Hacia un Moderno Teatro de Muñecos: la labor de Juan Enrique Acuña en el Teatro IFT

Abstract

Between 1960 and 1966, puppets conquered different institutional spaces in the IFT theatre. A central figure in this process was the poet Juan Enrique Acuña. This experience, although exceptional for its organization level, was not isolated: since the 1940s, puppets have had a strong presence in theatres. In this work we will address Acuña's activity in the IFT theatre, the organization and direction of the Puppet Department of that institution, the place that this experience represented in its theoretical and practical evolution, and precedent activities for children proposed by the institution's authorities. The conception of the puppet as a specific form of dramatic art, independent theatre as a model and the need of group work, constituted fundamental pillars in Acuña's thinking and practice. The IFT years, space and infrastructure provided by this institution, allowed him to translate those ideas into a show that would become his "aesthetic manifesto."

Keywords

• puppets
• independent theatre
• Juan Enrique Acuña
• IFT theatre
• children’s cultural consumptions