Cathay: Three Tales of China
About the Production
Cathay: Three Tales of China is an original puppet theatre work about China's ancient past, its tumultuous recent history, and its 21st century reemergence as a global economic force. The first tale, “The Lady and the Emperor” takes place in the Tang Dynasty. The second, “Little Worm,” takes place during World War II and the third, “NEW” at the beginning of the 21st century. Cathay was composed of three separate tales with characters and storylines crossing centuries and distances to converge in the final story. The production includes over 150 puppets, combining traditional and contemporary puppetry, an elaborate recorded soundtrack and video projections.
Production Team And Cast
Conceived, Written and Directed by
Ping Chong
Lighting Design
Randy Ward
Costume Design
Stefani Mar
Set and Production Design
Randy Ward
Sound Design
Christopher Walker
Puppetry
Wang Bo and Stephen Kaplin
Projection Design
Rupert Bohle
Voice Recording
Brian Hallas
Stage Manager
Claire Zawa
Tour Manager
Deirdre Valente - Lisa Booth Management, Inc.
Production Manager
Lu Xianglin (China)
Technical Director
Dana Perrault
Cast of Puppeteers
Feng Mei, Liang Yunru, Liang Jun, Song Dongqing, Wang Bo, Yang Qing, Dmitri Carter, Heather Carter and Yang Xie Zheng
Performance History
Premiere
Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle, WA (September 2005)
Tours
The Kennedy Center, Festival of China, Washington, DC (October 2005)
The New Victory Theatre in New York City (October 2005)
The Vienna Festival, Vienna, Austria (June 2006)
The People’s Theatre, Xi'an, China (October 2010 and May 2012)
The Chengdu International Puppet Festival, Chengdu, PRC (May 2012)
Grand Theatre, Nanchong, PRC (June 2012)
Partners
The Shaanxi Folk Art Theatre (Xi’an, PRC)
The Carter Family Puppet Theater of Seattle, WA.
The Seattle Repertory Theatre
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China for the Festival of China
Funders
National Endowment for the Arts
Association of Performing Arts Presenters Ensemble Theatre Collaborations Grant Program
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Theatre Initiative
Asian Corporate Cultural Council
Leon Levy Foundation
Theatre Communications Group/MetLife Foundation Extended Collaboration Grant.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group
Cathay Postcard (2005)