Shadow Theater Workshops: The Art of Chinese New Year

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 these workshops, Chinese Theatre Works artists will introduce participants to this fascinating art form (the root of all motion picture media) and lead them in designing and building their own shadow figures!
This workshop is available to all ages and skill levels from ages 6 and up. Three unique workshops will be offered over the course of “The Art of Chinese New Year” in January and February. These workshops are available to all ages and skill levels from ages 6 and up.
Chinese Theatre Works is a non-profit cultural organization based in New York City founded in 1995 by Kuang-Yu Fong and Stephen Kaplin. Their mission is to preserve and promote the traditional Chinese performing arts (including opera, shadow theatre, puppetry, dance and music); to create new works that bridge Eastern and Western aesthetics and forms; and to foster understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture in audiences, students, artists and educators around the globe.
These workshops are part of the “The Art of Chinese New Year” project. “The Art of Chinese New Year” is a vibrant, interactive experience where visitors of all ages can explore the Chinese New Year holiday and the traditional visual and performing arts related to it. Through displays, artist workshops, and hands-on activities visitors will learn about nianhua (New Year pictures), spring couplets, papercutting, shadow theater, and lion dances — all capturing the sights and sounds of the most important holiday and festival in China.