Awaji Puppet Theater Company March 5, 2009

Awaji Puppet Theater Company

With live chanting and shamisen music accompaniment
Thursday, March 5, 7:30 PM
Friday, March 6, 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 7, 2:30 PM — Family Matinee
Saturday, March 7, 7:30 PM

Pre-performance Lecture at 6:30 pm for all evening performances by puppet scholar Jane Marie Law of Cornell University and the artists, free to ticket holders.

Pre-performance Demonstration for Children at 1:30 pm on March 7 before the Family Matinee by the artists. Open to families with children’s tickets only.

For the first time in 10 years, Awaji Puppet Theater Company, designated an Intangible Folk Asset by the Japanese government, returns to New York with a stunning program. Often referred to as the origin of bunraku puppetry, the Awaji performance traditions passed down for over 500 years share the ancient technique of three-man manipulation of puppets. The company performs segments from classical dance pieces including Ebisu-Mai (Dance of the Fisherman God) and Hidaka-gawa Iriaizakura, based on the famous folktale of a lovelorn woman and her transformation into a serpent, as well as an episode from the traditional drama Tsubosaka Reigen-ki about the double suicide of a blind masseuse and his wife, and the divine miracle that brings them back to life. This intricate program highlights the Awaji puppet’s elaborate theater sets and props, and the highly refined mechanisms that manipulate the facial expressions of the puppets. With live chanting and shamisen music accompaniment.

In Japanese with English subtitles.

Official Website: http://www.japansociety.org/content.cfm/event_detail?eid=2c7a8399