Human Idiot Puppet (HIP): Video of Workshop: Experiments with Clown & Puppet Workshop, Alexandria

<p dir="ltr">Experiments with Clown & Puppet Workshop, Alexandria by Richard Talbot<br>Alanfushi Culture Palace<br>Alexandria International Theatre Festival Edition 13,<br>23-25 September, 2023<br><br>A 3-day workshop with actors, teachers and other artists, exploring practical synergies between clowning, puppet and object manipulation and movement.<br><br>Participants:<br><br>Meena Behagat Fowzi<br>Moustafa Abualla<br>Islam Fatahi Aoud<br>Badour Ahmed Isiid<br>Ahmed Abd Elhakem Atia<br>Tamer Hisni Ala'adin<br>Selma Ibrahim Elgadi<br>Mari Zaki Towfiq<br>Islam Walid Abdel Fetah<br>Alsaiid Ala Ahmed<br>Heba Mou'anas Hatim<br>Selma Mohammed<br>Selina (Translator)<br><br>Workshop leader: Richard Talbot<br>Festival President: Dr Gamal Yakout<br>Festival Director: Essam Youssef<br>Photography: Hassan Ali<br>Video and animation edit: Richard Talbot<br><br>Dr. Richard Talbot ran a workshop at Alanfushi Culture Palace with title "Creativity with clown and puppets” , which was included with the events of Alexandria international theatre festival at it’s 13th edition.</p><p dir="ltr"><br></p><p dir="ltr">Richard spent three days focusing on the methods of physical comedy and simple puppetry. During the workshop days, he was able to help the trainees identify several methods that would help them in this field. He also participated with them in creating simple puppets using simple resources and filming them with backgrounds based on video clips that the trainees had filmed themselves. All trainees rated their experience with Dr. Richard as a useful experience that added a lot to their practices and work.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">After the end of the three-day workshop, a festival journalist asked Dr. Richard about the workshop he presented:</p><p dir="ltr"><b>What is the thing that caught your attention and liked best during your workshop days?</b><br>RT - The team I worked with during the workshop days is what I liked most during it. I enjoyed working with them very much.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr"><b>On the first day of the workshop, you said that one of your goals during it was to teach them something new and also learn from them, and now that the three days are over, have you really learned from them?</b><br>RT - Yes, a lot. I learned from this group’s methods of delivering comedy. I also saw how creative they are and how they can use their imagination and innovate from it, so I think I really benefited from them.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr"><b>While watching the shows, what did you like the most?</b><br>RT - The truth is that whatever show I watch, it always finds a way to grab my attention and make me excited about it, even if it needs some work to be better presented, but the experience of watching any show attracts me all the time, especially with the amount of work that is needed to complete those shows. I am incredibly impressed by the amount of enthusiasm I see for theatre at these performances and during the festival.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr"><b>Are you having a good time during your stay in Egypt?</b><br>RT - During the Corona epidemic, I wondered about the possibility of holding a workshop here, and now I have actually presented that workshop in Egypt, and this made me very happy.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">Dr Richard was on the festival's jury, and he emphasised his amazement with the audience, and Fahd Al Harithi added during the closing ceremony awards distribution that Dr. Richard wished there was an opportunity to present an award to the audience who showed such enthusiasm for theatre.</p>