Using puppets, costumes and props, Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe will begin their performance with a traditional celebratory dance piece called Kotobuki Shiki Sanbaso. Using puppetry that originated in masked Noh drama, the Sanbaso starts as a light-hearted performance meant to purify the theater and scatter good fortune on the audience. Using lively gestures, the troupe will mimic the planting of rice and presence of animals. Not only is this an uplifting and joyful story, it is also incredibly humorous because dispersing good fortune and cleansing a theater requires a lot of energy and the characters begin to act strange when tired.
After the theatre is purified and the audience has received a nice dusting of good fortune, Bunraku will beginthe Lion Dance. As the newest addition to the repertoire of Bunraku, this piece is performed throughout East Asia. Continuing with the theme of joy and good luck, the Lion Dance is a lively and engaging story of a lion with magical powers and can spread intelligence and good health to whomever he bites. Unfortunately for the lion, he doesn’t have the gift of luck that he bestows upon others and often awakes from naps grumpy after being awakened by pesky visitors.
At the end of the Lion Dance, Bunraku opens the stage up to guest puppeteers – audience members! Hands-on training from the Bunraku masters includes maneuvering and controlling the puppets and more.
About Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe
(from the company)
Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe is the only troupe in the United States that performs the traditional Japanese puppetry known as “ningyo joruri” or Bunraku. The “bay” of the Troupe’s name derives from the Bay State of Massachusetts, where the Troupe was first organized, and from the “bei” (pronounced “bay”) of the Japanese word “Beikoku,” which means “America,” suggesting the Troupe’s slogan, “Traditional Japanese Puppetry in America.”
The performers of the Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe have been trained in Japan by artists from the 170-year-old Tonda Puppet Troupe of Biwa-cho in Shiga Prefecture, northeast of the old capital of Kyoto, and the Imada Puppet Troupe and Kuroda Puppet Troupe–both more than 300 years old–of Iida City in Nagano Prefecture in central Japan. Under the direction of Prof. Martin Holman of the Japanese Studies Program at the main campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe offers performances of pieces from the traditional Bunraku repertoire, as well as puppetry demonstrations and workshops.
Show Info
Eve Alvord Theatre
Pantages Theatre in Tacoma
55 minutes
We suggest this for ages 3-8
Watch the video
Show Times – Seattle
Day
Date
Time
Code
Tues
5/11
10:00am
J02
Wed
5/12
10:00am
J10
Thur
5/13
10:00am
J18
Fri
5/14
11:30am
J30
Sat
5/15
11:30am
Show Times – Tacoma
Day
Date
Time
Code
Mon
5/17
10:00am
ZJ02
School/Org Tickets
Type
Price
School/Org.
$9.00
Subsidized
$4.50
Schools/Groups: this show can be part of a package rate. Order now!
2010 Performers
Kotobuki Shiki Sanbaso and The Lion Dance
USA/Japan
About Kotobuki Shiki Sanbaso and The Lion Dance
Using puppets, costumes and props, Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe will begin their performance with a traditional celebratory dance piece called Kotobuki Shiki Sanbaso. Using puppetry that originated in masked Noh drama, the Sanbaso starts as a light-hearted performance meant to purify the theater and scatter good fortune on the audience. Using lively gestures, the troupe will mimic the planting of rice and presence of animals. Not only is this an uplifting and joyful story, it is also incredibly humorous because dispersing good fortune and cleansing a theater requires a lot of energy and the characters begin to act strange when tired.
After the theatre is purified and the audience has received a nice dusting of good fortune, Bunraku will begin the Lion Dance. As the newest addition to the repertoire of Bunraku, this piece is performed throughout East Asia. Continuing with the theme of joy and good luck, the Lion Dance is a lively and engaging story of a lion with magical powers and can spread intelligence and good health to whomever he bites. Unfortunately for the lion, he doesn’t have the gift of luck that he bestows upon others and often awakes from naps grumpy after being awakened by pesky visitors.
At the end of the Lion Dance, Bunraku opens the stage up to guest puppeteers – audience members! Hands-on training from the Bunraku masters includes maneuvering and controlling the puppets and more.
About Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe
(from the company)
Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe is the only troupe in the United States that performs the traditional Japanese puppetry known as “ningyo joruri” or Bunraku. The “bay” of the Troupe’s name derives from the Bay State of Massachusetts, where the Troupe was first organized, and from the “bei” (pronounced “bay”) of the Japanese word “Beikoku,” which means “America,” suggesting the Troupe’s slogan, “Traditional Japanese Puppetry in America.”
The performers of the Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe have been trained in Japan by artists from the 170-year-old Tonda Puppet Troupe of Biwa-cho in Shiga Prefecture, northeast of the old capital of Kyoto, and the Imada Puppet Troupe and Kuroda Puppet Troupe–both more than 300 years old–of Iida City in Nagano Prefecture in central Japan. Under the direction of Prof. Martin Holman of the Japanese Studies Program at the main campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe offers performances of pieces from the traditional Bunraku repertoire, as well as puppetry demonstrations and workshops.