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EXPLORATIONS OF THE SHADOW WORLD
ShadowLight Productions is pleased to announce the release of our DVD Collection:
EXPLORATIONS OF THE SHADOW WORLD
A new DVD series on Shadow Theater by Larry Reed
Featuring collaborations with:
Chen Shi Zheng
I Wayan Wija
Octavio Solis
Richard Marriot
Charlie ³Red Hawk² Thom
And many othersŠ
EXPLORATIONS OF THE SHADOW WORLD is the creation of internationally
recognized shadow master Larry Reed, who became deeply immersed in Shadow
Theater as he worked and studied with a Balinese shadow master over a twenty
year period. Since forming ShadowLight Productions, Reed has gone on to
create an altogether new kind of living cinema, forming ensembles of
writers, choreographers, composers, designers, actors, dancers, musicians
and puppeteers. Together they mold elemental light and shadow into richly
told stories that investigate mythologies and fantasies from cultures around
the world.
This seven disc DVD set, thirty years in the making, chronicles the creation
of ShadowLight¹s unique visual and theatrical vocabulary, featuring major
performances as well as short documentaries detailing the genesis of the
individual shows. These DVDs have been professionally filmed and edited
with illuminating behind the scenes views, allowing a rare glimpse into how
this astonishing, live shadow animation is achieved.
EXPLORATIONS OF THE SHADOW WORLD provides a unique resource for those
interested in a variety of artistic and anthropological fields, including
puppetry, theater, ethnomusicology, ethnic studies, and intercultural
performance (particularly from Asian, Latino, North American and Native
American cultures).
Visit our E-store:
http://shadowlightstore.semkhor.com/page.asp?content_id=9126
See excerpts on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/shadowlightproductns
Distributed to institutions and individuals by ShadowLight Productions:
http://www.shadowlight.org
TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF OUR GREAT REVIEWS:
"This collection of films, which are a delight to watch individually,
together provide a larger sense of what shadow performance can at best make
manifest: a shape shifting world where myth, music, and visuals stretch and
shrink, moving us beyond appearances toward visions and essences."
- Kathy Foley, Asian Theatre Journal
³The story unfolds with grace and fluidity as shadows leap and melt before
our eyes. The effect is Zen-like in its stark simplicity and pure power.²
- Erica Milvy, The San Francisco Chronicle
"The illusion is massive, complex, and created by precise ensemble
choreography. Once it crossed my mind that I'd like to go backstage and see
how it all worked, but the richness of the shadow picture was satisfying, I
chose to remain an innocent."
- Marcia Siegal, American Theater
THIS SEVEN DISC SET INCLUDES:
Shadow Master (1981) is a film Reed made in collaboration with his Balinese
teachers about wayang kulit (shadow puppetry) at that period. Half
ethnography, half narrative fiction, this colorful and moving portrait of
Balinese life provides an appropriate and illuminating context for Reed¹s
later work with ShadowLight Productions.
In Xanadu blends Tibetan, Chinese, and Indonesian theatre techniques to tell
an epic Mongolian fantasy about Kublai Khan and his wife, Chabui, who were
inseparable partners.
The Wild Party is based on the Jazz Age poem by Joseph Moncure March with an
original score by Bruce Forman. It explores the American traditions of
jazz, film noir, and poetry.
Mayadanawa is ShadowLight¹s first giant screen production to be created in
Bali. The performance featured 30 musicians, 20 dancers, and shadow casters
from the village of Pengosekan, Ubud, who brought the show to life for the
1996 Walter Spies Festival.
Ambrosia of Immortality is a Balinese version of the Hindu myth The Churning
of the Sea of Milk, where gods and demons join forces to create ambrosia and
then fight over possession of it. Created with dalang I Wayan Wija and
fifteen shadowcasters and musicians from Bali and San Francisco, the story
was chosen by dalang Wija precisely because it lends itself to the immense
scale and intense visuals that ShadowLight Productions has developed with
its cinematic approach to the use of shadows.
Coyote¹s Journey is based on a traditional Native California Karuk tale,
featuring Karuk elder Charles ³Red Hawk² Thom, a hereditary ceremonial
leader, spiritual teacher and outstanding storyteller.
7 Visions, written by the award-winning playwright Octavio Solis, explores
the roots of Latino heritage and celebrates the Mexican holiday Dia de los
Muertos, the Day of the Dead. This highly original production is partly
narrated through whimsical and wistful corridos arranged by Richard Marriott
and performed by Cascada de Flores, with characters and scenery designed by
Victor Cartagen
Explorations of the Shadow World (2006) 7 discs. 342 min. DVD: $700.
ShadowLight Productions (tel: 415-648-4461, web: www.shadowlight.org). PPR.
Thank you for Supporting Us!
Proceeds from DVD sales benefit all ShadowLight Production activities.
ShadowLight Productions, 22 Chattanooga Street, SF, CA 94114
tel: (415) 648-4461; fax: (415) 641-9734; e: info@shadowlight.org
http://www.shadowlight.org