Indiana State Fair: "Bridges to Japan" Exhibition

August 6 - 22, 2010

Bunraku Bay Puppet Theatre

** High-resolution image available on request - please email john.lajiness@japanindiana.org.

Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe is the only troupe in the United States that performs the traditional Japanese puppetry known as Bunraku. The ancient theatre style of Bunraku features human puppeteers on stage cloaked all in black. All except the most minor puppets require three puppeteers to control the extremely minute movements. Many of the stories performed in bunraku are derived from the samurai and feudal era; however, Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe has reinterpreted the stories to make them more enjoyable to American audiences. The performers of the Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe have been trained in Japan by artists from the 170-year-old Tonda Puppet Troupe of Biwa-cho in Shiga Prefecture, northeast of the old capital of Kyoto, and the Imada Puppet Troupe and Kuroda Puppet Troupe--both more than 300 years old--of Iida City in Nagano Prefecture in central Japan. Under the direction of Prof. Martin Holman of the Japanese Studies Program at the main campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe offers performances of pieces from the traditional Bunraku repertoire, as well as puppetry demonstrations and workshops.

http://www.bunraku.org

“Bridges to Japan” at the Indiana State Fair: Performance Times
Wednesday, August 18: 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm, 5:00 pm, 7:30 pm
Thursday, August 19: 12:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 5:00 pm, 7:30 pm
Friday, August 20: 12:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 5:30 pm, 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 21: 10:00 am, 12:00 pm, 2:30 pm, 4:30 pm