For children aged 4-6
" We saw a great number of shows from many countries in the world. We want to especially mention "Con la Cabeza en las Nubes" ( Head in the Clouds)....that delighted everybody with its originality-in particular Patricia's daring and direct language both as an actress and an object theater puppeteer”
Toni Rumbau y Eugenio Navarro. MISCELANEA. El Magazine de la Marioneta. Barcelona,1990
About the show:
It is about the feeling of power children experience when they are allowed to play in secure spaces and with the characters of their own invention.
The show is inspired in 4 stories by Eugene Ionesco in which a little girl is teased into an absurd game of hide and seek by her father.
The show has 2 spaces, one is the "real" parental bedroom and bed which acts as a metaphor for that secure place from which one can fly off into dream world.
The other one are all the "imaginary places" created by the little girl with the objects that surround her. Pillows, sheets, shoes, umbrella, handbags, gloves get transformed to create Father's office downtown, the zoo, the sea, the moon as well as the dozens of characters that populate those places.
The performance shows a sole player surrounded by inanimate objects playing at two levels of meaning. On the one the solitude of the little girl whose parents are not at play with her, at the same time the joy she transmits in her game of invention and freedom from parental restrictions. She is not totally by herself, Father is in bed, but after a late night with his wife at the restaurant he wants to sleep. Mother leaves to go to work. But before she goes out of the house she makes it clear to the little girl: "Don't dirty yourself, don't untidy the room, don't! don't!...don't!"
Of course all these orders are meant to create tension between the increasing mess in the room and the mother's wish for tidiness and cleanliness.
Credits:
Concept, Text, Direction and Performance: Patricia O'Donovan
Louise Blankvoort was a partner in the early stages of concept and design.
Music: Composed and played live by Alan Whinston ( 1989-1996). Composed by Yarden Erez and recorded (2001-2006)
Light design: Alain Baczynsky (1989-1996) and Keren Dembinsky (2001-2006)
Revolving lamp and backdrop construction: Mario Keizman.
First and Second Productions: Train Theater of Jerusalem 1989 and 2001
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The show was a pioneer in Israeli children's theater:
Concerning its structure, back then in the late 80's in Israel, the assemblage puppets made from everyday bedroom objects, and its rebellious tone which upset some teachers was new. But soon it proved such a success among the young audiences that it performed non stop for years, touring incessantly throughout Israel.
Henryk Jurkowski wrote Jerusalem the Stronghold in Animations, Oct 1990:
“The most beautiful was the Train Theater's "Head in the Clouds" prepared by Patricia O'Donovan and Alan Whinston. Patricia was the solo player who brought to life the world of little Josette who looks for her father.....the execution was exquisite. Patricia O'Donovan knew how to to take Josette's problems to heart, how to live through all her discoveries and her joy, how to display Josette's ingenuity in the creation of her own world. She has an expressive face, and a sense of humor which helped her to convey the importance of all the little girls' problems. The audience was completely conquered”
To read more Press Reviews click HERE
International Festivals:
Israel: International Festival of Puppet Theater, Jerusalem. August 2007
Israel: International Festival of Puppet Theater, Holon. July 2007
Israel: International Children's Theater Festival, Haifa. 2007
Israel: International Festival of Puppet Theater, Jerusalem. August 2006
Germany: International Puppet Theater Festivals, Gera and Halle. 1994
(in English)
Spain: International Weeks of Children's Theater, Madrid and La Coruña. 1994 (in Spanish)
Spain: XII International Puppet Theater Festival of Bilbao.1993 (in Spanish)
Spain: International Festival of Puppet Theater, Zaragoza and Cadiz. 1993
(in Spanish)
Israel: Haifa Children's Festival. 1993
Israel: International Puppet Theater Festival, Jerusalem. August 1993
Portugal: IV International Festival " Marionetas Do Porto", Porto. 1992
(in Spanish)
Israel: International Festival of Puppet Theater, Jerusalem. August 1990
Italy: International Puppet Theater Festival "Arrivano del Mare". Cervia, 1990 (in Spanish)
Mexico: 2nd International Festival of Puppet Theater "Ollin Yoltzli", Leon, Guanajuato and Mexico City. 1989 (in Spanish)