Ramayana    

Ramayana

From the epic by Valmiki
Created with Papermoon Puppet Theatre of Java & Kalanari Theatre Movement of Bali
June 12-16, 2024
The Navy Yard, 5000 S 11th St, Philadelphia, PA 19112
More than 28 years in the making, EgoPo presents the world-premiere re-telling of the ancient Hindu epic in collaboration with two of Indonesia’s vanguards in the performing arts. This performance will take place in The Navy Yard, under a giant open air tent. The staging integrates the puppetry, dance, theater and music expertise of the three companies to tell one of the world’s oldest stories about the unbreakable power of the human spirit. Performances will be surrounded by Rama’s Fest, a week-long celebration of Indonesian food and culture.
Premium seats available for $50 which includes guaranteed admission and covered chair seating area. VIP Premium tickets available for $100 include premium seat and sample food pass from various food vendors. General admission lawn seats are free day-of performances and not available for pre-purchase.

Performance Dates

  • 6/12/2024 - 7:30PM

  • 6/13/2024 - 7:30PM

  • 6/14/2024 - 7:30PM

  • 6/15/2024 - 2:00PM

  • 6/15/2024 - 7:30PM

  • 6/16/2024 - 7:30PM

Ramayana is sponsored by Ed and Susan Hoffman

Ramayana has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, and the Tri-M Foundation

Opening Night is sponsored by Gail Ehrlich

EgoPo’s Journey to the Ramayana

EgoPo has been training and collaborating with Javanese theatre and dance companies since 1996. In 1997, our first exploration of the Ramayana opened with a workshop production at the National Cultural Center in Surakarta (Solo, Java) following a year-long residency. Our organization has held long-term residencies with artistic and cultural exchanges at its root.
Through collaboration with Papermoon Puppet Theatre and Kalanari Movement Theatre, EgoPo brought American actors to Indonesia to train with multidisciplinary artists for 5-weeks in July 2023. Most recently, this in-process work had a showing at Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja (Yogya, Java). The Ramayana stands as the most ambitious work EgoPo has done to date with this project reaching fruition in Philadelphia in June 2024.
The sharing of the Ramayana tradition with American audiences, many of whom have yet to see or read it, is an act of conscious gift-giving by our artistic team and an invitation to view the world from a new perspective of radical kindness. 
Join us this summer for this unprecedented performance that has been years in the making!

Join us for Ramasfest!

Guests coming to experience the Ramayana are encouraged to join us before every show for our festival featuring up to 20 Southeast Asian vendors daily. Join us on the weekend before and in between our shows for performances by local organizations.

A full list of vendors and a schedule of community programming coming soon!

Venue

A large tent in the Navy Yard, Lot 624

5000 S 11th St, Philadelphia, PA 19112

Parking

There is a large quantity of readily accessible non metered street parking surrounding the property in all directions along Kitty Hawk Ave, S 11th St and Flagship Dr.

Public Transportation

We highly recommend taking the Broad Street line to the NRG station. On the weekdays, there is a shuttle that runs for free from Center City and the NRG station. You can find more information regarding the Navy Yard Shuttle, Indego Bike Stations and maps here.

 

Collaborators

  • Papermoon Puppet Theatre

    Papermoon Puppet Theatre was founded in April 2006 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia by Co-Artistic Director Maria Tri Sulistyani (Ria). She has since nurtured, developed, and expanded the company together with Co-Artistic Director Iwan Effendi, a visual artist and Papermoon’s puppet designer. Among other close collaborators, we work with a collective of puppeteers, which includes Anton Fajri, Pambo Priyojati, Beni Sanjaya, Muhammad Alhaq and Hardiansyah Yoga.

    To date, Papermoon Puppet Theatre has created more than 30 puppet performances and visual art installations and exhibitions, which we have toured to more than 10 countries. In 2008, we launched Pesta Boneka, an international puppet biennale that welcomes puppeteers from around the world to our home city, where they can share their work in a community setting.

    Learn More

  • Kalanari Theatre Movement

    Kalanari Theatre Movement is a cultural Kalanari Theatre Movement is a movement theatre company based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Kalanari uses theatre as the entrance (and the exit) to study, interpret, explore, and represent the culture of a society.

    They view theatre as more than artistic expression and satisfaction. It has the responsibility to influence and inform the values of humanity. Kalanari strives to reaffirm the bond of Art and society; inspiring people to engage with and influence the world around them for good.

    Learn More

Creative Team

  • Lane Savadove

    CO-DIRECTOR

  • Maria Tri Sulistyani

    CO-DIRECTOR

  • Ibed S. Yuga

    CO-DIRECTOR

  • Dirk Durossette

    SCENIC DESIGNER

  • Dane Eissler

    CO-COSTUME DESIGNER

  • Retno Intiani

    CO-COSTUME DESIGNER

  • J "Mo'ong" Santoso Pribadi

    COMPOSER/MUSIC DIRECTOR

Cast

  • Mugiyono Kasido

    VALMIKI BODY, ET AL

  • Damien J. Wallace*

    BRAHMA, VALMIKI, ET AL

  • Gusbang Sada

    RAMA, ET AL

  • Melanie Julian*

    MANDODORI, ET AL

  • Ross Beschler*

    RAVANA , ET AL

  • Agus Margiyanto

    HANUMAN, ET AL

  • K. O'Rourke*

    ENSEMBLE

  • Ontaria Kim Wilson*

    ENSEMBLE

  • Annette Kaplafka

    ENSEMBLE

  • Anton Fajri

    ENSEMBLE

  • Andika Ananda

    ENSEMBLE

  • Kinanti Sekar Rahina

    ENSEMBLE

  • Pambo Priyojati Ranu Handoko

    ENSEMBLE

  • Davey Strattan White

    ENSEMBLE

  • Retno Sulistyorini

    ENSEMBLE

  • Paradox Polluck

    ENSEMBLE

  • M. Dinu Imansyah

    ENSEMBLE

Headshots and Bios

Generous Support of Ramayana Provided By