The Centre for Immersive Technology and Creativity (CITC) and the Arts and Craft Society with the support of Faculty of Creative of Industries organised a talk titled “Experience the Forgotten: A Talk on Teochew Puppetry” at Sungai Long Campus on 25 January 2018.
The event was led by CITC Chairperson Dr Aloysius Yapp. The main objective of the event was to preserve the traditional Chinese Teochew culture which has been gradually disappearing among the society.
The invited speaker was Director of Kim Giak Low Choon Troupe Goh Hui Ling from Penang. The event saw her sharing about the forgotten arts to the UTAR community.
Goh during the talk
Goh introduced the history of Teochew puppet and explained the difference between Teochew Puppet and Malay Puppet (Wayang Kulit). “The difference does not only lies in the appearance of the puppet but also the handling technique of the puppet,” said Goh. Goh also mentioned that the puppetry came before the Chinese opera, as such every performer should be respectful towards the puppet.
Goh also explained the history of Chinese opera to the audience. According to Goh, there are four types of main roles in the Chinese opera which are Sheng (male role), Dan (female role), Jing (painted face) and Chou (clown). Each role has its own characteristics and it is distinguished by makeup, the tone of voice, movements and hand gestures.
In order to provide the participants with a clearer picture of the Chinese opera roles, two volunteers were chosen for a make-up demonstration of the roles. The workshop continued with a short demonstration of Teochew puppet performance.
Goh demonstrating Chinese opera make-up on volunteers
During the Q&A session, Goh answered some of the questions from the participants. She also said that ladies during their menstruation are prohibited to stride over the puppets as they believe it will profane the puppets.
“Hopefully in the future, the younger generations will be more willing to participate in the Chinese opera and Teochew puppet so that we may preserve our culture and prevent it from being forgotten,” said Goh.
The workshop ended with group puppet performance by the participants.
Teochew Puppet performances by the participants
Group photo of Teochew Puppet Workshop organisers and participants
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