ABOUT THE COURSE

In this two-day masterclass, The Finger Players will be collaborating with Milanese puppet master Valerio Saccà from the Italian puppet theatre company La Casa di Meneghino to present a double-bill hand puppetry workshop.

Led by Tan Beng Tian, Co-Founder of The Finger Players and an award-winning theatre practitioner, she will introduce and demonstrate the fundamentals of traditional Chinese hand puppetry, as well as sharing her research on the preservation and conservation of the traditional art form. In parallel, Valerio Saccà, Founder of La Casa di Meneghino, along with his apprentice Benedetta Pigoni, will also share his practice and expertise in traditional Italian hand puppetry.

During the masterclass, participants will explore the culturally distinct yet similar approaches to hand puppetry, including character archetypes, manipulation techniques, staging systems, and storytelling styles between Italian and Chinese hand puppetry. At the end of the masterclass, the participants will be given the opportunity to devise, and present their stories using these two traditional puppetry forms.

ABOUT THE LECTURER (Tan Beng Tian, The Finger Players)

Tan Beng Tian is an accomplished theatre practitioner, having trained under the renowned puppet master Li Bofen. Her remarkable dedication and significant contributions to the arts industry have garnered recognition through prestigious awards and affiliations, including the JCCI Singapore Foundation Culture Award and the Straits Times Life! Award.

Beng Tian’s multifaceted career and unwavering commitment to her craft make her an invaluable asset to the theatre community. Her impressive achievements, collaborations, workshops, mentoring, and advocacy for accessibility reflect her unwavering dedication to promoting the performing arts and ensuring inclusivity for diverse audiences.

ABOUT THE LECTURERS (Valerio Saccà and Benedetta Pigoni, La Casa di Meneghino)

Valerio Saccà began his craft at a very young age by reviving the long-forgotten mask of Meneghino, a traditional character from Milan. After producing his first shows, he brought Meneghino to the spotlight of major puppet theater festivals. He honed his theatrical and sculpting skills under the guidance of great masters such as Giacomo Onofrio, Natale Panaro, and Daniele Cortesi—his true artistic mentor. Valerio founded La Casa di Meneghino, a research center aimed at preserving and disseminating materials related to Meneghino Pecenna, the traditional mask of Milan. He has collected and acquired an extensive archive dedicated to Meneghino and the art of puppetry in Northern Italy from 1809 to 1960 — The Aldrighi Archive. In November 2022, an exhibition entirely dedicated to Meneghino and Milanese puppet tradition was held in Milan, in collaboration with ANPI and Famiglia Meneghina, at the Casa della Memoria.

Benedetta Pigoni (Reggio Emilia, 2000) is a playwright. After studying Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Bologna, she graduated from the Paolo Grassi School in Milan with a degree in Writing for Performance. In 2023, she won the prestigious Tondelli Prize, one of Italy’s most important awards for playwrights under 35, with her play 30 Milligrams of Ulipristal, which explores gender-based violence and the central role of smartphones in our lives. As a writer, she focuses primarily on puppet theatre, contemporary plays, and children’s theatre. She studied puppetry through the Animateria program and works as a puppeteer with Il Carlo Colla e Figli company. Currently, she is performing as a puppeteer with La Casa di Meneghino.

WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR

You should attend this Masterclass if you wish:

• To nourish your mind and broaden your horizon
• To be introduced to traditional hand puppetry from the perspectives of Chinese and Italian culture
• To learn fundamental techniques and elements of traditional hand puppetry such as character-specific manipulation, traditional staging systems, and storytelling styles
• To create stories by combining techniques from both Chinese and Italian puppetry

REQUIREMENTS

• The minimum age for this masterclass is 18 years old.
• Full attendance is compulsory.
• Please attend the Masterclass in comfortable clothing.