Mirsolav Trejtnar is a master puppeteer

Puppeteer

A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, such as a puppet, in real time to create the illusion of life. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience. A puppeteer can operate a puppet indirectly by the use of strings, rods, wires, electronics or directly by his or...

 and teacher of puppetry

Puppetry

Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance which involves the manipulation of puppets. It is very ancient, and is believed to have originated 30,000 years BC. Puppetry takes many forms but they all share the process of animating inanimate performing objects...

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Background

Trejtnar has a long connection with puppetry. He concentrated on woodcarving at the Arts and Crafts High School in Prague. From there he went on to study puppet design at the Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague

Academy of Performing Arts in Prague

The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague is a university level school of music, dance, drama, film, TV and multi-media studies.- Faculties :*Film and TV School - FAMU*Music Faculty - HAMU*Theatre Faculty - DAMU-Notable alumni:...

. Miroslav also spent time training at the Institut UNIMA in Charleville-Mézières

Charleville-Mézières

Charleville-Mézières is a commune in northern France, capital of the Ardennes department in the Champagne-Ardenne region. Charleville-Mézières is located on the banks of the Meuse River.-History:...

, France. He also worked with the Bread and Puppet Theatre, USA.

Career highlights

In 1999, Trejtnar founded the KID Company which is devoted to designing and producing traditional Czech wooden puppets, toys and sculptures. His puppets have been displayed by invitation at the UNIMA

UNIMA

UNIMA was founded in Prague in 1929 . In 1981, Jacques Felix moved UNIMA's headquarters to Charleville-Mézières, France...

 2000 World Festival in Magdeburg

Magdeburg

Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....

, Germany. Trejtnar has been commissioned to design and make puppets for a large range of productions in the Czech Republic and elsewhere. Highlights have included working for the Forman brothers on their production of 'Baroque Opera' as well as for the renowned Jiří Trnka

Jirí Trnka

Jiří Trnka was a Czech puppet maker, illustrator, motion-picture animator and film director. In addition to his extensive career as an illustrator, especially of children's books, he is best known for his work in animation with puppets, which began in 1946...

 animation studios in Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

. 1996 was a special year for Trejtnar as he received the Bavarian Design Award at the Munich International Crafts Fair.

Master Puppeteer and Teacher of Puppetry

Trejtnar is one of few remaining teachers of the art of designing and making traditional Czech marionettes. His courses are in great demand. He also has great knowledge as a manipulator of different styles of puppetry. Puppeteers come from all around the world to have the chance to work with and learn from him. Apart from operating his own studio in Prague, Trejtnar has been invited to lecture in puppet making and design at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, St. Martin's College of Design, London and also in Portugal and Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. Many of his students work as professional puppeteers and teachers of puppetry in schools around the world. Every year, Trejtnar works with students on a puppet creation and performance project called Teatrotoc, www.teatrotoc.eu.

External links

• Puppets in Prague - Puppetry courses conducted by professional puppeteers in Prague, Czech Republic