Song of the North

In Partnership with Farhang Foundation.

Don’t leave right after the show.
Stay seated for a behind-the-scene peek at the magic.

An inspirational epic from ancient Persia comes to life in this stunning multi-disciplinary performance, created through shadow puppetry, projected animation, music, movement, and theater. 483 handmade puppets are used to tell the story of Manijeh, a courageous heroine who uses her strengths and determination to rescue her beloved and help prevent a war. Adapted from the Book of Kings (Shahnameh), a historical and cultural touchstone that is a national treasure in Iran, Song of the North challenges the Eurocentric worldview of art and storytelling. Carefully crafted for young audiences, it’s a one-of-a-kind multimedia experience that celebrates collaboration, experimentation, and unity.

Created, Designed and Directed by Hamid Rahmanian
Producer: Melissa Hibbard
Script written by Hamid Rahmanian and Melissa Hibbard
Based of the love story of Bijan and Manijeh from the Shahnameh
Original Score written & orchestrated by Loga Ramin Torkian
Featuring Vocalist: Azam Ali

Ensemble:
Ray Dondero
Sam Jay Gold
Harrison Greene
J Hann
Esme Roszel
Sarah Walsh
Clay Westman,
Christopher Williams

Voice Actors:
Mark Thompson, Christina Calph, Richard Epcar, and Rose Nisker

Stage Manager: Mo Talani
Company Manager: Ray Dondero

Booking Agent: Laura Colby - Elsie Management

Cast of Major Characters (in order of appearance)
Rostam: Performance by Sam Jay Gold
Manijeh: Performance by Sarah Walsh
Bijan: Performance by Clay Westman
Gorgin: Performance by Harrison Greene
Simorgh: Performance by J Hann

A special thank you to our local cultural sponsor Farhang Foundation for their support.

 
 

Who’s who

Hamid Rahmanian (Creator, Design, Director) is a 2014 John Guggenheim Fellow and the recipient of the 2020 United States Artists Fellowship.  His work centers on theater, moving image, and graphic arts. For over a decade, Mr. Rahmanian’s work has been rooted in the Persian epic poem, Shahnameh by Ferdowsi, modernizing and adapting the work for new diverse audiences.  Some of his recent works include the 600-page illustrated art book Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings (2013), which the Wall Street Journal lauded as a “masterpiece,” and the immersive audiobook version with an introduction by Frances Ford Coppola.  In 2018, he released the popup book, Zahhak: The Legend of the Serpent King in English and French which was awarded the Meggendorfer Prize for the Best Popup Book and hailed as “Simply breathtaking” by Le Monde.  In 2019 he created the UNIMA-USA award winning shadow theater piece Feathers Of Fire (2016) which premiered at Brooklyn Academy of Music and toured around the US and abroad.  In 2019, he was commissioned by Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble to create a video animation for their multimedia project, Heroes Take Their Stand.   Mr. Rahmanian has recently completed the second installment of his shadow theater trilogy, Song of the North (2022) and published a new popup book, The Seven Trials of Rostam. www.kingorama.com

Loga Ramin Torkian (Composer) is an Iranian-born multi-instrumentalist and composer. He is recognized internationally for his ground-breaking work with World Music groups Niyaz and Axiom Of Choice, both of which he co-founded. A highly-gifted composer and a visionary, Loga is greatly respected for his ability to adapt the Persian classical repertoire to his own unique and modern compositions. In 2014 Loga was nominated for a Canadian JUNO Award in the Category of “Best World Music Album” for the album he recorded with musical partner Azam Ali titled, “Lamentation of Swans.” He continues to produce albums and tour worldwide with NIYAZ.

Azam Ali (Vocalist) is one of the most prolific, versatile, and gifted singers/ composers on the international music stage today. Azam’s most notable work is with the cutting-edge world music electro-acoustic project Niyaz. Her distinctive voice can be heard on myriad film and television scores including “Thor- The Dark World”, "Matrix- Revolutions", “Prince of Persia- The Sands of Time”, “The Fight Club”, “True Blood”, "Alias", "The Agency, and "Prison Break". Azam has also collaborated with numerous musicians such as Serj Tankian of System of a Down, Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, Dredg, Chris Vrenna formerly of Nine Inch Nails, Kodo, Zakir Hussain, and Mickey Hart. 

