"Rise" 

A close look at the Muslim and Hindu religious struggle in India.

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“Imagine a goddess challenging religious fueled genocide armed only with a toilet plunger…”-LA Weekly, August 2003

“ It was Moorty’s ‘Rise,’ however, that astonished.  In this 30 minute tour de force, she morphed into several characters…she used toilet and a plunger to create a metaphor for the loss of life caused by 2002’s riots in Gujarat, India.”

Victoria Looseleaf, LA Times, January 17, 2004 

“Shyamala’s performance drew not just a few tears from the audience, and frankly, awed me with the depth of storytelling and the way she wove all these lives together through human tragedy.”

-Helene Chu, UNBOUND, Spring 2004

In February 2002, a train car of Hindus were burned.  The backlash of violence resulted in the deaths of over 2,000 Muslims. Women were gang-raped and children were burned alive and 150,000 people were driven from their homes while the police and administration watched and may have actively participated.  To this date few have been punished for these crimes.  (adapted from Arundhati Roy’s speech for the World Social Forum)

In “RISE,” an Indo-American woman transforms into a fierce household goddess, wielding a plunger as her only weapon against riots, religious fundamentalism, and the breakdown of the toilet.  Moorty navigates an intense journey through the maze of complex relations between Hindus and Muslims, highlighting the mental filth and human waste of the 2002 “riots” in Gujarat, India.  She merges dramatic characterizations with classical Indian dance and post-modern movement to create her own hybrid dance-theatre that is strikingly relevant to the post 9-11 American Audience. 

Created and Performed by Shyamala Moorty

Directed by Leilani Chan

Sound Design by Rob Leng

Participants by Year
Participants Alphabetically