RSVP in advance for this event!

Facing West Shadows(Free) ShadowLight residency at Red Poppy Art House

Free Live shadow play by Lydia Greer’s performance of Facing West Shadows: The Endless End

Join us for our monthly ShadowLight program at Red Poppy Art House with Lydia Greer’s performance of Facing West Shadows: The Endless End!

Lydia Greer will demonstrate a short segment of the extended cinema performance version of Facing West Shadows: The Endless End, demonstrating shadow and mirror puppetry (phantasmagoria) and guiding audiences to create their own shadow puppets inspired by the local Bay Area natural world.

Appropriate for children and families. Puppet-making supplies and instruction will be provided by ShadowLight.

This program is part of ShadowLight artists in residence at Red Poppy Art House. It is a Free Monthly program with hands-on workshop activities for families on the fourth Sunday of each month.

Featuring Artists:
Lydia Greer of Facing West Shadows

Sunday, April 28th, 2024
Time: 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Admission: FREE and Donation

This event is appropriate for both children and adults.
Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis.
This event is free to the public.
Due to limited capacity, RSVP is strongly recommended.

ABOUT FACING WEST SHADOWS:

Facing West Shadows: The Endless End is a cinematic, sculptural installation also performed as extended cinema that illuminates the perpetuation of extinction and survival; the disrupted life cycles of native plants and animals, aquatic systems, and fire ecologies as affected by anthropogenic climate change. The viewer’s attention is guided through projected moving images, hand-made animation, and cast shadows with a multi-dimensional soundscape. Collapsing and expanding time, species will live and die over the span of an hour of looping overlapping, multichannel, and multidirectional projection. In a sculptural environment, our role as animals within a system and as the planet’s apex predator is illuminated.

As in proto-cinematic cave paintings and ancient shadow theatre storytelling traditions, Facing West Shadows seeks to understand non-human species and our relationships with them. Among their inspirations are the Bay Area’s own precarious and diverse ecologies and Eadweard Muybridge’s electro-photographic investigation of consecutive phases of animal movements. By weaving multiple moving images of Bay Area ecologies, mycorrhizal networks, fire, and water, Facing West Shadows: The Endless End takes the viewer on a time-based and immersive journey through cycles of ecological and species extinction and sometimes, survival.

Facing West Shadows principal members: Lydia Greer (artistic director) and Caryl Kientz (theatrical director) in collaboration with artist Ya Wen Chien is a collective of artists, puppeteers, filmmakers, and musicians hybridizing art forms to create magical acts of rebellion as experimental art that is sustainable in the current gold rush climate of the Bay Area.

Facing West Shadows combines analog shadow theatre with original animation, video projection of found footage, and sometimes Opera performed live. Expanding into film, theatre, and installation, Facing West Shadows depicts stories re-imagined with unique visual storytelling to create surprising experiences for the audience by seamlessly combining old and new technologies and art forms.

For more information, visit the project website https://www.facingwestshadows.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCGu1LZhFrE/

ABOUT THE FEATURED ARTIST:

Lydia Greer is a widely exhibiting interdisciplinary visual artist, filmmaker, animator, and the artistic director of Facing West Shadows, a Lumia arts collective working with shadow casting/ hybridizing art forms to create magical acts of rebellion as experimental art in the gold rush climate of the San Francisco Bay Area. Expanding into film/animation, theater/opera, puppetry, and sculptural installation, Facing West Shadows creates surprising experiences for the audience by seamlessly combining old and new technologies and art forms. Her layered, mixed media work includes sculptural and video installation, hand-made stop motion animation, single and multiple channel video, puppet theater, and works with paper.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP: 

Red Poppy Art House has partnered up with ShadowLight Productions for free monthly programs by ShadowLight artists for children and families. With instruction and guidance by ShadowLight teaching artists, attendees will be given the opportunity to make a shadow puppet, learn performance techniques, and use our screen and lights to perform their own short plays. This event is appropriate for children ages 3 to 12.

This FREE event creates an opportunity for youth in our neighborhood (Mission), who may otherwise not be able to attend such an event for lack of funds, to have access to art education with high-caliber teaching artists. By providing an opportunity to watch, interact, and play, we are encouraging participation and engagement with a vital storytelling art form. Storytelling is an important skill; it helps us to understand ourselves and one another, encouraging empathy.

Join us at Red Poppy Art House for a FREE shadow performance and hands-on workshop for kids and families!

Ages 3-12

Visiting artists Jessica Nguyen and Fred C. Riley III will be performing a shadow adaptation inspired by “Should I Share My Ice Cream?” by Moe Willems.