Sam Jay Gold (Ensemble) is a puppeteer and writer. As a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, Sam trained in traditional forms of puppetry around the world, exploring empathy across the animate/inanimate divide. His work has received support from The Jim Henson Foundation and been featured at venues including St. Ann’s Warehouse, BAM, and Lincoln Center, as well as in festivals across Europe and Asia. Sam is co-founder of The Brothers Čampur, a Balinese-American shadow puppet company performing classic and contemporary Wayang Kulit throughout the US and Indonesia. Alongside his art-making, Sam is a passionate arts educator, partnering with The Kennedy Center to bring puppetry into classrooms around the country. www.samjaygold.com

Harrison Greene (Ensemble) is a puppeteer, actor, and musician based in Brooklyn, NY. A company member of Chinese Theatre Works, he performs Budaixi and shadow puppetry in NYC and abroad. Recent Puppetry Credits: The Tiger of Zhao (Flushing Town Hall) Triple Zhongkui Pageant (International Puppet Fringe NYC), Chinoiserie Redux (Ping Chong & Co), Nora From Queens (Comedy Central), Ratso by Mollie Heckerling (Troma Entertainment) Manufacturing Mischief (The Tank), Tiger Tales (CTW), and Caveman Ballet (Boxcutter Collective). In 2019, Harrison performed in the 2nd International Teatro Lambe Lambe Festival in Puerto Montt, Chile with his original piece, The Waiting Womb. He will be returning to participate in the 3rd festival Fall 2023. He received his BFA from University of Connecticut.

J Hann (Ensemble) is a puppeteer, director, and fiber artist. Their weird and whimsical works have been performed in Italy, Greece, Serbia, Hong Kong, nationally, and in various venues in New York City. J was the Emerging Artist at the 2022 Eugene O’Neill Puppetry Conference. They have been a resident artist twice at The Object Movement Theatre Festival as well as an artist in residence at Governors Island. When not performing on stage or on the screen, they teach puppetry and the fiber arts to students of all ages, and have led workshops with The Jim Henson Foundation, Museum of Moving Image, Arts Corps, and Arts Connection, among others. IG: @jhannham | www.jennyhann.com 

Esme Roszel (Ensemble) is a puppeteer, public historian and illustrator based in Brooklyn, NY. He is a graduate of University of Connecticut where he received his  BFA in Puppet Arts. Esme has performed and fabricated puppets for touring productions around New England. When not performing, Esme can be found teaching puppetry workshops to students of all ages, and working at a history museum in his hometown of Plymouth, MA. 

Sarah Walsh (Ensemble) is a stage combatant, puppeteer, and mortician. Her wide range of interests and talents have earned her the title “the Swiss Army knife of humans”. Previous works of hers have lived both on stage and screen, as well as in immersive spaces. These works include “She Kills Monsters”, “Jane Wick” and “Nest”. She has a wonderful dog, Joel, and an equally wonderful cat, Raleigh. All of her performances are dedicated to her grandparents, who helped nurture her love of theatre. 

Clay Westman (Ensemble) is an actor, musician, and comedian; though his parents are still a little disappointed the whole doctor thing didn't work out. He has studied masked theatre at the Commedia Dell'Arte in Arezzo, Italy; and is a graduate of Muhlenberg College, where he could have studied medicine, but chose to pursue the arts instead. He doesn't quite know how he got here or where he's going next, but, gradually, he is learning to be ok with that, and he hopes you are too.

Christopher Williams (Ensemble), named a choreography fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 2021, is a New York Dance & Performance “Bessie” award-winning choreographer, dancer, and puppeteer working in the unceded lands of the Lenape people (now designated New York City) and abroad since 1999. His works have been presented in Europe, South America, and Russia, nationally, and in many NYC venues including The Joyce Theater, Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York Live Arts, Lincoln Center, City Center, and Danspace Project. He holds degrees from Sarah Lawrence College and the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, and has performed for Tere O’Connor Dance, Douglas Dunn & Dancers, Rebecca Lazier, Yoshiko Chuma, John Kelly, Peter Sellars, Basil Twist, Dan Hurlin, Lake Simons, Chris Green, and Erin K.Orr, among others.

