Project Budget

Grant Request

Title:

Artists:

Description:

Chinese Theatre Works

Long Island City NY

Stephen Kaplin

Four SeasonsChinese Theatre Works requests a $4000 Family Grant for the design, development and workshop production of“Four Seasons,” a large-scale shadow and puppet production that will be performed publicly beginning in theFall of 2017.

$22,000

$4,000

Four Seasons Project- workshop performance at Yangzhou Puppet Theater, Dec 13, 2015

Kuang-Yu Fong- director and workshop leader; Stephen Kaplin- co director and co-leader, technicaldesign, Alison Desalvo- singer, choreographer; Alexandra Young- co-workshop leader; 16 members ofthe YPT troupe- performers.

Backstage of the shadow performance that culminated the intensive workshop with CTW andYangzhou Puppet Theater artists.

917-723-3548

37-18 Northern Boulevard #10511101

chinesetheatreworks@gmail.comchinesetheatreworks.org

VIDEO SAMPLE

CONTACT

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Chinese Theatre Works501 (c)(3):

2015 Project - Mulan: Holding Up Halfthe Sky2011 Project - Chang-Er Flies to theMoon2007 Project - Songs from YellowEarth2005 Seed - Books of Songs2003 Project (3k) - Journey to the West2002 Project - The Legend of WhiteSnake1996 Seed - The Unfinished Eye

PAST GRANTS AWARDED

FAMILY

ChineseTheatreWorksrequestsa$4000FamilyGrantforthedesign,developmentandworkshopproductionof“FourSeasons,”alarge-scaleshadowandpuppetproductionaimedforFamilyaudiences.TheFourSeasonsProjectgrewoutofaworkshopproductiondevelopedinresidencywiththeYangzhouPuppetTheaterinYangzhouChinaintheDecemberof2015.TheresidencywasmadepossiblebyaTheaterCommunicationsGuild“OntheRoad”travelgrantandbythewholeheartedsupportofYPT’sExecutiveDirector,RonghuaDai.4CTWcompanymembersand16membersofYPT’sstaffandperformancetroupecollaboratedintenselyforaweektocreatea20minuteshadowplay,builtuponthethematicstructureoftheuniversalcyclesoftimeandseasonalchanges.Instagingthissimplestructure(whichneedednotranslation)wedrewuponastyleofshadow/operaperformancethatCTWhaspioneeredoverthelast20years,andupontheadvancedpuppetmanipulationskillsanddancetrainingoftheYPTtroupemembers.Together,wecreatedfourbriefshadowsequencesforoverheadprojector,humansilhouette,3-dimensionalshadowmasks,rodpuppetsanddirect-screenshadoweffects.Thewordlesssequencesoftableausandmovementwereaccompaniedbyclassicalpoetictextsandmusic.Thiscollaborativeproductionwasreceivedwithgreatenthusiasmwhenitwaspresentedforothercompanymembers,friendsandfamily.Subsequently,wehavebeenindiscussionwithDirectorDaionhowbesttofollowupthesuccessofthisinitialcollaborativeendeavor.WedecidedthatthenextphaseofproductionshouldtakeplaceinNewYorkCitybetweenWinter,2016andFall/Winter2017,withthegoaltocreateafinishedversionoftheproductionthatcouldbethenreworkedbyYPTfortouringtoaudiencesinChina.TheprinciplecreativestafffortheNYCFourSeasonstouringproductionwillinclude--Kuang-YuFong(co-directorandwriter/translator),StephenKaplin(co-directorandtechnicaldesigner),SpicaWobbe(shadowdesign),TuLinghuai(ChineseOperaconsultantandchoreographer),NuoAn(Dance),PhyllisChen(Composer)andJunlingWang(MusicalDirector).WeplantostartproductioninDecember,2016inordertofleshoutthesimplestructuralframeworkcreatedinYangzhou.Inthefirsthalfof2017weintendtodevelopasequenceof4linking“landscapescrolls”(twoofNewYorkCityandtwooftheculturallyrichregionaroundthecityofYangzhou);createanewsetoflife-sized3-dshadowfiguresand4OPanimationsequencesbasedonChinesecalligraphy;choreographseveralmovement-basedshadowscenesdrawnfromChineseliterature-includingportionsofthewonderfullyevocativeTangDynastypoemcycle,“18SongsofaNomadFlute.”Wewillalsobeworkingatthistimewiththeaward-winningcomposerPhyllisChentocraftamusicalscoreandsoniclandscapefortheshow.IntheSummerof2017wewillworkinresidenceatFlushingTownHalltobeginrehearsalswithfullstageandlightingequipment.PortionsoftheworkwillbepresentedatFTHaspartoftheirannualAutumnMoonFestivalprogramintheFall,2017,andadditionalpublicperformancesofthecompleteworkwillbegiventhroughtheFall,2017-Springof-18inothervenuesaroundNYC,subsequenttopremiereofthecompleteproductioninSpring2018.FundsfromtheHensonFoundationwouldgotowardsthecostofbuildingshadowmasks,puppets,shadow-scapes,aportablescreen,purchasingnecessarylightingequipment,aswellasforsomeofthefeesfortheprinciplecreativestaffandcrewinvolvedintheresidencyatFlushingTownHall(summer,2017)andtheinitialpreviewperformancesatFTHintheFallof2017.

