QPFA 2026 // Masterclass: Material dramaturgies
QPFA 2026 // Masterclass: Material dramaturgies
Lineup: by Thommy KraftTime: 10:00 - 16:00 hrsTickets: € 50 TicketsMaterial dramaturgies
Everything is material. Your body, the stage, the audience’s expectations. Let’s play!
Material theater tells stories through abstract shapes put in relation to the body. As a subcategory of expanded puppetry, it is a dialog between the performer and the material at hand, a constant negotiation of performative ideas and material qualities. The searching, the trying, the struggling, and the failing become as interesting to observe as the images that seemingly appear on their own accord.
In this workshop we’re going to explore the basics of animating material using fabric as an example. The focus will be on exploring the different aspects of this versatile material and on rethinking the role(s) of the puppeteer. In a series of improvisations we discover together how fabric as a material challenges the performer to become a facilitator, an architect, a costume designer, and, at times, simply a point of reference.
Thommy Kraft
Thommy Kraft is a visual theater maker, mover and puppeteer based in the Netherlands. Their artistic background is located in Visual Theatre and Puppetry as well as in Mime. Within their work, Thommy is constantly searching to combine elements of visual and physical theatre to create hybrid forms that consist of moving bodies and animated material. At this moment, their primary interest is centered around themes of queer identity, community building and physical intimacy, as well as their personal relationship to masculinity. Sensitivity and an open curiosity are core qualities and guiding principles of the work on a conceptual as well as physical level.
Queering Puppets Festival Amsterdam
From April 1st to 6th, the international Queering Puppets Festival Amsterdam once again offers a platform for visual theater, puppetry, and performances that defy the norm. The theme of the 5th anniversary edition is "The Nature of Things" and offers a radical response to Western and colonial framing. Visual theater makers and performers from around the world will come together during this festival.
Queering Puppets Festival Amsterdam is queer, feminist, activist and above all stands out in quirkiness. It is the only festival in the Netherlands that links puppetry and object theatre for adults to queer imagination. In the safe space created by puppetry, everyone can be who they, she, he, wants and can meet each other. Expect a challenging mix of bodies, stories that refuse to adapt to existing dominant structures, visual & erotic outbursts, edgy performances, stimulating lectures, queery food and clubby afters.
