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This study examines the role of female puppeteers in cultural diplomacy through the performing arts of wayang skin in Central Java. Wayang leather, which has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage, functions as a medium of cultural communication rich in educational, moral, and historical values. The role of female puppeteers, despite facing patriarchal challenges, is increasingly growing thanks to the use of digital technology such as social media. This study uses a qualitative approach with a case study method, using interviews, observations, and documentation analysis to understand the contribution of female puppeteers in promoting Indonesian culture at the global level. The results show that female puppeteers not only maintain traditional arts, but also introduce new, more inclusive narratives in cultural diplomacy. Through platforms such as YouTube, female puppeteers are able to reach global audiences, strengthen Indonesia's positive image, and influence international perceptions of gender equality in art and culture. This study enriches the literature on cultural diplomacy by highlighting the power of femininity as soft power in international relations, especially in facing the challenges of modernization and cultural globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal on Humanities & Social Sciences is the property of International Journal on Humanities & Social Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this study, the performance of web scraping frameworks in AI-integrated web environments was evaluated and optimized. AI-driven dynamic web environments exhibit complex structural characteristics, such as real-time data loading, dynamic content generation, and user-tailored interfaces, which can reduce the efficiency of traditional web scraping tools. The study collected data from AI-based websites such as Amazon, YouTube, and Twitter using three web scraping frameworks: Selenium, Puppeteer, and Scrapy, and conducted a comparative performance analysis. The experimental results showed that Puppeteer exhibited the best performance in handling dynamic content and asynchronous data loading, while Selenium performed similarly but lagged slightly in terms of speed and memory usage. Scrapy was suitable for static content collection, but its performance significantly deteriorated in dynamic web environments. Therefore, optimizing web scraping in AI-integrated web environments requires the use of frameworks that are strong in dynamic content processing, and optimization techniques for this purpose were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workers' voice efforts play a critical role in improving working conditions and fostering more equitable workplaces. Managers can either facilitate or delay changes by addressing or silencing workers' concerns. When changes are agreed upon—as evidenced, for instance, by the signing of a labor contract—it is often assumed that they then are enacted. However, in our study of a unionization drive among California Walt Disney Parks and Resorts puppeteers, we discovered a perplexing process we call the adoption of "voice veneer," in which an employer appears to address the concerns voiced by workers but simultaneously limits the impact of voice by decreasing its dependence on those voicing concerns. Our analysis shows how Disney negotiated and signed (though reluctantly) a labor contract with puppeteers, yet simultaneously reduced opportunities for them to work, making the negotiated agreement impossible to enact. Our findings underscore the need to pay close attention not only to whether and how workers voice concerns, but also to how managers handle voice efforts after concerns are voiced and change is agreed upon. We argue that our contemporary world might increasingly give rise to the adoption of voice veneer, and we discuss its perils for all involved: workers, managers, and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Audiences and scholars of puppetry performances often suggest that a puppeteer who has mastered the art is one who manages to be forgotten or ignored. However the notion of the ignored and neutral puppeteer leaves out nuances of the puppeteers' guiding of the audience's experience and their emotional understanding of the production. In this article I examine a scene from Shank's Mare a collaboration between master puppeteers Koryū Nishikawa V (Japan) and Tom Lee (US) to explore how puppeteers capitalize on inherent limitations in the audience's perception and memory. Much as magicians do puppeteers enhance spectators' experience while obscuring their own performance strategies. Using gaze-tracking to study how audiences of puppetry attend to the different stage elements I examine the gaze of viewers alongside artists and spectators' interviews and performance analysis. My pioneering exploration accounts for processes audience members might not be aware of but that influence their experience. Using this method I shed light on the comprehensive embodied knowledge that puppeteers have developed through their praxis and offer new avenues to explore the multilayered ways in which audiences engage with fiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When dealing with such topics as lighting setup, particularly in a puppet production, and its impact on the actor, namely the puppeteer, the main goal is to emphasize the importance of a stage element that is often ignored by the director and the lighting technicians as well as by other members of the production crew including the actor, the scenographer or the coreographer. My