{"id":9519,"date":"2018-03-20T07:42:26","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T14:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=9519"},"modified":"2018-03-20T07:42:26","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T14:42:26","slug":"chiflon-the-silence-of-the-coal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=9519","title":{"rendered":"Chifl\u00f3n, the Silence of the Coal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Yesterday I introduced a Mexican theatre company that seeks out marginal populations, interacts with them and tells their stories. Today I want to report again on a Chilean company that does something similar and then converts it into a different kind of performance: non-verbal puppet plays.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Santiago Tobar and his puppetry troupe Silencio Blanco <\/i>construct marionettes from a\u00a0newspaper base and then have them perform in silence. Their goal is to show la belleza de las cosas simples y cotidianas (<\/i>the\u00a0beauty of simple, everyday things), telling stories about the traditional livelihoods of Chilean workers, and what is happening to them in an age where industrial exploitation, capitalistic greed and ruthless industrialization at best costs people their livelihood and at worst their lives.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Silencio Blanco<\/em> (just like Teatro Linea de Sombra) has an international presence. Their stories are universal and the absence of spoken language facilitates a direct interaction with the narrative; and so it is no surprise that there are no barriers to understanding when Syrian refugee children in Denmark encounter the puppets, or the plays are presented in the US, Great Britain or Portugal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Thanks to http:\/\/www.boomarts.org <\/a>\u00a0last year Portlanders got to see\u00a0“Chifl\u00f3n, the silence of the coal<\/em>,” a play about the hazards of working in the Chilean mines and the anticipatory fear of the women who never know if their husbands, brothers and sons will return. We learned about the working conditions in post-industrial 21st century Chile, and the traditional village life explored by the troupe’s members in their lengthy stays at Lota. The construction of the puppets, sets and their movements were exquisite, and the silence somehow gave those who were represented a real voice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/pre>\n
 <\/p>\n