Feathers of Fire: A Persian Epic
RECIPIENT OF THE 2019 UNIMA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN LIVE PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN
“Fantastic! Spectacular cinematic wizardry.” Francis Ford Coppola
“Astonishing and Magical!” Le Figaro
”A masterpiece” NYC Theater Review "A feast for the senses." Puppeteering Int’l. Magazine
NYT Critics Pick “The best things to do with your kids in New York.” - New York Times
Watch FEATHERS OF FIRE online, $4.95
A Cinematic shadow play for all ages. Feathers of Fire: A Persian Epic is a visually breathtaking cinematic shadow play for all ages, created and directed by Hamid Rahmanian, a 2014 Guggenheim fellowship-winning filmmaker/visual artist. The play unfolds an action-packed magical tale of star-crossed lovers from the 10th-century Persian epic Shahnameh (‘The Book of Kings’), – Zaul and Rudabeh, who triumph at the end against all odds. Rahmanian's graphics, derived from the visual tradition of the region, are rendered as puppets, costumes, masks, scenography and digital animation, all of which come to life in a “live animation” shadow casting technique perfected by shadow master Larry Reed on a cinema-size screen. The play features an original score by the acclaimed musical team, Loga Ramin Torkian & Azam Ali. Feathers of Fire had its world premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2016 and went on to tour around the world in 23 US cities and 6 countries to an audience of over one hundred thousand.
Sponsored by Canon USA.
Watch the award-winning segment SoCal Connected: A Spectacular Shadow Play (PBS station KCET).
What the Critics are saying…
“Astonishing and Magical!” Le Figaro
”A masterpiece” NYC Theater Review
"A feast for the senses." Puppeteering Int’l. Magazine
"Jaw dropping" - PBS/KCET
”You've never seen anything like this” Broadway Review
Our Incredible Funding Group -
We Couldn't have made The Show without your support.
Major funding provided by Neda Nobari Foundation, Hamid Shafipour and Fereshteh Amin, Tahbazof Family Foundation, Nasiri Foundation, Saeed and Samira Amidi, Jim Henson Foundation, Zellerbach Family Foundation, Strypemonde Foundation, Lily Sarafan, Farshid and Guila Zanjani, Susan Morshed, Kian Amidhozour, Bijan and Soraya Amin Foundation, Farid Falsafi and Afsaneh Vali Najad.
Additional funding provided by Maximum Difference Foundation, Shahab Tehrani and Nazila Habibizad, Babak Agha and Meroeh Meraji, Shahin Jansepar, Majid & Maryam Rahimian, Kamran Bahadorzadeh, Gita M Razavi, Mahmoud Haghighi and Minoo Askari, Keyvan Bahadi, Kathryn Arcangeli, Javad Bazrafshan, Cyrus Meehan, Azadeh Amani-Taleshi and Susan Watson.
Special thanks to Ahmad Kiarostami, Neda Amidi, Bita Shafipour, Steven McIntosh, Sheila Canby, Ahmad Sadri, Mahsa Hakimi, Parastou Mabodi, James Longley, Scott V. Burkhardt, Gregory P. Scalco, Negin Karbassian, Ali Azimi, and Jane Reed.
Check out this terrific interview with Teen Kids News. It gives kids the opportunity to talk about their impressions of the show.
