Features

Special features at Stanford's April 1-4, 2004 Shakespeare in Asia Festival included the following programs:

Evenings with our featured artists (see EVENT Schedule for places and times):

April 1 and 2: internationally renowned Singapore director Ong Keng Sen

April 3: award-winning Japanese puppeteer Noriyuki Sawa

April 4: our grand finale: Ismail Merchant of Merchant Ivory Productions
(with a screening of Shakespeare Wallah cosponsored by the Stanford Film Society)

On Community Day April 4, a special book signing by Ismail Merchant at Stanford's Cantor Center for the Visual Arts, featuring his latest book My Passage from India and his cookbook Ismail Merchant's Passionate Meals (starting at noon)


Community Day April 4

Come for film screenings, digital displays, dance demonstrations, face-painting, puppet and mask-making, playing and theater games.

COMMUNITY DAY PROGRAM (APRIL 4) - for more information see http://communityday.stanford.edu

1. CANTOR CENTER: Ismail Merchant book signing starts at noon.

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2. KRESGE AUDITORIUM: see EVENT Schedule for program in Kresge

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3. FRANCES C. ARRILLAGA ALUMNI CENTER (Fisher Conference Rooms):

Join us for film screenings from 10 am to 4 pm, including:

  • A Dream in Hanoi cross-cultural documentary by Tom Weidlinger
  • Dancing Othello with Arjun Raina, by Ashish Avikunthak
  • Kingdom of Desire adaptation of Macbeth by Wu Hsing-kuo
  • Lear Alone experimental Peking opera performance by Wu Hsing-kuo
  • The Making of "Desdemona" on the production by Ong Keng Sen

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4. WALLENBERG HALL (Building 160):

Join us for an extraordinary montage of exciting digital and theatrical experiences, including:

All Day: FINGER PUPPET AND MASK MAKING

Create a delightful finger puppet or a beautiful mask with the TRANSFORM players, a talented group of Stanford students who offer interactive Shakespeare workshops to high school classrooms. Make tiny characters for the Globe, or masks for the Romeo and Juliet ball.

All Day: DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL DISPLAYS:

Computer kiosks and touch screens in the lobby of the Wallenberg Hall and the Peter Wallenberg Learning Theater on the first floor will feature multimedia displays and the website dedicated to Asian performances of Shakespeare. There will also be displays of images and texts on the walls in the lobby. Visitors can explore these exhibitions throughout the day and between the Asian performing arts demonstrations in and outside Wallenberg Hall.

SPECIFIC TIMES DURING THE DAY:

10-12 am -- INSIDE THE PETER WALLENBERG LEARNING THEATER (Room 124):
Internationally renowned Japanese puppeteer Noriyuki Sawa will show puppets from his performance at Stanford's Pigott Theater the night before (see EVENT Schedule).

10-12 am -- OUTSIDE WALLENBERG HALL: Join us for face-painting!
Classical Indian dancer Deepa Govind will apply Theyyam make-up on Community Day visitors. Theyyam is a ritual dance form performed by dalit (lower-caste) communities in Kerala. The symbolism of the makeup transforms a lower-caste actor into an upper-caste deity.

12:30-1:30 -- INSIDE THE PETER WALLENBERG LEARNING THEATER:
A PLAY, AND A TIME TO PLAY:

Join us for an uproariously funny student performance of "Pyramus and Thisbe" from A Midsummer Night's Dream performed by TRANSFORM (Teaching and Representing a New Shakespeare FORM). Then stay for a variety of fun and simple drama exercises where you will explore the Shakespearean experience through body and voice. A frolicking good time for children and parents alike!

1:45 - 2:45 -- OUTSIDE WALLENBERG HALL:
A wonderful demonstration of Classical Chinese theater and dance by PEONY PERFORMING ARTS, founded in 2002 to promote classical Chinese drama and dance in the Bay Area.

1:45 - 2:45 -- INSIDE THE PETER WALLENBERG LEARNING THEATER:
Classical dancer Deepa Govind will perform Kuchipudi, a South Indian dance form featuring complex footwork and dancing on brass plates, with beautiful floor patterns and music.

3-4 pm: -- INSIDE THE PETER WALLENBERG LEARNING THEATER:
Demonstration of Classical Chinese theater and dance by PEONY PERFORMING ARTS:

1. "The Rhythm": A New Classical Chinese Dance program (choreographed and performed by Xiaomu Hou)
2. Traditional Qing Dynasty Palace Dance (choreographed and performed by Xiaomu Hou)
3. Highlights from the Kunqu opera "The Peony Pavilion" (performed by Janice Ng)