With support from the Ministry of Culture, the Culture and Tourism Bureau of Chiayi County will hold a free puppet exhibition and film creation workshop organized by the SamadhiTang Creative Puppet Troupe (三昧堂創意木偶團隊), from May 6 through June 26 at Chiayi’s Dian Shuei Dau Tou Cultural Park.
The workshop will introduce behind-the-scenes techniques of performing a puppet show, such as puppet manipulation, filming, and voice acting skills.
In an interview with Central News Agency, the executive producer of SamadhiTang Creative Puppet Troupe, Yen Jen Hung (嚴仁鴻), shared that the most exquisite and beautiful puppets will be exhibited along with SamadhiTang's film works at the cultural park. He also said that the film creation workshop will be held every weekend to introduce puppetry skills such as film scriptwriting, design of the stage, puppet manipulation, filming, narration, post-production, and more.
Since 2008, SamadhiTang has been designing and creating its own puppets and has created more than 200 puppets so far. The troupe has traveled to Japan, England, Holland, France, Germany, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Palau on behalf of Taiwan to promote the culture of puppetry. They also won praise from around the world for the delicate puppets they have made.
SamadhiTang is a team of experts from different fields, and they gather to make puppets in their leisure time. From puppet designing, styling, and weaponry crafting to role setting, all of the designs are made by themselves. Representing the culture of Taiwan, SamadhiTang had been invited to many countries for puppet exhibitions and performances. SamadhiTang is a non-profit group, and every piece made is one and only and not for sale. The core values of SamadhiTang are sharing and inheritance.
(Photo courtesy of Culture and Tourism Bureau of Chiayi County & The Brick Hotel)