Music and contemporary shadow puppetry combine to tell ancient tale
of Japan’s indigenous people, January 10 &11
Photos: (From top) Larry Reed, OKI, Marewrew. Credit: Courtesy of the artists.
HANOVER, NH—Heroes, monsters and a magnificent sun goddess come to life in Poro Oyna: the Myth of the Aynu, a show of puppet theater, live music and multimedia effects making its US premiere at the Hop on Friday and Saturday, January 10 &11, at 8 pm, at The Moore Theater.
Based on stories and traditions of Japan’s indigenous Aynu people (also commonly spelled “Ainu”), Poro Oyna(Aynu for “great story”)is the work of renowned artist Larry Reed, who combines traditional Balinese shadow puppetry with contemporary sensibilities. The production also showcases the exciting work of contemporary Aynu artists working to keep their people’s musicaltraditions alive: the female vocal quartet Marewrew, singing mesmerizing, canon-like ceremonial songs; and musician OKI, a standard bearer for the Aynu cultural revival, on the indigenous five-string tonkori.Weaving together folk tales and songs, the show spotlights a tradition fighting for survival in contemporary Japan. The performance is recommended for ages 10 and above.
While at Dartmouth, Reed will also teach a workshop called “ Storytelling with Shadows,” on Wednesday, January 8, 6:30 pm, at AVA Gallery in Lebanon, for $10. Reed will help participantsbuild their own shadow puppets and will teach basic performance techniques. For ages 13 and older.
Critics have praised previous shows by Reed’s company, Shadowlight Productions. Wrote The Oakland Tribune, “Tiny details…take on deep significance as our eyes mine these phantoms for every little nuance. Reed's alchemy of light and shadow gives these puppets a startlingly human quality.” Wrote News from Native California about another recent Shadowlight show, Reed “combined techniques from traditional Balinese shadow theater with contemporary lighting, sound, and video technology to create a magical moving picture on a large, white screen.”
The Aynu are indigenous people of Northern Japan and Russia, whose culture dates back to 1,200 BC. A society of hunter-gatherers, their profound insights into local lands, plants, animals and ecosystems are encoded in their language, rituals and beliefs. After centuries of oppression, displacement, discrimination, and systematic assimilation, the Aynus were officially recognized as "indigenous to Japan" by the Japanese Diet in 2008; however, their history, language and cultural heritage are still largely unknown to the rest of Japan and the world. Aynu language, which has no written form and fewer than 15 native speakers alive, has been designated as a critically endangered language by UNESCO. Today, the northern island of Hokkaido is the center of Aynu culture.
The show tells the ancient Aynu story of Aynu Rakkur, a demigod of whom the full-fledged gods (kamuys)ask a big favor: rescue the Sun Goddess from the Evil Monster (with a name so long and vile nobody can pronounce it), who kidnapped her just as she is emerging from the horizon. Numerous kamuys have tried unsuccessfully to rescue her before they turn to Aynu Rakkur. Along with offering a compelling interpretation of this tale, Poro Oynaalso introduces US audiences to five master Ainu musicians who are innovators in their fields,gives those audiences a rare chance to experience the centuries-old sacred world of the Aynus as well as the complexity of Japanese cultural/social tapestry.
Reed comes to this project with a record of projects that sensitively and imaginatively combine media and cross cultures. A lifelong student of wayang kulit, the Balinese shadow puppet tradition, the Bay Area-based Reed is one of few Westerners ever to be invited to the Indonesian National Theater Shadow Festival, where he is Balinese shadow theater representative. He has also pioneered contemporary shadow theater by integrating traditional shadow theater techniques with American theater and film effects using custom made projectors to cast silhouettes of puppets, maskedactors, and cut-out sets.
