Peter Schumann

Peter Schumann
Peter Schumann, 2010
Born (1934-06-11) June 11, 1934 (age 90)
Lubin, Silesia[1]
EducationHochschule der Bildende Kuenste, Berlin
Occupations
  • Puppeteer
  • director
  • painter
Years active1963–present
WorksOur Domestic Resurrection Circus
SpouseElka Schumann
Children5

Peter Schumann (born 11 June 1934) is the co-founder and director of the Bread & Puppet Theater. Born in Silesia, he was a sculptor and dancer in Germany before moving to the United States in 1961. In 1963 he founded Bread & Puppet in New York City, and in 1970 moved to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, eventually settling in Glover, Vermont, where the company still performs. Schumann's best known work is the Domestic Resurrection Circus, performed annually by the Bread and Puppet Theater until 1998. He was married to theater co-founder Elka Schumann until her death in August 2021.[2]

The Bread and Puppet Theater

Peter Schumann and his wife Elka co-founded the Bread and Puppet Theater in 1963 in New York City.[3][4] The theater is named for its combination of puppetry shows with free freshly baked bread, generally served with a dipping sauce.[3] The company is known, according to The Buffalo News for "anarchic, noncommercial, participatory and politically charged approach to art."[3] Among the notable Bread and Puppet Theater shows directed by Schumann are "Nativity 1992", described by The New York Times as "an exemplar of performance folk art",[5] and "The Divine Reality Comedy".[6] He also participated in the Angry Arts week in January 1967.[7]

The Domestic Resurrection Circus

After Bread & Puppet's first decade in New York City, Schumann decided to take an offer from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont, to become the college's first theater-in-residence.[8] After a few years, Schumann composed his first Domestic Resurrection Circus. Blending vaudeville comedy with political commentary, as well as the company's trademark giant puppets, the Circus became a tradition each summer. After Schumann moved to Glover, Vermont, in 1973, the Circuses continued. The Domestic Resurrection Circus's last year was 1998, when over 30,000 people attended. Since then, a smaller circus is performed every weekend during the summer.

Palestine exhibits

In 2007 Schumann premiered "Independence Paintings: Inspired by Four Stories" in Boston and Burlington, Vermont.[9] The series was inspired by ten days Schumann spent in the Occupied Territories of Palestine, as well as John Hersey's 'The Wall', a graphic account of the birth, development, and destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto, the largest of the Jewish ghettos established by Nazi Germany during the Jewish Holocaust. The series proved controversial, with critics labeling Schumann's works as "anti-Zionist", "anti-Semitic" and "soft-core Holocaust denial", accusations Schumann denied, stating that "I'm not saying that what's happening in Palestine is the same as what happened in Warsaw ... but it's certainly a reminder."[9] While Schumann later acknowledged that he "may have unnecessarily hurt some people's feelings" with the series, he returned in 2008 to the theme of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in his subsequent art series, "The University of Majd: The Story of a Palestinian Youth", which addresses a case of false imprisonment in Israel.[10][11]

