The Prince

Tre ørefiker* (Three Ear Slaps) was Hlavaty's first assignment as a director at Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre)'s puppet theatre. The same year, he was responsible for the puppets for the production Hjemmusa og Fjellmusa* (The Home Mouse and the Mountain Mouse) (13.05.71). In Tre ørefiker, five puppeteers shared six parts. In addition to The Prince, played by Kjersti Germeten, the cast list consisted of the following; The Old King and The General, played by Kjell Smidsrød, The Gypsy Girl, played by Marit Hulaas Stubberud, The Prime Minister, played by Ragnhild Wang and The Executioner, played by Lars Rambøl. The latter had been the company's indispensable technician over years, whereas the four young ones were to make up the ensemble in many years to come.

The marionette players were visible during the performance. Besides, two actors took part; Kari Sundby and Turid Balke. Hlavaty was familiar with the stage practice with visible puppeteers/actors, which had developed in Czechoslovakia during the 1960es. He brought in new knowledge and innovation in introduction of new types of puppets, new themes, and renewal of the current stage practice.

There are no other marionettes from this production registered in Sceneweb. 

SOURCES:

Helgesen, Anne, M.: Tsjekkeren som ga nordmenn et nytt syn på dukketeatret (literally: The Czech who gave Norwegians a new perspective on puppetry), Ånd i hanske (1999 no. 4).

Helgesen, Anne M.: Animasjonen - Figurteatrets velsignelse og forbannelse. Norsk Figurteaterhistorie (literally: Animation - The blessing and curse of puppetry. Norwegian Puppetry History). Dr. Art. thesis in theatre theory, 2003, UiO. 

Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre).

Donated by: Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre).

Imported 24.04.2020.

*Not yet translated into the English. The title within parentheses is the Norwegian title's literal meaning.

The country that was called Czechoslovakia in 1971, and is now The Czech Republic and Slovakia or The Slovak Republic, has a long tradition with marionettes. There are two prototypes of marionettes: string marionettes and rod marionettes. The difference between the two is that the rod marionette has a rod fastened to its head or through its chest. The rod marionette is more stable and controlled during performance, and it can be steered in a rougher way. The rod marionette also has strings, but far fewer than the string marionette. Both types of marionettes are steered with the aid of threads, fastened to a steering mechanism.

Throughout many generations, the preferred material for marionettes has been lime wood. This is easy to carve and weighs little. The Prince and the other marionettes in the production Tre ørefiker* (Three Ear Slaps) were made from the same template. Lime wood was likely used for all the marionettes' body parts, such as heads, chests, hips, legs, arms, feet and hands. The body parts were fastened to one another with different materials (such as leather, wires, clamps or similar), dependent on construction, weight and durability. The Prince's costume was made with many details, to characterise his status and rank.

*Not yet translated into the English. The title within parentheses is the Norwegian title's literal meaning.

The Prince, as well as the other marionettes in the same production, had a rod fastened directly to his head with a hook. Most likely, the marionette had a joint in his neck, so that the head could be moved to the right or the left. There was also a joint in his waist and in his hips, to which his legs were fastened. There were joints in his knees, and it is possible that there were also joints in his ankles. His arms were fastened to the end of his shoulders, and there were joints in his elbows and wrists. This type of rod marionette has few strings to be steered by, most commonly five. One for each of the legs, fastened above the knees, one for each of the arms, fastened at the wrists, and one fastened to the back or the bum.

The description of The Prince is based on a photo.

Kjersti Germeten stated the following in an interview:

"He (Karel Hlavaty, editorial addition) was a very exciting instructor, rich on knowledge, and we weren't unfriendly or anything during rehearsals. But he later said that he was most fed up with us because we were a group of individualists who had way too many opinions on how to do things. He said he never wanted to instruct us again, Kjersti nods thoughtfully.

- He was likely right. We were young and brash, we had yet not sufficient humility for the profession." (Helgesen, Anne M.: 2003:365).

Hlavaty collaborated with many Norwegian theatres, including The Norwegian Theatre, Trøndelag Theatre, The National Stage, Niels Klim Teatret (which was a project for children and youth) and Hordaland Theatre. Hlavaty was also important for the development of the drama study at what was then called Statens Lærerskole i forming (literally: The national teacher school of crafts) in Oslo. He contributed to establishing continuing education programmes in drama/theatre, and a minor degree in the same. (Helgesen, Anne M.: Ånd i hanske, 1999, nr. 4: 39-42).

Karel Hlavaty was born in Prague in Czechoslovakia in 1919, and came to Norway as a political refugee in 1968. He died in Norway in 1988.