Guru of Chai, Indian Ink Theatre Company

Thursday-Saturday, February 7-9, 7:30 p.m.

This event is sponsored, in part, by the Lied Performance Fund.

LIED CENTER PRESENTS

Guru of ChaiA production by Indian Theatre Company

Can life’s answers be found in a Bangalore train station?

GURU OF CHAI

Guru of Chai

There will be no intermission during this performance.

In 1996 we, Jacob Rajan and Justin Lewis, founded the Indian Ink Theatre Company. We share a love of mask and story, a sense of humor and a theatre’s ability to change the way people see the world.

We look to reinvigorate old ancient theatrical forms to captivate modern audiences. We draw inspiration from the collision of Indian culture and the western world. We seek to balance entertainment with nourishment of the soul. It’s a philosophy we call “the serious laugh,” opening your mouth and mind with laughter in order to slip something more serious in.

The result has been shows that have toured internationally from our New Zealand base, a stunningly beautiful and varied island nation nestled in a corner of the Pacific, to critical and popular acclaim. We aim to transcend cultural barriers with compelling stories that encompass the epic and the intimate, the profound and the simple, the sublime and the ridiculous.

Over 15 years our company has been blessed with a team of talented collaborators including Murray Edmond, dramaturge; David Ward, composer and musician; John Verryt, set designer; Cathy Knowsley, technical manager and lighting designer; and Louise Gallagher, producer and general manager. Together they’ve helped us become one of New Zealand’s most successful theatre companies.

Our plays: Krishnan’s Dairy, The Candlestickmaker, The Pickle King and The Dentist’s Chair have all explored the universal truths of life and Guru of Chai is the latest in the series.

We are currently working on a new show, which will premiere this year. The new show will continue our vision of making theatre that is beautiful, funny, sad and true.

We’d love to keep in touch, so please find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, indianinkNZ, and sign up on our website, indianink.co.nz.

lied.ku.edu | LIED CENTER PRESENTS

We met our inspiration Nyoman Sukerta in Bali. He is a master mask dancer and shadow puppeteer. He is a squat little man who can move with astonishing grace and fluidity. He is always smiling, always laughing, has a weakness for beer and cockfighting, is steeped in the traditions and nuances of shadow puppetry and mask yet desperate to have a Facebook page. Gently worried about his growing paunch, his ambition toward wealth and status are at odds with his desire to go fishing at every opportunity. He indulges his children and exasperates his long-suffering wife. The man literally danced into our lives and onto the pages of this play as a fully formed character.

In Bali we experienced the arts as part of daily life. It was alive in all sorts of contexts, needing only the simplest of technologies yet displaying incredible sophistication of form. And of course, the island and the people inspired us. The world of the street carts and hawkers where ancient and modern collide informed the world of our Guru.

The story itself is inspired by the Indian fairy tale Punchkin. This story got under our skin with its rich cast of characters and complex morality but its sprawling narrative held us at bay for some time. The breakthrough came when Murray Edmond encouraged us to set the story in a contemporary context. We focused on just a part of that original story and suddenly we found we had a romantic thriller.

We’re drawn to the power of old stories and theatrical forms and take great pleasure from rediscovering them in a contemporary context. For us this piece is a collision of the ancient and the modern, of the poor and sophisticated, the intimate and the epic. It is an old fashioned piece of storytelling and it’s got great tunes!

The challenge given to composer David Ward was the one we wrestled with ourselves. How do we convey multiple locations, the chaos and complexity of contemporary India and a story that spans decades? The old form of the storyteller allows us to make jump cuts, instant changes of location and time like in a film. But instead of technology the power of the audience’s imagination is the vehicle for this. And as in a film, the sound track is half the telling.

It has taken us the best part of two years to arrive at this point and we’re very happy to be here with you tonight. In our process we bring David in near the end – like the calvary. Maybe it’s appropriate to finish with the words of a composer.

“Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.” -Frederic Chopin

Justin Lewis – Director, Writer, Executive Producer

Justin Lewis – Writer, Director

Jacob Rajan - Writer, Actor

David Ward – Composer, Musician

Louise Gallagher – Producer, General Manager

Cathy Knowsley –Technical Manager and Lighting Designer

Murray Edmond - Dramaturge

John Verryt – Set and Costume Designer

Jeremy Fern – Original Lighting Design Concept

Ravi Muthu – Indian Singing Advisor

Our People

Booking direction by David Lieberman- Artist RepresentativePost Office Box 10368

Newport Beach, CA 92658714-979-4700 • [email protected]

LIED CENTER PRESENTS

February 16,7:30 p.m.

it gets better

TO ORDER: 785-864-2787 | lied.ku.edu

The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles presents a powerful message of love, unity and hope

A performing arts response to the difficult issue of bullying, one of the most challenging issues among today's young adults and adolescents.

