Saturday March 9, 2019

$25 door / $20 advance 

ShadowLight Theatre presents WAYANG BALI: An Evening of Balinese Shadow Play

Featuring live Wayang Gender musical accompaniment by Carla Fabrizio, Paul Miller, Pete Steele and Sarah Willner (members of Gamelan Sekar Jaya)

The award winning, internationally acclaimed Shadow Master, Larry Reed, presents a great event for all ages. Featuring a stunning array of intricate, handmade shadow puppet figures silhouetted on a backlit screen, the ancient stories blend religious mythology alongside historical events with humorous improvisation. The combination of shadow puppets, live music and the sense of humor and fun in the stories themselves make this an evening you don’t want to miss. As an added bonus, Larry invites the audience to come to the side of the stage and watch how he and his ensemble manipulate the shadow puppets and create the magic, and to observe the Gamelan ensemble and their ancient instruments.

About:
Wayang Bali, the Balinese shadow play, is one of the most exciting undiscovered events of world theater. Until recently, language barriers have kept its drama and humor hidden from the world at large. Plots for Wayang Bali are drawn from the Mahabharata myth cycle, in which five brothers are pitted against one hundred jealous cousins in a struggle for power involving gods, demons, magical weapons, and the inevitable beautiful princess. Larry and the Gamelan musicians make it possible for Western audiences to enjoy this classical form of storytelling.

ShadowLight Productions is one of the very few professional shadow theatre companies in the world honoring ancient shadow theatre traditions while innovating through the use of contemporary technologies and interdisciplinary approaches. Successfully integrating traditional shadow theater techniques with modern theater and film styles, the outcome is like a “live animation film” – a completely original way of using shadows in theatre that is not culture-bound.

Performed behind and in front of a 15’x 30’ screen, these works orchestrate silhouettes of puppets, actors, and cutout sets illuminated by multiple electric light sources to create cinematic effects live on stage. This show features live music and is created by a collaborating ensemble of writers, choreographers, composers, designers, actors, dancers, musicians and puppeteers from various cultural backgrounds, artistic disciplines and styles.

We at SF Live Arts support ShadowLight Theatre’s mission to create work as a tool for cultural diplomacy and understanding.