Shan Puppet Theater(山宛然客家布袋戲團), an internationally acclaimed Taiwanese puppetry troupe, will be touring in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Detroit, and Ann Arbor this August.
The troupe will be presenting "Mischiefs/Adventures in Crystal Palace (大鬧水晶宮)" and multiple puppet workshops. Audiences are sure to enjoy the unique aesthetics of Taiwanese classical hand puppetry through intricate puppets, expert puppetry, and lively music. In order to deliver a special treat to American audiences, two puppeteers and four musicians from Shan Puppet Theater will take part in performing "Mischiefs/Adventures in Crystal Palace." The story is adapted from Journey to the West, a well-known Chinese novel published in the 16th century that is considered to be one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature.
At workshops, the troupe will demonstrate basic techniques for manipulating hand puppets and playing traditional Taiwanese musical instruments. Participants will have the opportunity to use intricate hand puppets and practice the instruments belonging to the troupe.
Shan Puppet Theater was founded by Huang Wu-shan (黃武山) in 2002. When Huang was only ten, he became an apprentice for highly respected Taiwanese puppet master Tien-Lu Lee (李天祿). Being of Hakka origin, Huang also learned Hakka folk songs and opera from legendary Hakka singer Bi-Xia Lai (賴碧霞). Therefore, he decided to blend traditional puppetry with Hakka music and language to create a new path in order to share Hakka culture with a broader audience.
Shan Puppet Theater has performed around the world in countries such as Malaysia, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, France, Argentina, and the United States. For the performance dates, please click here.