The paths of my life
be because of Compostela that I remember this sentence. when i go
to embark on this great adventure "Puppet and Therapy", they already existed
some major axes that had been traced by psychoanalysts who
they were considering the opportunity to use the puppet in the field of
therapy and, in our association, we have been inspired by work
by Madeleine Lambert. She may not be the first to use the
puppet to unlock some traumatized children, but as far as I know
she was the first to publish her experiences. I will speak no more
of her, since Teia Moner has explained it in a historical picture in the
your website on the Internet.
me, my first reference was George Sand and also Lemercier
of Neuville. The two initially started using the puppets
to amuse their sick children. But they got stuck in the game.
That's what interested me about these two characters, the benefit
for their children. Maurice, the son of George Sand, had his own
mother - and she for him - strange feelings. George, the dominatrix, no
it left room for Maurice's biological father. All these gentlemen
talented people who shared in turn the intimacy of their mother, the
they made suffer terribly.
it was loose, passive, full of untapped possibilities. By Lemercier
de Neuville, it was simpler, but perhaps more painful, although it is not
can calculate suffering! His son was sick and dying. I don't know if
he survived, but his father became one of our more
great puppeteers of the 19th century, a ridiculing "showroom puppeteer".
without stopping the politics of his time.
in them, I wonder what parents should do to focus on the
disability of their children? Nobody is ready. How should it be done? The
struggle is constant and often there are no tangible results. Jacqueline
Rochette thought to help her last daughter born with trisomy.
my band, due to my hospitalization after a
traffic accident I learned the extent of the needs of children
with physical disabilities or traumatic life conditions
unbearable
cave, I started doing puppet shows in the
hospitals to amuse the children and make them forget for a moment
their sufferings and, like George Sand and Lemercier de Neuville, “I go
stick in the game”!
I realized that if there were already some big well-drawn axes, there
there was also the possibility, while walking, of tracing single tracks
ignored There are still many paths to discover, roads that have
to expand and become secure. But beware, you should not believe in
the highways that go too fast and that cross the main axes
without showing us any of the simple and primordial beauties of the
nature.
there are many published documents and reports of serious experiences that are
can take as reference. To go on great roads, we must
wear good shoes and a good walking stick. In other words: have one
solid basic training in mediation and therapy. A pianist
he can improvise if he acquired and assimilated all the bases
essentials of solfege. It is to leave the tarred road for
walk on the stoniest paths. Adventure for little ones
footpaths Sensing that there is a possibility of using the
puppet as a therapeutic mediator in an area where it has not been used
still, or in an area that is unknown to us, is to open a way because
others take advantage of this finding.
path is made in the forest. Each traces its own path, but it is
a compass is necessary so as not to get lost. Attention danger! Do not put in
another in danger. Attention: do not lose yourself. Know how to step back,
ask for help, get back on track if you meet someone who knows where they are.
Take note and make marks as, in another way, the forest does
their rights prevail and the path is cleared. We are investigating and no
rambling Encounters are often made along the way; on my side,
I found the Puppet. After the arrival of cinema and the
television, the puppet has seen a real decline.
from being a children's game, it was transformed into a teaching material for
to teachers in nursery or preparatory classes (CP).
Used as mediation, the puppet lends its support to create one
playful space where learning is done more easily. Help to
socialization and to get out of difficult situations, such as separation from the
mother Children talk and say with a puppet; that's why
Madeleine Rambert used it in 1938 in psychiatry as a means of
transfer since it facilitated expression, making the
feelings of the unconscious.
in the fifties, the puppet saw a renaissance. the puppet
was to occupy an often important role during the war, the ancients
scouts introduced her to the "stalags". Freed, some leave
become professional puppeteers. You tend to forget this one
done Thanks to the scout movements Jacques Félix was able to form the
company of Little Chiffon Comedians and organize the
first international festival in Charleville-Mézières that happened in
be for puppets what the Avignon Festival is for theatre. Is it like that
how adults found an interest in puppet shows.
Dr. Rojas Bermúdez was a pioneer in the use of theater
puppets in adult psychiatry. Associated with psychodrama, it suits him
provide precious help to establish privileged relationships with
long-term hospitalized psychopathic patients who lost everything
concept of socialization. After having lived a long time in
Argentina, he returned again to Spain where he created a school in Seville
of psychodrama and puppets. Dr. Ernesto Fonseca, his student, goes
create one in Barcelona. In France, in the seventies, they were created
therapeutic workshops in different psychiatric hospitals. Dr. Jean
Garrabé and his team were the first to write a book about it
your practice
Duflot, in his book "Donis marionnettes pour li dire", spoke
of the clinical cases found in his therapeutic workshop of the hospital
Mayenne (53). Jean Garrabé and Colette Duflot are the cause of the creation
from "Marionnette et Thérapie". His two workshops were “workshops
closed". They were essentially therapeutic, they were places of care and they are not
they showed nothing In the Bélair hospital, in Charleville-Mézières (08) and in
the Saint-Égrève hospital (near Grenoble, 38), the workshops
end with a show. The aim of these workshops is
to socialize Keep in mind that they are led by occupational therapists.
