WINSTON-SALEM, NC: The American-Japanese theatre troupe, Theatre Nohgaku, will present the world-premiere of “Pine Barrens,” a Noh play performed in English, on September 15 - 16, 2006, offering local theatre-goers a rare opportunity in the United States to see a production in the fully-realized style of classical Japanese Noh theatre.

The performances will take place in an open-air venue at The North Carolina School of the Arts, on a classically-stylized Japanese set, built over the outdoor pool at the Film School. Performances are Friday, September 15 at 7:00 pm and Saturday, September 16 at 7:00 pm, with a rain date Sunday, September 17 at 2:00 pm (the rain location is Performance Place at NCSA). Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. For tickets call the Stevens Center Box Office at (336) 721-1945.

The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts, an organization that provides strategic and financial support for creative projects that are associated with the North Carolina School of the Arts, is sponsoring the public performances of “Pine Barrens.”  

Noh performances beautifully combine classical Japanese dance, chant, drums & flute, dramatic masks and elaborate costumes. It is a powerful and highly-stylized art form that requires intense inner concentration and physical discipline on the part of the performers. Noh is one of the oldest theater forms in continuous existence in the world, and Theatre Nohgaku (www.theatrenohgaku.org) is the first and only performing troupe dedicated to presenting English plays in the fully realized style of the 600-year old art of Noh.  

“Last year’s Theatre Nohgaku performances astonished and delighted audiences at NCSA,” states Gary Mathews, Noh performer, project coordinator, and humanities instructor at The North Carolina School of the Arts. “We are delighted to once again bring the classical Noh Theater of Japan to North Carolina audiences -- this time in the form of a world premiere of an original, English language Noh play, "Pine Barrens.”  

“Pine Barrens” combines American folklore with the classical structure found in traditional Japanese Noh plays. Classified as a fifth category demon Noh play, “Pine Barrens” brings to life the legends of an evil monster said to reside in the pine barrens of New Jersey. In the play, two witches travel to the desolate pine barrens to hunt for a comrade who disappeared there while practicing their sacred arts. The play has a structure similar to several plays in the classical Japanese Noh repertoire, using comedy as well as intense theatrics. The use of witches who fight off a demon is reminiscent of classic Noh plays in which Buddhist priests chant sutras and rub rosaries in order to fight off a female demon. In these plays as in “Pine Barrens,” the demons are not necessarily defeated, but rather are driven away, illustrating how evil is never completely vanquished, but instead weakened and forced to flee until it raises its ugly head at another time. The play incorporates the foils of momentary danger relieved by momentary security, leaving the audience to recognize that life is never free of the demons that haunt us.  

The world premiere of “Pine Barrens” is part of a three-week residency by Theatre Nohgaku at The North Carolina School of the Arts, which is sponsored by The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts. During the residency Theatre Nohgaku members, and Japanese artists affiliated with the company, will offer intensive workshops in Noh performance and mask making for NCSA students and faculty as well as for students from The Winston-Salem Forsyth County School System.  

A Japanese Noh Mask Exhibit featuring the work of Hideta Kitazawa, in the lobby of Performance Place at NCSA, opening September 5, is also part of Theatre Nohgaku’s public offerings. The three-week residency at NCSA includes workshops in the fine art of mask making for the classical Japanese Noh Theater. Professional Japanese Noh mask maker Hideta Kitazawa will show his work in a public exhibit.  

“We at the Kenan Institute for the Arts are particularly excited about bringing these highly skilled artists of the ancient Japanese Noh tradition into contact with the energy and passions of young artists in training at the North Carolina School of the Arts,” states Dr. Margaret Mertz, executive director of The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts.  “Given that artists are increasingly in contact with the arts around the world, we hope to make tangible the intimate connections between the arts of the west and the east by sponsoring this working residency and world premiere.”  

The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts is an organization that provides strategic and financial support for creative projects that are associated with the North Carolina School of the Arts. For more information call The Kenan Institute at (336) 722-0030 or visit kenanarts.org

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Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts
1722 South Main Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27127