Voice of the Dragon 2: SHAOLIN SECRET STORIES at the Apollo Theater (NYC)
Music and Concept by Fred Ho
Written by Ruth Margraff and Fred Ho
Directed by Terry O’Reilly
Martial Arts Choreography by Jose Figueroa
Lighting by Ric Rogers and Production Head of Staging by Wilbur Graham, Jr.
Costumes by Nisara Thummamitra
Production Stage Managed and Technical Direction by Steve Carlino
Audio Engineering by Anthony Robinson
Directorial Assistance by Melissa Shaw
Puppet Design and Construction by Tom Lee
Produced by Big Red Media, Inc. www.bigredmediainc.com and www.voiceofthedragon.com
Co-commissioned in part by the Caribbean Cultural Center, the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, The Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc., with the support of Mutable Music Interpretation Series and the World Music Institute.
Cast: Tom Kaseda (CHEN JAK), Philip Silvera (MIAO HIN), Sekou (GEE SHIN), Scott Parker (LI WEN MAO), Soomi Kim (GAR MAN JANG), Mei Chiao-chiu (Ng Mui and Elder Monk Quicksilver) with Pirates/Bandits/Monks played by Alexander (Sandy) Chase, Earl Weathers, Jr., Natasha Radivojevic, Ken Ng, Maribel Ramos and Marina Celander (Enigmatic Narrator)
Afro Asian Music Ensemble: Fred Ho (baritone sax), David Bindman (tenor sax), Wes Brown (bass), royal hartigan (drums and Chinese percussion), Richard Harper (keyboards), Rudresh K. Mahanthappa (alto sax)
Setting: In a Place Beyond History and Fantasy
Long before there were 5 great revolutionary ancestors of the Shaolin Temple, there were 5 young rebel outcasts, misfits, freaks and juvenile delinquents who hadn't yet lived up to the Shaolin Way. These young monks and nuns had many secret troubles and were hardly the stuff of legend. These are the stories of their triumph through the Shaolin
Martial Arts, of their early days before the traitor of the Temple was yet a fully poisoned soul...Of secret stories all but lost in the dust of fantasy and history. These are the darkest shadows of that place of twilight and transformation. These are the Shaolin Secret Stories...
