Holy Cross Theatre Group Only U.S. Artists to Perform at the Bali Arts Festival

This summer, a group of theatre students, recent alumni and faculty from Holy Cross traveled to Indonesia where they performed Mimpi, an original dance drama, created by Holy Cross theatre professor Lynn Kremer, as part of the internationally renowned Bali Arts Festival.

The only U.S. artists to perform at the monthlong festival — an annual cultural highlight attracting thousands to multiple stages in locations around Bali — the Holy Cross troupe gave “a powerful, mesmerizing performance,” according to one local critic. Local Balinese actors and dancers were recruited to perform additional roles.

Mimpi utilizes Indonesian fairy tales and poetry to tell the story of a lonely man in search of a soul mate and a self-sacrificing wife. The production weaves in tales of love, devotion, sacrifice, and greed. Kremer first produced the drama on campus in 2004.

Two students — Kate Hultgren ’10 and Mayte Martinez ’10 — spoke about their experience. Hultgren is a theatre major from Shrewsbury, and Martinez is a history major and visual arts minor with a concentration in Asian Studies from Los Angeles.

WHO ELSE WENT Theatre professor Lynn Kremer; Savanah Shaughnessy ’09; Paul Gardner ’09; Thomas Layman ’06; Jennifer Hannigan ’07; John Keller ’03; Barbara Craig, assistant professor of theatre; and Kurt Hultgren, lecturer and costume designer for the theatre department.

WHERE THEY STAYED In bungalows at Pondok Pisang, a retreat located in the Mendira Village of Karangasem in East Bali. The ocean bungalows were surrounded by a large tropical garden. “It was very simple living, but simple in the most delightful way possible,” says Hultgren. The group also stayed for a few days at the house of I Made Bandem, visiting fellow in Balinese Performing Arts at Holy Cross.

BREAKING DOWN THE CULTURAL DIVIDE “Because there were seven of us from America performing in the show and there were about 20 Balinese people, the first rehearsal was kind of tentative — the Americans were all in one place and the Balinese were in their own group,” says Hultgren. “We didn’t speak the same language, but by the final performance, we were all hugging and crying.”

AN ENRICHING EXPERIENCE “I took a Balinese dance class with I Made Bandem and I understood that it was a big part of their culture, but when I was in Bali it took on a completely different meaning,” says Martinez. “The music and performances are embedded in their blood — they live like this every day.”

A PIECE OF BALI AT HOLY CROSS “I think Bali is a country I never would have understood, but bringing in professors from that part of the world to Holy Cross has offered a really rich opportunity to get to know the island,” says Martinez. “It has made me appreciate having Bandem on campus. I’m going to continue taking Balinese dance and now I’ll appreciate it even more.”

REACTIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE When the group performed for the third and final time, word about the play had apparently spread. “The theater was overflowing with people,” says Hultgren. “They applauded after every scene and they stayed for the whole performance which is pretty phenomenal because with traditional Balinese performances members of the audience come in and out.”

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID “A sight to see … a dreamscape of moving visual and sound narratives,” hailed the Jakarta Post. “The dance drama … successfully reminded the audience that popular folklore and children’s tales can, in the hands of a skilled director and passionate actors, be turned into a powerful, mesmerizing performance.”

Pictured: A scene from Mimpi, performed on the Holy Cross campus in 2004.

Related Information:

• "Holy Cross dacers to Perform in Bali," New England Cable News, May 12 • Theatre