Elephant Memories
About the Production
Elephant Memories is an investigation of a world at once archaic and futuristic, civilized and barbaric, humorous and frightening, like and unlike our own. The piece is composed of a series of dazzling dramatic, choreographic and musical "snapshots'' depicting the daily life, political institutions and religious rituals of a society heading toward a seemingly inevitable rendezvous with the unknown. A dystopian, Orwellian work, it premiered at the start of the first Gulf War.
Production Team And Cast
Conceived and Directed by
Ping Chong
Written by
Ping Chong, in collaboration with performers
Music
Meredith Monk
Choreography
Ping Chong, in collaboration with performers and designers
Lighting Design
Thomas Hase
Brian Hallas
Sound Design
Set Design
Ping Chong
Costume Design
Matthew Yokobosky
Graphics Design
Jan Hartley
Stage Manager
Cathy Sonneborn
Cast
John Fleming, Jeannie Hutchins, Larry Malvern, Johanna Melamed, Ric Oquita and Louise Smith
Performance History
Workshop
Residency at the Theater Institute at Storm King, New Windsor, NY (1990)
Residency at Yellow Springs Institute, Chester Springs, PA (1990)
Premiere
La MaMa E.T.C., New York, NY (October 1990)
Tours
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (January 1991)
Carver Cultural Center, San Antonio, TX, (February 1991)
Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (October 1991)
IV Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia (March 1994)
Partners
La MaMa E.T.C.
The San Antonio Performing Arts Association
Northeastern University
Yellow Springs Institute
The Walker Art Center
Elephant Memories Postcard (1990)
Elephant Memories Postcard (1994)