Medialab Prado

For some time, those of us involved in the work groups at Medialab-Prado have attempted to bring together two examples of contemporary creation that apparently move in parallel lines that only meet at the horizon. Creation, the stage, and new technologies actually are connected in many ways, including the disciplines of dance, performance, music, and stage lighting.

A reflection on what is real, on form, but especially on how to work with what is inert and stationary.

Therefore, we will begin by discussing inert objects and stationary anatomies and stage machines, or puppets. A descendent of the Corrales de Comedias, of the Máquina Real, a theatre of dolls, objects or automatons is a scale materialization of reality, an illusory construction that makes it possible to reproduce on the stage what cannot otherwise be reproduced, while also generating its own expressive language.

Jesús Nieto from Madrid, the creator of Onírica Mécanica, will speak about how to imbue objects with soul. Paco Peralta, a living legend in Spanish theatre, will talk about how shapes become mechanical, machines, automatons, to construct the illusion of movement. He is a puppet master and the creator of some of the most complex, fascinating dolls in the history of this art. We will be able to see their sophisticated mechanics live.