These examples place well the various roles of the puppet in different
situations
in prisoners of war, the puppet played a real role
cathartic: being able to laugh at the enemy's expense; spread the information to the
their backs
to Jean Garrabé and Colette Duflot, it cures and serves as a work of analysis.
For François Renaud, of CH Bélair, and Juan-Louis Torre-Quadrada,
of the CH de Saint-Égrève, have therapeutic effects facilitating the
socialization
these are some examples to show that the puppet theater can
adapt to different situations with the condition of specifying well when
is it going to be used? for whom Because? How? It must be structured well
picture and the frame, and the therapist or pedagogue must not improvise otherwise
they are trained for these functions.
my way, I had to carry out workshops with objectives
therapeutic This was for me to commit to a path that was not mine
familiar I quickly understood the importance of acquiring one
good training and have supervision. When I conduct workshops for children or
adults with physical disabilities or who suffer from developmental diseases such as
myopathy, I study these different diseases to understand the
evolution process.
I was able to hold teaching workshops, that's why I had the practice
of working with adolescents using other mediations (workshop
of enamels on copper in a M.JC – House of youth and culture).
I think that the greatest quality for a therapist or a pedagogue is the
vigilance Even with a lot of experience, no one is exempt from
surprises! I have to say I had some when I did workshops
with puppets for national education.
having to train teachers in the use of puppet theater in
the framework of his training in normal schools and later in
the IOFM, both in metropolitan France and in Martinique or in the
meeting This allowed me to have the possibility to introduce the theater
of puppets in the teaching of students who were preparing a BEP
"health and social", in the framework of the PAE (animation project
educational). These PAEs were extended in one school from 1985 to 1992.
In 1992, it was no longer available and three directors succeeded each other
due to suicide, depression and a request to change
work placement. Nothing was easy with these teenagers, but everything was
possible on the condition that you get involved personally and earn them the
confidence
I pass the baton on to my granddaughter Delphine. I started it in the theater
of shadows He used it with teenagers between 17 and 19 years old while
she was their monitor, a few years older than them. He managed
interest them despite the fact that the only thing important to them were the videos
games During his year of internship, after having
passed the help of the IOFM, worked for three weeks with
a kindergarten class. These children had great joy and
surprise to learn that they all possessed a shadow that follows them or that
always precedes It is a great happiness for me to note that
I was able to pass on some of my knowledge to my granddaughter; has
a long road to take, but it follows an attractive rutted path.
she is not unknown to me. I discovered it and liked it immediately
when I came to participate in the Caldes de Montbui festival.
Silvia Bierkens, who created the Spanish association "Marioneta i
Therapy" followed in France all the internship periods of "
Puppet and Therapy”. He worked with me in therapeutic workshops with
autistic and psychopathic young adults. I have great admiration for Jordi
Bertrand; we had the surprise of finding ourselves in Curitiba, in Brazil. there
there is also an association "Marioneta and Therapy-Brazil" in Curitiba.
admired for the work done by Teia Moner. It is a pharamineux work!
But also very serious work that rests on solid foundations.
I note that Catalonia is now at the forefront of research, for
what does the puppet theater do in primary and children's schools.
The School of Psychodrama and Sociometry of Catalonia, as well as the
Seville, shows the energy that transports it. This is very good for me because,
currently in France I have the impression that we don't move much.
Work in public school
the framework of "Marionnette et Thérapie", I often worked on
the public school On the one hand, I intervened for several years in
the academies of Créteil, La Rochelle, Laval, Nantes, Orleans,
Perpignan, Reims, Tours, Saint-Denis of the Reunion, Fort-de-France in the
training of reeducators and I was lucky to work with Mr.
Yves de La Monneraye and Ivan Darrault-Harris, authors of notable works
which we often quote in our interventions. On the other hand, I go
to encourage in Tours in 1991 a national meeting that brought together a
twenty-five personalities from all regions of France. I
always at the request of the public school, I have given lectures of
awareness about the interest of using the theater of
puppets to help students with school difficulties and show them
different media impacts of the puppet.
