VISIBLE RELIGION

WALKER ART CENTER, MINNEAPOLIS 10-8-1994

PERFORMING ARTS CHICAGO, STEPPENWOLF THEATER 9/29 – 10/2/1994

ON THE BOARDS, SEATTLE 9/22 – 9/25/1994

“This was the real stuff of myth and marvel, a cross-cultural collaboration of grand spectacle, ingenious integration, and dense, layered, almost hallucinatory aural and visual textures…” – Eric Scigliano, Seattle Weekly

“The sheer beauty of what you see and hear may very well be enough to turn you into a true believer with faith in the simple joy and splendor of great artistry, if nothing else.” – Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times

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Created by Sri Djoko Rahardja, I Made Sidia, Jarrad Powell, Tony Prabowo, John Boesche, and Kent Devereasux.

Sri Djoko Rahardjo and I Made Sidia, puppeteers, additional puppetry by Made Lesmawan and Daniel McGuire

Music composed by Jarrad Powell and Tony Prabowo

Performed by Gamelan Pacifica, with Thomasa Eckert, soprano and narration

Set and projection design by John Boesche;

Produced and directed by Kent Devereaux;

Gamelan Pacifica: Jarrad Powell (director), Merlin Coleman, Tom Fallat, Signy Jakobsdottir, Jon Keliehor, Jim Madara, Maria Angelita Omo, Key Ransone, and Matthew Sperry.

Visible Religion employed as its starting point two stories, the Balinese epic Bima Suarga and the 14th century century Italian poet Dante Aligheri’s La Commedia. It was also the journey of six generative artists from different parts of the globe working across geographic and cultural differences to arrive at a meaningful collaboration. It manifested ultimately as a shadow puppet play with striking photographic projections and gamelan music.

Visible Religion was co-commissioned by Performing Arts Chicago, On the Boards, the Walker Arts Center, and Gamelan Pacifica and made possible with assistance from the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts International, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Seattle Arts Commission, the King County Arts Commission, P.T. Freeport Indonesia, Meet the Composer, and Garuda Indonesia Airlines.

PROGRAM NOTES: On the Boards - Performing Arts Chicago - Walker Art Center

PRESS: Reviews