2008 Woodie Awards
Play blends arts for a universal message
Abigail Trenhaile
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Mixed Plate
How do two seemingly unrelated arts - the theater of Shakespeare and the shadow puppetry of Bali - come together to create one cohesive play? That's the genius of director Larry Reed and Kennedy Theatre's upcoming play, "A (Balinese) Tempest."
It turns out that "The Tempest," the story of Prospero, a cast-away Duke-turned-sorcerer, and his daughter Miranda, has more in common with the Indonesian island than one might think.
"One of the reasons our teacher gave us for picking 'The Tempest' was because the story line and many of the characters paralleled stories in Balinese shadow puppet plays," said Rhiannon McCullough, a performing arts grad student who plays the character Gonzalo, who comes to the aid of the deposed Prospero with food, water, and most importantly, books.
Through these books, Prospero learns the magic that becomes not only the driving source of the play's plot but one of the parallels of the Balinese art. Prospero's magic is used by Shakespeare to show the power of theatrical illusion, which Reed and his actors take full advantage of by creating the play through the unusual and ancient Balinese medium of shadows.
The entire play is acted out through shadow casting, with the actors wearing masks in order to heighten the dramatic effect. The technique was adapted and pioneered by Reed. In it, the actor's body becomes a puppet that manipulates the shadow.
"The shadows themselves are inherently magical. But at the same time, it's also new - totally real and yet totally untouchable," said Michelle Hurcubise, a grad student who plays Miranda.
This new art, however, brought new difficulties. "It was one of the most technical performances," McCullough said.
In order to audition for the play, all the actors had to take a class on shadow casting. Then the rehearsals began in November. "The whole first half of rehearsals was working out the art form of puppetry, and then after we had become comfortable with that, we tackled the script," Kat Pleviak, who plays Sebastian and operates many of the other non-human puppets in the play, said.
It turns out that "The Tempest," the story of Prospero, a cast-away Duke-turned-sorcerer, and his daughter Miranda, has more in common with the Indonesian island than one might think.
"One of the reasons our teacher gave us for picking 'The Tempest' was because the story line and many of the characters paralleled stories in Balinese shadow puppet plays," said Rhiannon McCullough, a performing arts grad student who plays the character Gonzalo, who comes to the aid of the deposed Prospero with food, water, and most importantly, books.
Through these books, Prospero learns the magic that becomes not only the driving source of the play's plot but one of the parallels of the Balinese art. Prospero's magic is used by Shakespeare to show the power of theatrical illusion, which Reed and his actors take full advantage of by creating the play through the unusual and ancient Balinese medium of shadows.
The entire play is acted out through shadow casting, with the actors wearing masks in order to heighten the dramatic effect. The technique was adapted and pioneered by Reed. In it, the actor's body becomes a puppet that manipulates the shadow.
"The shadows themselves are inherently magical. But at the same time, it's also new - totally real and yet totally untouchable," said Michelle Hurcubise, a grad student who plays Miranda.
This new art, however, brought new difficulties. "It was one of the most technical performances," McCullough said.
In order to audition for the play, all the actors had to take a class on shadow casting. Then the rehearsals began in November. "The whole first half of rehearsals was working out the art form of puppetry, and then after we had become comfortable with that, we tackled the script," Kat Pleviak, who plays Sebastian and operates many of the other non-human puppets in the play, said.
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