In 1982, one of these
conferences made in the Normal School of Sant-Denis (93) led to
a long cooperation. I then worked for several years in
a LIP (vocational training institute) in the Paris region where,
in the framework of a PAI (educational animation project) the students of
"sanitary and social" successfully represented Hamlet. On the other hand,
for four years, from 1992 to 1995, four professors of the academy
from Orleans (45) participated with me and a Franco-Germanic group in one
research on “puppet theater as a field of experience
intercultural", this was done within the framework of the OFAJ (office
Franco-Germanic for the youth) with the double participation of
the HILF (Hessian Institute of Continuing Education) in Weilburg and from ”
Marionnette et Thérapie” in Marly-li-Roi (78).
Before I go on, I must
remember the name of Lazarine Bergeret, teacher I had the joy of
find when I began to discover the puppet and its multiples
aspects. Lazarine Bergeret, and her mother before her, were
among the first people to use the puppet as a material
pedagogical in France in the nursery school. Lazarine Bergeret goes to me
tell many adventures happened to his famous character Mr.
Berlingot
He
puppet was known at the nursery school Varenne (94) – paradoxically
I live very close to there – then next to Blancs Abrics school
where Lazarine Bergeret finished her teaching career. Mr.
Berlingot, now rests in the Pedagogical Museum on Ulm Street.
Lazarine and her mother gave a large number of puppets to this one
Museum.
This conference held in 1982 had extensions and
thanks to her I found a couple of teachers very committed to
his job Both are professors of Plastic Art in the same
professional training institute (LIP). This school is located in
the northeastern suburb of Paris, in a place of risk, so to speak.
When, in the academy, these LIPs are discussed, it would be said that they invoke a
Attila! .Well, in this LIP, I would have many joys. And if I go
sometimes have difficulties in this place, most of them were due
to teachers who didn't like puppets, or who looked down on them
eyes to some of his former students – considered whole donkeys –
that they were interested in an activity and that they made progress at school
surprising due to an unlock.
decide in agreement with the director to dedicate every Friday afternoon (4
hours) to the puppets, together with three teachers: a teacher of
French, one of health and social and one of plastic art. The teacher of
health and social was also because it was a class that
was preparing a "Health and Social" BIP. These students have
periods of practice that they must carry out during their school year, or
in nurseries, or in nursery schools, or in homes for young workers
or in nursing homes.
In reality, these students go where they are accepted
and the director's report and assessment of the place they go to are very important
important to approve your BIP. From the first day the students
they were passionate about this activity. It is necessary to say that the
school had done things well. During the first week, the students
they followed "a full puppet training period".
Downloaded from any other subject, throughout this one
week, they each built a puppet in their own way (no theme
initial). The puppet was given a name and placed in one
scenario made by the students. The puppets were chosen at random, by
so there were many different situations for each character.
class was privileged, twelve students, but of different nationalities
different: Algeria, the West Indies, Madagascar, Morocco, Poland,
Portugal, Tunisia, Turkey. Of different religions: animist, atheist,
Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant. This group formed a team
compact All passed their BIP I had recently
news of one of them; she is now director of a leisure center and in her own
center the puppet has a privileged place. The stories written by
these young ladies were surprisingly sensible. We never criticize him
his work, we had the greatest possible understanding. They accepted
without saying a word do all the exercises: mime, masks, manipulation of
two types of puppets, glove and marota. We take them to various museums
Saturday: ATP Museum, Fashion Museum, Louvre, Kwok On Museum.
We take them to see puppet shows. It wasn't always easy
organize these afternoons. It was necessary to convince the parents because
give the written and signed authorization, and find the cars for
accompany these students in their distant suburbs. But the
parents, even the most clumsy, understood. some go
come to the shows, we were able to meet them. At the end of the course, with
the BIP finished, we were invited by all the families. we go
have pantagruelic meals from typical cuisines. It was very hard
to separate These former students regularly return to LIP a
see his former teachers of plastic Art. They always write to me.
with this first experience, we decided on the following year
represent Ubu. We had seen Massimo Schuster's Ubu, made with elements
from Meccano... The French teacher wanted it no matter what
represent Ubu. I was happy, I really like Jarry and Ubu is a play
fantastic This time we wanted to make very large puppets,
handled by two people. For a week the students go
make the heads of the puppets, after reading the text and
having studied the characters of each one. Manipulate two this guy
puppetry has no secrets but it was necessary to train the manipulators.
