Raven by Yara Arts Group
Yara Arts Group's performance piece “Raven” is based on the Ukrainian poem of the same name translated by Virlana Tkacz and Wanda Phipps. It was performed at La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York City, where Yara Arts Group is a resident company, and directed by Virlana Tkacz.
The poem was written by Oleh Lysheha who is also a playwright, and translator. He is acknowledged by many as the leading contemporary poet in Ukraine. Lysheha is the author of several poetry collections: The Great Bridge, To Snow and Fire, Friend Li Bo, and Brother Du Fu. In 1999 he was awarded the PEN Translation Award with James Brasfield for The Selected Poems of Oleh Lysheha.
The poem “Raven” explores the unknowable boundaries between nature and man. The performance piece relies heavily on imagery to tell the story. The projections by Volodymyr Klyuzko and Mikhail Shraga create a natural atmosphere with floral and forest photography. In the center of the stage there is a translucent wall where the shadow of the raven first appears to actors Andrew Colteaux and Sean Eden, a man searching for meaning in nature and his friend Ivan,
Someone is watching us through the window..
There is something behind the dark glass..
Then I see the beak.
The wall is later illuminated with many different projections that alienate the actors in their search for the raven and for one another. The raven, played by Kat Yew, wears a white dress that also acts as a surface for the projections and makes the raven seem unattainable. The face of a woman played by Maren Bush also appears as a projection throughout the space.
Choreography by Shigeko Suga turns the actors’ bodies into part of nature. There is an especially striking scene when the raven moves fluidly with Colteaux.
Music by Aurelia Shrenker & Eva Salina Primack was recorded especially for the performance with additional music by bundura player (a Ukrainian folk harp-like instrument) Julian Kytasty.
A memorable line from the poem speaks of the desire for the simplicity of nature and for the lasting resonance of the performance:
Sometimes you want something..
From the very bottom of the barrel. Nothing, but brine..
Labels: James Brasfield, La MaMa, New York, nthWORD, Oleh Lysheha, Olena Jennings, PEN, poetry, Raven, Theatre, translation, Ukraine, Virlana Tkacz, Yara Arts Group
posted by nthWORD at
1:33 PM
1 Comments:
I am an art lover and I really admire any forms of arts may it be a musical show, a drama, a play, a poem, declamation or even photography. Arts is a very simple word with a very complex meaning.
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