Collections Acquisition Announcement
The Larry Reed Archives will be added to the collections of the Nancy Lohman Staub Puppetry Research Library.
Spanning more than five decades of pioneering work, from his early encounters with Balinese wayang tradition through the development of ShadowLight's groundbreaking cinematic shadow theater, the archive is an extraordinary record of one of the most distinctive artistic voices in the history of puppetry.
The archive includes:
Personal and professional papers and correspondence
Media: photographs, film, audio, and an expansive digital video collection
Production materials from In Xanadu (Reed's innovative show that won the UNIMA Citation for Excellence, puppetry’s highest honor)
Larry Reed holding Balinese wayang puppets, photographed by Jane Reed.
Larry Reed (1944-2026)
A scene from Monkey King at Spider Cave (2006). Photo: Akiko Photo
About the Artist
American puppeteer and filmmaker. Larry Reed is a nationally and internationally acclaimed theatre artist, and is a trailblazer in the contemporary shadow theatre field. In 1972, he founded ShadowLight Productions to nurture indigenous shadow theatre traditions, and to explore and expand the possibilities of the shadow theatre medium. He is one of the first Westerners to have trained in the traditional Balinese shadow theatre (wayang kulit) and is a dalang or “shadow master”, who manipulates over twenty carved leather shadow puppets while simultaneously serving as the conductor of the accompanying gamelan orchestra, the director, and the stage manager. Over the years, he has performed over 250 shows in this tradition around the world. His work has earned Reed two UNIMA-USA Citations of Excellence.
In the early 1990s, Larry Reed entered a new phase of his career by inventing an ingenious shadow casting method, integrating traditional shadow theatre techniques with film, modern theatre, and dance styles.
Larry Reed's Work
Larry Reed's major works include In Xanadu (1993), The Wild Party (1995), Coyote’s Journey (2000), A (Balinese) Tempest (2005), Monkey King at Spider Cave (2006), Ghosts of the River (2009), The Good-for-Nothing Lover (2010), Poro Oyna – The Myth of the Aynu (2012), a collaboration with musicians from the indigenous Aynu (Ainu) tribe of Japan. These and other original works have been seen at festivals and venues such as The Jim Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater, Britt Festival, the Spoleto Festival USA, World Puppetry Festival, Huddersfield Festival in England, Walter Spies Festival in Bali, the National Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Fort Mason Center, Theatre Artaud, San Francisco Insitute for the Arts, and University of Hawaii-Manoa. He has also conducted shadow theatre workshops in China, Taiwan, Indonesia and Japan, among others, training the next generations of shadow artists.
Larry Reed has collaborated with numerous artists and organizations from various disciplines and cultural backgrounds including: American Conservatory Theatre (The Tempest); Santa Fe and LA Operas (Orfeo); Minneapolis Children’s Theater (Whale); Mabou Mines (Mahabharata); Mark Taper Forum (Freedom Song); Smuin Ballet (Ain’t Necessarily So); Ballet Austin (The Magic Flute); Lee Breuer (Peter and Wendy); Octavio Solis (7 Visions and Ghosts of the River); Puppet & Its Double of Taiwan (Monkey King at Spider Cave); Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company and Cengiz Ozek (Silk Road); Karen Kandel, Coco Zhao, and Wu Na (The Good-for-Nothing Lover), among others.
*Biography from UNIMA World Encyclopedia of Puppetry
The Center began this partnership directly with Larry himself. Larry believed deeply that his work should remain accessible not only as history, but as a living resource for artists and scholars. It is our profound privilege and responsibility to carry that belief forward. The Center is committed to preserving these materials with the utmost care and to sharing them.
Backstage shadow actors performing on set of The Wild Party (1995), photographed by ShadowLight Productions.
