Southeast Asians are among the most frequent users of Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter, primarily because of the extreme increase of smart phone availability. Thus, social media has become a new space for puppet artists and audiences around Southeast Asia to share and talk. Ownership, heritage, and identity remain key topics in the virtual space, just like they do in the physical spaces. This talk connects the local with the global through social media, recognizing that urban spaces exist not only as built physical structures—but are products of people’s imaginations. It is in these spaces that unique reclamations and promotions of traditional performing arts are happening in diverse ways.

Jennifer Goodlander is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance at Indiana University where she teaches Asian performance, theatre history, and performance studies. She is also Director of the Southeast Asian and ASEAN Studies Program. Her research has been published in numerous journals and edited book collections. Her book, Women in the Shadows: Gender, Puppets, and the Power of Tradition in Bali was published in 2016 by Ohio University Press. She recently completed a second book, Puppets and Cities: Articulating Identities in Southeast Asia, which is expected to be published in the fall of 2018. She is also the current president for the Association of Asian Performance. Jennifer performs Balinese shadow puppetry both nationally and internationally.