What People Are Saying...


Monkey King is an epic, full of drama and magic, but it is also a hugely entertaining story.


Diane Wolkstein does not just tell the story: she channels the main figures, becomes Monkey King and the priest to a startling degree; one could describe them as if one had actually seen them.


Drama is blended with comic episodes as this sumptuous story fills the stage. Without digital images, or projector, or any of the usual trappings, the audience is offered the most vivid reality, and time passes with amazing speed. The result is a rich and satisfying evening at the theater.”


— Olivier Bernier, Lecturer, Metropolitan Museum of Art


“I’ve seen Diane Wolkstein perform part of Monkey King twice, and each time I had a glimpse of eternity. She was opening the doors to the cosmos for her audience and allowing them to experience the healing power of story.


Diane showed us the interplay between the wild, ego-driven Monkey King, who fights for survival, and the gentle Buddhist monk who is guided by compassion -- even in a wilderness full of dangers.  I saw myself and everyone else I know... and I left the theatre more connected to my own compassion!”

       

— Tracy Cochran, Editor

     Parabola Magazine


“I’ve been tracking Diane Wolkstein for 30 years. Her solo performance of Monkey King is a marvel. She is at the height of her career; every word, gesture and pause is exquisite. She is a consummate artist.”

              

Dr.  Judith Pasamanick,

    Professor, Director, Folklore

    Institute, Bank St. College of

    Education


"I wish all my teachers told stories the way that Diane Wolkstein does.

School would be a lot more interesting and a lot more fun."


— Jack Cousineau, 12 years old,

     San Francisco


Diane Wolkstein’s Monkey King takes us on a spectacular journey - funny, human and ultimately transcendent - in which we encounter ourselves and all of life’s ultimate questions.


Barbra Abrash, Director, Center for Media, Culture & History, New York University


Suggested reading for epic:

Latest News & Performances

Monkey King IN TORONTO

Fresh from their celebrated tour of Taiwan, Diane Wolkstein with guest artist and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Greene will be performing Journey to the West as part of the Toronto Festival of Storytelling.

The Toronto Festival of Storytelling Presents:

Diane Wolkstein: JOURNEY TO THE WEST
With Guest Artist Jeff Greene, Multi-Instrumentalist

Dovercourt Baptist Church (Auditorium)
March 26th  7:00pm-9:30pm
1140 Bloor Street West
Toronto click here for map

Reservations (seating is limited): 416-656-2445
http://www.torontofestivalofstorytelling.ca
$20 General Admission


              Photos by Cheang, Jia Liang

PERFORMANCES IN TAIWAN


               Photo by WanLing Lin

Diane and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Greene performed Journey to the West at Fo Guang Buddhist University in Jiaosi, National Taipei University in Taipei, and National Chi Nan University in Puli to captivated audiences as large as 500!  We would like to thank all those who attended the performances and made our artists feel so welcome.


Keep checking our website for pictures, stories and more from the Spring 2010 Taiwan tour!

CALL FOR VIDEOS

With the help of Videographer Bob Geile, Diane has started a new segment for the internet titled Interviews from the Journey East.  The first three interviews are now up! 

Watch the interviews on our Journeys East page, then keep the conversation going! Visit the YouTube page to upload your video response in English or Chinese/Taiwanese and tell us what Journey to the West means to YOU. 



Diane Speaks at 
Fulbright Foundation, Taipei

Sixty people of all ages attended Diane’s talk at the Fulbright Foundation - many university students as well as faculty. The evening was to last an hour but people stayed for nearly two hours, excited and impassioned by their experience with the art of storytelling.




"I enjoyed all the stories, especially the taiji you used while telling Journey to the West and your special gesture for "Handsome Monkey King!" The great gift you gave us was to take all of us back to the magical time in our childhood when we sat by our amahs, our grandmothers, and imbibed the wisdom and warmth of their stories. You reminded us of how important and essential stories are to our lives and happiness." — Professor Peter Y H Chen, Taipei University

"Thank you for sharing such powerful and moving stories. I loved your style of telling, especially the participation you used with all your stories. Your first story from Haiti touched me the most. I thank you for telling it. I did not know the Haitian culture or the Haitian people before tonight. Now I am inspired to support them and to help raise money for them. Thank you." — Morris Huang, Managing Editor of English Career


Discussing Journey to the West 
with Faculty and Students in Taiwan



Diane had the opportunity to speak to the Departments of Comparative Literature, Religion, Buddhist, and Taoist Studies at Fo Guang University (Buddhist University) in Jiaosi.





Exploring the Text

As Diane continues her journey in Taiwan, she will be sending in updates of the work she is doing and the people she meets. We are happy to share a glimpse into her adventures with you here! 

Once again, she has had the opportunity to study with Mr. Sun - the great actor of Monkey King who had the role passed to him by his father and grandfather.


“How incredible to meet another soul, even if he lives on the other side of the world, who is as dedicated to bringing the story in all its richness to others. What good fortune. “ 

“He and his son are watching my version of the beginning of the epic. My teacher from Taipei Language Institute, Arabella Hsu, is filming.”

“Mr. Sun demonstrating the hand gestures of Gwan Yin.”


“Second hand gesture (his face has become Gwan Yin).”
“Look at this lovely woman! So warm. Eleanor Chang is the president of Taipei Language Institute where I'm studying Mandarin with Arabella - a teacher who specializes in legends and Journey to the West. Imagine a president of an organization with such warmth. I suppose it doesn't hurt that we have the same birthday.“
Check back here for more tales from the road in Taiwan.

want to see more? Click here to Find Monkey King 
on our performance archive page!

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1140+Bloor+Street+West,+toronto&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=1140+Bloor+St+W,+Toronto,+ON,+Canada&gl=us&ei=sy2QS7DsNJfz8Qb3z_n2BA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ8gEwAAhttp://www.torontofestivalofstorytelling.caJourneys_East.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlPiXcM5UWEhttp://www.tli.com.tw/EN/Performances.htmlPerformances.htmlPerformances.htmlPerformances.htmlPerformances.htmlPerformances.htmlPerformances.htmlJourneys_East.htmlPerformances.htmlshapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1shapeimage_4_link_2shapeimage_4_link_3shapeimage_4_link_4shapeimage_4_link_5shapeimage_4_link_6shapeimage_4_link_7shapeimage_4_link_8shapeimage_4_link_9shapeimage_4_link_10shapeimage_4_link_11

Galleries & Media


PERFORMANCES

An archive of performance photos, videos and reviews in New York City


An archive of Diane’s tour of NYC’s many Public Libraries


Monkey King Marathon

Photos, stories and more from the March ’09 performance




RESEARCH

July 2009



October 2008


August 2008



Links

Richard Armstrong

Bob Geile

Jeff Greene

Sat Hon

Anita Ratnam

Diane Wolkstein


Information

For more information about Monkey or to request a performance at your venue, museum, school or university, email us at:

monkeykingepic@gmail.com


Bibliography

Visit our Bibliography page for official texts and recommended reading.

 

Journey East...

...in search of Monkey King


In the summer of 2008, Diane Wolkstein, storyteller, and Sat Hon, her teacher and choreographer, went to Taiwan in order to research Journey to the West and better understand the mysterious god-like figure, Monkey King himself. This 10 minute documentary edited by Eli Rarey (director, Diane Wolkstein: A Storyteller’s Story) premiered at the University Settlement. Now you can see it for a limited time on our Journeys East page. Enjoy!