Elephant Memories

1990–1994
Theater

About the Production

Elephant Memories is an investigation of a world at once archaic and futuristic, civilized and barbaric, humorous and frightening, like and unlike our own. The piece is composed of a series of dazzling dramatic, choreographic and musical "snapshots'' depicting the daily life, political institutions and religious rituals of a society heading toward a seemingly inevitable rendezvous with the unknown. A dystopian, Orwellian work, it premiered at the start of the first Gulf War.


Production Team And Cast

Conceived and Directed by

Ping Chong

Written by

Ping Chong, in collaboration with performers

Music

Meredith Monk

Choreography

Ping Chong, in collaboration with performers and designers

Lighting Design

Thomas Hase

Brian Hallas

Sound Design

Set Design

Ping Chong

Costume Design

Matthew Yokobosky

Graphics Design

Jan Hartley

Stage Manager

Cathy Sonneborn

Cast

John Fleming, Jeannie Hutchins, Larry Malvern, Johanna Melamed, Ric Oquita and Louise Smith

Performance History

Workshop

Residency at the Theater Institute at Storm King, New Windsor, NY (1990)

Residency at Yellow Springs Institute, Chester Springs, PA (1990)

Premiere

La MaMa E.T.C., New York, NY (October 1990)

Tours

Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (January 1991)

Carver Cultural Center, San Antonio, TX, (February 1991)

Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (October 1991)

IV Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Bogotá, Bogotá, Colombia (March 1994)

Partners

La MaMa E.T.C.

The San Antonio Performing Arts Association

Northeastern University

Yellow Springs Institute

The Walker Art Center