His collaborations have taken him all over the world, starting with In Xanadu (1994), which he created with Tibetan, Chinese and Indonesian artists; and including Wayang Listrik (1998), created with Balinese artists; Coyote's Journey (2000) based on a traditional California Karuk tribe tale and created in collaboration with Native American elders, storytellers, performers and artists; 7 Visions (2002), an exploration of Latino heritage written by Octavio Solis and with live music by Cascada de Flores; Monkey King At Spider Cave (2006), with Taiwanese puppeteers; and Ghosts Of The River (2009), exploring US/Mexico border issues through five haunting ghost stories.
Also a filmmaker, Reed has produced and directed several films in the US, Mexico, Colombia, Taiwan, and Indonesia. His film Shadow Master, an intimate portrait of a family of Balinese performers, aired on PBS and Discovery Channel.
Reed’s collaborators on this project include OKI, a charismatic Aynu musician who specializes in the tonkori, an Aynu string instrument that by the 1970s had practically disappeared. A leader in the Aynu cultural revival movement, he promotes the tonkori through experiments with other musical traditions as well as contemporary pop. With five strings and a long hollow body containing a small stone, the tonkori has a crisp, resonant sound. OKI’s 12 albums range from traditional songs and arrangements to fusions with rock, reggae, Afro-beat and Celtic musicians. He has toured solo and with his Dub Ainu Band in Asia, Europe and the US and has played such festivals as WOMAD and The Kennedy Center’s Japan! Culture + Hyper Culture Festival in 2008.
Two of OKI’s albums feature Marewrew, an all-female singing group dedicated to reviving, promoting and preserving the traditional Aynu musical form of upopo. Slightly similar to Western canons, an upopo song traditionally consists of various rhythmic patterns sung by three to four female singers at different timing, creating an organic, trance-like experience for the listeners.
RELEVANT LINKS
Poro Oyna at the Hop
About ShadowLight and Larry Reed
OKI & Marewrew in concert
About OKI
About Marewrew
High-resolutions photos
CALENDAR LISTINGS:
Poro Oyna: the Myth of the Aynu by ShadowLight Theater with live music by OKI and Marewrew
Heroes, monsters and a magnificent sun goddess come to life in this enthralling new shadow puppetry work based on the little-known culture and history of Japan’s indigenous Aynu people. Shadow master Larry Reed, who combines traditional Balinese shadow puppetry with contemporary sensibilities, collaborates with Aynu artists: the female vocal quartet Marewrew, singing mesmerizing, canon-like ceremonial songs; and musician OKI on the indigenous five-string tonkori. Weaving together folk tales and songs, the show spotlights a tradition fighting for survival in contemporary Japan. Recommended for ages 10 and above.
Friday & Saturday, January 10 & 11, 8 pm
The Moore Theater, Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hanover NH
Tickets $20/30/30; Dartmouth students $10; 18 & under $17/17/19
Information: Hopkins Center Box Office, 603.646.2422 or hop.dartmouth.edu
Workshop: Storytelling with Shadows
ShadowLight’s Larry Reed helps you build your own shadow puppet and teaches basic performance techniques. Ages 13+. Cosponsored by AVA Gallery and Art Center.
Wednesday, January 8, 6:30 pm
AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH
$10
Registration: hop.dartmouth.edu or 603.646.2422.
* * *
Founded in 1962, the Hopkins Center for the Arts is a multi-disciplinary academic, visual and performing arts center dedicated to uncovering insights, igniting passions, and nurturing talents to help Dartmouth and the surrounding Upper Valley community engage imaginatively and contribute creatively to our world. Each year the Hop presents more than 300 live events and films by visiting artists as well as Dartmouth students and the Dartmouth community, and reaches more than 22,000 Upper Valley residents and students with outreach and arts education programs. After a celebratory 50th-anniversary season in 2012-13, the Hop enters its second half-century with renewed passion for mentoring young artists, supporting the development of new work, and providing a laboratory for participation and experimentation in the arts.
CONTACT:
Rebecca Bailey, Publicity Coordinator/Writer
Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College
603.646.3991