ShadowLight Productions
is pleased to announce
a free Wayang Bali performance
by Shadowmaster Larry Reed
Tuesday November 9, 2004
7:30pm
UC Berkeley - Morrison Hall, Room 125
with live musical accompaniment by
Lisa Gold, Nick Robinson, Carla Fabrizio, and Paul Miller
"Who knows when time began. When earth, wind and
fire trembled and quaked into being..."
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. Larry Reed and his gamelan musicians make it possible for Western audiences to enjoy this classical form of storytelling.
Wayang Bali has been awarded the puppetry's highest award,
the UNIMA-USA Citation for Excellence.
The shadow play blends high drama, improvisation, and slapstick comedy. Its techniques have passed from generation to generation for thousands of years. At least twenty carved leather puppets are manipulated by one puppeteer, the Dalang, meaning "Shadow master." He is the conductor, director, stage manager, and all the actors of the production.
Behind him, four gamelan musicians follow his moves and take their cues from the action on the screen, creating a wave of sound effects and melodies on bronze metallophones. The flickering of a coconut oil flame behind the white screen adds mystery and excitement, giving an unearthly dimension of compelling beauty to the lacy shadow figures.
Balinese theater takes place in two languages simultaneously, the ancient language and the language of the audience. Larry Reed brings the tradition to English, French, Spanish, German, and Indonesian speaking audiences.
Plots for the shadow play are drawn from the Mahabharata myth cycle: five brothers are pitted against one hundred jealous cousins in a struggle for power involving gods, demons, magical weapons, and the inevitable beautiful princess.
The stories give people a chance to see themselves through the mirror of the mythic history; to view their current situation through a timeless perspective. The improvisational element of Balinese theater makes each performance a unique event.
