Shadows For Carlos Villa

In the Fall of 2019, ShadowLight was asked to create an interlude in shadow for the Asian Art Museum Gala opening of their new building.  We wanted to do something reflecting our long term relationship with South East Asia, and with our home in San Francisco.

Carlos Villa came to mind. Larry Reed remembered him from his time at the San Francisco Art Institute in the  early 1970’s.  As a mentor and as an artist he was a huge influence on an amazing amount of people.  We also wanted to continue the work we have done over the years with the Philippine theater group Bindlestiff Studios.  It so happens that one of the founding members of the group, Theo Gonzales is also a scholar who has written an incisive book on Carlos Villa, with significant contributions by a number of curators, artists and poets. This book became our guide into the mind of Carlos Villa.

In creating this project, our challenge has been to imagine his imagination, and to translate our discoveries into living shadows. Over a two week period in December we experimented with different ways of re-creating his work in our form of theater. We listened to the music that he loved, mostly jazz, and delved into his writing.  In January we put this all together as a kind of a poem in sound and light. It is our tribute to his genius.

Shadows For Carlos Villa was presented at for the Leadership Donor Celebration on February 2nd, 2020 at the Asian Art Museum. Co-Directed by Aureen Almario & Larry Reed

Bindlestiff Studio originally opened in 1989, Bindlestiff Studio became the only permanent, community-based performing arts venue in the nation dedicated to showcasing emerging Filipino American and Pilipino artists. Bindlestiff Studio provides the often under-served Filipino American community access to diverse offerings in theatrical productions, music and film festivals, workshops in directing, production, acting, stand-up comedy, and writing, as well as a children and youth theater program. In 2016, South of Market was designated as a Filipino American cultural heritage district (SOMA Pilipinas), making Bindlestiff Studio one of the districts' arts and culture venue.

Aureen Almario is an educator and artist. She is a professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and Laney College. She is currently the artistic director at Bindlestiff Studio, where she has acted, written, and directed in several productions for the past 15 years. She is a teaching artist in the local San Francisco, SOMA Pilipinas--providing theater arts workshops to seniors, children and youth in the neighborhood. 

ShadowLight Performers: Yawen Chien, Lydia Greer, Caryl Kientz, Jessica Nguyen, Dilshanie Perera,  & Fred C. Riley III.

Bindlestiff Performers: TJ Basa, Lindsay Ordesta, Tracy Nguyen, Lorenz Gonzales

Additional supporting artists: Kim Acebo Arteche, River Black, Yasmin Golan, Clement Goldberg, Courtney Lain, David Samas, & Lisa Van Wambek.