Founded in 1972, ShadowLight Productions brings the stories of the world to light through cross-cultural storytelling and the magic of shadow theater. Original, interdisciplinary performances combine the power and mystery of shadows, the scale of film, and the immediacy of live performance. The shadow plays are rooted in Chinese, Tibetan, Indonesian, Filipino, European, and Latin American performing arts traditions.

Each ShadowLight show is created by a collaborating ensemble of writers, choreographers, composers, designers, actors, dancers, musicians, and puppeteers.

Artistic Director Larry Reed pioneered contemporary shadow theater by integrating traditional shadow theater techniques (which he studied and performed for two decades) with American theater and film styles. Reed is one of few Americans to be trained in wayang kulit, Balinese shadow puppetry. Also a documentary filmmaker, Reed's film ShadowMaster is an intimate portrait of a family of Balinese performers; it has aired on PBS and the Discovery Channel.

ShadowLight has played such sites as New York's Public Theater, San Francisco’s Theater Artaud, France's Institut Internationale de la Marionette, the New Jersey Center for the Performing Arts, and California Institute for the Arts. The company’s work is featured in puppetry and theater journals worldwide, has twice been awarded the UNIMA/USA Citation for Excellence from the International Puppetry Association, and has been nominated for a theatrical design award by the American Theater Wing. ShadowLight offers free and low priced public performances and workshops, and collaborates with other groups to develop audiences across cultural and disciplinary boundaries, including the shadow work for the 2004 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and People Like Me 2005.

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