2016—Fall/Winter—Productionmeetings,withcore-creativeteam.Storyboarding,Designandscripting.2017—Winter/Spring—Productionofshadowmasks,puppetsandscenicplates.ShadowStageconstruction.Summer—FirstrehearsalintensiveResidencyatFlushingTownHall,Recordingsessionsformusicandvocaltracks.PreviewperformanceatFTH.Fall—Secondrehearsalintensive.AdditionalpublicperformancesinvariousNYCvenuesthroughoutWinter.2018—Spring/Summer--TourinNYCandregionally.Fall/Winter--BringproductiontoYangzhouforfurthercollaborativeworkwiththeYPCcompany.PremiereChineseversionoftheproductioninYPC’shometheaterspace.SubsequentperformancesinYangzhouandnearbyChinesecitiesandtownswillbeproducedandarrangedthroughYPT.

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BUDGET--FOURSEASONSProject

EXPENSESPersonnel- Directors/TechnicalDesigner-2x1000 2,000 Composer 750 AssistantShadowDesigner 500 ChineseOperaconsultantandchoreographer 500 Dancechoreographer 500 MusicDirector/Arranger 500 StageManager 750 Performers7x$750 5200 Musicians4x$600 2500 Outsidetechpersonnelandlabor 1250TotalPersonnel $14,450 OtherExpenses- FICA,PayrollandSS-(12%ofPersonnel) 1750 Materialsandsupplies- 600 Lightingandtechnicalequipment 1400 Studiorental 800 Recordingstudiorental 600 Miscexpenses(Travel,adminoverhead,publicity,etc.) 2400TotalOtherExpense 7550TOTALEXPENSES $22,000 INCOME DCA-(CDC) 5000 NYSCA-(SpecialArtsServices) 6000 EarnedIncome 4000 Donations 3000 HensonFoundation 4000TOTALINCOME- $22,000

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FOURSEASONSProject—Companybios

Kuang Yu Fong (Co-Director & Writer) majored in Chinese Opera at the Chinese Cultural University in Taiwan and received an M.A. in Educational Theater from N.Y.U. In 2001, she founded Chinese Theatre Works with her husband, Stephen Kaplin. Ms. Fong has conceived and directed many original, innovative productions for CTW, including: Toy Theater Peony Pavilion (2001, won the UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence), Three Women, Many Plays (2005, Won 3 awards at Tangshan International Shadow Theater Festival), Tiger Tales (2008, won 2 Awards at the Shanghai International Arts Festival). With Mr. Kaplin, she wrote Tabletop Theater: Puppetry for Small Places (2003), and also translated into Mandarin Dr. Nellie McCaslin’s book Shows on the Shoestring.

