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Stageworks Brings Mettawee River Theater Company to Hudson
Posted by Gail M. Burns - July 2010
STAGEWORKS BRINGS IROQOIS CREATION TALE, THE WOMAN WHO FELL FROM THE SKY,
TO HUDSON WATERFRONT PARK
July 17, 8:00 p.m.
Hudson, NY – Stageworks/Hudson will host a free, outdoor performance by the renowned Mettawee River Theater Company of the Iroqois creation tale, THE WOMAN WHO FELL FROM THE SKY. Drawn from the Iroquois creation tale in which the Sky Woman falls from the spirit world and lands on the back of a turtle, this performance for all ages will be staged at the Hudson Waterfront Park on Saturday, July 17th at 8:00 p.m. In case of rain, the performance will be held at St. Mary’s Academy, on the corner of Allen and Third Streets in Hudson.
In the tale, water animals bring up mud from the bottom of the sea so the earth can grow. The character Sapling creates all the earth’s delightful things; his brother Flint brings us mosquitoes and thorns and sharp rocks. The abrupt arrival of Hodu’i, a whimsical crack-pot who claims to have created it all, spells the readiness of the earth for the arrival of human beings. The production will incorporate many puppets representing the spirits and creatures of this young world.
According to Mettawee Artistic Director Ralph Lee, “At this time, when serious concerns about the state of our environment weigh heavily on us, it’s nourishing to hear these clear voices from the beginning of the world, reminding us of the gifts we’ve been given.”
Veteran Mettawee actors Kim Gambino, Kristine Lee, Greg Manley and Tom Marion will play multiple roles. The production will incorporate puppetry and masks, with an original musical score composed by Neal Kirkwood. Ralph Lee will design and direct the production, with costumes by Casey Compton. Musician Sam Kulik will perform on bass trombone, flutes and percussion.
Incorporating masks, giant figures, puppets, theatrical magic, dance and music, the play is for children and adults alike: bring the whole family, along with a picnic dinner, a blanket or chairs, for an evening of entertainment with this nationally acclaimed theater company. The production is made possible by Stageworks/Hudson in association with the Columbia County Tourism Department and the City of Hudson.
For more information about Stageworks, please visit www.stageworkshudson.org.
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About the Mettawee River Theatre Company
Under the collaborative leadership of Artistic Director of Ralph Lee and Managing Director Casey Compton, the Mettawee River Theatre Company, founded in 1975, creates original theater productions that incorporate masks, giant figures, puppets and other visual elements with live music, movement and text, drawing on myths, legends and folklore of the world’s many cultures for its material. The company is committed to bringing theater to people who may have little or no access to live professional performances.
In his design and direction, Lee seeks to create vivid theatrical moments with economy and elegance. This search for an evocative simplicity of image and Mettawee’s commitment to making theater accessible to the widest possible audience through its outdoor performances give this theater company its particular character.
The 35th anniversary of Mettawee’s founding is also being celebrated with an exhibition at the Historic Salem Courthouse, 57 East Broadway, June 27 – August 1. The exhibit will feature an array of giant figures, masks and puppets from thirty-five years of Mettawee productions.
About Ralph Lee
Ralph Lee first created puppets as a child growing up in Middlebury, Vermont. He graduated from AmherstCollege in 1957, and studied dance and theater in Europe for two years on a Fulbright Scholarship. Upon returning to the United States, Lee acted on Broadway, off-Broadway, in regional theaters and with the Open Theatre. During that period he started creating masks, unusual props, puppets and larger-than-life figures for theater and dance companies, including the New York Shakespeare Festival, Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre, the Living Theatre, the Erick Hawkins Dance Company, Shari Lewis, the Metropolitan Opera and Saturday Night Live.
In 1974, while teaching at Bennington College, Lee staged his first outdoor production, which took place all over the college campus, and featured giant puppets and masked creatures. That same year he organized the first Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, which he directed through 1985. For his work on the parade Lee received a 1975 Village Voice OBIE Award, a 1985 Citation from the Municipal Arts Society, and in 1993 he was inducted into the City Lore People’s Hall of Fame.
Two of Lee’s Mettawee productions have been honored with American Theatre Wing Design Awards: The Popol Vuh in 1995 and Wichikapache Goes Walking in 1992. Under Lee’s direction, Mettawee also received a 1991 Village Voice OBIE Award and two Citations for Excellence from UNIMA, the international puppetry organization. Additional awards to Lee include a 1996 Dance Theatre Workshop Bessie Award for “sustained achievement as a mask maker and theatre designer without equal,” and a 1996 New York State Governor’s Arts Award in recognition of his many contributions to the artistic and cultural life of New York State. In 2003, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2008 Lee served as the Jim Henson Artist-in-Residence at the University of Maryland at College Park. He is currently on the faculty of New York University.
For more information about the Mettawee River Theatre Company, please visit the company’s website at www.mettawee.org; if you have additional questions, call (518) 854-9357.
About Stageworks/Hudson
Stageworks/Hudson has established a reputation for its ambitious programming and adventurous productions. The company is especially known for producing the bold, risk-taking work of new dramatic voices. Central to its vision is Futures, an integrative program designed to move Stageworks to the forefront of new play development. Stageworks is both the experiment and the resource to infuse the whole life of the theater with a creative process that produces new ways of expressing, interpreting and sharing the human experience. Stageworks is the recipient of the Crystal Apple Award from the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and the Proctors Regional Arts Award. The 2010 season is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the Shubert Foundation.