interest in this issue is not of recent date and the present article is the result of both collecting information on lighting techniques and concepts (lighting points, positions, dimensions, technical equipment, aso) and interviewing lighting technicians in this art, as one may call it, on their correlation to every phase in the evolution of a production. I do not claim to have supplied clear solutions to the above matter, but I have opened a path for debate for those that are interested in such aspects, mostly for those that can actually address this issue in an appropriate manner when working on the lighting setup of a puppet production or other stage production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research represents a form of expression of the need for exploration from which questions and reformulations arise, but also a way of assimilating fundamental "lessons", about the profession, about life; and – thus –, the story goes on. Thus, exploring the "Horia Barbu Oprișan" fund, within the archive of the "Romanian Peasant Museum" (MTR), in Bucharest, has implicitly allowed me to approach the labor behind the books about the history of popular theater (with or without puppets). In my mind, questions sprout through which I return to his most well-known works, Teatru fără scenă [Theater without a Stage] and Teatrul popular românesc [Romanian Popular Theater]. What was not included in the volumes? What remains in the sealed files with strings, like crosses of the researcher's destiny. In fact, the three puppeteers – Ion Perjan, Ghiță - Artist of the World, and Rudy (Rudolf) Nesvadba - whose profiles are outlined by Horia Barbu Oprișan, urge us to reflect on the necessity of rearranging information. The history of animation theater in Romania - a puzzle of unknown theatrical destinies, but which have often produced unforgettable emotions, invites a reevaluation of informative resources - more or less known. Each reader has their own perspective, born from their own concerns; each spectator has their own reception, born from personal searches; the lesson of freedom of choice represents a possible meeting point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to explore how the staging of Papet Pasyon, a children's play by Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio, a Philippine National Artist, impart and continues to communicate to the local younger audience an understanding of culture and an appreciation of the art of puppetry. This is then followed by the conceptualization of the actual staging of the play vis-à-vis her vision of a children's theatre. Afterward, Papet Pasyon is asserted as a pedagogy for younger audiences. Results of the study show (1) how the pre-show conversation prepares the audience for the performance and how it provides an understanding of Filipino cultural traditions and an appreciation of the art of puppetry; (2) how the performance serves as a venue for experiential learning; (3) how the art of puppetry challenges one's imagination in manipulating the puppet (in the case of the puppeteer) and in creating meanings from what they hear and see onstage (in the case of the audience); (4) cooperation and integration are made evident by the interactions between the puppet and the puppeteer and the puppet and puppeteer with the audience; and (5) that although puppetry is foreign to the audience, they have expressed appreciation of the art form by repeatedly watching the performance through the years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to revitalize the mask puppet show titled "Sayembara Sada Lanang" performed by the Malang mask puppet artist group at the Asmorobangun hermitage. The traditional Malang mask puppet show has been staged for quite a long time, 2 - 3 hours. During performances, puppeteers rely on memory skills and perform verbally or directly without using a written script, thus the length of the performance depends on the puppeteer. This research follows a qualitative approach, utilizing observation, interviews, and document analysis as research methods. The research findings reveal that the revitalization of the "Sayembara Sada Lanang" mask puppet performance involved reducing its duration from 2 to 3 hours to just 7 minutes. The revitalization carried out is a revitalization of local wisdom which seeks to reintroduce traditional culture to the general public, especially children. So that children get to know traditional cultures that are almost extinct. The duration of the show is 7 minutes by reconstructing the structure of the show, without changing the essence of the story. The The play's story structure unfolds in stages, beginning with exposition, followed by complication, climax, and resolution. Additionally, the title features three types of characters: protagonist, antagonist, and tritagonist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the practice of body discipline in the masked puppeteer Dalang Soleh Adi Pramono, a modern figure who values discipline, where the body is the most crucial aspect of the process. A disciplined body produces individuals who demonstrate responsibility and dedication. Discipline entails fulfilling all responsibilities willingly, rather than being compelled by external forces. The research employs a qualitative approach with a post-structuralist approach. The analysis employs Michel Foucault's theory of body discipline, with data collection through observation, interviews, and document studies. The research findings indicate that body discipline involves not coercing the will of others, but rather it is the execution of one's own will through the power of knowledge