Theatre of Yugen's 08-09 Season

on tour in Serbia

June 29, 2009- Dah Teatar Belgrade, Serbia

July 1, 2009 - INFANT Festival Noiv Sad, Serbia

Shuron (A Religious Dispute)
A Classic Kyogen performed in English In a new translation by Yuriko Doi with Theatre of Yugen

Two traveling priests agree to travel together as they return home from their individual religious retreats. Flush with pride for their own sect's teaching, each attempts to show the enlightened path to the other. When a religious debate turns into a duel to convert the other, the prayers fly fast and furious, but who will be saved?

Pretty
The fifth (Demon Category) play in The Cycle Plays written and Directed by Erik Ehn with Theatre of Yugen

A young girl is abducted from her bedroom and eventually murdered, leaving her father not only to grieve for her memory but to see her transfigured in the limelight of the press. She is violated—neither her home, nor her body, nor her mind is safe from intrusion--but is too powerful simply to subside after death; she must first learn to be dead, and turns the tables on her captor. “An old woman with a cane, she commands angels,” who strip and bind him as he sleeps. Later, she confronts him in hell; later still, she will go to heaven.

A demon play is traditionally hectic, and Pretty is no exception: it narrates both the act of violence and the process by which a crime, and especially the public response to it, morphs its participants into symbols. An innocent girl who played games and had sleepovers with friends is “complicated into a fouled net of natural signifiers,” and the world of this play is likewise dense with signs to be decoded or absorbed. A bee rides the perpetrator and his victim, a worm is a snake, birds hatch yellow jackets, and a rat does a drunken dance with beetles.

At long last, what started as a nightmare comes to feel more like a dream, and as the father says at the beginning of the play, “Dreaming is dressing a wound.” The beloved is saved, and the witnesses, too, are healed.

synopsis by Edith Reisner Newton

Theatre of Yugen Touring in 08-09
	on tour in Serbia June 29, 2009- Dah Teatar Belgrade, Serbia July 1, 2009 - INFANT Festival Noiv Sad, Serbia Shuron (A Religious Dispute) A Classic Kyogen performed in English In a new translation by Yuriko Doi with Theatre of Yugen Two traveling priests agree to travel together as they return home from their individual religious retreats. Flush with pride for their own sect's teaching, each attempts to show the enlightened path to the other. When a religious debate turns into a duel to convert the other, the prayers fly fast and furious, but who will be saved? Pretty The fifth (Demon Category) play in The Cycle Plays written and Directed by Erik Ehn with Theatre of Yugen A young girl is abducted from her bedroom and eventually murdered, leaving her father not only to grieve for her memory but to see her transfigured in the limelight of the press. She is violated—neither her home, nor her body, nor her mind is safe from intrusion--but is too powerful simply to subside after death; she must first learn to be dead, and turns the tables on her captor. “An old woman with a cane, she commands angels,” who strip and bind him as he sleeps. Later, she confronts him in hell; later still, she will go to heaven. A demon play is traditionally hectic, and Pretty is no exception: it narrates both the act of violence and the process by which a crime, and especially the public response to it, morphs its participants into symbols. An innocent girl who played games and had sleepovers with friends is “complicated into a fouled net of natural signifiers,” and the world of this play is likewise dense with signs to be decoded or absorbed. A bee rides the perpetrator and his victim, a worm is a snake, birds hatch yellow jackets, and a rat does a drunken dance with beetles. At long last, what started as a nightmare comes to feel more like a dream, and as the father says at the beginning of the play, “Dreaming is dressing a wound.” The beloved is saved, and the witnesses, too, are healed. synopsis by Edith Reisner Newton

	on tour in New York State Friday, October 3, 2008 at 8 PM Buffalo Seminary 512 Lafayette Ave Buffalo, NY 14222 Presented in cooperation with The Asian Studies Program at the University of Buffalo Saturday, October 4, 2008 at 8 PM NACL Theatre (North American Cultural Laboratory) 110 Highland Lake Rd. Highland Lake, NY 12743 Box Office: 845-557-0694 nacl@nacl.org - www.nacl.org Tickets are $15 - Free for (NACL) Members Shuron (A Religious Dispute) A Classic Kyogen performed in English In a new translation by Yuriko Doi with Theatre of Yugen Two traveling priests agree to travel together as they return home from their individual religious retreats. Flush with pride for their own sect's teaching, each attempts to show the enlightened path to the other. When a religious debate turns into a duel to convert the other, the prayers fly fast and furious, but who will be saved? Llanto A Fusion Production created utilizing the theatrical sensibilities of Noh directed by Lluis Valls The passion of flamenco filtered through the powerful restraint of Noh in this adaptation of Lorca's Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias. Life is short, death is forever; Lorca's famous ode to a fallen matador who lived life to it's fullest and never flinched when the horns came near.

	Deep Time A practical investigation into Nohgaku Sunday, October 5, 2008 from 1-5 PM Don't miss this rare theatrical experience led by Jubilith Moore of Theatre of Yugen. Open to everyone! The focus will be on the theatrical musicality of the performer's body in space and time . Participants will work to re-calibrate their understanding and use of time by exploring the audacity of listening. $45 - Call 845-557-0694 to register NACL Theatre (North American Cultural Laboratory) 110 Highland Lake Rd. Highland Lake, NY 12743

	Just say Noh Introduction to Noh and Kyogen (Japanese Theatre) Saturday, October 11, 2008 7 PM Joint Artistic Director Jubilith Moore introduces the foundational elements and principles of these traditional Japanese theatre forms. This lecture / demonstration is free and open to the public. Nohgaku Workshop Saturday and Sunday, October 18 & 19, 2008 1 - 5 pm Joint Artistic Director Jubilith Moore leadd an investigation into Nohgaku (traditional Japanese theatre forms of Noh and Kyogen). $100 for the two-day workshop, $85 for HOH members. Registration required. Scholarships are available. Hudson Opera House 327 Warren Street, Hudson, New York 12534 Phone 518 822-1438 www.hudsonoperahouse.org

Theatre of Yugen's 30th Anniversary Season was generously funded in part by our supportive individual donors, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Rockefeller MAP, and the San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund/Grants for the Arts.