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An Introduction to Chinese Shadow Theatre with Dr. Fan Pen Chen
February 23, 2020 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Chinese shadow performance has a history going back 2000 years. The traditional shadow theater uses beautifully carved and colored animal-skin figures, manipulated behind cloth screens to portray vivid episodes from history, religion, literature and folktale. In this talk Dr. Fan Pen Chen, an internationally recognized expert on the Chinese Shadow Theatre, will introduce the history of and the social functions served by the genre. She will also share personally recorded rare footage of the shadow puppet making process and excerpts of a variety of shadow plays.
The talk will be preceded by a shadow theater workshop with Chinese Theatre Works.
Dr. Fan Pen Chen (Associate Professor at SUNY-Albany) has published Chinese Shadow Theatre: History, Popular Religion, & Women Warriors; Visions for the Masses: Chinese Shadow Plays from Shaanxi and Shanxi; Marionette Plays from Northern China; and Journey of a Goddess.
No RSVP necessary.