
Csodamalom Bábszínház (Magic Mill Puppet Theatre) is a
puppet theater
A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to mov ...
in
Miskolc
Miskolc ( , , ; Czech and sk, Miškovec; german: Mischkolz; yi, script=Latn, Mishkoltz; ro, Mișcolț) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 (1 Jan 2014) Miskolc is the fourth larges ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...
. It was formed by
puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, called a puppet, to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from ...
Tibor Korzsény in 1986 as an amateur company. The name "Csodamalom" (Magic Mill) preserves the name of Fábián Mill, the company that once operated there. The theatre was semi-official since 1988 and became official in 1992. The theater maintains 50 plays in repertoire and premiers two or three shows/year, usually a classical
folk tale. Uniquely in Hungary, they play
musical
Musical is the adjective of music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...
puppet shows, including puppet-pantomimes staged for adults, such as ''
Pictures at an Exhibition
''Pictures at an Exhibition'', french: Tableaux d'une exposition, link=no is a suite of ten piano pieces, plus a recurring, varied Promenade theme, composed by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is Mussorgsky's most famous pia ...
'' by
Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...
, ''
Bolero
Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It ha ...
'' by
Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
and ''
Carmina Burana
''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreveren ...
'' by
Orff
Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata ''Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education.
Life
Early life
Carl O ...
.
[Klára, Dobos, and Gábor, Mikita, and Béla, GYarmati. ''Csodamalom Bábszínház, Miskolc 2007...''. Miskolc, Redon4color ltd. 2007. p4-5.]
History
In 1947 László Bod, later the director of
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
State Puppet Theatre, tried to establish the genre in Miskolc.
In the middle 1980s, in the building known as Fábián Mill, two groups started work. The first to perform there was a troupe led by János Czikora until 1989. The other group was the Csodamalom Puppet Theatre established in 1986 by Tibor Korzsény, who was a member of the State Puppet Theatre before, and an artist of the Tokaj Varieté.
The first performance was on 26 September 1986 under Korzsényi. It was an adaptation of ''
Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister.
Hanse ...
''. The artists, including Anna Molnár, Valéria Egerszegi, Aszterisz Pacadisz were members of the Tokaj Varieté, except Ildikó Gyürek.
Following this, Korzsényi gathered young people interested in the genre. In September, 1990 the higher education of puppeteers was launched with twelve students, under the professional supervision of the State Puppet Theatre. The first shows' puppets were designed by Vera Bródy, and made in the workshop of the State Puppet Theatre by applied artist Emőke Szabó. The scenery was made in the workshop of the National Theatre of Miskolc under the direction of Attila Veres. Accompanying music was Miskolc, music teacher János Zoller and organist László Csabai.
The group soon outgrew its original location. In 1988 the theatre company, then the amateur puppetry of the City Cultural Centre, received a group operational permit from the National Philharmony. From 1992 the company was granted a license to work as professional theatre, and relocated to the building of the former Studio Theatre in Kossuth Street, where they established their own workshop.
Techniques
In the beginning they carried on the traditions of the State Puppet Theatre playing mainly classic puppet shows for young children.
Later, the group's professional activities became characterized by its variety of techniques and genres. Among others the group put up plays based on
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
* Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
genesis legends, but their series featuring traditional European
fai puppet-show stories, or the stories of
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
n cartoons formerly very popular in Hungary. They eventually built up a unique repertoire.
Beside hand or glove puppets they make
Wayang puppets, and amongst the flat-puppets cut out from paper and installed onto posts,
marionettes
A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed ...
. Puppets in the
King Mátyás tales are moved with a
Sicilian marionette technique, while objects transformed into real actors in ''Rosszcsont Peti'' (Naughty Peter).
Personnel
Directors
*Judit Juhász: art director
*Erzsébet M.Németh: director
*Mária Jákfalvi, Labodáné: financial director
Puppeteers
*Gáspár Zsolt Hajdú
*Ildikó Heiszmann, Nívó-Prize puppeteer
*Zsolt Klim
*Szabolcs Károlyi, puppeteer trainee
*Laura Kulcsár, puppeteer trainee
*Bernadett Láng
*Edit Tar
*Gábor Tulipán
*
Tibor Oláh
Workshop
*Ildikó Juhász, Barnáné: painter, puppet- and set designer
*Laczy, Barna: creative co-worker
*Iboly Sipos, Barnáné: administrator
*Zsolt Méhes: stagecraftician
*Zsoltné Dr. Máthé: janitor
*Sándorné Mikle: seater
*Endre Papp: repairman
*Zoltán Polacsek: decorator
*István Szabó:decorator
*Norbert Szarka: decorator
*Lajos Veres: organiser
*Lászlóné Vizsolyi: cloakroom attendant
*Csba István Újvári: scenic and puppet designer
*György Zábrátzky: scene maker
References
{{coord missing, Hungary
Puppet theaters
Puppetry in Hungary
Tourist attractions in Miskolc
Culture in Miskolc
Theatre in Hungary