Guests will be guided on how to make and puppeteer their own shadow puppets

Visit the link below to register for this event!

Here is an easy to share link to the Eventbrite page for sign up.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shadowlight-productions-at-the-art-house-tickets-635769241917

RedPoppyArtHouse.org

Instagram: @redpoppyart

On a Magical Island - A tribute in Balinese shadows to Peter Brook’s Tempest Project.

Join us for an evening showing of The Tempest Project, a Balinese-style shadow puppet show in tribute to Peter Brook. Return to that magical island!

April 22, 2023 8PM PST at Noe Valley Town Square in San Francisco - Free!

This event is outside. Some seating will be provided. Please dress for the weather!

Dalang: Larry Reed

Dalang assistant: Fred C. Riley III

Gamelan gender wayang musicians: Lisa Gold, Carla Fabrizio, Paul Miller

Vocalist Sekar Jaya Artist in Residence: Cok Istri Putri Rukmini

with traditional sitting pieces by Monali Varaiya and Gamelan Sekar Jaya Master Artist in Residence Ni Nyoman Srayamurtikanti

LIVESTREAM LINKS BELOW

Facebook Livestream

Instagram Livestream

TICKETS HERE

Experience the cinematic magic of shadow theater with a pioneering local company and try your hand at this fascinating art form with origins in Bali.

Larry Reed, dalang (shadow master) and Founding Artistic Director of ShadowLight Productions, will present excerpts from two films and demonstrate live “cinematic shadow theater” techniques and stagecraft. In conversation with the Asian Art Museum’s Associate Curator of Southeast Asian Art Natasha Reichle, Reed will tell the story of his work, beginning with his foundation in Balinese theater and moving through his explorations in cinematic shadow theater. The event will culminate in a live performance by ShadowLight artists; attendees will also be offered a rare opportunity to try using cinematic shadow theater puppets and masks.

Reserve tickets: http://calendar.asianart.org/.../shadowlight-50-years-of...

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Larry Reed, Founding Artistic Director of San Francisco’s ShadowLight Productions, is a trailblazer in the contemporary shadow theater field. He is one of the first Westerners to have trained in the traditional Balinese shadow theater (wayang kulit) and is a dalang, or “shadow master.” After years of working in this tradition, Reed began integrating modern theater and film styles. The outcome was a “live animation film” — a completely original way of using shadows in theatre that is not culture-bound. Performed using a 15’x 30’ screen, these works orchestrate silhouettes of puppets, actors, and cutouts illuminated by multiple light sources to create cinematic effects live on stage.

Jessica Nguyen is a science illustrator, educator, dancer, and circus artist turned to the dark side. Her favorite mediums are mischief and punnery, but she confesses that a bit of paper and ink will always lift her spirits. She currently works and lurks in the East Bay, where she loves waxing poetic about flora and fauna and bones and stones over a warm cup of tea.

Fred C. Riley III is an accomplished puppeteer specializing in forms including marionette, rod, moving mouth, Czech black, tabletop, mask, and shadow puppetry. He has directed and written for the Center for Puppetry Arts, among others; choreographed for Ping Chong and Co.; and is the Artistic Director of Driveway Follies. He has taught movement and puppet theory and voiced many puppets, and has worked with ShadowLight Productions on performances for over a decade.

Thursday Nights are supported by Wells Fargo.

Join us for an evening showing of The Tempest Project, a Balinese-style shadow puppet show in tribute to Peter Brook. Return to that magical island!

OCTOBER 15th, 7pm at Noe Valley Town Square, San Francisco, CA- Free!

We are so excited to be back at Noe Valley Town Square for another Balinese-style shadow performance.

This event will be OUTDOORS. Please dress appropriately for the weather. There will be limited seating provided by the Town Square, so please bring a chair, pillows or blankets to sit on if you’d like!

Picnics welcome too.

Peter Brook, who passed away recently at the age of 96, was known for his deep involvement with Shakespeare, and for his marathon staging of the Mahabharata. His last project was an exploration of Shakespeare’s final play, The Tempest, with his international cast of actors. He was after the sense of magic, mystery, and ritual which was alive in Elizabethan England.

He did not consider this to be a new version of the Tempest, as much as a distillation of its essence, a quest for freedom and forgiveness. His metaphor for the stage is, An Empty Space,

where anything can happen.

