photo: Braird Cornell DREAM BRIDGE a journey into the land of dreams an experimental theatre piece created by Virlana Tkacz with Yara Arts Group and Kyrgyz artists based on the Ukrainian poem “Dream” by Oleh Lysheha with excerpts from Shakespeare’s "Midsummer Night’s Dream" and our own dreams WHERE AND WHEN: July 30 -31, 2011 Saturday and Sunday at 18:30 Gallery of the Union of Artists of Kyrgyzstan -- 1 Karasayeva Street (former B'Art Center on Druzhba St) Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (312) 59-06-41 FREE but reservations a must. Runs one hour. Yara Arts Group from La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York will present "Dream Bridge," an original, experimental theatre piece featuring Yara artists from America and Kyrgyz actors. The production, created by Virlana Tkacz, is based on a Ukrainian poem "Dream" by Oleh Lysheha and fragments from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream," as well as the dreams of the participants. It features Kyrgyz traditional music, as well as modern design and movement. Interweaving performances in Kyrgyz and English, "Dream Bridge" is highly visual show and completely accessible to all audiences. Our dreams can bring to light the mystery which swirls silently in the depths of our souls. At night, our brains are freed of their burdens and can approach this mysterious beauty which soars like music. Space is fluid in the subconscious, allowing us to swim through the universe and through time: into our past and even our future. Dreams provide us with a bridge into our childhood, where we can accidently find answers to our questions, or stumble upon new enigmas. We can relive our former joy and loves, or once again experience sharp pain and confusion. A show, with is shifting scenes like visions, or reveries, can help us return us to these primordial images, that seem impossible to experience today as we are overwhelmed by global problems and ever-changing technology. This director is uniquely unconstrained. In many of her productions she has allowed us to experience real, primal and astonishing images that resonate with the secret desires and the worries of our souls. True colors and natural rhythms exist in her world, supported by the subtle range of tones in the music. "Dream Bridge" features Andrew Colteaux from America, a member of Yara since 1993 who recently created the leading role in Yara's production of Oleh Lysheha's "Raven." Kyrgyz artists include: Kenzhegul Satybaldieva (who played the title role in Yara's "Janyl" in 2007), Ilgis Junusov (who also appeared in "Janyl"), and Umarbek Kadyrov, Eldiiar Dzharashev, Baktygul Akhmatalieva and Ernes Boronbaev (who appeared in Yara's "Er Toshtuk" in 2008). The show introduces Nurzat Salamatova. Nurbek Serkebaev performs on traditional Kyrgyz instruments. Lights are by Begaim Turumbekova and costumes by Ainura Asanbekova. Oleh Lysheha is acknowledged by many to be the best contemporary poet in Ukraine, a "poet's poet, " who was awarded the PEN Translation Prize for his book published by Harvard University Press. Yara Arts Group staged Lysheha's poem "Swan" at La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York and at Harvard University in 2003, and this spring produced a new theatre piece using his poem "Raven." Director Virlana Tkacz is the founding director of Yara Arts Group and has created twenty two original theater pieces with the company, all of which had their American premieres at La MaMa in New York. The New York paper the Village Voice called Yara's production "stunningly beautiful work that rushes at your senses, makes your heart pound, and shakes your feelings loose." "Michael Bettencourt called Yara's "Scythian Stones" with the world renown Ukrainian singer Nina Matvienko and Kyrgyz artists "Pick of the Week" and wrote: "The performance builds what good theatre should always build: an alternate world that allows us to re-learn and reflect upon the great questions at the core of our being human." Founded in 1990, Yara Arts Group, a resident company of the world renowned La MaMa Experimental Theatre, creates original pieces that explore timely issues rooted in the East through the diverse cultural perspectives of the group's members. Yara artists bring together poetry, song, historical materials and scientific texts, primarily from the East, to form what one critic described as "extended meditation on an idea." The company has created eleven pieces based on materials from Ukraine and Eastern Europe, six theater pieces with Buryat artists from Siberia, three with artists from Kyrgyzstan and two based on Japanese material. To reserve the free tickets call 59-06-41. For additional information please check www.brama.com/yara. "Dream Bridge" was made possible in Kyrgyzstan by the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek, Coca Cola Foundation, B'Art Center, Theatre for Young Audiences, Sakhna Theatre and friends of Yara Arts Group, a resident company of La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York. Yara Home