Making small communities big through puppetry

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STORYTELLING has always been magical. Be it through oral or visual means, telling stories is simply human nature. Since the dawn of time, humans have created connections through their stories.

For Filipino puppet designer-maker and director Kayla Teodoro, stories are made all the more magical with puppetry. One of the creators of the life-sized Yubaba from the stage adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki’s film Spirited Away, Teodoro attended the official launch of the CCP National Theatre Live, with a screening of The Life of Pi.

Her work can be seen tonight at the Greenbelt 5 as Life of Pi the first film in the new program of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), CCP National Theatre Live, which brings filmed plays presented by NTL to the Philippines.

WORKING IN LONDON
“I was fortunate enough to work on the show last year while it was on the West End. I took care of the puppets. I took care of the tiger, and all of the other big puppets. I also worked very closely with the puppeteers because I also helped run the show,” said Ms. Teodoro who is the artistic director of the Puppet Theater Manila.

Life of Pi, the award-winning stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel, centers on a 16-year-old boy named Pi stranded on a lifeboat after a cargo ship sinks in the vast Pacific Ocean. Alongside Pi are four other survivors — a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a Bengal tiger.

As a puppet assistant stage manager, the bulk of her work entails making sure that all big puppets are in tip-top shape for every show: “I helped make sure that puppets were in the right place at the right time. I made sure that when puppeteers needed help, I was there to help them. All of the puppets really have to be up to par every night before the show.”

Grateful for the added richness in her overall experience, Ms. Teodoro was elated to work with fellow Asians for Life of Pi. As an Indian story, South Asians were prominent members of the company. “I think the UK is still trying to get its footing when it comes to Asian representation behind the scenes. But it was definitely nice to work with South Asian people in the cast.”

PUPPETRY IN THE PHILIPPINES
She emphasizes that the puppet community is generally small — all the more so in the Philippines, the lone Southeast Asian country without an ancient form of puppetry.

“It’s really baby steps but it’s exciting because it’s so small. Because of that, I formed Puppet Theater Manila, and Puppet Theater Manila is trying to bring puppetry around the Philippines,” said Ms. Teodoro who finished her master’s degree in puppetry in the United Kingdom.

Determined to propel Filipino storytelling through puppetry, she explained how the art form is a rich outlet for Filipino stories rooted in folklore, especially for the benefit of children. “Since before the Spanish arrived, we were a very pagan culture, and because of that, there is so much rich folklore and rich origin stories,” she said.

“Thanks to puppetry, you now have an option on how to tell these stories — you could show children what an aswang or even what a butanding looks like. And because the Philippines is so rich in indigenous materials and craftsmen, you can get everyone involved when it comes to telling stories through puppetry.”

Between running Puppet Theater Manila and working as a freelancer, Ms. Teodoro makes time to teach puppetry to children of all ages. She also directs puppetry for the new Repertory Philippines musical. Starting out as a set and costume designer, her journey in puppetry has since blossomed into major projects like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Spitting Image, Lion King, and Life of Pi.

CCP NATIONAL THEATER LIVE
Life of Pi was the first production lined up under the CCP’s new program, CCP National Theater Live, which aims to provide the best of London National Theater to the Philippine big screen and make international theater accessible to local theater enthusiasts, playwrights, artists, and the broader public.

“That’s the most important to us — to make sure that Filipino audiences are seeing the capabilities of puppetry, and not only that, you also have artists, theater professionals and film professionals who are now starting to embrace that,” said Ms. Teodoro.

Through the CCP National Theatre Live program, the CCP, in partnership with the National Theatre of London and the Ayala Malls Cinema, will bring nine stage plays, filmed live from the United Kingdom’s most exciting stages, every month starting Sept. 26 up to May 28, 2024, exclusively at Greenbelt cinemas in Makati.

The lineup features Life of Pi, Frankenstein, The Seagull, Much Ado About Nothing, The Crucible, Fleabag, Othello, King Lear, and Hamlet, all digitally filmed in high-definition quality. NTL films their plays in front of live theater audiences but optimized for the big screen and made accessible to theater fans across the globe.

For updates, follow the official CCP social media accounts in Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Visit the CCP website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph ).