LIED CENTER PRESENTS
Guru of Chai A production by Indian Theatre Company Can life’s answers be found in a Bangalore train station?
Thursday-Saturday, February 7-9, 7:30 p.m. This event is sponsored, in part, by the Lied Performance Fund.
Guru of Chai There will be no intermission during this performance. In 1996 we, Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis, founded the Indian Ink Theatre Company. We share a love of mask and story, a sense of humor and a theatre’s ability to change the way people see the world. We look to reinvigorate old ancient theatrical forms to captivate modern audiences. We draw inspiration from the collision of Indian culture and the western world. We seek to balance entertainment with nourishment of the soul. It’s a philosophy we call “the serious laugh,” opening your mouth and mind with laughter in order to slip something more serious in. The result has been shows that have toured internationally from our New Zealand base, a stunningly beautiful and varied island nation nestled in a corner of the Pacific, to critical and popular acclaim. We aim to transcend cultural barriers with compelling stories that encompass the epic and the intimate, the profound and the simple, the sublime and the ridiculous. Over 15 years our company has been blessed with a team of talented collaborators including Murray Edmond, dramaturge; David Ward, composer and musician; John Verryt, set designer; Cathy Knowsley, technical manager and lighting designer; and Louise Gallagher, producer and general manager. Together they’ve helped us become one of New Zealand’s most successful theatre companies. Our plays: Krishnan’s Dairy, The Candlestickmaker, The Pickle King and The Dentist’s Chair have all explored the universal truths of life and Guru of Chai is the latest in the series. We are currently working on a new show, which will premiere this year. The new show will continue our vision of making theatre that is beautiful, funny, sad and true. We’d love to keep in touch, so please find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, indianinkNZ, and sign up on our website, indianink.co.nz.
GURU OF CHAI
Our People Justin Lewis – Director, Writer, Executive Producer
Cathy Knowsley –Technical Manager and Lighting Designer
Justin Lewis – Writer, Director
Murray Edmond - Dramaturge
Jacob Rajan - Writer, Actor
John Verryt – Set and Costume Designer
David Ward – Composer, Musician
Jeremy Fern – Original Lighting Design Concept
Louise Gallagher – Producer, General Manager
Ravi Muthu – Indian Singing Advisor
We met our inspiration Nyoman Sukerta in Bali. He is a master mask dancer and shadow puppeteer. He is a squat little man who can move with astonishing grace and fluidity. He is always smiling, always laughing, has a weakness for beer and cockfighting, is steeped in the traditions and nuances of shadow puppetry and mask yet desperate to have a Facebook page. Gently worried about his growing paunch, his ambition toward wealth and status are at odds with his desire to go fishing at every opportunity. He indulges his children and exasperates his long-suffering wife. The man literally danced into our lives and onto the pages of this play as a fully formed character. In Bali we experienced the arts as part of daily life. It was alive in all sorts of contexts, needing only the simplest of technologies yet displaying incredible sophistication of form. And of course, the island and the people inspired us. The world of the street carts and hawkers where ancient and modern collide informed the world of our Guru. The story itself is inspired by the Indian fairy tale Punchkin. This story got under our skin with its rich cast of characters and complex morality but its sprawling narrative held us at bay for some time. The breakthrough came when Murray Edmond encouraged us to set the story in a contemporary context. We focused on just a part of that original story and suddenly we found we had a romantic thriller. We’re drawn to the power of old stories and theatrical forms and take great pleasure from rediscovering them in a contemporary context. For us this piece is a collision of the ancient and the modern, of the poor and sophisticated, the intimate and the epic. It is an old fashioned piece of storytelling and it’s got great tunes! The challenge given to composer David Ward was the one we wrestled with ourselves. How do we convey multiple locations, the chaos and complexity of contemporary India and a story that spans decades? The old form of the storyteller allows us to make jump cuts, instant changes of location and time like in a film. But instead of technology the power of the audience’s imagination is the vehicle for this. And as in a film, the sound track is half the telling. It has taken us the best part of two years to arrive at this point and we’re very happy to be here with you tonight. In our process we bring David in near the end – like the calvary. Maybe it’s appropriate to finish with the words of a composer. “Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.” -Frederic Chopin Booking direction by David Lieberman- Artist Representative Post Office Box 10368 Newport Beach, CA 92658 714-979-4700 • info@dlartists.com lied.ku.edu | LIED CENTER PRESENTS
LIED CENTER PRESENTS it gets better The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles presents a powerful message of love, unity and hope February 16, 7:30 p.m.
A performing arts response to the difficult issue of bullying, one of the most challenging issues among today's young adults and adolescents.