possessed by Soleh. Foucault argues that the puppeteer's body discipline extends beyond mere physical skills, encompassing mechanisms that regulate the body independent of power dominance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to use the obsolescing bargaining power (OBP) Model (Vernon, 1977, 1998) to analyze the case of United Company Rusal, a Russian politically connected multinational companies (MNCs) that was one of the world's largest aluminum companies between 2005 and 2014, having acquired and, ultimately, sold the Montenegrin aluminum smelter company Kombinat aluminijuma Podgorica.The authors did so with the aim of answering the following question: How do geopolitics affect the bargaining balance of power between a Russian MNC and a host country? Design/methodology/approach: The authors used the discourse analysis methodology to identify the key players in the bargaining process and illustrate the evolving bargaining process. Findings: The authors demonstrated that, over time, the shift in power from the Russian MNC to the host government had not merely been the result of the increase in committed MNC assets in the host country but, rather, of a geopolitical chess game involving the Russian Government, North Atlantic treaty organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). By extending the OBP model with geopolitics, the authors found that a political agenda can influence the outcome of a bargaining process. Originality/value: The authors extended the OBP model to illustrate the complex interaction between an emerging market MNC and an emerging host country government, indirectly influenced by two supranational organizations – the EU and NATO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performers are increasingly asked to navigate and create material for new hybrid performance situations. In their role, they are not only required to develop measurable content for digital processing, but in addition, they are expected to possess a wide range of practical knowledge and skills to navigate these new technological environments. Consequently, not only are performers having to generate meaningful content that is both readable and expressive in technological terms, but they are also having to adapt their performance making skills. Yet, there is still a lack of documentation that captures these insights and developing expertise specifically by the performers themselves. Therefore, based on a series of interviews with the performers in Dream (2021), who ranged from actors, puppeteers, dancers and movement experts, this interview-based article both captures and advocates for their expanding practical knowledge and skills. Furthermore, by highlighting some of the changing demands placed on performers, it will consider how, and in what ways, the development and creation of performance in virtual environments is impacting performer experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of accelerated digitization of all societal activities, artistic fields are also significantly affected by new technologies, which have a positive or negative influence on education as well. Visual arts have known surprising transformations and are increasingly faced with detachment and even delimitation from tradition. Puppetry, nowadays called theater of animation, has been favorable since ancient times to the constant mixtures specific to the language of visual arts, music and dance, since it relies on both tradition and modernity, on syncretism and functionality. The versatility of the language specific to the theater of animation largely appeals to the intellect of its audience, from the simple to the complex. The current superficiality of the artistic act is a consequence of the speed triggered by the alert rhythm of the search for new means of expression of the artist’s ideas and concepts, and also by people’s expectations. The transition from tradition to modernity can only be achieved through practice and experimentation. Unlike drama, the art of animation no longer preserves many constraints, this being a case-specific process. Various scenographers, puppeteers or companies, actors full of courage and vision such as Serghei Obrazțov, Yves Joly, Michael Meschke, Margareta Niculescu, Cristina and Cristian Pepino etc. made puppetry history for the new generations of artists passionate about puppetry. From scenographic idea to concept, the essential tool of the final perception’s shaping the message may be the actor’s stage improvisation, the scenographer’s spontaneous vision and the director’s openness to the present. The novelties brought about by numerous experiences contribute to the regeneration of the means, to the verticality of the evolution and the crystallization of the autonomy of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author of this essay is a poet and puppeteer who was personally acquainted with Thich Nhat Hanh and served as a full-time volunteer with the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace Delegation located in Paris, which sought to achieve reconciliation without supporting either side in the Vietnamese conflict. A translator of many works of Thich Nhat Hanh from Vietnamese, the author reflects the role of the arts in Thich Nhat Hanh's vision for humanity, drawing on her personal memories of her time with the Vietnamese master while also including and reflecting on an interreligious poem in Vietnamese she composed in 1978 to mark the anniversary of Thomas Merton's demise. The last part of this informal reflection outlines how, over the years, the author has used puppeteering as a spiritual practice to express Thich