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September 29, 2005 To: University of California Pacific Rim Research Program 1111 Franklin Street, 11 th Floor Oakland, CA 94607-5200 From: Eli Simon Associate Professor of Acting Drama Department UC Irvine REPORT ON “PAN PACIFIC PLAYERS RESEARCH AND COLLABORATION: THE BIRDS BY ARISTOPHANES” Our collaboration with Suk-Man Kim and Korean National University of the Arts – Pan Pacific Players’ production of Birds in DMZ was successfully completed in August of 2005. Our American team flew to Korea on August 5 th . We rehearsed and completed work on our script from August 7 th - 20 th . We performed at the Suwon International Theatre Festival on August 23 rd . Our scheduled performance on the 24 th was rained out but we performed at Korean National University of Arts instead. We received critical acclaim in the Korea Times (article enclosed). Our project was featured on Arirong Television: Heart to Heart – broadcast to South Korea, China, and India Attached, pleasefind photographs of the performance, Birds in DMZ. Attached, please find our review in the Korea Times. We are currently editing over nineteen hours of footage into a one-hour documentary of the project. I will send a copy of this tape to you when it is completed. Brief report of principal findings Given the generous funding from the Pacific Rim Foundation, the University of California, Irvine Drama Department and The Korean National University of Arts collaborated to create the Pan Pacific Player’s production of Birds in DMZ, based on The Birds by Aristophanes. This research project combined American and Korean actors in a trans-national production that fused diverse theatrical techniques such as traditional Korean Mask Dance Drama, Commedia dell’Arte, original Korean music, and original masks. Birds in DMZ addressed fundamental issues of division and reunification and was enthusiastically received at the Suwon International Theatre Festival, South Korea.

REPORT ON “PAN PACIFIC PLAYERS RESEARCH AND COLLABORATION: