"Theatre of Shadows is known in Greece as Karagyozis after the name of the protagonist who is poor, barefoot, always hungry and can never be satisfied" says Dimitris who is a puppeteer and deals with this kind of traditional Greek theatre already three years. "Perhaps I will never be rich, but I can not imagine working in an office and doing a dull job for me. I have fun with what I do and I love it and after 30 years when I wake up one day I will not wonder where I've wasted my life."
I started to deal with the Theater of Shadows after one summer I was on a seminar relating to this type of theater and making puppets. There I met Argiris Atanasiu, who leads the courses. Then he offered me to work with his brother. So I started working with Kostas Athanasiou - my teacher. I learnt the basic principles of the Theater of Shadows at the seminar. I learnt how to assemble the stage and make the figures, participating in the performances of the Theatre of Shadows, of different materials. I learnt different stories about Karagyozis because there is no written text and the performances are largely based on improvisation. The Theatre of Shadows is known in Greek as Karagyozis. Its name comes from the main protagonist of the story - at least in Greece and Turkey.
Karagyozis is constantly hungry, he is a grotesque character, poor, barefoot and the only thing he cares about is to eat, to fill his stomach. He does not care either to earn money, nothing except filling his stomach. He eats everything, but never gets enough. We can not say he is a man, although he has human features. He is not man, because in some of the stories he dies, then resurrects, then again dies and goes to Hell, returns, agrees with the devil and then cheats...
His appearance is ugly. When you see him you will say "God, what is this thing?!" The features of Karagyozis are carnival-like; he is a grotesque hero, as Bakhtin analyzes the concept of Grotesque. Karagyozis has a large hump, which is a turned symbol of fertility. This is the same symbol as the belly of a pregnant woman only it is turned. Although it has the same meaning the hump shows the connection of Karagayozis with the carnival. Karagyozis has a very long hand, which is connected with a long penis - also a symbol of fertility. Overall Karagyozis is grotesque character - some parts of his body are exaggerated and enlarged, he eats everything and constantly, he gets drunk until he becomes a laughing-stock.
Nobody knows how this type of theater originated. Some features of the theater make us believe that it comes from India or China, but has spread from China to Morocco, not existing in Europe. It exists probably in the Balkans, which were part of the Ottoman Empire. Perhaps the Ottomans learnt it from the Arabs who learnt it from the Indians, who in turn learnt it from Chinese ... They have the phrase “Karagyoz” in Romania, which metaphorically has the same meaning as in Greece – a fool.
This kind of theater was preserved in Greece, probably because the role of Karagyozis was amended. In the late 19th century Mimaros, who is the father of the Greek Karagyozis, changed the nature of the character - then Karagyozis was a bourgeois, but Mimaros made him grotesque - Karagyozis is poor, barefoot. This change in the character of the protagonist, probably helped the Greeks to identify with him. Thus he has survived. This is the only country in the Balkans, where there is such a theater. And it is so recognizable.
Officially there are about 20 puppeteers in Greece to make Karagyozis performances. This is a traditional art that is passed from the teacher to the student, there is no academic training related to Karagyozis. As I went to my teacher three years ago – you put yourself to the craft and little by little the teacher leads you on stage and devotes you to the secrets of the profession. The training consists in learning you to move the puppets on stage. There are 30 main characters in these shows. First you learn the movements of the puppets and the different voices. The peculiarity of this art is that puppeteers perform the voices of all characters and change their voice constantly and because there is no written text to follow, puppeteers improvise all the time.
Good puppeteer in the Theater of Shadows is considered the one that has many well-trained voices which differ well. The puppeteer should be a good performer, able to joke and give a rhythm of the performance.
I guess that children who watch Karagyozis for the first time are impressed by the colors of the scene. Although it is theater of shadows, figures are painted in color and it is evident behind the canvas. But imagine – it is dark everywhere, suddenly the lamps behind the canvas light and there appear laughing, joking and dancing colored pieces. I think it is impressive for children. Moreover, parents prepare their children for these performances, they say they are funny and will have a good time.
A few days ago a child came to me, and very enthusiastically told me: "Hey, I had not seen Karagyozis so far. This is my first performance." What is interested to the child is that the shows are interactive. Karagyozis speaks with the children, asks them questions, makes them take part in the action and in what is happening. Usually children viewers help the children of Karagyozis respond, cope with a situation. If the puppeteer is good at improvisation, he can even change the story and follow the wishes of children, according to what they want to happen.
I myself started to work with the Theatre of Shadows because it is very funny. And I prefer to puppeteer rather than stand eight hours a day in an office and get bored. The good thing is that we do not work with private companies. Economic crisis will affect us when the municipalities and companies stop paying us to do shows. On the other hand, Karagyozis is the cheapest entertainment for children, which may be offered. Because it's different to have some jugglers or ask a troupе.And it is a product that is easily recognizable. Everyone knows who is Karagyozis, so I do not think we will have a serious problem. It is true that all have dropped the prices of the performances, but I don’t think the crisis will affect us very much. As for the puppeteers they constantly squabble among themselves which is the best - there is great competition. Everyone says: "I am the greatest! There will be no better after me!”
Karagyozis will not make me rich but will give me enough money to live. I prefer to do something that entertains me rather than work in an office and do an impersonal job and waste my life. I like what I am doing and it will not get me into a rut. Karagyozis combines everything I've dealt in life. I use my knowledge of mechanics - I finished my college education as a mechanic. For example, I have to do the stage so as not to fall and to resist any forces such as wind or children who never sit still, and always want to look at what happens behind ... Some years ago I took lessons on drawing and sketching. Now I draw and design the figures for the Theatre of Shadows by myself. I use the tools I used while working with my father who is a plumber, but with a different purpose. So I stick by Karagyozis into all my knowledge and capabilities. And I say again that it may not make me rich but I will not wake up after 30 years wondering where I've wasted my life. I deal with the theater for my own satisfaction - “for the soul” as Karolos Kuhn said.
Dimitris is MA in the science of performative creativity and he is practising experimental theater for 8 years. Last autumn he returned to Thessaloniki, where he was born, and launched a Shadow Theatre company.
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