Nath Hanh's hopes for universal peace and healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To answer this question, let's examine some theories of anthropomorphism, channeling them as an introduction to anthropological studies on the puppet theatre, in particular the Japanese puppet theatre. Japanese puppets, known as “bunraku theater” were originally tools used in magic rituals not unlike the use of woo doo dolls. In a brief historical excursus involving the use of the human anthropomorphic figure, we examine its archaic origins as a religious idol, proceeding then to insert them into a typical and current animistic panorama of the Japanese archipelago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dalang Wayang Krucil is an important figure in practical political culture in Indonesia. In several areas in Java, especially in East Java, puppeteers are part of political forces that have very significant influence at the grassroot level. Dalang Wayang Kayu is affiliated with several political organizations that influence the ideology of this performance. In the Old Order era, there were two cultural organizations that became the shelter for puppeteers, namely Lekra and LKN. Lekra (People’s Cultural Institute) is a cultural organization under the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party), while LKN (National Cultural Institute) is under the auspices of the PNI (Indonesian National Party). The ideological confrontation between the two mass organizations affected the style of the dalang’s performances. The puppeteers under Lekra perform more populist plays, while the dalangs in LKN perform more within the context of national culture. In its development, the puppeteers, who are members of Lekra, try to close themselves off from the outside world until the end of their lives. Meanwhile, the puppeteers in the LKN continued to work until the New Order era. The subordination of puppeteers to wooden puppets is one of the factors causing the art of wooden puppets to not develop in several areas in Java. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Puppetry is a performance where it involves manipulation of puppets and has been a part of our Indian culture since ages. There are different types of puppets prevalent in India. Kathputli is one the most famous type of string puppet of Rajasthan, where kath means wood and pulti means doll. Bhat community is the originator of this craft and they claim that their ancestors had performed for royal families and received great honor from the rulers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab. Today, puppetry is not only seen as a medium of entertainment but also as a strong medium of education. Kathputli is an expression of culture, costumes, and lifestyle of the place where it is made, but due to lack of patronage many traditional puppeteers are forced to abandon this craft. This study is an attempt to trace the origin and history of the string puppets of Rajasthan. The Bhat community was profiled to understand traditional ways of making of the string puppets and the changes seen in terms of materials used in making of puppets, tools, staging techniques, scripts, etc. Future prospect of puppetry was also discussed from inputs received from the promoters of puppetry and the audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks to the form of the puppet, both an oral and aural entity, as a receptacle or instrument which allows for a ventriloquism to take place in partnership with the puppeteer. In the work of South African Handspring Puppet Company, the puppet is a receptacle for sound, but also for the human body itself – a chamber within a chamber – highlighting the instrumentalisation of the body. In this regard, the article looks to Handspring’s I Love You When You’re Breathing, particularly in reference to a comment once made by an audience member at a performance of the show that I watched in relation to the title; ‘If you love me when I’m breathing; you don’t love me when I’m dead?’ In the practice of puppetry there is a focus on the ways the puppeteer conveys life in the puppet. Here, breath is significant as a sound, but more so as a movement, passed from puppeteer to puppet, a kind of bellows or organ. The ‘life’ of the puppet is discerned through the rhythmic breathing motions of the puppeteer. Here the aural is conveyed through movement, rather than through sound itself, which is further a reminder that sound is at its core a movement anyway, a vibration. What can be opened up if we are to think the oral/aural through the puppet in its relation to movement and stillness, life and death? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the performance of Ki Manteb Soedarsono's Dewaruci and Bima characters in it. As a carangan play (contemporary), Dewaruci is the most popular play. The purpose of this study is to describe the elements of Dewaruci puppet performance and how the concept of kasampurnan in Javanese cultural psychology was initiated by Suryomentaram (1892-1962). This is qualitative research with a psychological approach using the method of reading, taking notes, and studying literature. The data in a form of performances and texts were collected from Dewaruci scripts and puppet videos on Kanal Seni Gelar YouTube channel. We combine Dewaruci script with the puppeteer Ki Manteb and other sources, in addition, to conduct a critical analysis to identify kasampurnan life concept that Bima does in this play from Suryomentaram's perspective. The result of the study shows that the Dewaruci puppet show by Ki Manteb has the advantage of being flexible and able to adapt to the context and