The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, together with the School of Theatre and Dance, hosted a three-day visit from the Dragoncillo Puppet Troupe to share their unique craft with ISU students, faculty, the Unity Community Center, Western Avenue Community Center, and the Illinois Art Station. Professor of Spanish Bruce Burningham, who holds a joint appointment in theatre, invited the group to campus for this delightful series of events for all ages.
Dragoncillo, meaning “little dragon,” is the playful title of a Spanish play from the 17th century by Pedro Calderón de la Barca. Dragoncillo Puppet Troupe includes scholars of Golden Age Spanish Theater Jason Yancey of Grand Valley State University, Jared White of Hillsdale College, and Esther Fernandez of Rice University. As stated on their website, “The group debuted in April 2018 with a shadow puppet adaptation of the Juan Rana figure from Golden Age entremeses (short play) into an original production titled ‘The Fabulous Johnny Frog,’ offering performances in El Paso, Texas, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company is dedicated to imaginative storytelling that educates while it entertains.” The troupe makes their own shadow puppets, teaches students how to use them, and relies on audience participation to perform part of the show. The event was co-sponsored by several RSOs committed to bilingualism and multiculturalism: Spanish Club; Eta Epsilon, ISU’s chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, the Spanish Honor Society; SABE (Student Association for Bilingual Education); and LATA (Latin American Theater Association). Students had the opportunity to learn to make and operate shadow puppets and perform with the troupe. The official performances include audience participation, which allows children and adults alike the chance to try their hand at puppetry.
The multi-part visit to ISU included several events on campus and in the community. Fernández delivered a lecture on her research into puppetry in Spanish theater, focusing on a 20th century puppet adaptation of a short play by Miguel de Cervantes. Fernández, Yancy, and White led a master class on putting together a puppet show, spending just one evening rehearsing for the next day’s show. In the School of Theater and Dance, the troupe gave a colloquium and visited a class on Arts for Elementary Education taught by Michael Vetere, associate professor of creative drama and puppetry.
Dragoncillo is committed to outreach and education and have performed three times for different audiences in the community: On campus, at the Unity Community Center, and the Western Avenue Community Center. The latter included a puppet-making workshop with the Illinois Art Station. The short plays—performed in English, Spanish, or both—include adaptations for modern audiences of Spanish plays that are hundreds of years old, as well as original creations. Not only does the troupe celebrate this longstanding Spanish tradition, the practice, as Yancey explains, provides a way for students of a second language to practice in novel ways: If the speaker makes a mistake, says Yancey, it was the puppet’s mistake, which can be a delightful way to build confidence among new speakers.
