Creative Notes from David Shimotakahara:

In rehearsal we began playing with the idea of children’s games as a starting point to initiate interactions. We worked with movement based on games like cats cradle, hand games, snakes and ladders, tag or red rover. I liked the idea that games have rules and consequences that are unpredictable. There are often elements of chance and outcomes that are arbitrary. There are winners and losers.I imagined situations where children might make up their own games. I remember as a child playing with shadows and trying to capture or trace their outlines. For me this had creative implications, a kind of conjuring of memories and a desire to connect with something intangible.

Oded and I agreed on the title “Shadowbox.” I wanted all the action to feel like it takes place in a contained space. Within in that, I have attempted to create a very convincing world of experience, a kind of microcosm, a keepsake of human memories and emotions. Like a child’s world our connection to these can be both fleeting and fragile.

Shadowbox was made possible with the generous support of the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. My thanks to Oded Zehavi for reminding me of the joy.