Dynamics of puppet and puppeteer's interrelation in 21. century puppet theatre within the context of image-message relevance

Puppet theater, in general, tends to be perceived as a traditional form of entertainment, especially for children. Even though puppet performances have kept being staged projects that general opinion still in 21. century; an interdisciplinary and experimental puppet theater becomes gradually popular. In 21. century, puppet theater intensely uses visual language, the language of movement while utilizing images to convey messages. Contemporary plays which are staged in international festivals have a need to make sense to the audience with different cultural backgrounds, therefore, they include visual narration more. The visual narration is an effective way of expression for the audience of all ages to comprehend and interpret what they see on stage, therefore, it is functional and important for puppet companies. Doctoral study with the title "Dynamics of Puppet and Puppeteer's Interrelation in 21. Century Puppet Theatre Within the Context Of Image-Message Relevance" aims to present the elements which generate contemporary puppet theatre, and reveal how a performance embodies a message for audience reception by creating imagery using design elements and evaluate the contribution of puppet and puppeteer's interrelation to this process. In this context, it is important to know how design elements like lines, color, form, and materials have an effect on meaning in terms of evaluating their possibilities of usage in process of perception and interpretation. In order to communicate internationally through a puppet performance, companies gravitate to human-specific common emotions and features which are beyond cultural differences. Design elements' associative field is regarded to be extensive enough for everyone to read. Therefore, abstraction and reduction techniques of mime, mask theatre, and animation disciplines are beneficial in order to communicate with imagery. Today to make a reference to a contemporary puppet performance, stage practices are needed which are free from the constriction of the conventional and open to experiments and cooperation while having an ability to appeal people of all ages.