Somerville Arts Council grant recipient Ian Coss, puppeteer Putu Rekeyasa, and arts scholar Panji Wilimantara, three of the four artists who perform together as The Brothers Campur, visited Somerville High School on Monday, November 4.

The trio gave a short performance for SHS music and arts students who have been studying the multidisciplinary art form wayang kulit. Wayang kulit is a traditional form of shadow-puppetry from Bali, Indonesia, where all members of The Brothers Campur met and learned their craft.

Panji Wilimantara talked with students in theater teacher Charles Jabour’s “Introduction to Theater” course after the performance in the auditorium. They discussed character development, narrative arc, and the art and music history of wayang kulit. As Jabour explains, “We spent some time discussing the physical choices that are made during a performance to highlight the specific characteristics of each puppet, such as voice, gesture, and tempo.”

While the theater class discussed craft, art teacher Jessica Howard’s “Portfolio” course students met with Ian Coss and Putu Rekeyasa in their studio space. The men explained the detailed process of creating their puppets out of rawhide, and how about 20 different chisels are used to create the various openings in each puppet that the light passes through.

Students then had the opportunity to workshop their own puppets with the professionals who provided feedback on how the puppets could move or be built in different ways to more effectively tell their story. For more information about The Brothers Campur’s further performances and Somerville Arts Council’s PuppetPalooza 2019, please visit https://somervilleartscouncil.org/puppet/2019.