The Cast of “Panji and the Lost Princess” Announced

Co-Directed by Kirstin Pauka and I Madé Moja have announced the cast of Panji and the Lost Princess after call-backs held on October 24, 2025. Gamelan and dance rehearsals started on November 4 and November 6, respectively, after an all-cast meeting was held on November 3.

This first all-cast meeting provided an opportunity for performers and musicians to get together and meet the artistic team, and discuss the structure of the rehearsal process this fall and during the spring 2026 semester.

Co-directors Kirstin Pauka and I Madé Moja introduced briefly the story of Prince Panji, one of the most popular stories in Indonesia. Prince Panji travels all over the country, South-East Asia, and the world searching for his fiancee who has disappeared. Full of adventure, the tale’s popular appeal has resulted in different names for Panji in different countries. We are working with a Balinese version of the tale. Since collaboration between directors, designers, and performers is key to the creative process, both the puppet and scene designs will emerge as an integral part of the rehearsal process, in parallel and dependent on the blocking and choreography.

Annie Reynolds and I Madé Widana discussed key features of Balinese dance and gamelan music, which has no traditional notation. Since musicians go straight to practice, everyone’s patience and commitment is important: the entire ensemble matters. The goal of the rehearsals with the dance-actors is to first set the choreography and, while doing that, get comfortable in the body of the character one is playing.