Czech puppet theatre - tradition, legend, and reality: or, is contemporary Czech puppet theatre and endangered species?

Czech Puppet Theatre -Tradition, Legend, and Reality: or, is Contemporary Czech Puppet Theatre an Endangered Species?It is no secret that the situation in Czech puppet theatre is worrying, as many claim -judging from newspaper articles (RICHTER 2013;LEŠKOVÁ DOLENSKÁ 2014;MAKONJ 2014 andVITVAR 2012), scholarly discussions (such as the June 2014 seminar on dramaturgy in Hradec Králové that was counterpointed with informal disputes about the entry of East Bohemian puppetry on the Czech Republic's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage), or simply from behind-the-scenes debates.Apart from stating that there are no puppets in the productions of puppet theatres -which is true in publically established theatres as well as in independent companies -one of the targets of criticism in the search for the cause of the poor state of modern Czech puppet theatre is today's concept of teaching, as it is delivered by the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre at DAMU (the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts) in Prague.On the one hand, the department is the first higher education institution of its kind in the world (founded in 1952); on the other, it is constantly blamed for contemporary digressions not only from traditional techniques, but also from the achievements and legacies of the past (KYSELOVÁ 2013).In the context of the entry of EastBohemian puppetry on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Czech Republic, the situation was reflected in an essay collection that drew attention to current problems and, to some extent, mobilised those who cared for the fate of Czech puppetry (VOJTÍŠKOVÁ 2013).The result of this effort was an official recognition of Czech puppetry as a whole as an important part of traditional folk culture, comprising many specific elements, on 19 December 2014, when 'Czech Puppetry and Folk Art Interpretation' was, as a whole, added to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Czech Ministry of Culture.Additionally there is a joint Czech and Slovak initiative towards the entry of Czechoslovak puppetry on UNESCO's Representative List of Cultural Heritage.