Larry Reed (puppeteer)

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Larry Reed (born: June 21, 1944) is an American shadow puppeteer, and one of the first Western artists to train in traditional Balinese shadow theatre. He was recognised as a dalang (shadow master) by his teachers.^[1]

Reed was born on June 21, 1944 in Los Angeles, California. In 1965, he studied French theatre at Yale University, then the following year, he directed as a theatre director for Costa Rica University and National Theatres before earning his Master of Fine Arts at the San Francisco Art Institute.^[2]

In the 1970s, Reed traveled to Bali to study traditional shadow puppetry, where he was instructed to first learn the accompanying music.^[3] He later returned to San Francisco and joined the American Association for Eastern Arts, now known as the Center for World Music. The American Association for Eastern Arts was founded in 1963 in San Francisco by Samuel and Luise Scripps, with Balasaraswati and Ali Akbar Khan as its first two artist-teachers. ^[4]

In 1972, Reed founded ShadowLight Productions to introduce shadow theatre to a wider audience.^[5] Reed began expanding his works by integrating traditional shadow theatre techniques with a modern theatre style. In the 1990s, Reed developed a method of casting shadows that integrated techniques from cinema, modern theatre, and dance. Reed's shows featured unique masks that looked different from various angles, allowing for a single, unchanging mask to appear dynamic.^[6] ShadowLight Productions had a crew of actors and featured live music played by musicians.^[7][8]

Shadow Master is a documentary directed by Reed that has been shown on both PBS and the Discovery Channel. It is about a family of performers in Bali, showing an inside view of Balinese life as well as cultural context on the island's theatre, music, and dance. The film takes place over two years, with Reed living and studying with a dalang, I Wayan Wija, and his extended family.^[9]

In Xanadu is a Mongolian fantasy written by Zara Houshmand and Reed. The fantasy follows Kublai Khan and his wife, Chabui, who are inseparable partners. The film includes Tibetan, Chinese, and Indonesian theatre techniques. In Xanadu was featured at the 1997 Henson International Festival of Puppetry in New York City and the Spoleto/USA Festival in Charleston, SC. The film was awarded the UNIMA-USA Citation for Excellence, puppetry's highest award.^[10][11][12]

The Wild Party is a shadow theatre work by Reed, based on the poem by Joseph Moncure March written in 1926. It includes jazz music from Bruce Forman. The poem centers on two vaudeville performers, Queenie and Burt, who lead a daring and decadent lifestyle. They host a party for their friend, which leads to an evening filled with alcohol, drugs, and sex. The film integrates modern shadow techniques with traditional Asian shadow theatre.^[13]

This production marked the first large-scale shadow theatre work by ShadowLight productions. created by Reed in collaboration with Jaime Kibben, and Nyoman Catra. Developed in Bali, the performance featured musicians, dancers, and shadow casters from the village of Pengosekan, Ubud, and was presented at the 1996 Walter Spies Festival. The film tells the tale of a powerful demon, Mayadanawa, who demands Balinese people to only worship him. Because he creates havoc among the people, they appeal to Indra, king of all gods, to chase him away.^[9]

Ambrosia of Immortality, or Tirtha Amertha, is from the Mahabharata, the great Hindu myth cycle interpreted by Reed and renowned Balinese puppeteer, Wayan Wija. The story is about Hindu culture, focusing on a story of the gods' coming of age, gaining immortality, and rising above the world of demons. The gods possess immense power and engage in war against demons who seek to reclaim it. Together they churn the Milky Ocean to create the elixir of immortality but struggle over who will possess the powerful ambrosia.^[14]

Coyote's Journey is a traditional Native California Karuk tale told through shadow theatre. The performance uses both Karuk and English story telling. It features a Karuk elder, "Red Hawk" Thom, a hereditary ceremonial leader, spiritual teacher, and storyteller. The show shows Coyote's adventure and his initiation into the ways of the world.^[15]

7 Visions is written by Octavio Solis, an award-winning playwright and directed by Reed. It explores the roots of Latino heritage and celebrates the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. It has music from Richard Marriott, performed by Cascada de Flores, and is designed by Victor Cartagena. On a mission called Dolores, a man named Encarnacion is confronted by his future self, an irreverent skeleton, or calaca which leads Encarnacion on a vision quest of self-discovery.^[16]

Monkey King at Spider Cave, directed by Reed and Chia-yin Cheng, is performed by both American and Taiwanese artists. It is inspired by Journey of the West, a 16th-century novel from the Ming Dynasty. The story follows a Buddhist High Priest and his animal disciples on a quest to retrieve Buddhist Scriptures for China while facing mythical demons and monsters including the demonic spider women and an evil alchemist. Journey to the West remains popular in operas and cartoons across Asia.^[17][18]