WAYANG PURWA

ON THE BOARDS, SEATTLE, MAY 25-27, 1985

(Puppets by Deborah Zick - click on above images to enlarge)

In 1985 GAMELAN PACIFICA presented a shadow puppet performance at On the Boards in Seattle. The piece drew on the Javanese tradition of Wayang Purwa in a number of ways. At the same time, the approach to storytelling and production was developed to relate the piece directly to the environment in Seattle, and to the performance practice of western theater. Two actors, Steve Kumerer and Keith Jefferson became the voices of all of the puppets. The original script, WAYANG PURWA, An American Adaptation of a Javanese Shadow Play, was developed by KENT DEVEREAUX and DEBORAH ZICK. Inevitably, the remarkable improvisatory skills of Steve and Keith produced a different result every night, quite in keeping with the spirit of traditional wayang kulit practice in Java. The puppets for the production were all designed and crafted by the visual artist DEBORAH ZICK (click on the images above to enlarge). The puppets included characters from the the Hindu epic Mahabharata, a traditional source of wayang stories in Java, as well as some characters unique to the Pacifica Northwest and American culture. For example, the Marx Brothers became the stand-ins for the panakawan of traditional Javanese wayang.

Original script – The script that formed the basis of this production was later published by Writers Workshop in Calcutta. You can view a .pdf scan of the book here.

Review of the production - by Joe Adcock for the Seattle Times