Published works

  • Puppen und Masken. Das Bread and Puppet Theater, Fischer, Frankfurt am Main/Germany, 1973.[12]
  • Bread and Puppet Theater - THIS IS, 1980.[13]
  • Bread and Puppet: HALLELUJAH, 1983.[14]
  • Uprising of the Beast After the Good Life Fails, 1987.[15]
  • White Horse Butcher, 1988.[16]
  • Bible, 1991.[17]
  • The Radicality of the Puppet Theater, 1991.[18]
  • St. Francis Preaches to the Birds, 1992. [19]
  • The old art of puppetry in the new world order, 1993.[20]
  • Bread: A lecture to art students at SUNY/Purchase, New York. 1987, reprint 1994.
  • Bread & Puppet. Green Man, 1996.[21]
  • Life of a Squirrel, 1996.[22]
  • What, At the End of This Century, Is the Situation of Puppets and Performing Objects?, 1999.[23]
  • Puppet Uprising: Peter Schumman's Bread & Puppet Theater, 2003.[24]
  • Planet Kasper: Comix and Tragix, 2011.[25]
  • Shatterer Book, 2013.[26]
  • Bread & Sentences, 2015.[27]
  • Planet Kasper Volume Two: Comix & Tragix, 2015.[28]
  • Faust 3, 2016.[29]
  • Theatrum Mundi, 2017.[30]
  • Riot, 2017.[31]
  • Life and Death of Charlotte Salomon, 2018.[32]
  • We, 2018.[33]
  • From the Possibilitarian Arsenal of Belligerent and Not So Belligerent Slogans, 2018.[34]
  • Diagonal Man Theory + Praxis: Volume I, 2019.[35]
  • Diagonal Man Theory + Praxis: Volume 2, 2019.[36]
  • A Child's Deprimer, 2019.[37]
  • Bedsheet Mitigations, 2020.[38]
  • All, Nothing, Nothing At All, 2020.[39]
  • Handouts and Obligations, 2021.[40]
  • Declaration of Light, 2021.[41]
  • Es Ist Vollbracht - Mission Accomplished, 2021.[42]
  • She Sits She Rides She Flies, 2021.[43]
  • Kropotkin Says, 2023.[44]
  • Tears Clouds Trees, 2023.[45]
  • Gaza Genocide Bedsheets, 2023.[46]
  • Mister Aeschylus' The Persians, 2024.[47]
  • We Possibilitarians One, 2024.[48]

Further reading

  • Rehearsing With Gods: Photographs and Essays on the Bread and Puppet Theater, Ronald T. Simon and Marc Estrin, 2004.