Stephen Kaplin (Co-Director & Technical Director) studied puppetry at the University of Connecticut’s Puppetry Arts Program and holds an MA in Performance Studies from NYU. He currently designs, builds and co-directs all the puppet productions for CTW. Other professional credits include: designing and building giant puppets for TIMES SQUARE 2000; building shadow figures and puppet sequences for Julie Taymor's Lion King, Juan Darien and The Green Bird; designing shadow sequences for Lee Breuer's Peter and Wendy; co-design and construction of puppets for the Public Theater's The Tempest and The Caucasian Chalk Circle. In 2006, he won a Henry Hewes Award for Notable Effects from the American Theatre Wing for his work on Ping Chong’s Cathay: Three Tales of China. Mr. Kaplin is also co-founding member of the award-winning Great Small Works theater collective.

Phyllis Chen (Composer) is a toy pianist and composer that has gained recognition for advancing the toy piano as a concert instrument. She has received commissions from the Baryshnikov Art Center, Look and Listen Festival, Roulette-Intermedium, Fromm Foundation, New York State Council for the Arts, New Music USA, International Contemporary Ensemble, A Far Cry Ensemble, Opera Cabal and most recently, the Singapore International Festival of Arts to write a new piece for Margaret Leng Tan. Her recent original score co-written with Nathan Davis for The Other Mozart, a one-woman play on Mozart's sister Nannerl, was awarded a 2015 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Best Original Music for a Play. Phyllis is also a founding member of the International Contemporary Ensemble, and the founder of the UnCaged Toy Piano, a composition competition and three-day toy piano festival in New York City. Phyllis has recorded six albums to date on labels such as New Focus Recordings, Cerumenspoon, FYO Records, Starkland Records and Concert Artists Guild. Spica Wobbe (Shadow Co-designer) is a puppetry artist from Taiwan. She has worked with the Shiny Shoes Children's Theater in Taiwan since 1991 as a producer, writer, designer and puppeteer. Her work has been seen in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Germany, Holland, Israel, Austria and the U.S. She has worked and studied with master puppeteers Damiet van Dalsum (Holland), Albrecht Roser, Nobert Goetz (Germany), Peter Schumann and Ralph Lee (U.S). Linghui Tu (Chinese Opera consultant and Director) Ms. Tu is a professor at the Chinese Opera Academy in Beijing. She currently teaches at SUNY/ Binghamton. Well known to both Chinese and American audiences as a steller interpreter of the classic female opera roles, she has received numerous awards, including the “Plum Flower Award” and the “Wen Hua Performance Award” from the Cultural Ministry (the two highest honors in the Chinese Opera and cultural fields.) She has toured internationally and throughout the US. Ms. Tu has written many articles and books about Chinese Opera theory and history. She is currently the Director of the Confucius Institute at SUNY/Binghamton.

Nuo An (Choreographer) Dancer, choreographer and director, Ms. An is a graduate of the Beijing Dance Acadamy and received a Masters in from Beijing Normal University in Documentary Film. She has taught at Beijing Normal University, Tibet University and has also been a visiting scholar at the Swedish Royal Dance Academy. She recently graduated from Pratt Institute, with an MA in Drama Therapy. She has appeared in CTW productions since 2014, most recently in the lead female role for the Zheng Mahler/CTW collaborative production, Before and After New York , commissioned for the PERFORMA15 Art-Performance Biennial.

Junling Wang (Musical Director) is a master of the ancient guzheng (21 string zither.) Ms. Wang has worked with CTW for over ten years—mostly as a featured musician, but also as puppeteer. She has appeared with CTW as a guzheng player in Abigail Washburn’s Post American Girl at the Public Theater’s Joe’s Pub. Ronghua Dai (CEO and Artistic Director, Yangzhou Puppet Company) has been working in the puppetry field for more than thirty years. He has been on the staff of the YPC in various artistic and managerial capacities since 1981. He is a national first grade theater designer who has been recognized as an "Intangible Heirloom Artist" by Jiangsu Province. He has been the Chief Executive Officer of the company since 2011. Mr. Dai is also the director of the Yangzhou Puppetry Research Center and the Associate Director of the National Chinese Puppetry Association. As an artist, he has won best puppetry design awards in national professional puppet competitions in 1994, 1997, 2008, 2010 and 2014. As a producer, YPC's new production of "Nutcracker" has won an award for "Best Performance" from the National Culture Ministry.

