In China, there is a well-known tale about a respected emperor who lived many years ago. The emperor missed his absent wife terribly. To ease his sorrow, he asked his court magician to find his wife and return her home.
The magician feared that this was an impossible task, but was anxious to please his ruler. He resorted to an ingenious method to accomplish the task: Projecting assorted materials via a light source onto a screen, the magician improvised a lively shadow puppet show about the long-overdue wife's return home. The emperor was so delighted with the show that he almost didn’t notice his wife hadn’t truly returned.
Shadow puppetry has been a popular art form in Asia ever since.
Today, Daniel Barash is one of many shadow puppeteers who have followed in the footsteps of the creative magician. Using two-dimensional rod puppets, Barash casts shadows onto a lit screen to create the illusion of moving images.
Barash, 36, first became interested in the art form after viewing a performance in New York City.
"I saw a show at a synagogue and was fascinated by it. I was very excited to incorporate what I had seen into my teachings," he said.
Barash, who has Master's degree in elementary education from New York University, worked as a theatre arts specialist in New York prior to seeing his first shadow puppet show.
"I started out by using the form in my teaching, but I loved it so much that I knew I wanted to introduce it to kids in other places as well," said Barash. "I really wanted to concentrate on using shadow puppets more frequently."
IN 2005, BARASH founded the Shadow Puppet Workshop, a one-man educational theater program designed to educate and entertain children in both secular and Jewish settings. The program has taken him to India, Belarus and Laos among other places. He has introduced more than 100,000 kids to the art of shadow puppetry.
"It’s an amazing experience to be able to travel, to do something I love, and to demonstrate this form of story-telling to a younger generation," says Barash.
After recently relocating his program headquarters from New York City to D.C., Barash is now looking forward to demonstrating his passion to local children. On Sunday, June 24, he will appear at Alexandria’s Jerome "Buddie" Ford Nature Center for a "Nature's Shadow Puppets" show.
Jodi Cohen, a naturalist at the center, is excited to see what Barash has in store for the upcoming event.
"Since we’re a nature center, we’re particularly interested to see how he will incorporate environmental elements into his work with the shadow puppets," says Cohen. "We do a lot of programs, but we’ve never had anything like this before."
To familiarize the kids with the medium, Barash first intends to present a traditional performance. Following the show, the kids will then have the opportunity to create their own shadow puppets.
"Before they make their own, I plan on taking them on a nature walk. I want the kids to keep their eyes open for shadows that they find intriguing and want to imitate, whether it is a tree or a raccoon," says Barash. "One of the main reasons I love working with kids is the creativity that they are capable of."
Barash’s show and nature walk will take place from 2-3:30 p.m. The cost of admission is $4. Reservations can be made by calling the Jerome "Buddie" Ford Nature Center at 703-838-4829. The center is located at 5750 Sanger Ave.
For a list of other upcoming events at the center, visit their Web site at http://alexandriava.gov/recreation/nature/buddie_ford_center.html.
To learn more about Daniel Barash and his workshops, visit his Web site at http://shadowpuppetworkshop.com/index.html.