Marionettes versus real actors

[Tore]

A nice quote from 1918. Edward Gordon Craig write in an essay about the difference between acting of a marionette and a real actor, which translates well to modern computer animation. And is one of the reasons I personally find puppets to be such a great form of expression:

 

“Perhaps one of the chief distinctions between a drama for marionettes and a proper drama is that whereas a proper drama has to be vague and roundabout in its movements, a marionette drama had always better be direct and rapid and even obvious. A marionette is not at all clever – not subtle. He must fit the character like a hand fits a glove, or all is undone.Therefore when we make a character in one of our dramas we make the marionette to fit it. And so it comes about that a marionette does not play a number of parts, he plays only one…that is himself. This is different from the actor who plays many parts and must therefore pretend. The marionette never pretends…”

[Gerry]

That's a nice quote, Tore.