My equivalent, as a shadow master, to his empty space is the blank white screen - a place for dreams, which can also be quite intimidating. I have been involved with various productions of the Tempest for the past sixty years, and Balinese culture for the past fifty. I played Caliban in high school, and fell in love with every aspect of the play.  When I first saw Balinese theater in 1970, with its lively combination of high drama and low comedy, I was immediately reminded of Shakespeare.

Many years later, having become a shadow master, I performed a complete version of the Tempest as a traditional Balinese shadow play. It was easy to cast. The archetypal characters in Shakespeare had almost exact equivalents in Bali.  We performed outdoors at a festival, and during the harpy scene the sprinklers went off and soaked the audience. I have come back to different versions of The Tempest every ten years since high school. 

This Tempest Project is my exploration of Peter Brook’s last act. It was published this year in Jean-Claude Carriere’s excellent translation, and I am rendering his French back into Shakespeare. These two men are my greatest heroes, and I am very excited to share their discoveries with you. It is shorter, and lighter than the original. It is an offering in an age of violence to the healing power of music, dance and theater, and an ode to freedom and forgiveness.

Wayang Kulit, the Balinese shadow puppet theater, takes place on a small screen illuminated by a coconut oil flame. The dalang, or shadow master, plays all the parts and is accompanied by four musicians playing gamelan gender wayang, (dedicated shadow theater music). Our performance will take place outdoors.

– Larry Reed

Tune in this Thursday 10/13 at 12pm (PST) to KALX Berkeley 90.7FM and again at 1pm (PST) to KALW Bay Area 91.7FM to hear Larry talk about our unique performance this weekend: On A Magical Island - A tribute in Balinese shadows to Peter Brook’s Tempest Project. We hope to see you out at Noe Valley Town Square Sat. 10/15 at 7pm!

KALX Berkeley 90.7FM Listen LIVE! : https://www.kalx.berkeley.edu/live-streaming

KALW Bay Area 91.7FM Listen LIVE! : https://www.kalw.org/listen-to-kalw-right-now

Missed the live? Listen back! KALW 91.7 FM Interview with Larry Reed "On a Magical Island"

Click Here!

Join us for an evening of Wayang Bali at UC Berkeley!

SAT APRIL 2nd, 7:30PM at UC Berkeley

Morrison Hall Room 125

FREE ADMISSION

Featuring Dalang Larry Reed

We are so excited to be joining you for our first show of 2022! We are back indoors sharing a traditional Balinese shadow theater performance featuring a tale from the Mahabharata.

Live Gamelan musicians: Lisa Gold, Carla Fabrizio, Paul Miller

Vocalist/Assistant: Katie Harrell

Assistant: Fred C. Riley III

Sponsored in part by Grants for the Arts and co-sponsored by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies & Department of Music at UCB.

Join Shadows Across the Globe for a 45 min.ZOOM talk as we chat with Shadow Master Larry Reed from ShadowLight Productions in San Francisco.

Saturday, July 10th at 2:00PM, *tickets available through July 7th!

Be sure to check out the entire line-up for Shadows Across the Globe!

As part of Shadows Across the Globe, we welcome Shadow Master Larry Reed to an exclusive ZOOM chat to discuss all things travel, shadows, developing his signature style, and much more! Shadows Across The Globe is hosting multiple Artist Talks and classes as part of our online festival. Please check our full schedule on our Facebook and Instagram pages to get a wider view of our fantastic offerings! Shadows Across the Globe is a grassroots virtual shadow puppetry festival brought to you by Twisted Heart Puppetworks and sponsored by Backfence Society, The San Diego Guild of Puppetry, The LA Guild of Puppetry, Under The Puppet Podcast, and Storytellers of San Diego as well as many private doners like YOU.

Wrap up the end of the year with ShadowLight, and join us for our final Artist Talk for 2020! Director Larry Reed and his teacher I Nyoman Sumandhi will be discussing artistic process, educating western audiences on Wayang and gamelan, and over 40 years worth of collaboration.

Don’t miss out on these rich oral histories and insights on Tuesday, December 29th at 5:00PM PST / 8:00PM EST / Wednesday, December 30th at 1:00 AM UK / 8:00 AM Jakarta

Attend the live event at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89127461432#success

I Nyoman Sumandhi is a scholar and Dalang from Tunjuk, Tabanan, Bali-Indonesia who has taught and performed Wayang around the world. Pak Sumandhi is grandson of the renowned I Made Durya, and son of I Nyoman Rajeg, and had continued the familiy tradition as a practicing dalang.

