Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Art as a Force for Good
HowlRound Theatre Commons: Sabera Shaik is the artistic director of Masakini Theatre Company in Malaysia, a company that mixes drama and shadow theatre, offers workshops for young actors, and entertains kids via shadow puppetry. On top of this work, Shaik was quick to respond to the arts and culture fallout that came with the COVID-19 pandemic, co-organizing a virtual arts festival Gerak Angin.
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A quote that really stood out to me from the interview was “We, as an arts industry, have been struggling to keep our heads above water, even in so-called good times. During a. time like this, we should be the ones given the opportunities to say afloat more than commercial enterprises.” I know that when Sabera Shaik said this, she was saying it in connection to the Malaysian arts cycle, however I think this is something that can carry across the world. When arts are supported and given life, they give the same life back- and not just to the people that watch these productions, but the businesses, enterprises, and cities surrounding the places where the arts are being fostered. When we think about arts being a force of good it will always go much deeper than the surface level. Arts being a force of good is something that expands beyond just the entertainment value and feeds into the community. Art is connection. Art is experience. Art is interaction. And art is most definitely good.
I love it when I unintentionally stumble along to an article about puppets!! I think that the point Mary Emily highlights – about art being used to create cultural awareness and needing proper financial support – is very important. What caught my particular interest was Sabera Shaik’s interpretation and application of shadow puppetry. I personally love puppets that engulf the puppeteer’s body into its physicality – I think that creates a really neat commentary about puppet objects and their connection to humanity and closeness to being a living object. Therefore I think Shaik’s incorporation of dancers and actors into the shadow puppet art is brilliant. I’m fascinated by the idea that shadow puppetry is an audiovisual craft. It’s interesting to think about how the two dimensionality of a shadow really makes you focus on the voice of the creature and the sound that accompanies its existence. Sound definitely plays that sort of important role in defining a character, especially when that character is flat and visually monochromatic.
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