【Report from Cambodia】The Tee Chian Troupe News 2023 (April-June)

We have received an activity report from the Tee Chian Troupe for April-June period of 2023. The troupe has continued its activities as the inheritors of “Subaek Thom,” a large shadow puppet show which is a traditional Cambodian performing art.

The rainy season starts in mid-April, and the rain continues, the rain water will be flooding to the rehearsal hall and there are puddles and submerged conditions around the hall. The rain also makes difficult to perform shadow puppets outside by firelight. The most encouraging thing is that the audiences who come to see their performance are delighted.

▼Practices of “Subaek Thom” , shadow puppet show▼
The students have been practicing the movements of each character in the story every weekend. They have also begun practicing prose and rhyming storytelling, as one of the musicians has taken an interest in “storytelling”. Over the course of three weeks, they began to move smoothly to the music.

Narrative practice

Rehearsal of performance

▼Performances for the people of the village▼
Performances were given at the Banteay Rusay Temple in Myang Chay Village, Bacon District, during the opening ceremony of the new auditorium and the inauguration of the new monks.
The performance was very well received by the local people and those who attended the ceremony, and the performance went smoothly and happily.  Many people sat and watched the performance until the end.

The entrance gate to the temple

The troupe lineup and a large audience sitting to watch the performance

The troupe performed at the Lolei Temple in the Lolei Site in Bacon Village, Bacon District, at an event for the Buddha’s Birthday Ritual.
Some of the elderly had never seen Subaek Tom before and wanted to see more. They were very happy to see that people wanted to watch and learn more about Subaek Tom.

Lolei ruins

▼About the production of shadow puppets▼
Some of the dolls inherited from former master Tee Chian have been severely damaged by rats and have to be rebuilt. Therefore, they search for good quality cow skins, purchase them, treat them, dry them, and prepare them for puppet making. The doll below, “Prince Leak,” has just been carved.

Cattle hides treated for puppet making

newly created puppet “Prince Reak”