Asia Society New York (725 Park Avenue at 70th Street)
March 24-25 at 8:00pm
Four theatrical tales of paper making from Japanese history unfold in a world created by distinguished paper artist, Kyoko Ibe.
Recycling: Washi Tales
Designed by paper artist Kyoko Ibe
Written and directed by Elise Thoron
With Karen Kandel (storyteller/writer); Shonosuke Okura (Noh otsuzumi drummer); Shisui Arai (biwa plucked lute musician); Makiko Sakurai (actor); Sonoko Soeda (actor).
Asia Society presents the New York premiere of Recycling: Washi Tales, a theatrical performance that brings to life the human stories contained in sheet of washi, Japanese handmade paper, as it is recycled through time. Four tales of paper making from different periods of Japanese history unfold on stage in a world created by distinguished paper artist, Kyoko Ibe.
The Papermaker, played by actor Karen Kandel, serves as narrator and guide to the audience as she creates something new from what she learns of the old. Washi Tales explores aesthetic and spiritual values of recycling, beyond practical environmental concerns, into the realms of history and the imagination.
Washi Tales has been staged at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana, Illinois, and at the Los Angeles County of Museum Art (LACMA) in September 2011. After the Asia Society performance, the play will be staged in Nara, Japan in September 2016.