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CHINESE THEATRE WORKS

History and Mission Chinese Theatre Works is dedicated to the mission of preserving and promoting traditional Chinese performing arts, and creating new works that bridge Eastern and Western theatrical aesthetics and forms. It was founded in 2001 by Kuang-Yu Fong and Stephen Kaplin out of the merger of The Gold Mountain Institute for Traditional Shadow Theatre (founded 1975) and Chinese Theatre Workshop (founded 1990). CTW presents a wide range of programming drawn from the repertoire of traditional Chinese opera and puppetry. It also produces and tours new original productions that cut across ethnic and cultural boundaries. Our programs aim at sparking interest in Chinese cultural traditions among the wider public and building understanding among educators and artists across the globe. Traditional Performances Chinese Theatre Works’ commitment to preserving and nurturing Chinese performing arts extends not just to the traditional genres of puppetry, acting, dance, music and opera but also to the traditional stories, literature and aesthetics that they embody. CTW’s ensemble members feature some of the finest classically trained Chinese performing artists in the New York City area, who use their superlative talents to present excerpts from the traditional Chinese opera and shadow theater repertoire. Our lecture-demonstration series, in English and Chinese, seek to bring an understanding and appreciation of these venerable arts to younger Chinese immigrants and Westerners, as well as connoisseurs of the traditional opera and performing arts. Original Productions Chinese Theatre Works’ original productions skillfully blend together Eastern and Western theatrical styles of live performance and puppetry-- stretching the boundaries of traditional performance and creating connections across continents and ages. Past productions include: Toy Theater Peony Pavilion (winner of a 2001 UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence) and Kun/Shadow Whitesnake; Kasper as a Banana; Little Red Riding Hood: The Chinese Opera,; Tiger Tales; and several productions based on the exploits of Monkey King, The Birth of Monkey King and Day Jobs, Opera Dreams: Monkey King in America-- using a variety of shadow puppetry style and Chinese opera techniques; and Mulan: Holding Half the Sky. CTW’s original repertoire has been performed at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta; in Seoul, Korea, at the Dala Festival in 2007 and 2013; at the Puppeteers of America’s 2003 National Biennial Festival; at the 2003 Puppet Power Conference in Calgary, Alberta; at the 2005 Tang Shan International Shadow Puppet Festival in China; at the 2008 Yunling International Puppet Festival in Taiwan; at the 2009 Shanghai International Puppetry Festival; and at the 2012 UNIMA- International Puppetry Festival in Chengdu, China; and at the 2014 National Puppetry Festival at UConn, Storrs. Education Chinese Theatre Works is carrying forward the long-standing relationship with New York City schools begun by our predecessor organizations. CTW teaching artists conduct Arts-In-Education programs using puppetry, music and Chinese Opera to teach children about art, language arts and Chinese culture. In recent years we have conducted residencies and programs in numerous public and private schools in New York City and elsewhere. In addition to these residencies, our artistic depth permits us to offer a wide variety of workshops, lecture-performances, and seminars in Chinese opera and shadow theater, which we present in schools, universities, museums and libraries around the city, state and country. Preservation & Exhibition: Chinese Theatre Works is also a research and resource arm for scholars and other individuals interested in Chinese shadow theatre and Chinese opera. We maintain one of the largest private collections of Chinese shadow figures in the United States – hundreds of unique and historic Chinese shadow figures in an array of styles collected by Pauline Benton in the 1920s and 1930s and Jo Humphrey in the 1970’s and ‘80’s. Figures from the Pauline Benton Collection have been shown in major puppetry exhibits in the United States, Greece and Hong Kong, and are available for research and public exhibition.

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ChineseTheatreWorks—

AllphotosfromworkshopproductionofFourSeasonsattheYangzhouPuppetTheatre,Yangzhou,China,December7-13,2015.Participantsincluded16membersofYPCcompanyandstaffCTWcompanymembers,

Kuang-YuFong,StephenKaplin,AlexYoungandAllisonDesalvo-Adams.

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