Congratulations are in order for playwright Michi Barall, recipient of Fluid Motion's 3rd Start the Story Fellowship! Thanks to the support of WICKSHAW PRODUCTIONS, Michi has been commissioned by Fluid Motion to develop The Secret History of Chingghis Khan: A Puppet Odyssey

Michi will collaborate with puppet-maker Jan Leslie Harding, actor/shaman/videographer Michael Littig, and Tuvan throat singer and composer Albert Kuvezin on a multi-media puppet spectacular, incorporating traditional storytelling, folk music, and high tech media arts in a poetic exploration of the life and legacy of Chingghis Khan. The play will tour through the past 800 years of world history and has two departure points: Mongolia, the 12th century & New York City, the 21st century. Two young heroes, Temujin and Michael, set out to discover themselves and to re-make their worlds. The Secret History of Chingghis Khan: A Puppet Odyssey is based on the 13th century Uighur text, The Secret History of the Mongols, the only native Mongolian text to chronicle the life of Chingghis Khan.

The 2009 Start the Story sponsor WICKSHAW PRODUCTIONS was created by the husband and wife team of Cheri Wicks and John Shaw. The WICKSHAW mission is to support dedicated, talented artists and to help them create engaging, exciting productions of new works or add a new spin to existing works.

Fluid Motion's commissioning program, START THE STORY, is a unique program that connects writers and patrons during the genesis of a new play. Our aim to create a community of artists and enthusiasts who believe in working together to create work that will change the way we view the world. The first two START THE STORY commissions were awarded in to Mrinalini Kamath for The Quest (aka The Golden Fleece Project) , a new adaptation based on the stories of the Argonauts in the Quest for the Golden Fleece (sponsored by the Nancy Quinn Fund and Maria-Teresa A. Gamboni), and Katori Hall for Gone (w.t.) , her adaptation of Antigone in the contemporary setting of post-Hurricane Katrina Louisiana. (Sponsored by Ayanna Lonian).