uses distinctive full-head masks...
- Bread & Puppet