Night
PROLOGUE
...sunset… (6pm)
Raga Purvi (sunset) improvisation with:
Poetry Reading: Ulysses excerpt, by Tennyson (UK/Ancient Greece)
Beginning with “the lights begin to twinkle,” to end of poem.
1.Purim Dance: Hara’ashan / The Noisemaker (Israel)
ACT I
...moonrise… (6-8pm)
[THEMATIC EMPHASIS: THE LUNAR IMAGINATION]
Raga Yaman (early night) improvisation with:
Poetry Reading: From Mistral’s Madwomen (Chile)
“The night itself is riddled with her, / wide with her, and alive with her. / It seems that it has no word / or other traveler, no other secret sign.”
2. Guzheng Song: Autumn Moon over the Han Palace (China)
3. Comedy Sketch: featuring the Space Race and Moon Landings (inspired by Eddie Izzard’s “Do You Have a Flag” sketch) - (USSR/USA)
4. Dance and Drumming: Macru (Guinea/Susu) A dance to celebrate the full moon.
5. Commedia dell’ Arte Improvisation: Pierrot sketch (Italy)
6. Rock Song: Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival (USA)
...the night is young… (8-10pm)
[THEMATIC EMPHASIS: OPTIMISM AND REBIRTH]
Raga Chayanat (early night) improvisation with:
Poetry Reading: Your Night is of Lilac by Mahmoud Darwish (Palestine)
7. Arabic Popular Song: Sakan El Leil/ The Night Became Young فيروز - سكن الليل by Fairuz/Gibran [Translation] (Lebanon)
8. Narrative and Reenactment: Water Lantern Ceremonies of East Asia and educational piece on how the event manifests across Asia, with instrumental Thai music in the background (East/SE Asia)
9. Isicathamiya Song: The Lion Sleeps Tonight by Ladysmith Black Mambazo (South Africa)
...for in dreams we enter a world that is entirely our own… (10pm-12am)
[THEMATIC EMPHASIS: DREAMSCAPES]
Raga Kirvani (night) improvisation with:
Poetry Reading: Talking in the Night by Rumi (excerpt, first 20 lines)
10. Folk Quartet: Son Mi Doide (Bulgaria) [lyrics] An a capella song from the Rhodope mountains about dreaming of a little maiden on a river.
11. Theatre: Excerpt from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (England) A dream scene from the Shakespearean classic.
12. Media: Projected Gameplay of Psychonauts (USA) A videogame about entering people’s dreams.
13. Theatre and Music: Excerpt from Noh Play Kanawa (Japan) A divine oracle visits dreams and helps a woman become a demon out of spite for a lover who betrayed her.
14. Flamenco Song and Dance: La Estrella Blanca by Fondo Flamenco (Spain) A song about dreams and desires.
INTERMISSION
Zozobra Burning (New Mexico)
ACT II
...burning the midnight oil… (12-2am)
[THEMATIC EMPHASIS: NIGHT PARTIES, CELEBRATIONS, AND LAMENTATIONS]
Raga Bahar (midnight) improvisation with:
Poetry Reading: Yawn of Yawns by Vasko Popa (Serbia)
15. Bollywood Dance: Dholi Taro Dhol Baaje (India)
16. Performance: Drag Show Piece (LGBTQIA+)
17. Film: Film Noir Spoof (France/USA)
18. Tango Song and Dance: Amargura by Carlos Gardel (Argentina)
A song about bitterness: “Star of the sky, why do you look at me?”
...the witching hour… (2-4am)
[THEMATIC EMPHASIS: CREATURES OF THE NIGHT]
Raga Hindol (after midnight) improvisation with:
Poetry Reading: The Night by Rilke (Germany)
19. Reading/Painting: Excerpt from Roald Dahl’s The BFG with Live Painting (Norway): A children’s book excerpt about the mythology and whimsy of the witching hour.
20. Aria: Queen of the Night by Mozart (Austria)
21. Film: Remake Scenes based on What We Do in the Shadows (New Zealand)
22. Folk Song: La Llorona (Mexico)
23. Comedy Sketch: A student collaboration piece featuring dark creatures from around the world, highlighting similarities and differences of international folklore.
...it’s always darkest before the dawn… (4-6am)
[THEMATIC EMPHASIS: SILENCING]
Raga Sohini (before sunrise) improvisation with:
Poetry Reading: Night Funeral In Harlem by Langston Hughes (USA)
24. Choro Song: Noites Cariocas by Jacob do Bandolim (Brazil)
25. Shadow Choreography and Narrative of the Disappeared (Global): A Highlight of global political “disappearances” past and present.
26. Calypso Song: Last Night The Landlord Nearly Killed Me by Lord Christo (Trinidad)
27. Filler: The Moon Gazer (Trinidad/Guyana)
28. Folk Rock Song: House of the Rising Sun by the Animals (NOLA folk/UK)
POSTLOGUE
...sunrise…
Raga Ahir Bhairav (daybreak) improvisation with:
Poetry Reading: Dawn Chorus by Sasha Dugdale (UK)
29. Dance: Choreography to Also Sprach Zarathustra by R. Strauss (Germany)
Bows to Saturday Night by the Bay City Rollers (Scotland)