Editing Puppetry (section)

====Czech Republic and Slovakia====
[[File:Marionette Opera Prague.jpg|thumb|Marionette Theatre in [[Prague]]]]
[[File:Ostrava, Divadlo loutek.jpg|thumb|Puppet Theatre in [[Ostrava]]]]
Marionette puppet theatre has had a very long history in entertainment in [[Prague]], and elsewhere in the former [[Czechoslovakia]] and then in the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]]. It can be traced deep into the early part of the Middle Ages.<ref name="dubska">''Czech Puppet Theatre'' by Alice Dubská, Jan Novák, Nina Malíková a Marie Zdeňková, p.6</ref> Marionettes first appeared around the time of the [[Thirty Years' War]].<ref name="dubska"/> The first noted Czech puppeteer was Jan Jiří Brat, who was born in 1724. He was the son of a local carpenter and created his own puppet theatre.<ref name="dubska"/> [[Matěj Kopecký]] was the most famous 19th-century Czech puppeteer,<ref name="dubska"/> and was responsible for communicating the ideas of national awareness.<ref name="dubska"/>

In 1911, [[Jindřich Veselý]] co-founded the Czech Association of Friends of Puppet Theatre and in 1912 advocated the publication of the oldest specialist puppet-theatre magazine still published today, ''[[Loutkář]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Czech Puppetry|url=https://unima.idu.cz/en/history-of-czech-puppetry/|website=unima.idu.cz|publisher=[[UNIMA]]|access-date=2021-06-12}}</ref> Veselý played a key role in founding [[UNIMA]] (International Puppetry Association) in 1929, and was elected its first president.<ref>{{cite web |title=Veselý, Jindřich|url=http://encyklopedie.idu.cz/index.php/Vesel%C3%BD,_Jind%C5%99ich|website=encyklopedie.idu.cz|publisher=Česká divadelní encyklopedie|language=cs|access-date=2021-06-12}}</ref>

In 1920 and 1926 respectively, [[Josef Skupa]] created his most famous puppet characters: [[Spejbl and Hurvínek]], comical father and his rascal son.<ref>''Practical Puppetry''/John Mulholland, p.19</ref> In 1930, he set up the first modern professional puppet theatre.<ref>Pavel Jirásek, "Josef Skupa: The Birth of a Modern Artist", ''Theatralia: Revue současného myšlení o divadelní kultuře'' [Revue of contemporary thought on theatre culture] 18/2 (2015): 174 [168-230]; online at http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.99134286-36e9-4d9d-9de7-a0e94e73a9ea {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215031423/http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.99134286-36e9-4d9d-9de7-a0e94e73a9ea |date=2020-02-15 }}</ref> An important puppet organisation is the [[National Marionette Theatre]] in Prague. Its repertoire mainly features a marionette production of [[Mozart]]'s opera ''[[Don Giovanni]]''. The production has period costumes and 18th-century setting. There are numerous other companies, including Buchty a Loutky ("Cakes and Puppets"), founded by [[Marek Bečka]].<ref name="dubska"/> Puppets have been used extensively in animated films since 1946.<ref name="dubska"/> [[Jiří Trnka]] was an acknowledged leader in this area.<ref name="dubska"/> [[Miroslav Trejtnar]] is a master puppeteer and teacher of traditional Czech marionette-making skills.<ref>Puppets in Prague, www.puppetsinprague.eu</ref>

In 2016, Czech and Slovak Puppetry was included on the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Slovakia and Czech Puppetry|url=https://www.unesco.org/archives/multimedia/document-4352|website=unesco.org|date=17 November 2016 |publisher=[[UNESCO]]|access-date=2021-06-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Puppetry in Slovakia and Czechia|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/puppetry-in-slovakia-and-czechia-01202|website=unesco.org|publisher=[[UNESCO]]|access-date=2021-06-12}}</ref>