With careful movements, he carves the plastic material, shapes it, and creates figures. With indelible colors, he captures the traditional forms of Karagiozis, Morfonios, Kopritis, and Pitsikokos, and with passion and clever scripts, he brings the protagonists of shadow theater to life. Karagiozis and his adventures are modernized thanks to sixth-grade student Chrysovalantis Karagiannopoulos.
The young Karagiozis puppeteer is very popular with the children of Thessaloniki, as he not only honors the tradition of our region with his clever and interesting Karagiozis performances in schools and at festivals, but he has also managed to combine it with contemporary trends, specifically trap music.
«Young people are evolving, and I believe that Karagiozis must also adapt so that they can love him and identify with him. That's why I've incorporated trap music into my performances,» the 12-year-old told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, explaining that «everyone watches trap music on the internet, and I am trying to adapt this new reality to Karagiozis. I have also created my own trap music. For example, Morfonios sings: “Oi mama, leave my nose alone, it's not a bus, it's a stretcher”. Karagiozis“ son, Kopritis, is also a trapper in my performances. In a dialogue I wrote, he says: ”Dad, dad, when I grow up I want to be a trapper. What kind of trapper, my child? Not that kind, dad, a trapper.".
As Chrysovalantis explains, his love for shadow theater was born when he was three years old and his father gave him two Karagiozis figures as a birthday present. «From that moment on, I caught the shadow puppet bug. I consider Karagiozis to be a very important part of our tradition and I don't want it to become a museum piece,» he emphasizes, adding that «I write the dialogues, make the figures myself, and perform the shows. I try to do my best for the children. I make my figures out of a plastic material called Tupperware and paint them with permanent markers.».
«I'm still young, I perform for children and I try to develop, learn and become better,» he says, adding: «I have met experienced shadow puppet players, Agapios Agapios and the Athanasiou brothers. They have helped me a lot, they have put me behind the scenes and I have learned a lot from them. Karagiozis is my passion, it is a tradition that has unfortunately been forgotten nowadays, and especially in Thessaloniki we have no successors, and I would like, even though I am still a student, to be able to continue our tradition.».
The play currently being staged is «Karagiozis» Christmas." All of Karagiozis' friends come to wish him a Merry Christmas, but he falls asleep and dreams that he is with Santa Claus. Santa helps him go to Kalikantzaroville and get the sack of gifts that the Kalikantzaroi stole. Suddenly, just as they manage to get the gifts and distribute them to the children, Rudolph gets dizzy, falls down, and Karagiozis wakes up, recounts the 12-year-old Karagiozis player.
His father accompanies him on this unique journey into the tradition of shadow theater, playing the bouzouki at every performance. «I play the bouzouki at the performances and help Chrysobalantis with whatever he needs. I do it from the heart, first because I love children very much and want them to enjoy the Karagiozis performances, and second because I want to preserve the tradition of shadow theater so that it is not lost. Karagiozis players say that shadow theater requires love and passion, and Chrysovalantis has both, while also doing his schoolwork and other activities, and he never forgets Karagiozis!.
Alexandra Hatzigeorgiou