needs of the audience. The concept of kasampurnan in Dewaruci as a representation of Javanese culture can be explained from the perspective of Suryomentaram indigenous psychology. This finding contradicts previous psychological analyses in literature and art. Previous psychology research used the theory of Sigmund Freud, C. G. Jung, and Alfred Adler. However, we argue that the theory cannot always explain the cultural context because of cultural differences between theory and objects. Therefore, this research is relevant in the spirit of science decolonization to see humans in Javanese culture according to their context and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iranian theatre director Zahra Sabri's dramaturgy layers performers and puppets, puppets and puppeteers, collapsing distinctions between the inanimate and the animate in ways that allow spectators more freedom to interpret her work. Her 2012 Count to One enacts the creation, animation, and destruction of clay puppets while telling a story of three soldiers who refuse to follow orders to bomb a foreign city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the cover: Collective Bargaining US postage stamp, first-day cover, 1975. The intersecting circles of the stamp represent the shared interests of capital and labor. The illustration on the envelope (produced by a private company) suggests labor as the puppet; management, the puppeteer. (from Richard Handler's collection) [Extracted from the article]

Wayang Panji is a puppet based on Panji stories that developed in Southeast Asia. The story of Panji in the art of wayang is found in Malang mask puppet art, Krucil Kediri puppets, Madurese puppeteers' puppets, Banjar Kalimantan puppets, Thai Siamese puppets, and wayang puppets in Kelantan Malaysia. The development of Panji culture in Indonesia has been partly through the Panji Nusantara Week activity, which is held once a year, and features performances of Panji-themed arts in several cities in Indonesia. The Panji Cultural Week, which has been held for the past few years, has yet to touch all areas of Panji-themed art, both in Indonesia and abroad. Panji wayang art, which is one of the Panji cultural products, is overlooked by practitioners of Panji culture, even though Panji wayang art is spread across several regions in Indonesia and in several Southeast Asian countries. This research sought to develop Panji-themed wayang art in the Southeast Asian region, so that it has parallels with other Panji-themed arts, through the development of the Panji wayang network in the Southeast Asian region. The Panji Nusantara wayang network aims to build cultural communication between actors and observers of Panji wayang art in the Southeast Asia region and serve as a publication media for Panji puppets for the general public. The cultural communication media was formed as a virtual collaborative performance event, while the wayang Panji publication media is in the form of a digital application-based platform that contains a database for the Panji Nusantara puppet, profiles of the Panji wayang artists, and a roster of the performance activities. This research used the Willis design development method combined with ethnographic methods. The research data were collected in East Java and Kelantan Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Theatrical Colloquia is the property of George Enescu University of Arts, Artes Publishing House and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Croatica et Slavica Iadertina is the property of University of Zadar, Department of Croatian & Slavic Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The bunraku, the Japanese puppet theater, is internationally known for the almost perfect movements of its puppets which are handled by three puppeteers at the same time. Furthermore, the bunraku has a very elegant and complex choreography. Numerous European and American authors have studied it; however, in Japan there is an ancestor of bunraku that is little known in the West but which is essential to examine in order to better understand the history of Japanese theater and its deep links with literary production. This research is about a particular type of ancient puppet theater, called bun'yabushi, which remained linked to peripheral local realities, far from the major cultural and political administrative centers. We have tried to understand the history, peculiarities and importance of bun'yabushi, also proposing a comparative analysis with what is known about jōruri. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recounting the first four Crusades using an evolving cast of marionettes, Wael Shawky's Cabaret Crusades trilogy is widely interpreted as exploring the construction of history. Close attention to the puppet performances, however, suggests that far more is at play than literalizing how the players on life's stage are caught up in history and swept along by external forces. For example, the identity of puppet and puppeteer is frequently destabilized, an instability achieved as much through the possibilities of video as within the material exchanges of puppet and puppeteer. The essay investigates several questions: What questions are posed regarding the interactions of human agency and matter when the marionette becomes the marionettist through the mediation of video? How might this push up against the more obvious histories that Shawky interrogates? And, ultimately, how does this revised form of representation transform understandings of that which the puppet has long represented—the very condition of the human? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]