La Femme Invisible (France)

Kamidopof may be a puppet or something stranger, a reversal of the familiar, a spectre, an ogre, an uncanny presence.

Inspired by both Gogol's St. Petersburg Stories and the fantastic Japanese creatures seen in Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away.

"A large body in a blue coat, without a head. That's what you see at first glance in Kamidopof. However, when a face joins the ensemble, you can't help but be captivated by the presence of this almost ghostly creature, which, with its appearance marked out by Miyazaki, conveys a particular sensation that is almost indescribable: somewhere between mystery, creepiness, fascination and empathy during the few minutes it simply stares at you, as if it were discovering you. What's more, the facial expressions are simply perfect, such as the wrinkling of the cheeks and the swelling of the nose to express anger, or the eyes raised to the sky to indicate the passage of a plane.

With this technical demonstration disconnected from any human voice, the viewer is transported to another world, that of Kamidopof."

- Julien Machuron, Le JSL Chalon

BIO

Léa Ros is a French writer, director, actress and puppeteer.

After studying visual arts, she trained at the Claude Mathieu Actor’s School of Art and Technique. She then went on to pursue professional training as an actress and puppeteer at the Théâtre Aux Mains Nus, under the direction of Alain Recoing. Afterwards, she trained in masked acting with Matteo Destro (Mask Movement Theater-Italy). In 2005, she met Emmanuelle Lévy of the company 25 Watts who hired her as a performer in Mécanique Céleste, as a writer for Abysse Boréale, and as an outside eye for ZINZIN, then for Piez de Nose. For the company Anonima Teatro, she played in J’ai Vu Chute a Lune (masked theater) in 2009 and then in 2014, she directed “How Pantagruel Broke the Chitter∣lings at the Knees.”

In 2010, she met Luc Laporte of the Compagnie Contre Ciel and became his collaborator on stage in Avis de Messe Puppetetique, based on the writings of Antonin Artaud. In 2015, he cast her in the role of Blanquette in the adaptation of “La Chèvre de Monsieur Seguin,” entitled “Ravie” by Sandrine Roche. In 2013, for the Compagnie Ça et Là, she used both a mask and a puppet to perform in “Contre-temps” by Céline Gouel.

In 2017, she moved to Rouen and joined Le Safran, an artist collective. She then took the name La Femme Invisible. In 2019, she became interested in new magic and trained at the CNAC with Cie 14:20. In her process, Ros likes to build a puppet and then question this character in order to unfold a universe and a singular story, rather than digging into a pre-established statement or theme. She likes to play with notions of presence, whether in the way we give life to objects, or in the schizophrenic relationships between the manipulator and the manipulated. In this representation of disorder for her lies the technical and “plastic” tools to question reality and our humanity.

_CREDITS

_{Creation and performer: Léa Ros Sound design: Eric Banse / Loic Thomas Outside eye: Loïc Thomas Photography: La Femme Invisible Production: La Femme invisible/Safran Collectif
www.lesafrancollectif.com/kamidopof/}