It is not as simple as it seems as there is a side to this manipulation
obvious intimate We work a lot on the body of the other, as auxiliary and
not as an object of sexual desire. This year, we had two boys and sixteen
girls. As in the previous year, we had a large number of different ethnicities, i
also other problems due to the fact that there were two boys and so on
aside the tendency of a teacher to compare with bright students
of the previous year.
health and social teacher was going to be the link to allow
do the experience in the third year (1986-1987). In other words that is,
represent Hamlet. Since this year, we had worked with another
LIP, located in…N , which had a preparation subject for a
the profession of theater tailor. The mother of our health teacher and
social was the titular teacher of this subject. I don't think so
there has been other work of this type in France. Two LIP that
work on a common PAI! The students sometimes met in
one school, sometimes in another. They argued with each other
for the making of Hamlet's costumes, wishing all to stay
perfect They went to buy the fabrics at the San Pedro market. Are going
catch the sewing boxes of mothers or grandmothers to have
beautiful lace, braids, buttons. Nothing was too beautiful for this one
Hamlet show. Because?
year, the return to school took place on September 5 and on this day,
each student was surprised to receive a book of parts from
Shakespeare and learn that they would be performing Hamlet with puppets.
Why the choice of Hamlet? The previous year we had taken the class to see it
the spectacle of Macbeth by Massimo Schuster. And during the festival of
Montreal had seen the Yugoslav show Hamlet (I don't remember having
laughed so much in my life). What is interesting about Hamlet is that there
there is a show within the show. The French teacher was
impatient to see how we would get out of this ambitious project. The
half of the academy was enthusiastic and the other half, skeptical. The
students were shocked by this choice. They felt valued. Em
they said: "You give us confidence. You'll see, everything will turn out perfect! "
be very tough! I don't know if I would have the energy to redo this work. But
it is true that it was a success. Three classes worked on this one
project: a class of mechanics, of eighteen male students, built
the scenography; a class of theater tailors of twelve female students
and a boy; a sanitary and social class, twenty-two female students, i
three boys
These three boys were very different. K…, very bright,
but we quickly realized that he couldn't read! At the beginning of
CP, he stammered and said he wanted to be Hamlet. The girls go
to boo Hard, hard! He was disgusted, then became
the person in charge of the props, and the alderman. He found his place, unique and
worthy, which suited him. J..., reserved and quec. He filled the role
of ambassador I had to act in a duo with a young girl who was the second
ambassador We wanted to see them fill those roles a little bit like him
Dupont-Dupond. They were both so shy and shy. One day, F... said to me: "I resign,
I will never be able to do it! Also my grandmother (the West Indies) told me
that on the day of my birth an evil genie had cast evil upon me
of eye " A little confused to hear this, I don't know why
inspiration, I blew on him telling him that I was expelling the evil eye.
Miracle, that worked! F… it changed. She became very funny.
Enough to have confidence in herself and the three of us
ambassadors worked well.
against I made an enemy. A girl had fabricated the head of
Hamlet, very well done, I must say. I wanted to play the role. wanted to be
the star However, on the day of the general rehearsal, he did not come. without
excuses This had a consequence. The young girl who played the part
principal violated the sacred norms of the theater: it was missing
voluntarily on the day of the dress rehearsal. Then I asked one
very discreet young girl, who had a secondary role because of the
his shyness, play the role of Hamlet. He had observed that he knew and
who had sometimes blown the text to the protagonist. It was a success.
The next day there was a scandal! The star arrived and found out
that I gave her role to another. Not supporting replacement
he told me: “The show will not take place. It is an injustice. My
colleagues will strike."
He did not achieve his goal! they all go
to understand that there was no injustice, and that he had what he had been looking for.
These teenagers were proud to work on such a hard text.
This year, in FR 3, they gave, on Saturday afternoon,
broadcasts of Shakespeare's plays in English, subtitled in
french Stunned parents watched the children observe these
shows. On Monday, they discussed them with each other,
they asked the teachers for explanations. Some made the trip to
Stratford. They stuck to the theater forever.
Regarding the puppet,
they often have tears in their eyes when they talk or when they remember
the school "see the L...", his former teachers of Plastic Art.
It's been quite a few years since they left school.
you will say: "All this work to perform it four or five times!"
Yes, but HOW MANY TIMES! As Colette Duflot said, we did a job
of true pedagogues since we took them to meet another
medium to acquire essential knowledge and above all to
gain more confidence in themselves. In 1990 we resumed the
work with twelve students, on surrealism... It was surprising.
They had found a new weapon: the revolver of giving life! But the
my schedule no longer allowed me to be available every Friday, and
I took over from Dominica Apertización, a trained puppeteer
in therapy
Lions is President of the Association Marionnette et Thérapie” of
France, and FIMS (Fédération Internationale de la Marionnette pour la
Health)
