As part of its Fall Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will host Javanase musician and scholar Sumarsam of Wesleyan University for a fascinating presentation entitled “Javanese Puppet Theater and the West” on Wednesday, October 28 at 7 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater, located at 1 Royce Circle in Storrs Center. The event will also include a book signing for Professor Sumarsam's new work, Javanese Gamelan and the West, hosted by the UConn Co-op Bookstore.
Sumarsam's talk will include discussion of the complex nature of Javanese wayang kulit shadow theater in the context of his recent research into the history of Javanese gamelan culture. Professor Sumarsam's work analyzes adaptations in gamelan art as a result of Western colonialism in nineteenth-century Java, showing how Western musical and dramatic practices were domesticated by Javanese performers to create hybrid Javanese-Western art forms, such as with the introduction of brass bands in traditional court music and western theatrical idioms in contemporary wayang puppet plays.
Admission to this event is free (donations greatly appreciated!), and refreshments will be served. Come early, and experience our puppet exhibitions, as well as the video resources in our library nook. This forum will also be live-streamed on our UStream page.
For more information, contact: Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at (860)486-8580 or bimp@uconn.edu