Sponsored by

TO ORDER: 785-864-2787 | lied.ku.edu

MUMMENSCHANZ 40 Years

“What Mummenschanz does so extraordinarily well is create its own comic universe — a place

of constant wonder and ingenuity.”— Boston Herald

Legendary Swiss pantomime troupefeatured on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show

March 8 7:30 p.m.

GURU OF CHAI

LIED CENTER PRESENTS PERFORMANCES

West Side StoryA timeless love story with

Tony Award-winning choreographyTUESDAY, FEB. 19, 7:30 p.m.

it gets betterThe Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles

presents a powerful message of love, unity and hope

SATURDAY, FEB. 16, 7:30 p.m.

Russian National OrchestraDaniil Trifonov, pianist

Works by Tchaikovsky, Dvor̆ák and moreTHURSDAY, FEB. 21, 7:30 p.m.

Narek ArutyunianVibrant young clarinetSUNDAY, MARCH 3, 2:00 p.m.

MUMMENSCHANZ 40 YearsLegendary Swiss pantomime troupe featured on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show.FRIDAY, MARCH 8, 7:30 p.m.

Regina Carter, jazz violinistModern jazz genius captures the essence of African musicFRIDAY, APRIL 5, 7:30 p.m.

Brentano String QuartetFragments — Connecting Past and PresentFRIDAY, APRIL 12, 7:30 p.m.

The Band of the Scots Guards and The Pipes, Drums, Highland Dancers

of The Black Watch 3rd BattalionFRIDAY, FEB. 15, 7:30 p.m.

TO ORDER: 785-864-2787 | lied.ku.edu

In the fall…More than 2,500 third through fifth graders attended school-only performances of Great Mountain.

Approximately 200 high school students attended a performance of Nearly Lear.

Southwest Middle School students created lobby exhibits about Indian culture. They are exhibited in the Lied Center lobby.

Upcoming events…• School-only performance of Mermaid Theatre’s A Brown Bear, A Caterpillar and A Moon, treasured stories by Eric Carle

• 3rd Grade Theatre Arts Day for Lawrence third graders

• Performing Arts 3to5 for area three-to-five-year-olds

• Learning About the Environment Through the Arts for Lawrence second graders

• Learn more about Engagement and Education at lied.ku.edu/education.

Pre-K Through 12th Grade Education EventsFree at the Lied Center

Individuals and businesses, support Engagement and Education at the Lied Center by joining the Friends of the Lied.

lied.ku.edu/donateMegan Poindexter, director of [email protected]

ENGAGEMENT AND EDUCATION | lied.ku.edu/education

2012-13 FRIENDS OF THE LIED UPDATE

BUSINESS FRIENDSFELLOW ($2,500+)Holiday Inn - Lawrence

BENEFACTOR ($1000+)Crown Automotive Org. Westar Energy

PATRON ($500+)Commerce BankThe Janssen Clinic of Natural Medicine

SPONSOR ($250+)Weaver’s

FRIEND ($100+)Bradley Animal Hospital, PAWheat State Pizza

INDIVIDUAL FRIENDSBENEFACTOR ($1,000+)Steve & Maggie DixonKaren & Keith ElyMike & Jennie Storm

PATRON ($500+)Tyrone Duncan & Bozenna Pasik-DuncanStephen & Bobbie GishRosita & Roger McCoy

SPONSOR ($250+)Jay & Ingrid AlexanderTony & Pete MynstedPiersol FoundationIra & Rhea Rakestraw

CONTRIBUTOR ($100+)Marion & Chris AndersonBill & Nancy BradyJoe & Vicki DouglasDoug & Becky EasonCap & Kitty GrayJohn & Susan Gronbeck Tedesco Gail & Peter HansenMark and Diana Hoppe Rich Kaler & Brad KnaussPatrick & Amy KellySe Hyun KimDr. Fernando Merino & Dr. Caroline ChabooTom & Cleo MurphyJoe & Rita SpradlinKaren & Arturo Thompson Marian WarrinerSandra & Allen WiechertSara Trautman-Yegenoglu & Ferit Tegenoglu

FRIENDS ($50+)David BrownJim & Yun Butler Barbara M. DukeSuzanne & Verlin GilbertMarilou Cavin & James HopperLoraine H. LindenbaumTerry & Debora PenecostAdela SolisHelen & Tom Sullivan

Friends of the LiedThis list includes individuals and businesses that have initiated or renewed their Friends of the Lied membership since the original list was published.

2012-13 UPDATE

YOU CAN SUPPORT THE LIED, TOO!For more information or to join the Friends of the Lied, please contact the Lied Center Director of Development, Megan Poindexter, at 785-864-2788 or [email protected] or go to lied.ku.edu/donate.