Premiere Performance"The Beauty of NOH"
Tomoe and Yoshinaka
About the show
This is a rare chance for Seattle audiences to see the authentic Noh play, "Tomoe," performed in traditional style by Munenori Takeda, one of Japan's young Noh stars, and the Takeda Noh Troupe, from Japan's pre-eminent Kanze School dating back to the 1300s.
The program includes Seattle's own Garrett Fisher, who pays tribute to this ancient theatre form with his original work, "Yoshinaka" - inspired by the beauty of Noh and drawn from the same Noh play as "Tomoe."
To help audiences understand and appreciate this ancient and beautiful form of masked drama, we have arranged for English supertitles at the ACT Theatre performances. Don't miss this opportunity to experience Noh with this unique educational feature.
This project is made possible by the support of the Commemorative Organization for the Japan World Exposition (COJWE), the Toshiba International Foundation (TIFO), and numerous individual donors who value the universal beauty of Japan's heritage arts.
Part 2: YOSHINAKA (NOH Opera)
In this world premiere, Garrett Fisher’s "Yoshinaka," featuring a cross-cultural collaboration between internationally acclaimed Fisher Ensemble with Noh master Munenori Takeda, invites audiences to re-imagine the contemporary world for through lenses of myth and
history. Performers include: José Luis Muñoz, Jordan McClellan, Matt Richardson (singers), Christy Fisher (Dancer), as well as Munenori Takeda from the Takeda Noh Troupe.
Part 1: TOMOE (Traditional NOH)
The Takeda Noh Troupe, led by Munenori Takeda, performs the traditional Noh play, "Tomoe." A monk on a pilgrimage encounters a woman at a shrine who weeps while she prays. She tells of the deity enshrined there, the warrior Yoshinaka, and then disappears. What is the reason for her devotion?
Noh Opera "Yoshinaka" -Director's note-
The seeds of our performance are rooted in a cross-cultural collaboration between the brilliant Noh theatre master Munenori Takeda and internationally acclaimed U.S. composer Garrett Fisher. Ideas traveled across oceans, flickered on computer screens and survived various translations to make their way to you this evening. The opera Yoshinaka recounts the long-lived tales of the Gichuji (Yoshinaka) Temple in Japan where the hero and heroine, Yoshinaka and Tomoe Gozen, are buried, joined later by the renowned 17th century Haiku poet Basho Matsuo. The story of unrequited love tells of these restless spirits separated in this world and the next, as they seek to be reunited in the afterlife to heal their broken hearts.
Tikka Sears, Director of Yoshinaka
Noh + Opera™ project worldwide sponsorship: Five Senses Inc.
September 29th and 30th
Interactive workshop "Experience NOH"
Sponsored byBellevue Children's Academy
Post Performance Party
”打ち上げ”
4 -5 pm, September 28 2014,Following the last Noh performance
Bullitt Cabaret in ACT Theatre
Suggested donation 10$ per person (pay at the door)
Sponsored by North American Post
Special Evening @ Seattle Japanese Garden
THE UNIVERSALITY OF NOH “CROSSING BORDERS”
September 25, 2014 (Thursday)
6.30pm-7.30pm