EgoPo Presents THE RAMAYANA in Collaboration with Papermoon and Kalanari

EgoPo's 30th Anniversary Crossing Oceans Season culminates with the world-premiere adaptation of the Ramayana. Papermoon Puppet Theater of Java, Kalanari Theatre Movement of Bali, and EgoPo Classic Theater have joined together to create a theatrical reimagining of Valmiki's ancient tale, focused on the meeting of two disparate cultures across a mighty ocean.

Over 28 years in the making, Ramayana will be performed Wednesday, June 12th through Sunday, June 16th under an outdoor tent in South Philadelphia's Navy Yard and will be surrounded by Rama's Fest: An Indonesian Food and Cultural Festival. Premium reserved seats are available at www.egopo.org/ramayana and general admission lawn seats are available free day-of performances. 

In 1996-1997, Lane Savadove, the Founding Artistic Director of EgoPo Classic Theater, as a Luce Scholar, served for a year as the Resident Director at the National Cultural Center of Indonesia in Solo, Java. He cross-trained with nationally-acclaimed Indonesian artists, and produced a first draft of the Ramayana which examined the pitfalls of cultural globalization. Due to political realities in both countries the project sat on hold until 2017 when TCG (Theater Communications Group) funded a group of EgoPo artists to visit Indonesia and resume plans for a major collaboration. There they met with Papermoon and Kalanari artists and resumed work on the adaptation. After several developmental visits, in June 2023, a 10-person EgoPo ensemble spent 5-weeks in Java with the Indonesian companies finishing the adaptation for presentation in Philadelphia. 

“The Ramayana has been a career-long dream of mine. The project started in the early days of EgoPo and so it feels fitting for it to be the highlight of our 30th Anniversary Season. More than at any point in my lifetime, the world desperately needs to develop the empathy that is essential in recognizing the humanity in every individual no matter our differences” says Founding Artistic Director, Lane Savadove. 

In June 2024, this project will come to fruition in one of the largest outdoor theater events in Philadelphia. Featuring a cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural ensemble of dancers, actors, puppeteers, musicians from Indonesian and the US, this story is told in a mixture of forms and styles to allow it to cross over cultural and language divides. EgoPo will be hosting 12 Indonesian artists during the months of May and June and programming unique community engagement and public performance events throughout their stay. Sinta Penyami Storms, co-founder of Gapura Philadelphia and founder of Modero Dance & Co. will be curating these events as well as Rama's Fest, which surrounds Ramayana and will feature up to 20 Southeast Asian vendors daily with the goal of celebrating and supporting Philadelphia's local Indonesian community, one of the largest in the U.S. 

“I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this project. I appreciate Lane and EgoPo for involving me as an Indonesian artist and cultural advisor. In the past, our traditional culture was often appropriated, and our community was exploited. It is truly refreshing to be able to represent our people in a respectful manner. I am excited to engage with the community, highlight our local vendors, and educate the public about our culture,” stated Sinta Penyami Storms, cultural advisor, co-founder of Gapura Philadelphia, and founder of Modero & Co.

Ramayana, along with Mahabharata, is one of the two great epic poems of India and was composed verbally in Sanskrit, around 300 BCE, by the poet Valmiki.  Since its creation, the Ramayana myth has migrated throughout Asia, evolving within each culture that absorbs it, and has been retold using a myriad of performative forms. In Indonesia, where it has become the national and cultural touchstone, it is most famously told in the form of an all-night Wayang Kulit or shadow puppet festival, or in traditional Indonesian dance performances. Inspired by these Indonesian forms, the three company team will produce the work with live music, puppetry, and contemporary Indonesian dance. Mirroring a shadow puppet festival, the performance tent will be surrounded by stalls selling Indonesian meals and snacks allowing for a free flow between community events and performance. 

“Ramayana's message of radical empathy is critical at this moment: As we emerge from national and personal isolations how will we re-engage with the world? Will we again approach each other with a sense of fear and othering? In the wake of seismic awakenings toward social and racial equity, will we turn to old colonial paradigms of selfishly benefiting our clan? Or will we seek a new paradigm of respect and communal care, breathing in the complex humanity of each person, culture, and community?” Artistic Director, Lane Savadove

Ramayana focuses on the power of humans to bridge cultural divides to reach their transformative potential and is being performed at a pivotal moment in time for our global community. This production of The Ramayana features the creative work of the three ensembles including many of the top performers in Indonesia and featuring the work of renowned master dancer, Mugiyono Kasido, and Musician/Composer, Mo'ong Santoso Pribadi along with dancers, movers and puppeteers. The three Artistic Directors, Ria Sulistyani, Ibed Surgana Yuga, and Lane Savadove are co-writing and co-directing this work. The multi-year development process has incorporated the companies' respective strengths in puppetry, dance, and physical theater woven together through significant time training, living, and rehearsing in each other's countries. 

Those familiar with EgoPo's work will recognize long standing collaborators Damien J Wallace, Ross Beschler, Melanie Julian, K. O'Rourke, Ontaria K. Wilson, Annette Kaplafka, Davey Strattan White, lead by EgoPo's Artistic Director Lane Savadove. Scenic and Festival design by Dirk Durosette, Costumes Co-designed by Dane Eissler and Retno Intiani. A full list of collaborators and roles listed below. 

Tickets:

Evening performances June 12th-16th at 7:30p and matinee performances June 15th at 2pm.  VIP Premium tickets ($100) and Premium tickets ($50) are available for all performances dates, and free general admission lawn tickets will be available day-of for all performances. Tickets available at https://secure.egopo.org/84166/84168.

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