ALL VICTORIOUS OCEAN
A Harrowing and Erotic Tale of a Fierce Tibetan Queen
Media Contact:
Michael Carroll, Executive Producer avo.philafringe@gmail.com
610.565.5885
June 11, 2010
For Immediate Release
ALL VICTORIOUS OCEAN
A Philadelphia Premiere at the 2010 Philly Fringe Festival
PHILADELPHIA, PA - The remarkable Tibetan legend of the Tantric yogini Yeshe Tsogyal (YESH ay SO gee al) has captivated audiences throughout Asia for more than a thousand years. Now, her story of fearlessness and compassion comes alive once again in the West as a theater production at the 2010 Philly Fringe Festival. ALL VICTORIOUS OCEAN – A Harrowing and Erotic Tale of a Fierce Tibetan Queen will unveil during the 2010 Philly Fringe Festival at The Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street, on Friday September 3 at 7:30pm, Saturday September 4 at 1:30pm and 7:30pm, Sunday September 5 at 1:30pm, and Saturday Sept 18 at 7:30pm.
Showcased at Villanova University to standing-room only performances in the fall of 2009, ALL VICTORIOUS OCEAN is a 75 minute tour de force of dramatic story telling by Philadelphia actor/ playwright Joanna Rotté. “It’s the spiritual biography of a fierce, tantric mystic from 8th century Tibet”, says Ms. Rotté. “This wild and wanton woman achieved the impossible. Out of transcendent compassion, regardless of her own beauty and having the pick of suitors, she lived as the wife of a leper, and converted her rapists into followers.“ Played against rich banners of wild and colorful Tibetan images, and supported by a haunting musical score designed by cast member and Philadelphia composer Dan Perelstein; a chanting chorus of musicians; and the enigmatic presence of guru Padmasambhava, performed by New York actor Parlan McGaw; ALL VICTORIOUS OCEAN was adapted by Joanna Rotté from the 18th Century Tibetan masterpiece, The Secret Life and Songs of the Tibetan Lady Yeshe Tsogyal.
The music of ALL VICTORIOUS OCEAN, created by Dan Perelstein, makes repetitive use of a small amount of musical material to highlight the differences, and underlying sameness between sonic and musical worlds: eastern vs. western; ancient vs. contemporary; vocal vs. instrumental; natural vs. synthesized.
Evoking the stark world of cave-dwelling Tibetan Buddhist meditators, the story of yogini Yeshe Tsogyal is a sensual and provocative adventure: a map for all contemporary people searching for a compassionate path to the sacred within themselves. Yeshe Tsogyal invites all of us to recognize female sexuality as a means of spiritual empowerment, and to celebrate the emergence of the Feminine Principle in Buddhism and the world. In the words of author Glenn Wallis, Ph.D., Director of the Won Institute, “Joanna Rotté’s Yeshe Tsogyal is at turns heartening and unnerving, and thoroughly stunning. You are captive to her power.”
This Great Bliss Queen is regarded by Tibetan Buddhists as a deity – a mortal who achieved enlightenment. Reputed to have lived from 757 to 817, she is most identified as the mystic spiritual consort of the great Indian tantric teacher Padmasambhava who brought Buddhism to Tibet; and is regarded as a spiritual master in her own right.
Members of the press who are interested in attending any performance may contact Executive Producer Michael Carroll at 610-565-5885 or avo.philafringe@gmail.com
For tickets, contact the Festival Box Office at (215) 413-1318 or visit www.livearts-fringe.org.
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LISTINGS INFORMATION:
WHAT: theater - ALL VICTORIOUS OCEAN – A Harrowing and Erotic Tale of A Fierce Tibetan Queen
WHEN: Friday September 3 at 7:30pm, Saturday September 4 at 1:30pm and 7:30pm, Sunday September 5 at 1:30pm, and Saturday Sept 18 at 7:30pm. Doors open one half hour before curtain.
WHERE: The Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106 215.925.9914
TICKETS: $15, purchase at the door or through the Live Arts and Philly Fringe Box Office
FOR MORE INFORMATION: visit www.allvictoriousocean.com, www.livearts-fringe.org or www.paintedbride.org
FESTIVAL INFORMATION: The 2010 Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe will take place September 3 – September 18. Ticket prices range from free to $30 and can be purchased online at www.liveart-fringe.org or by calling 215.413.1318. The Festival Guide will be available the first week of August, and can be either downloaded as a PDF or picked up in hard copy at any Festival venue as well as at key “Hot Spots” (to be announced online in July) throughout the city.
The Philly Fringe serves as a collective home for artists bringing their work to audiences in every conceivable form – in traditional and untraditional venues, using new artistic forms and established ones, breaking rules or refining them.