TO ORDER: 785-864-2787 | lied.ku.edu
MUMMENSCHANZ 40 Years Legendary Swiss pantomime troupe featured on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show
March 8 7:30 p.m.
Sponsored by
“What Mummenschanz does so extraordinarily well is create its own comic universe — a place of constant wonder and ingenuity.” — Boston Herald
TO ORDER: 785-864-2787 | lied.ku.edu
LIED CENTER PRESENTS
PERFORMANCES
The Band of the Scots Guards and The Pipes, Drums, Highland Dancers of The Black Watch 3rd Battalion
Narek Arutyunian
Vibrant young clarinet SUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2:00 p.m.
FRIDAY, FEB. 15, 7:30 p.m.
MUMMENSCHANZ 40 Years
it gets better
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles presents a powerful message of love, unity and hope
SATURDAY, FEB. 16, 7:30 p.m.
West Side Story
A timeless love story with Tony Award-winning choreography TUESDAY, FEB. 19, 7:30 p.m.
Russian National Orchestra
Daniil Trifonov, pianist Works by Tchaikovsky, Dvor˘ák and more THURSDAY, FEB. 21, 7:30 p.m.
TO ORDER: 785-864-2787 | lied.ku.edu GURU OF CHAI
Legendary Swiss pantomime troupe featured on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 7:30 p.m.
Regina Carter, jazz violinist Modern jazz genius captures the essence of African music FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 7:30 p.m.
Brentano String Quartet Fragments — Connecting Past and Present FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 7:30 p.m.
Pre-K Through 12th Grade Education Events Free at the Lied Center
In the fall… More than 2,500 third through fifth graders attended school-only performances of Great Mountain. Approximately 200 high school students attended a performance of Nearly Lear. Southwest Middle School students created lobby exhibits about Indian culture. They are exhibited in the Lied Center lobby.
Upcoming events… • School-only performance of Mermaid Theatre’s A Brown Bear, A Caterpillar and A Moon, treasured stories by Eric Carle • 3rd Grade Theatre Arts Day for Lawrence third graders • Performing Arts 3to5 for area three-to-five-year-olds • Learning About the Environment Through the Arts for Lawrence second graders • Learn more about Engagement and Education at lied.ku.edu/education. Individuals and businesses, support Engagement and Education at the Lied Center by joining the Friends of the Lied. lied.ku.edu/donate Megan Poindexter, director of development meganp@ku.edu 785-864-2788 ENGAGEMENT AND EDUCATION |
lied.ku.edu/education
Friends of the Lied 2012-13 UPDATE
This list includes individuals and businesses that have initiated or renewed their Friends of the Lied membership since the original list was published.
BUSINESS FRIENDS FELLOW ($2,500+) Holiday Inn - Lawrence BENEFACTOR ($1000+) Crown Automotive Org. Westar Energy PATRON ($500+) Commerce Bank The Janssen Clinic of Natural Medicine SPONSOR ($250+) Weaver’s FRIEND ($100+) Bradley Animal Hospital, PA Wheat State Pizza
INDIVIDUAL FRIENDS BENEFACTOR ($1,000+) Steve & Maggie Dixon Karen & Keith Ely Mike & Jennie Storm PATRON ($500+) Tyrone Duncan & Bozenna Pasik-Duncan Stephen & Bobbie Gish Rosita & Roger McCoy SPONSOR ($250+) Jay & Ingrid Alexander Tony & Pete Mynsted Piersol Foundation Ira & Rhea Rakestraw
CONTRIBUTOR ($100+) Marion & Chris Anderson Bill & Nancy Brady Joe & Vicki Douglas Doug & Becky Eason Cap & Kitty Gray John & Susan Gronbeck Tedesco Gail & Peter Hansen Mark and Diana Hoppe Rich Kaler & Brad Knauss Patrick & Amy Kelly Se Hyun Kim Dr. Fernando Merino & Dr. Caroline Chaboo Tom & Cleo Murphy Joe & Rita Spradlin Karen & Arturo Thompson Marian Warriner Sandra & Allen Wiechert Sara Trautman-Yegenoglu & Ferit Tegenoglu FRIENDS ($50+) David Brown Jim & Yun Butler Barbara M. Duke Suzanne & Verlin Gilbert Marilou Cavin & James Hopper Loraine H. Lindenbaum Terry & Debora Penecost Adela Solis Helen & Tom Sullivan
YOU CAN SUPPORT THE LIED, TOO! For more information or to join the Friends of the Lied, please contact the Lied Center Director of Development, Megan Poindexter, at 785-864-2788 or meganp@ku.edu or go to lied.ku.edu/donate. 2012-13 FRIENDS OF THE LIED UPDATE