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Tuesday, April 8, 7-8:30pm, Donahue Auditorium, Dolan Science Center

In this 80-minute documentary, three 10-year-old children (Djamal from Senegal, Nabiollah from Tajikistan, and Rifdha from the Maldives) leave their native countries to participate in one of the Islamic world’s most famous competitions, a test of memory and recitation known as The International Holy Koran Competition. Up against much older students, these youngsters have committed the 600 pages of the Koran to memory, and will put their skills to the test before the elite of the world’s Muslim community in Cairo, Egypt. The children discuss their recitation techniques – with accompanying, completely improvised melodies – and talk about their nerves and excitement as they finally compete before a panel of judges. In addition to chronicling the excitement and pressure of the Koran Competition, award-winning filmmaker Greg Barker delicately captures touching moments with the children at home with their families, where they open up about life and religion, their academic dreams and career aspirations. As the competition reaches its climax, Koran By Heart offers a compelling and nuanced glimpse into some of the pressures faced by the next generation of Muslims. An HBO Production.ÌýÌý

After the screening, Dr. Zeki Saritoprak will lead a brief discussion part to answer the audience questions about the documentary. Dr. Saritoprak is a Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and Director of the Bediuzzaman Said Nursi Chair in Islamic Studies, at Â鶹Éç.ÌýA native of Turkey he has spent more than thirty years studying Islamic theology and mysticism. He is the author of many works on Islam, spirituality, and interfaith dialogue. Dr. Saritoprak received his Ph.D. in Islamic Theology from the University of Marmara in Turkey and has authored more than fifty academic articles and encyclopedia entries, in addition to his published books.

Thu., April 10, 2-4pm, Donahue Auditorium, Dolan Science CenterÌý

Program length: Two hours.ÌýMaximum attendance: 35

• - Talk about the history of the Anatolian shadow theatre and demonstrate how it is performed (as listed on the UNESCO intangible heritage list).
• - Make two main characters for their own shadow play, Karagoz, and Hacivat.Ìý
• - Study puppets made following traditional methods established over 700 hundred years ago.Ìý
• - Explore a classic shadow play text and learn the traditional sounds of characters.
• - Perform the part of the Anatolian shadow theatre on an original stage.

Anatolian Shadow Theater

Turkish Shadow theatre is the traditional shadow puppet theatre of Anatolia. It is known as one of the oldest shadow performances in the world dating back nearly 700 years. Karagoz was inscribed on the UNESCO representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in Turkey in 2009.

Karagoz show is performed on a white curtain with a figure called tasvirs, which are made from camel or water buffalo hide manipulated with sticks. A single artist impersonates almost 20 characters at the same time and performs the play on his own by improvising.

Karagoz performers are multidimensional artists, who combine identities of writer, director, musician, actor and tasvir-maker and who take the lead to create new plays and to specify the needs of the people. These artists have a rare talent and intelligence because they vocalize all characters and music on their own, they change the lines by improvising in accordance with the audience, they make their tasvirs by themselves.Ìý

US Karagoz Theater Company

US Karagoz Theatre Company was founded in 2017 by Ayhan Hulagu as the first traditional Turkish theater in the United States. The company carries out contemporary stagings based on karagoz (shadow theatre ) and Meddah (storyteller), included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.Ìý

Among its portfolio, the company has released Dream of Hamlet, Don Quixote, Forest of the Witch, 1001 Nights, and Anatolian body puppets in the past several years.ÌýÌý

The theatre company took part in several national and international festivals such as the 65thÌýNational Puppetry Festival, Hollywood Fringe Festival, the Great Plain Puppet Festival, theÌý34th Neopolis International Children Theatre Festival, etc. The company also held exhibitions and workshops about traditional Turkish theatre at 25 universities, including New York, Northwestern, Texas, Hawaii, UC Berkeley, MIT, Cornell, and Harvard University.

Ayhan Hulagu

Ayhan Hulagu is a New York-based actor. After obtaining his college degree, he joined the Sahika Tekand Studio Players in Istanbul. Hulagu brought his artistic experience to the U.S. and was granted an ‘extraordinary ability artist’ status. In 2017, he founded the US Karagoz Theatre Company, followed by Studio Madrasa. His shows have been seen in nearly 40 states across the U.S., and he has organized masterclass workshops and exhibitions to gain new fans and audiences for Turkish theatre at international festivals and universities.

He made history as the first artist to introduce traditional Anatolian theatre — with its nearly 700 years of history — to Broadway.

Hulagu is the author ofÌýShakespeare’s Cats,ÌýShadow of Hamlet,ÌýThe Flying Fish, andÌýThose Within the Stage.

He currently resides in the United States and continues to participate in both cinema and theatre projects.

His official website is:Ìý

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Thu., Apr. 10, 7-8:15pm, Donahue Auditorium, Dolan Science Center

The Forest of the WitchÌýis a modern interpretation of Karagoz, literally Black-Eye, who is the hero of traditional Anatolian shadow play. The story of The Forest of the Witch is adapted from a play named The Bloody Poplar by Turkish shadow theatre performer Muhittin Sevilen. The story is turned into a screenplay after being rewritten by Ayhan Hulagu. Karagoz and Hacivat are the lead characters of an exemplary subject of The Forest of the Witch like all classic shadow texts.

The Forest of the Witch is a universal theme for everyone. Karagoz fights with a huge poplar that turns green in the middle of a neighborhood. He cuts all branches of the poplar and then prepares them as wood in order to set it on fire during winter. After a while, he learns that the poplar is magical.

The puppets of Karagoz and Hacivat are made from the hide of a camel or water buffalo like those made during the era of the Ottoman Empire. The puppets are designed and made from natural colors by the performing artist and they are staged with the aim of conventional methods. In general, classical Karagoz music is played during shadow play. All the characters are performed by a single artist.Ìý

The Forest of the Witch is being turned into a screenplay faithfully by taking into consideration that Karagoz theatre is included in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.Ìý

For all ages. Running time: 45 minutes.

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Friday, Apr. 11, 7-9 pm, Donahue Auditorium, Dolan Science Center.

Journey West is a musical program chronicling the migration of melody through an interactive multi-media performance.

Their performance tracks melodies and changing instrumentation beginning in the Middle East, traveling through Eastern and Western Europe, and finally arriving in the United States. The program illustrates the primary factors involved in carrying melodies to distant land: wars, imperialism, nomadic dispersions, mass emigrations due to political oppression, and musical crazes that sweep the globe.

The musical performance is presented with changing PowerPoint slides to help illustrate the regional and musical differences encountered on theÌýJourney West. The musicians offer demonstrations on their respective instruments and provide basic theoretical explanations to accompany the technical examples.

TheÌýJourney WestÌýis designed with multiculturalism in mind; to educate those interested in distant ethnicities and to allow members of ethnicities presented in the program to enjoy music of their homeland or ancestors.Ìý

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