Credits
Hamid Rahmanian
Larry Reed and ShadowLight Productions
Loga Ramin Torkian and Azam Ali
Fictionville Studio and Banu Productions
Melissa Hibbard
Hamid Rahmanian, Melissa Hibbard and Nasim Yazdani
Ahmad Kiarostami
Hamid Rahmanian
Vikas Menon
Syd Fini
Neda Kazemifar and Spica Wobbe
Mohammad Talani
Fred C. Riley III
Dina Zarif
Ya Wen Chien, Gabriela Garcia, Ariel Lauryn, Rose Nisker, Fred C. Riley III, Leah Ogawa, and Dina Zarif
(in order of appearance)
Performance by Fred C. Riley III; voice by Charlie Varon
Performance and voice by Fred C. Riley III
Performance and voice by Rose Nisker
Performance by Lorna Velasco (2016-17) and
Gabriela Garcia (2017-18); voice by Ryan Tasker
Voice by Marc Thompson
Performance by Aureen Almario (2016-17) and
Ariel Lauryn (2017-18); voice by Marc Thompson
Performance by Rose Nisker; voice by Jeri Lynn Cohen
Performance by Dina Zarif; voice by Lisa Hori-Garcia
Loga Ramin Torkian, Azam Ali, Sinan Cem Eroglu, Habib Meftah Boushehri, Omer Avci and Iman Ali Torkian
Stephen Clifford, I Made Moja and Tyler Gothier
Made Moja, Marcius Noceda, Aureen Almario, Ya Wen Chien, Sara Gambina-Belknap, Djuna Odegard, Fred C. Riley III, and Aaron Shores
Sara Pisheh Design and Amir Esfahani
Robert Cazin
Tyler Gothier
Motion Light and FlickerLab/Harold Moss
Jessica Lynn Carroll, Jeri Lynn Cohen, Lisa Hori-Garcia, Stephanie Hunt, Rose Nisker, Larry Reed, Fred C. Riley III, Nancy Shelby, Ryan Tasker, Charlie Varon, Hamid Rahmanian, Marc Thomson, Aureen Almario, Lorna Velasco, and Dina Zarif
Jeri Lynn Cohen
Soundtank/Tom Lattanand, Mohammad Talani
Conceived, Designed and Directed by
In Collaboration with
Original Music
Produced by
Head of Production at Fictionville Studio
Producers
Co Producer
Written by
Co-writer
Storyboards & Concept Development
Puppets handcrafted by
Digital Media Directed and Orchestrated by
Assistant Director
Costumes constructed by
Performed by
Cast of Major Characters
Narrator
Saum
Simorgh
Zaul
King Manuchehr
Mehrab
Sindokh
Rudabeh
Musicians and Vocals
Technical Research and Consultations
Puppets, Masks, Scenery, & Costumes
Laser Cut
Sound Design
Sound Engineer
Additional Animation
Voice Overs
Voice Over Casting
Voiceover Recording
Dive deeper into the creative process in these media interviews with the Feathers Of Fire team.
Before we headed off to China for a 3 week tour, Chinese station CGTV interviews director Hamid Rahmanain on his inspiration for creating Feathers of Fire and Chinese American puppeteer Winnie Chien.
In 2016, Harvard University TV profiles the show and interviews some of the team on the creative process, including Fred C. Riley III, Mohammad Talani and director Hamid Rahmanian
In this interview, VOA Persian, director Hamid Rahmanian talks with VOA at the premiere at Brooklyn Academy of MUsic introduces the team that helped to bring the show together.
BBC Persian segment TAMASHA, follows the Feathers Of Fire team as they perform the first shows in San Fancisco in 2016.
Check out all the places where Feathers OF Fire performed:
2016
January 16-19 - Cowell Theater, San Francisco, CA
World Premiere: February 2-9 - Brooklyn Academy of Music, NYC
April 16-17 - Harvard University, Fitzgerald Theater, Cambridge, MA
May 15 - Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
May 27-29 - Freud Playhouse, Los Angeles
2017
Jan 25-29 - Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival - Chicago
Feb 19-21 - Materia Prima. 4th Int’l Festival of the Form Theatre, Krakow Poland
Mar 10-12 - Nowruzgan Festival, Toronto
April 15th-16 - Kaohsiung Spring Festival, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
Oct 20-29 - The Wallis - Los Angeles
Nov 3-5 - The Cowell at Fort Mason - San Francisco
2018
Jan 20 - Weis Center for the Performing Arts - Lewisburg, PA
Jan 23 - SUNY Oswego - Oswego, NY
Jan 26-27 - University of Richmond - Richmond, VA
Feb 28 - Salisbury University - Salisbury, MD
Mar 2 - Pittsburgh Cultural Trust - Pittsburgh, PA
Mar 11 - Capitol Theater - Yakima, WA
Mar 14 - University of Washington - Seattle, WA
Apr 4 - University of Iowa - Iowa City, IA
Apr 8 - University of Northern Iowa - Cedar Rapids, IA
Apr 14 - Des Moines Civic Center - Des Moines, IA
Apr 20 - Society for the Performing Arts - Houston, TX
Sept. 7-8- Kaye Playhouse - New York City
Nov 11-16 - Shanghai Theater Academy - Shanghai
Nov 17-27 - Beijing city Theater -Beijing
Dec 8 - 16, 2018 - Musée du quai Branly - Paris France