Ray Dondero (Ensemble/Company Manager) is a Brooklyn based multidisciplinary designer, artist, and lover of all things puppetry. They are a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut's Design and Technical Theatre undergraduate program, focusing on scenic and costume design, as well as printmaking, puppetry, and animation. Assuming the role of company manager, they are proud to have cultivated a loving and supportive environment in which this incredible team makes magic happen! raycreativeprojects.com @thebimboclown

Mo Talani  (Stage Manager) Born in Iran, is a San Francisco-based musician, actor, and videographer. He has collaborated in different fields with several artists including Marcus Shelby, Stephen Daldry, Bahram Beyzaei, Babak Jalali, and others. 

Major Funding provided by
National Theater Project
National Endowment for the Arts
Hamid and Christina Moghadam Foundation
New York State Council for the Arts
Jim Henson Foundation
Brooklyn Arts Council

Special thanks to our generous donors
Vernon Davis Grizzard III, Francis and Dionne Najafi, Flora Foundation
Neda Nobari Foundation, Tahbazof Family Foundation, Maximum Difference Foundation, Bijan and Soraya Amin Foundation, Primex International Trading, Yaghmaie Family Charitable Fund

Additional support provided by
Rostam Zafari, Farhad Mohammadi, Parto Moshayedi, Michael Sabourian and Mrs. Massoudeh Sudeh Sabiurian, Haleh Emrani, Razi Family Foundation, Andrew Tavakoli, Sunset Franchise Capital, Gholamali Yaganeh, Niloofar and Bahmani Fakhim, Nader Sanai, Alex Ramzoo, Khosrow Hakakian, Kazem and Karen Yahyapour, Iranian Association of North Carolina and Dr. Hamid Esbah

Musicians:
Robab, Kamaan, Saz, Lafta, Guitar Viol, Programming & Keyboards: Loga Ramin Torkian
Vocals & Percussion: Azam Ali
Percussion: Pejman Hadadi
Violin: Molly Rogers
Cello: Mahsa Ghassemi
Kopuz & Kaval: Sinan Cem Eroglu
Piano: Sufi Rahmanian
Cello: Iman Torkian

Puppets:
Design: Saba Niknam, Hamid Rahmanian
Construction and Mechanics: Zach Broome, Esme Roszel
Puppet Construction: Katayoun Amir Aslani, Weiyi Chen, Ray Dondero, Parisa Harandi, Neda Izadi, Neda Kazemifar, Negin Keyhanfar, Sonia Kim Shuhei Matsuyama, and Kevin Marinelli.

Background Animation and the technical support: Hoda Rami
Sound Mixing: Mehrnaz Mohabati
QLab Setup: Mo Talani
Fight Choreography: Rob Aronowitz
Script Consultants: Ahmad Sadri, Lauren Whitehead
Grant Writing: Alexandra Guglielminetti 
Technical: Tyler Gothier
Carpenter: Kaveh Haghtalab

Laser-cut service provided by: Joseph Szegda Jr., Vahid Pourkay at Print Icon

Rehearsal Space provided by Brooklyn Academy of Music, Culture Lab, Flushing Town Hall, Target Margin, Mercury Store 

Technical facilities provided by Pratt Institute and Peter Patchen

Photographer: Richard Termine

We would like to express our deep gratitude to the following individuals who have helped us throughout this journey: Mark Amin, Rostam Zafari, Mahsa Hakimi, Ram Devineni, Bessy Khonsari, and Navid Khonsari, Amir Farman Farma, Ali Amin, Mohammad Amin, Farhad Mohammadi

We would like to acknowledge the contributions of our past collaborator, Larry Reed and his dedication to and influence on the art form of shadow theater here in the US.  We would also like to acknowledge the long tradition of shadow theater among the indigenous peoples of Bali and Indonesia, Egypt, China, and – many hundreds of years ago – the Iranian plateau.  

Kingorama and Two Chairs Inc. is located on the Land of the Munsee Lenape People (Brooklyn, NY), part of the Delaware Nation, many of whom were forced off their lands and relocated to assigned lands in Oklahoma and Canada