Pescador by Silencio Blanco at Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival

Silencio Blanco returns to the Chicago Puppet Fest to present “Pescador,” a series of quiet portraits of people at sea.

The theater company Silencio Blanco brings a new play devoted to men of the sea. Pescador (Fisherman) digs into the intimacy of those men who are submerged in their solitary crafts and confronted with nature’s immensity. The play finds its dwelling in those places which have become awkward, a collection of delicate scenes revealing the strangeness in the fishermen routine and rote gestures —standing at the boat, resting a hand on the net.

Puppets, objects and puppeteers share a space in which the physical work of the performer-actor and the action of providing puppets with life opens up new research areas within the current development of the ensemble’s poetics. In front of five human bodies, each provided with a soul and drive, the puppet protests for the courage and heroism of everyone it embodies. Silence pervades the show, revealing a deep connection between the craftsman and the trade.

Performances

• On Friday, January 25 at 5 pm.
• On Saturday, January 26 at 2 pm.
• On Saturday, January 26 at 5 pm.

About Silencio Blanco

Silencio Blanco has distinguished itself by its meticulous work with puppets of great expressiveness, made from everyday materials such as newspaper and chopsticks. The company devises its productions from observation and field research, delving into the lives of everyday people and solitary jobs. Exploring from gesture and forgoing text they are able to transfer human’s movement towards the marionettes provoking an illusion in the audience to the point of transmitting the character’s heartbeat. The emotional eloquence of the marionettes along with the thematic depth of its shows have taken the company to present its work at prominent stages abroad.