The Folk Art of Shadow Puppetry Alive in San Francisco

I recently received a postcard announcement from ShadowLight Productions  about their upcoming shows and recall that once, while writing for The San Francisco  Chronicle I wrote a piece about the production company’s presentation/collaboration of a Native California myth concerning Coyote (a trickster if ever there was one!).

Shadow puppetry is a fascinating folk art (and fine art) that was actually created by innovative servants of an emperor in ancient China. Technically, it is the act of moving a figure in front of a lit screen in order to make it look like the figure is actually moving. This form of entertainment dates back to the Han Dynasty when one of the emperor’s concubines passed away. He was so heartbroken that he demanded his servants bring her back to life. In a creative desperation, they used scraps of materials to build her silhouette and they were able to make her move in front of an illuminated backdrop. The King loved the entertainment and it became popular among the commoners as well. Shadow puppetry soon spread to many different parts of Asia. By the Ming Dynasty, the act was primarily used for Mongolian troops, to entertain them when they were at rest from battle. Even far away countries such as Persia, Arabia, and Turkey adopted the new form of enjoyment.

Many other countries also participated in the new form of recreation. In Taiwan, in 1644, it was known as leather puppetry, as all of the puppets were made from leather. The detail within the shows was much greater than in China, as it incuded scenery, pagodas, halls, and plants. These performances were commonly accompanied by “priest songs”. Shadow puppetry continues to have significance in Taiwanese culture and is considered to be a priceless cultural asset.

France adopted shadow puppetry in the mid 1800s when French missionaries brought it back from China. They hosted their own shows, originally entitled “Ombres chinoises” but after their French adaptations they were changed to “Ombres frainçaises”. Shadow puppetry became popular in parts of France, including the nightclub district of Montmartre.

Shadow puppets in Indonesia are primarily popular in Bali and Java and are commonly known as Wayang Kulit. Just as in Taiwan, there are several aspects of a shadow puppetry performance, which in Indonesia, can last all night long (up to six hours). There is a puppet master, gamelan players, and female choral singer. The puppets are manipulated through strings that are attached to different parts of the puppet that move. Wayang Kulit was designated as one of “Indonesia’s Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” in November 2003.

Shadow Puppetry is also a treasured practice in the United States. San Francisco is home to Shadow Light Productions, a theater which was founded by Larry Reed in order to explore the art of shadow puppetry. Reed is one of the few Americans to be trained in Wayang Kulit and has been performing the tradition around the world for 35 years.

This July 16th and 17^th Shadow Light Productions is hosting a demonstration with Reed, for those who would like to see the magic behind the curtain. For the traditional performance, be sure to check out the Asian Art Museum on August 18^th at 7pm and August 26^th at 6pm. This multidisciplinary art form includes a full cast of puppets and actors as well as a collaborating ensemble of writers, choreographers, composers, designers, actors, dancers, musicians, and puppeteers from the various performing arts traditions such as Chinese, Tibetan, Indonesian, Japanese, Filipino and Latin American. 

Definitely worth checking out!