Bokan, the Bad Hearted is a puppet dance drama that stages a legend of the indigenous tribes of the Amazon Jungle using life-sized puppets, live original music, dance, and video. Its subject is the heroic poem “Yurupary,” which descends from the Colombian and Brazilian Amazon and deals with primordial struggle for power between men and women.

The ritual of Yurupary still exists today as a rite of male passage among Amazonian peoples of Colombia, Brazil, and Peru. In it, a boy approaching maturity finds himself as a person and connects to a deeper understanding of the jungle. He is exposed to and taught to play the sacred Yurupary and given a root drink called Yage. This root, typically used in the Amazon as medicine, opens the mind to dreams and hallucinations. The village Shaman guides the boy through his visions, connecting him to both the spirit world and the jungle’s botanicals and animals.

Set in the jungles of the Amazons, the journey of the protagonist enables us to enter the strange world of this exotic and vital culture. Loco7 turns the theatre space into an environmental pulsing organism, thriving with a charged frenetic rhythm, filled with puppets ranging from small, to life size, to larger then life.

Bokan, the Bad Hearted has been nominated by The New York Innovative Theatre Awards 2005 in the following categories:

Federico Restrepo — Outstanding Choreography/Movement
Denise Greber & Federico Restrepo — Outstanding Costume Design
Outstanding Performance Art Production

This production is supported by an Artist Seed and Project Grant from The Jim Henson Foundation, a cultural grant from The Puffin Foundation, Materials For The Arts, Ellen Stewart and La MaMa ETC.

CREDITS

Conceived, Designed, Choreographed, & Directed by Federico Restrepo

Music Composition: Elizabeth Swados
Additional Music: Camila Celin & Daniel Correa
Puppet, Set, Light Design, & Construction: Federico Restrepo
Costume Design & Construction: Denise Greber
Additional Construction: Michael Bieglmayer, Jennifer Bruno, Golnaz Fakhimi, Amanda Miller, Ollie Rasini, Shari Sabel Strandmark

Video Edit: Angela Sierra
Production Manager: Denise Greber
Stage Manager: Shari Sabel Strandmark

Cast: Federico Restrepo, Carolyn Cryer, Kate Duyn, Denise Greber, Dennis Guzman, Aaron Hastkell, Tom Lee, Chris Mehmed, Eugene the Poogene, Abagail Rasminsky, Shigeko Suga, Maggie Thom
Puppeteers & Vocal Chorus: Michael Bieglmayer, Jennifer Bruno, Golnaz Fakhimi, Amanda Miller, Ollie Rasini
Opening Video Image & Song: Anastasia Candre
Artistic Design Consultant: Eduardo Rodas

Special Thanks: Anastasia Candre from the ethnic group Ocaima of the clan Caguanguichal, Ellen Stewart and the entire La MaMa Staff, Mark Tambella, Alejandra Correa, Pina Correa, Tutu Correa, Juan Fisher, Terry Helbush, Luz Jaramillo, Catarina Leitão, Victoria Tobon, Mario Duarte, Silvia Moreira, Josue Duarte, David Adams

PRESENTATIONS

April 2006
X Iberoamericano Theatre Festival representing the United States and Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia

December 3–19, 2004
World Premiere
La MaMa ETC – The Annex Theatre
New York

PRESS

“A Spirited Struggle of Man and Puppet”
Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times

“Review: Bokan, the Bad Hearted”
Eva Yaa Asantewaa, The Village Voice

“Review: Bokan, the Bad Hearted”
Irene Backalenick, Backstage

“Federico Restrepo, Inspired Puppet Master”
Wickham Boyle, The Villager

“Review: Bokan, the Bad Hearted”
David Pumo, New York Theatre

“Mitos Del Amazonas Cobran Viad en La MaMa”
Juan Fernando Merino, El Diario

“Arte y Cultura: Bokan, el del mal corazón”
El Diario

“Review: Bokán, el del mal corazón”
Mónica Bastidas, Hoy