William George

William George, actor, playwright, theatre director, teacher

Little Pond Arts Retreat And home of Kingfisher Theatre

The Little Pond, Nazareth, PennsylvaniaThe Kingfisher´s Wing is based on the true story of the martyrdom of the youth, Aqa Buzurg, of the town Nishapur in Persia (present day Iran), in the mid-1860s. His father, the elderly Haji Abdu'l Majid--aged 60 at Aqa Buzurg's birth--is a devout Bahá´í, whereas Aqa Buzurg holds to the family's Islamic traditions. The father and son suffer the usual intergenerational problems, but slightly more exaggerated and in certain instances reversed, as it is the older who has embraced the new, and the younger who is still grappling with the frustrations of the old. The youth is eventually converted to his father's beliefs, travels to meet Bahá'u'lláh, and is so passionately inflamed with love for this charismatic Figure that he takes on the dangerous task of delivering a letter to the corrupt and all-powerful King, Nasiri'd Din Shah.

Aqa Buzurg, now called Badi, the Wonderful, by Bahá'u'lláh, travels the 1,600 miles on foot to deliver His Lord's letter. For his service he is himself tortured and killed by the Shah's executioner, Kazim Khan.

Bill and Bridget GeorgeTechnically, the play is a culmination of years of work. It includes puppetry ideas I'd learned from Eric Bass and Sand Glass Theater and John and Carol Farrell of Figures of Speech Theater. It contained mime technique combined with Shakespearean-styled monologues; shadow-work inspired by the drama of Bali, Fred Curchak; and movement drawn from Japanese Butoh.

"I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings...."

The Little Pond, 92 S. Penn Dixie Rd., Nazareth, PennsylvaniaThe Kingfisher's Wing, the story of Badi
Written by Bill George

"After the Kingfisher's Wing has answered light with light, and all is silence,  the light is still at the still point of the turning world....at the still  point, there the dance is." --T.S. Eliot

"The Kingfisher's Wing" is based on the true story of the martyrdom of the youth, Aqa Buzurg, of the town Nishapur in Persia (present day Iran), in the mid-1860's. His father, the elderly Haji Abdu'l Majid--aged sixty at Aqa Buzurg's birth--is a devout Baha'i, follower of this new and violently persecuted Faith proclaimed by the Prophet, Baha'u'llah, whereas Aqa Buzurg holds to the family's Islamic traditions. The father and son suffer the "usual" intergenerational problems, but slightly more exaggerated and in certain instances reversed, as it is the older who has embraced The New, the younger who is still grappling with the frustrations of The Old. The Youth is eventually converted to his father's beliefs, travels to meet Baha'u'llah, and is so passionately inflamed with love for this charismatic Figure he takes on the dangerous task of delivering a letter to the corrupt and all powerful King, Nasiri'd Din Shah. Aqa Buzurg, now called Badi, the Wonderful, by Baha'u'llah, travels the sixteen hundred miles on foot to deliver His Lord's letter in order to put an end to the persecutions of this new Faith. In the end he is himself tortured and killed.

Single performances:  $1,500.

Accompanying workshops in the actor as creator, pantomime, voice, and acting are available.
Significant discounts for multiple bookings or residencies.

More details at http://www.littlepond.org/page0010.htm