South Asian Theater Festival Celebrates Rabindranath Tagore 11/12-13

NJPAC's Alternate Routes series, in collaboration with Epic Actors' Workshop, hosts the SIXTH ANNUAL SOUTH ASIAN THEATER FESTIVAL, an exploration of the artistry and diversity of South Asia through dance and theater. This year's festival, featuring Epic Actors' Workshop and Chhandayan will be held in NJPAC's Victoria Theater on Saturday, November 12 and Sunday, November 13, 2011, and will celebrate the life and legacy of Nobel Laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore. This year marks the 150th anniversary of Tagore's birth. Complete festival information is available at www.SATF.us.

Tickets for each day are $28 and are available by telephone at 1-888-GO-NJPAC (1-888-466-5722), at the NJPAC Box Office at One Center Street in downtown Newark, or by visiting the NJPAC website at www.njpac.org. Alternate Routes is made possible, in part, by American Express, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Discover Jersey Arts.

On November 12th at 7:30pm, following a festival-opening candle lighting ceremony, Chhandayan brings to the Victoria Theater stage Rabi Thakur, a ballet based on Tagore's life. The music and dance will blend Indian and western traditions and instruments. The work will include new music as well as some of Tagore's own music and the choreography will bring together the work of Tagore, Uday Shankar, some contemporary choreographers as well as western ballet. After the ballet, patrons are invited to stay on for a FREE post-performance dance party.

The festival will continue November 13th at 3 p.m. in the Victoria Theater when New Jersey's own Epic Actors' Workshop brings to life Sudipto Chatterjee's new translation of Tagore's classic dramatic theater piece Bisharjon, or Sacrifice. This production will be directed by Farley Richmond, Professor of Theater and Film Studies and Director of the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Georgia. After the performance, Chatterjee, who is Senior Lecturer in the Department of English and Drama at London's Loughborough University, will moderate a panel discussion of Tagore scholars from around the world. The panel includes Sunil Pokharel, Director of the Aarohan Theatre Group in Nepal; Samik Bandyopadhyay, Indian theater and film critic; Ghulam Murshid, London-based Bangladeshi author, scholar and journalist; and Manav Kaul, Mumbai-based playwright and director.

Originally formed in 1988 in New York, Epic Actors Workshop is a not-for-profit company registered in New Jersey with a mission to showcase and underscore the importance of South Asian theater, performance and the arts within its community and in the larger context of mainstream American culture. The Company organized the first South Asian Theater Festival in 2006.

New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, New Jersey, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States. As New Jersey's Town Square, NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the State's and the world's best artists while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC has attracted over 6 million visitors (more than one million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents. Visit www.njpac.org for more information.

Programming has been made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by Discover Jersey Arts.

NJPAC is a wheelchair accessible facility and provides assistive services for patrons with disabilities. For more information, call 888-GO-NJPAC.

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