In his career, he has pioneered teaching Wayang to non-Balinese people and encouraging women in Bali to practice as shadow masters. Pak Sumandhi was a founding teacher of the performing arts school, Kokar, selected to study ethnomusicology at UCLA by the JD Rockefeller Third Foundation and has taught in the US, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, and France. With his student Michael Tenzer, he was instrumental in helping to found the Berkeley CA group, Gamelan Sekar Jaya.

Larry Reed, founder of ShadowLight Productions and Fritz de Boer were his first foreign students. Larry went on to study with his father Pak Rajeg, becoming the first Westerner to learn Balinese Wayang.

ShadowLight Productions Presents
An Evening of Balinese Shadow Theatre 
with Dalang Larry Reed,
featuring ShadowLight gamelan gender musicians:
Lisa Gold, Suzanne La, Paul Miller, and Sarah Willner with singer Katie Harrell

Date & Time: Monday, October 14, 7:30PM
Location: 125 Morrison Hall, The Albert Elks Room,UC Berkeley.
FREE PERFORMANCE

Larry Reed with ShadowLight's Gamelan Gender Wayang featuring Lisa Gold, Suzanne La, Paul Miller, and Sarah Willner, led by Gamelan Sekar Jaya's master artist in residence, I Wayan Suweca  will be performing "Wayang Bali: An Evening of Balinese Shadows. Wayang Bali, the Balinese shadow play, is one of the most revered traditional art forms in the world. 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 Reed and the Gamelan Gender Wayang musicians make it possible for Western audiences to enjoy this classical form of storytelling. Learn more. 

FREE PERFORMANCE! 

Larry Reed is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed Shadow Master. In 1972, he founded ShadowLight Productions to nurture indigenous shadow theatre traditions, as well as to explore and expand the possibilities of the shadow theatre medium. He is one of the first Westerners to have trained in the traditional Balinese shadow theatre (wayang kulit) and is a dalang or “shadow master,” who manipulates over 20 carved leather shadow puppets while simultaneously serving as the conductor of the accompanying gamelan orchestra, the director, and the stage manager.

Larry assisted by
Katie Harrell (singer), Yawen Winnie Chen and Fred C. Riley III.
Music performed by
ShadowLight's gamelan gender wayang featuring Lisa Gold, Carla Fabrizio, Paul Miller, and Sarah Willner with Gamelan Sekar Jaya's master artist in residence, I Wayan Suweca

Red Poppy Art House and ShadowLight Productions present An Evening of Balinese Shadow Theatre featuring Dalang Larry Reed and Gamelan Gender Wayang.

Date: Friday, May 24, 2019
Time: 7pm doors, 7:30pm show
Admission: $20-25 sliding scale GET TICKETS HERE
*A limited quantity of additional tickets will be available for purchase at the door.

Wayang Bali, the Balinese shadow play, is one of the most revered traditional art forms in the world. 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 Reed and the Gamelan musicians make it possible for Western audiences to enjoy this classical form of storytelling.

FEATURING:
Carla Fabrizio - gamelan gender
Lisa Gold - gamelan gender
Paul Miller - gamelan gender
Sarah Willner - gamelan gender

with vocalist Katie Harrell

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Larry Reed is a nationally and internationally acclaimed theatre artist and is a trailblazer in the contemporary shadow theatre field. In 1972, he founded ShadowLight Productions to nurture indigenous shadow theatre traditions, as well as to explore and expand the possibilities of the shadow theatre medium. He is one of the first Westerners to have trained in the traditional Balinese shadow theatre (wayang kulit) and is a “dalang,” or “shadow master,” who manipulates over 20 carved leather shadow puppets while simultaneously serving as the conductor of the accompanying gamelan orchestra, the director, and the stage manager.

LEARN MORE:
www.shadowlight.org
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwwFKZ4VHYs&t=52s
http://redpoppyarthouse.org/event/shadowlight-gamelan-20190524/

Saturday, March 9, 2019

• 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

• St. Cyprian’s Church (map)

Performed by Artistic Director and Shadow Master Larry Reed
With I Made Moja
Featuring ShadowLight Gamelan Gender Wayang: Carla Fabrizio, Lisa Gold, Paul Miller and Sarah Willner
Tickets: $20 Advance / $25 Door for general admission, $18 for students, children, & seniors

PURCHASE: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4064321

Box Office: (415) 454-5238

For more information, visit: www.sflivearts.org 

Wayang Bali, the Balinese Shadow Play, is one of the most revered traditional art forms in the world. 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. 

Funded in part by the San Francisco Grants for the Arts, the Hewlett Foundation, and individual donors.