"A riveting exploration of the social, cultural, economic, intellectual and emotional magic carpet ride we all are on at this moment."
—Chicago Sun-Times

Alladeen
The Builders Association/motiroti
Directed by Marianne Weems
Conceived by Keith Khan, Marianne Weems, and Ali Zaidi

VENUE
BAM Harvey Theater

DATE/ TIME
Dec 2—6 at 7:30pm

TICKETS
Tickets: $20, 30, 45

BAMdialogue with Marianne Weems
Dec 4 at 6pm

DESCRIPTION
The transformative tale of Aladdin and his magic lamp provides the springboard for Alladeen, the riveting, cross-media collaboration between the New York-based ensemble The Builders Association (creators of the Obie-winning Jet Lag) and motiroti, the London-based masterminds behind a central section of Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee parade.

Born out of a longtime admiration for each other's zeitgeist-savvy work, Alladeen merges Bollywood and Hollywood flicks with cutting-edge video, live performance, and Indian-infused trip-hop and drum-and-bass rhythms as it careens between the ancient legend of Aladdin and identity-blurring phenomena found in the teeming metropolises of New York, London, and Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India.

Aladdin's fantasy of personal transformation is played out in the surreal world of international "call centers," in essence telemarketing boot camps where Indian operators learn how to "pass" as Americans, absorbing not only the flattest of accents but a host of arcana ranging from football's enigmatic lexicon to the plotlines of sitcoms. Alladeen traces a technological Silk Road, mixing both global and local in a shifting map of cultural identity.

The technology never stops. In addition to the live performance, there is an interactive web project (www.alladeen.com) and a music video made for MTV-Asia that will be on display in the BAM Harvey Theater lobby. And BAMcinématek will screen a special series of Indian films that inspired Alladeen, Dec 1—16.

Design by Keith Khan and Ali Zaidi
Video design by Chris Kondek
Sound composition & design by Dan Dobson
Original music samples by Shrikanth Sriram (SHRI)
Lighting design by Jennifer Tipton
Text by Martha Baer

Co-producers: Arts International, Barbican BITE:03, Le-Maillon Strasbourg, Romaeuropa Festival 03. Co-commissioners: Wexner Center for the Arts, MCA Chicago, Walker Art Center, REDCAT/CalArts, The Kitchen.