ACT Theatre Receives $35,000 NEA Grant

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre was recently awarded $35,000 for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Art Works Award to support the development of the medieval Japanese epic Tale of the Heike, slated for production in 2017. The thirteenth-century epic is about two clans fighting for control of Japan. It will be directed by Artistic Director Emeritus Kurt Beattie and will combine dance, puppetry, and mask work to tell the story. It is currently being co-adapted by notable playwrights Philip Kan Gotanda and Yussef El Guindi.

Tale of the Heike is ACT's interdisciplinary reimagining of a Japanese epic poem. Like ACT's 2012 success story Ramayana (an ensemble-generated theatre piece based on the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana) Heike will be a theatrical production exploring a treasured aesthetic and historical work from an Asian country with a large population in Seattle. ACT will create an Affiliated Artist Working Group-a handpicked collective of local actors, playwrights, directors, musicians, and choreographers-as well as community Ambassadors, key representatives of the local Asian community-to create an immersive, ensemble and community generated work.

For a wider audience to better comprehend this story, ACT will strive to bridge gaps between cultures. Heike will be a polyglot work, drawing not only from the traditions of the Japanese ethos, but also incorporating Western performance practices to place the work in an accessible place for our community. Involving local artists and working with our region's Japanese and Japanese-American communities will make this Heike Seattle's own.

In January of 2016, Beattie and the playwrights will workshop the current draft of the script in partnership with the UW School of Drama. Tickets are available for public readings on January 22, 23, 24. More information about tickets is available on the UW Drama website.

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