References

  1. ^ "Peter Schumann". ArtYard. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Bread and Puppet Co-Founder Elka Schumann, 85, Dies". Democracy Now!. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022. Elka Schumann died Sunday [1 August 2021], surrounded by her five children and her partner Peter.
  3. ^ a b c Sommer, Mark (2008-09-05). "Bread and Puppet invites those who are willing to learn". The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  4. ^ "About B & P's 50 Year History". Bread and Puppet Theater. Archived from the original on 22 June 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022. Peter and Elka decided on the name Bread and Puppet Theater. The name stuck. The year was 1963.
  5. ^ Gussow, Mel (1993-01-01). "An animal nativity of puppets". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  6. ^ La Rocco, Clauda (2007-12-01). "No escape from reality, even for magical horses". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  7. ^ Neumann, Osha (2008). Up Against the Wall Motherf**kers: A memoir of the 60s with notes for the Next Time. Seven Stories. ISBN 978-1-58322-849-4., p. 43
  8. ^ Brecht, Stefan. "The Bread and Puppet Theater" (1988)
  9. ^ a b Picard, Ken. (September 19, 2007) Over the Wall. Seven Days. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
  10. ^ Cook, Greg. (January 29, 2008) Going to Hell The Phoenix. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
  11. ^ Cook, Greg (9 February 2008). "Peter Schumann's Israeli-Palestinian problem?". The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  12. ^ Schumann, Peter (1973). Puppen und Masken: Das Bread and Puppet Theater : ein Arbeitsbericht [Puppets and masks: The Bread and Puppet Theater: a work report] (Perfect Paperback) (in German). Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag. ISBN 9783436017743.
  13. ^ Schumann, Peter (1980). Bread and Puppet Theater - THIS IS. The Janus Press.
  14. ^ Schumann, Peter; Schumann, Elka (1983). Northlight Studio Press/Bread and Puppet Theater. Northlight Studio Press/Bread and Puppet Theater.
  15. ^ Schumann, Peter (1987). Uprising of the Beast After the Good Life Fails. Bread & Puppet / Troll Press.
  16. ^ Schumann, Peter (1988). White Horse Butcher. Troll Press / Bread & Puppet.
  17. ^ Schumann, Peter (1991). Bible. Troll Press / Bread & Puppet.
  18. ^ Schumann, Peter (Winter 1991). "The Radicality of the Puppet Theatre". TDR: The Drama Review. 35 (4). Cambridge University Press: 75–83. doi:10.2307/1146164. JSTOR 1146164. Retrieved 29 July 2024 – via JSTOR.
  19. ^ Schumann, Peter (1 September 1992). St. Francis Preaches to the Birds (illustrated, reprint ed.). Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780811802222. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  20. ^ Schumann, Peter (1993). The old art of puppetry in the new world order. Bread & Puppet Press. ASIN B0006QHHP4.
  21. ^ Schumann, Peter (1996). Bread & Puppet: Green Man. Bread & Puppet Press.
  22. ^ Schumann, Peter (1996). Life of a Squirrel. Bread and Puppet Press.
  23. ^ Schumann, Peter (1 September 1999). "What, At the End of This Century, Is the Situation of Puppets & Performing Objects?". TDR: The Drama Review (Article). 43 (3). Cambridge University Press: 56–61. doi:10.1162/105420499760347324. Retrieved 29 July 2024 – via Project MUSE.
  24. ^ Cayley, David; Schumann, Peter (1 March 2003), Puppet Uprising: Peter Schumman's Bread & Puppet Theater (Audio CD), CBC Radio Canada, ISBN 9780660190068
  25. ^ Schumann, Peter (20 November 2011). Planet Kasper: Comix and Tragix. Fomite. ISBN 9780983206354.
  26. ^ Schumann, Peter (1 November 2013). Shatterer Book. Karma. ISBN 9781938560422.
  27. ^ Schumann, Peter (6 April 2015). Bread & Sentences. Fomite. ISBN 9781937677886.
  28. ^ Schumann, Peter (13 May 2015). Planet Kasper Volume Two: Comix & Tragix. Fomite. ISBN 9781937677190.
  29. ^ Schumann, Peter (13 June 2016). Faust 3. Fomite. ISBN 9781942515555.
  30. ^ Schumann, Peter (25 January 2017). Theatrum Mundi. Fomite. ISBN 9781942515845.
  31. ^ Schumann, Peter (30 January 2017). Riot. Fomite Interrogations: A Series of Tracts for Our Time. Fomite. ISBN 9781942515937.
  32. ^ Schumann, Peter (21 May 2018). Life and Death of Charlotte Salomon. Fomite. ISBN 9781944388324.
  33. ^ Schumann, Peter (28 September 2018). We. Fomite. ISBN 9781942515777.
  34. ^ Schumann, Peter (25 October 2018). From the Possibilitarian Arsenal of Belligerent and Not So Belligerent Slogans. Fomite. ISBN 9781944388690.
  35. ^ Schumann, Peter (23 January 2019). Diagonal Man Theory + Praxis: Volume I. Fomite. ISBN 9781947917057.
  36. ^ Schumann, Peter (23 January 2019). Diagonal Man Theory + Praxis: Volume 2. Fomite. ISBN 9781947917064.
  37. ^ Schumann, Peter (25 August 2019). A Child's Deprimer. Fomite. ISBN 9781947917262.
  38. ^ Schumann, Peter (12 August 2020). Bedsheet Mitigations. Fomite. ISBN 9781947917903.
  39. ^ Schumann, Peter (28 August 2020). All, Nothing, Nothing At All. Fomite. ISBN 9781947917620.
  40. ^ Schumann, Peter (13 March 2021). Handouts and Obligations. Fomite. ISBN 9781953236258.
  41. ^ Schumann, Peter (15 April 2021). Declaration of Light. Fomite. ISBN 9781953236265.
  42. ^ Schumann, Peter (30 August 2021). Es Ist Vollbracht - Mission Accomplished. Fomite. ISBN 9781953236463.
  43. ^ Schumann, Peter; Schumann, Elka (4 December 2021). She Sits She Rides She Flies. Fomite. ISBN 9781953236586.
  44. ^ Schumann, Peter (25 June 2023). Kropotkin Says. Fomite. ISBN 9781959984313.
  45. ^ Schumann, Peter (28 November 2023). Tears Clouds Trees. Fomite. ISBN 9781953236944.
  46. ^ Schumann, Peter (29 November 2023). Gaza Genocide Bedsheets. Fomite. ISBN 9781959984429.
  47. ^ Schumann, Peter (6 March 2024). Mister Aeschylus' The Persians. Fomite. ISBN 9781959984351.
  48. ^ Schumann, Peter (27 May 2024). We Possibilitarians One. Fomite. ISBN 9781959984498.