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Guest artistsWayang Golek The Ghostly Goddess and the Sinner Saint Wayang Golek puppet theatre and dance of Southeast Asia/West Java features Gamelan Pacifica led by Jarrad Powell, puppet master Kathy Foley, drummer Undang Sumarna, and dancer Tikka Sears. A traditional form of puppetry from Sunda, West Java, wayang golek employs ornate wood puppets, colorful costumes, lively banter, sound effects, is accompanied by a full Gamelan Orchestra, and is performed in English. Traditional Sundanese dance with its glittering costumes, masks and colorful scarves accompanied by the exciting syncopated rhythms of the drum and Gamelan orchestra, offer an exciting prologue to the puppet performance that follows. The puppet-like dance movement is inspired by the angular rod puppet form and helps the audience to bridge the gap between the human and puppet worlds. The intricately carved and beautifully adorned puppet figures, which include gods, clowns and ogres, dance in the hands of the puppet master (dalang) who in addition to manipulating the figures does all the dialogue, narration, and mood songs that portray the atmosphere and idea of each scene. Musical accompaniment is provided by gamelan, a percussive orchestra of bronze gongs and chime instruments. The puppeteer calls for accompaniment appropriate to the scenes by means of metal plates struck by the foot or a wooden hammer held in the right hand of the puppeteer or vocal riddles understood by the musicians as a cue. The philosophy, wisdom, and humor of the Sundanese - influenced equally by traditional animistic beliefs, India’s great Hindu epic (the Mahabharata), and the teachings of Islam - are presented in English, lending access to the rich art of wayang golek cepak. In times of cultural, religious, and political unrest, the rod puppet theatre of Indonesia, illustrates how artist-thinkers use puppets, masks, clowning, beautiful music, and dance to draw disparate groups together with performance. The story is rich in comedy, with the clown characters giving voice to real wisdom. They reveal that those who follow the quest of heroes and Truth are united - not by finding the one way, but by their shared thirst for meaning. As seekers, they will encounter conflicts, but the artists among them invent symbolic forms - masks, puppets, comic banter, music and metaphor - that move people beyond their differences. The heroes of the wayang (puppet/mask) world use art as a unifying force. The great heroes of India are alive and well, meeting Sufi storytellers, and even more archaic earth mother figures. In the play of puppets and shadows, clowns and singers, that which seems different or separate, is one. This performance depicts the birth of puppetry as it is recounted in West Java. It is drawn from the cepak repertoire, and portrays Islamic historical accounts from the Javanese princes who converted the island, and tells how the young prince of Tuban, who later became the Sufi saint Sunan Kalijaga, created puppetry. Collaborative educational opportunities supplement the public and Student Outreach performances: Teacher and student workshops with the artists and BPA education staff are planned for March. Parents and families of these students are heartily encouraged to attend the evening public performance on March 21. The evening performance has one 15-minute intermission and is suitable for all ages. Bainbridge Performing Arts extends special thanks to its sponsors: 2007 - 2008 Season Media Sponsor Bainbridge Island Review, and International Programming Presenting Sponsor The Travel Exchange. Wayang Golek is supported in part by a grant from Target in recognition of BPA’s Theatre School Outreach program. This grant is part of ongoing efforts by Target to strengthen families and communities throughout the country. BPA Theatre School is presented by Prudential Northwest Real Estate. BPA is a proud founding member of the Bainbridge Island Arts Education Community Consortium, which is supported by Harvest Foundation funds. Co-sponsorship of this performance was made possible by the Southeast Asia Center of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. BPA is supported, in part, by the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council, the City of Bainbridge Island, and Washington State Arts Commission. Pictured at top of page: Koncaran West Javanese mask dance. Dancer: Tikka Sears. Photo: Chris Brown.
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