Awaji Puppet Theater Company

March 7, 2009
past event image
Performance past event

Advance tickets for the performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday are sold out, however a limited number of tickets may be available at the door. A waiting list will begin one hour prior to curtain. Please sign up in person (no phone calls) at the box office. Limit two tickets per name.

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.

View an image gallery from the show.

Tickets

$42/$38 Japan Society members
Family Matinee only Children 12 and under $10

Advance tickets for the performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday are sold out, however a limited number of tickets may be available at the door. A waiting list will begin one hour prior to curtain. Please sign up in person (no phone calls) at the box office. Limit two tickets per name.

Awaji Puppet Theater Company tours:
Firehall Arts Centre, Vancouver Cultural Olympiad (Vancouver, BC), Feb 12-14
REDCAT (Los Angeles, CA), Feb 17 & 18
World Music Hall, Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT), Feb 21 & 22
Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), Feb 24 & 25
Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts (Amherst, MA), Feb 27 & 28
’62 Center, Williams College (Williamstown, MA), Mar 2

The seven-city North American tour of Awaji Puppet Theater Company is organized and produced by the Japan Society, New York, in partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and is supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan; The Japan Foundation through the Performing Arts JAPAN program; The Jim Henson Foundation; and Awaji Ningyo Shibai Support Group.

  • Saturday, March 7, 2009
  • 2:30 pm