R.S.V.P. : Festival Kicks Off With Feast of Mixtures

The first day of the Los Angeles Festival concluded with Japanese theater and American jazz--an eclectic mix that seemed to fit what the festival’s all about.

The “Legend of the Water Flame,” a contemporary piece drawn from an old Japanese legend, premiered Saturday night at the Japan America Theater. Afterwards, guests strolled the plaza in the cool night air, queued for a rich dessert buffet and listened to the Red Callendar trio play jazz classics.

“It was exquisite,” said festival director Peter Sellars of “Legend.” “I know it’s going to haunt me for the next couple of days, it’s going to come back to me.”

Earlier in the day, Sellars and thousands of others had gone south to San Pedro for opening-day ceremonies, launching 16 days of theater, music, dance, video, ethnic rituals and performance-art pieces featuring artists from the Pacific Rim.

That day’s ceremonies “moved some people to tears,” said Sellars at the reception.

“It’s so shocking and moving to see these people perform. Audiences were again and again moved. The performers are so open and emotionally direct and American audiences hunger for that pure humanity. There’s nothing synthetic there--it’s all completely authentic.”

The diminutive Sellars, his spikey dark-blond hair standing at attention like new-mown grass, wore a baggy gold plaid tunic and pants he said he had bought that day from the African Marketplace at one of the festival sites.

“I bought, like, three of these,” he said. “It’s the only place I’m going to shop from now on.”

Although the audience responded warmly to “Legend” (performed in Japanese with some English translation projected on a backdrop), others were caught napping through parts, only to be awakened by loud percussion.

Performance artist Rachel Rosenthal was enthusiastic about the piece, saying: “I was particularly moved by the actress.” Rosenthal seemed pleased that her Los Angeles Festival shows were almost sold out, adding that she hoped the festival would broaden her audience.

Guests were presented with festival pins, which some immediately affixed to lapels. They also received navy-and-white Japanese head wraps, which some tied around their heads or turned into kerchiefs, shawls or handbag accessories.

Among the speech-givers at the reception were AT&T; vice president Jerry Arca, festival board chairman Maureen Kindel, Mayor Tom Bradley, Japanese American Cultural and Community Center executive director Gerald Yoshitomi and film director James Bridges.