Ensemble Group Shot — TheForgotten Kingdom.jpg

Video Gallery

90 Second Sizzler

Act II Scene VII — Her Story, Drawn Into the Book (Live)

Overview: About Theatrically Projected Sand Animation, Staging & Final Scene

•What is theatrically projected sand animation? What is the staging?

Act II Scene II — Her Parents' Difficult Decision (narration + song)

Act I Scene I – The Sea as Ink, The Sky As Canvas (Esta Montaña D'Enfrente)

Act II Scene VII — Her Story, Drawn Into The Book (from Virtual Performance)

Act II Scene VI — A Memory of Her Father — The Forgotten Kingdom (Virtual Performance) —

Act II Scene VII — Her Story, Drawn Into the Book (Live)

Overview: About Theatrically Projected Sand Animation, Staging & Final Scene

Act II Scene II — Her Parents' Difficult Decision (narration + song)

Act I Scene I – The Sea as Ink, The Sky As Canvas (Esta Montaña D'Enfrente)

Act II Scene VII — Her Story, Drawn Into The Book (from Virtual Performance)

Act II Scene VI  — A Memory of Her Father — The Forgotten Kingdom (Virtual Performance) —

Directed and produced by: Guy Mendilow
Story: Guy Mendilow
Score: Guy Mendilow with additional composition by Tomoko Omura, Chris Baum & Andy Bergman
Script: Guy Mendilow & Alison James
Sand Animation: Kseniya Simonova
Theatrical Projection Design: Seághan McKay
Scenic Design: Seághan McKay
Lighting Design: Karen Perlow
Associate Producer: BroadBand Collaborative

Production Staff
Production & Stage Management: Davison Scandrett
Projection Operation: Bill O'Donnell

Onstage artists:
Chris Baum, Violin
Andy Bergman, Clarinet, Thumb Pianos, Jaw Harps
Keita Ogawa/Rich Stein, Percussion
Guy Mendilow, Narration; Voice, Guitar, Musical Bow
Mike Rivard, Basses, Sintir
Sofía Tosello, Voice

Guy Mendilow Ensemble is grateful to BabsonARTS and the community of Babson College for their support of the development of this work. The Forgotten Kingdom premiered at Babson College on March 23, 2023

Configuration:

Global sextet + theatrically projected sand animation

About The Forgotten Kingdom

The Forgotten Kingdom renders an interwar letter from a mother to her daughter, in the form of a book of memory so that — years later, once grown — the daughter would remember how it felt to live in her parents’ vibrant, multiethnic Mediterranean world, before its unraveling. As the people, places and events that made a home come vividly alive, the daughter — and audiences with her — plunges into the days before wars splintered the Ottoman Empire into ethnic nation-states.

The multimedia tale is woven with dreamlike theatrically projected sand animation, narration blending memoir and poetry, and a riveting musical score reframing Ottoman Jewish women’s song.

Breathtaking sand images are created, morphed, and obliterated to form intensely emotional chronicles. The cinematographic score draws on the bittersweet rawness of Tango, the rhythmic fire of Arabic percussion, and gorgeous vocal harmonies layered on Western classical music’s harmonic roots. Sand and music intertwine with a “masterfully narrated tale” (Welland Port Coburn Concert Association), bound together with an evocative lighting and scenic design.

In a multimedia adventure that “explodes with artistry, refinement, and excitement,” (Hebrew Union College, OH), The Forgotten Kingdom moves audiences with questions with which we still grapple today.

“The Guy Mendilow Ensemble has impressed me for several years with their very cinematic approach to Sephardic music.
This kind of thing is perfect ... between the live music, the story narrative, and the fascinating creation of these fleeting images in the sand. I totally recommend it.”

— Dr. Dan Barnard, Director, Bailey Hall | Associate Dean of Cultural Affairs, Broward College, Davie, FL

The Story

Years after the wars, a young woman tries to understand more about herself by sifting through memories captured in a book of drawings and words her mother made for her so that, when she would be grown, she would remember how it felt to live there, in their village by the sea, and so that she would understand the reasons for choices her parents made.

The memory book’s pages evoke an entire world all but lost, and turning the pages is like rewinding time. In the book she glimpses her family and her neighbours. She remembers the stories they told and moments they shared. The pages evoke an entire way of life that — to a child — once seemed eternal.

But even the mundane can feel poignant looking back after the changes of wars and migrations. Those people, frozen in the snapshots, had little idea what was coming around the bend, or how the dots would continue to connect.

“What do family memories show us about who we are?

How do we recall ordinary moments in hindsight, after a major change?

What are the stories we tell ourselves to help us keep going? ”