PUCK Puppet Theater
Puck Puppet Theater from Cluj-Napoca was founded in 1950 and its history was written by well-established artists in the field, such as: Kovács Ildikó, Aureliu Manea, Mona Marian, Maria Mierlut, Varga Ibolya, Rumi László, Pály János, Bogdan Ulmu, Alexandru Rusan, Edit Botar, Virgil Svintiu, Eugenia Tãrãsescu Jianu, Epaminonda Tiotiu, Sandu Marian, Horea Pop and Péter János, Doina Dejica, Frunzina Anghel, Bothos Julia, Csortán Márton, György László, Calin Mureșan and others.
Reference shows in the repertoire of Puck Theater include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ubu the King, Widow Karnyó, Sânziana and Pepelea, Animal Stories, Cinderella, The Puss in Boots, Endless Youth and Life without Death, Little Red Ridinghood, Whitesnow, The Reed Princess, and many more.
Since 2002, Puck Theater is the organizer of Puck International Festival, addressed to puppet and marionette theaters from Romania and Europe. The Festival reaches the 20th editions in October 17th – 21st 2022, bringing together notable national and international artists. In 2017 Puck Theater in collaboration with ESUA and Lions International, organized the first edition of WonderPuck Street Festival.
PUCK International Festival
„Puck” International Festival has hosted in the previous 20 editions more than 400 plays, workshops, conferences and exhibitions. It is a platform for promoting contemporary puppet art by discovering innovative theatrical techniques and means of expression. The festival aims to gather in the city of Cluj, year after year, the latest and most valuable puppet theatre performances in Romania and a series of award-winning plays from prestigious European festivals. The resilient themes of this form of art are consequently adapted and addressed to the contemporary public, in an endeavour to explore specific means of expression and methods of scenic adaptations of classic and contemporary creations. The last editions included an international conference who invited artists and theoreticians of the art of animation who debated on specific themes: Puppetry and Literature (2022), Means of Expression in Animation Theatre (2023). The theme of the 2024 conference is Puppetry and New Media and it also gathers valuable contributors.
The festival encourages the idea that the puppet is much more than a ludic figure, a victim of a fleeting enthusiasm for a „theatrical trend”. The puppet can become a privileged instrument with therapeutic values that can reveal a world of wonders. Furthermore, we intend to seek out innovative forms of theatrical expression, since these representations tend to have a natural vigour, a certain archaic vitality capable of regenerating and rejuvenating this form or art dedicated to children.
Throughout the previous editions, some members of the jury were: Louise Lapointe, Margareta Niculescu, Miguel Arreche, Slobodan Marković, Sun Wook Hyon, Ion Parhon, Eugenia Tărăşescu Jianu, Raluca Sas, Roxana Croitoru, Liviu Maliţa, Carmencita Brojboiu, , Zsehránski István, Egyed Emese, Szebeni Zsuzsanna, Raluca Tulbure, Laura Pavel, Eugenia Sarvari, Anca Rotescu, Ion Cazaban, Oana Leahu, Oana Cristea, Sorin Crişan, Carmen Stanciu, Maria Mierluţ, Daniel Stanciu, Decebal Marin, Epaminonda Tiotiu, Valentin Codoiu, Andreea Chindris, Claudiu Groza.
The Festival is organized by “Puck” Puppet Theatre with the support of Cluj County Council, Cluj-Napoca City Hall, Cluj Local Council, Ministry of Culture, AFCN.
Festival directors: Traian Savinescu (2002-2004), Mona Chirilă Marian (2005-2012), Emanuel Petran (2013-2021).
Artistic coordinator: Daniela Vartic (2005-2024).
The 21th edition of „PUCK” INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL takes place in October 23rd – 25th 2024 and will host about 20 performances, workshops, exhibitions and conferences.
Previous editions
A workshop of stop motion in puppetry, coordinated by Magali Chouinard, addressed to actors and students, and two performances: The White Woman and Nomad Soul, https://www.magalichouinard.com/
A workshop in the art of Commedia dell’ Arte coordinated by Gaspare Nasuto https://gasparenasuto.wixsite.com/ladomusdipulcinella/english
A network of puppetry students from Romania and from other European countries, in which they will perform their exam shows. Each performance will be scheduled in such a way, so every student will see each other’s performances.
A national competition between ten of the most recent creations of the Romanian puppet theaters.
An international network of creators and programmers interested in puppetry.
