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Cowell Theater
The rich theatrical traditions of Southeast Asia are the focus
of a remarkable festival at the Cowell in October. A Gathering
of Gamelans is seven days of gamelan orchestras,
dances, and wayang shadow puppetry and theater from
Java and Bali – islands in the Indonesian archipelago.
Gathering Of Gamelans also features dance and music
from Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines.
Eight groups perform in the first week of the festival. Balinese
shadow master Dalang I Nyoman Sumandhi and San Francisco’s
ShadowLight Productions present a wayang episode from
a 10th-century Hindu hero myth about Arjuna. Wayang
is Indonesian shadow theater, which uses light to project
shadows of puppet characters and scenery onto a translucent
screen.
 The
University of California, Santa Cruz Wayang Ensemble continues
Arjuna’s story using West Javanese rod puppets and Undang
Sumarna’s powerful percussion. Gamelan Sari Raras and
shadow master Midiyanto conclude the trilogy with "Arjuna’s
Wedding." Gamelan music for the three performances
features compelling tones from bronze gongs, chimes, drums,
flutes, and stringed instruments. Gamelan Sekar Jaya performs
gamelan jegog, rare music from West Bali created with
giant bamboo marimbas.
Choreographer and dancer Charya Burt performs Forever My
Ancestors, a stirring example of Khmer dance set to Master
Ho Chan’s classical Cambodian music. The Pusaka Sunda
group performs a tari topeng masked dance and sensual
gamelan degung music of West Java, accompanied by Burhan
Sukarma, master of the suling, a Sundanese bamboo flute.
The Thai Cultural Center of the San Francisco Bay Area and
the Palabuniyan Kulintang Ensemble from the Mindanao Islands
in the Philippines present music and dance traditions from
their cultures.
 During
the second week of the Gathering of Gamelans festival
(October 20-23), show organizers Gamelan Sekar Jaya and ShadowLight
Productions perform the world premiere of A (Balinese)
Tempest. This retelling of Shakespeare’s Tempest
fuses ShadowLight’s cinematic, wide-screen theater and
phenomenal shadow puppetry with Gamelan Sekar Jaya’s
acclaimed live music. Guest Balinese music director I Made
Terip composed the original score.
A Gathering of Gamelans received support from Fort
Mason Foundation’s Shulte Grants for the Arts and Crafts.
The Zellerbach Family Fund and the William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation also contributed to this stellar production.
The gamelan and wayang festival at the Cowell
is an uncommon chance to experience contemporary expressions
of cherished Asian theater traditions. For more information,
see the October
13 calendar listing and ShadowLight’s web site at
www.shadowlight.org.
– Claudia Willen
Images: I Nyoman Sumandhi (Shadowlight); Thai Cultural Center,
Photo Nicha Piptitanaphan; Pusaka Sunda, Photo Dave Lepori
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