Public Events In Celebration of the World Premiere of the Monkey King
《猴王悟空》世界首演相關慶祝活動
October 6, 2025 - November 30, 2025
Workshops 工作坊
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Monkey King Puppetry Workshops at the Asian Art Museum
美猴王孫悟空偶藝工作坊(亞洲藝術博物館)
Sunday November 2, 10:00am-5:00pmAsian Art Museum
200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102Join San Francisco Opera’s Department of Engagement and Connectivity at the Asian Art Museum’s Free First Sunday and step into the playful world of the Monkey King! These workshops feature local puppet artists leading hands-on activities, lively demonstrations, and fun craft activities inspired by the upcoming world premiere production of The Monkey King. Families will have the chance to move, play, and bring puppets to life! No experience necessary, just bring your imagination! Rolling 25- and 45-minute sessions will take place throughout the day alongside docent-led gallery tours. Featured puppet artists to be announced soon!
Monkey King Make & Play: The Art of Puppetry Schedule of Events
10:00 am - Pop-up Creature Puppet Demonstration w/ Vinh G. Nguyen | 25-min | Courts
10:30 am - Puppet Making w/ Jess Nguyen from ShadowLight Productions | 45-min session | Koret Learning Center
11:00am - New Japanese Clay
11:30 am - Pop-up Creature Puppet Demonstration with Vinh Nguyen | Courts
12:00 pm Puppet Making w/ Jess Nguyen from ShadowLight Productions | 45-min session | Koret Learning Center
1:00pm - Exploring the Puppetry of The Monkey King Part 1 w/ Ramon Abad | 25-min | Courts
1:30pm - Exploring the Puppetry of The Monkey King Part 2 w/ Ramon Abad | 25-min | Koret Learning Center
2:00pm – Collections
3:00pm - Puppet Demo & Workshop by Nao Kobayashi | 45-min session | Courts
3:30pm - New Japanese ClayWorkshop Activity Outline
Pop-up Creature Puppet Demonstration with Vinh G. Nguyen: Enjoy a whimsical puppet demonstration, performed by theatre artist Vinh G. Nguyen of Carefree Puppetry. The presentation is an exploration of movement, music, and a menagerie of animals created from recycled materials.
Exploring the Art of Shadow Puppetry with ShadowLight Productions: In conjunction with San Francisco Opera’s The Monkey King, this hands-on workshop led by ShadowLight Productions introduces participants to the art of shadow puppetry. The session will explore how light can be used to cast the shadows of paper puppets, combining movement and sound to create the animated imagery of shadow theater. Participants will learn traditional and contemporary techniques and make their own puppets using provided templates and materials to experiment with on a small screen. The workshop will be led by ShadowLight teaching artist Jess Nguyen, who is also a puppeteer in the Opera’s production.
Exploring the Puppetry of The Monkey King with Ramon Abad: This family-friendly drop-in workshop has two parts:
Act 1, Performance: Audience members will be invited to form a 3-person puppetry team to make a puppet move and dance. The puppets used will be similar to the puppetry involved in SF Opera’s production of The Monkey King!
Act 2, Puppet Movie Studio: Soon after, everyone is invited to come to the Education Room to make their own moving-mouth puppets out of paper! After making puppets, participants are welcome to make short videos with their puppets on their own phones in front of backgrounds that Ramon will bring!
Free. Registration not required but encouraged. -
Join us for family-friendly demonstrations exploring the diverse styles of puppets used in storytelling throughout the world and featured in San Francisco Opera's production of The Monkey King. Led by local puppetry artists, this fun, interactive workshop will involve audience members of all ages being invited to make puppets move and come to life. No experience necessary... just bring your creativity and your openness to playing together in teams!November 6, 10:30am-11:15am, SFPL Western Addition Branch, 1550 Scott StreetNovember 8, 3:00pm-3:45pm, SFPL Richmond Branch, 351 9th AvenueNovember 9, 2:30pm-3:15pm, SFPL Parkside, 1200 Taraval StreetNovember 15, time 2-4pm, Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota StreetFree, no registration requiredFor more information on the SFPL events CLICK HEREFor more information on the Minnesota Street Project event CLICK HERE
Community Events
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Immerse yourself in the world of Journey to the West with this cinematic deep dive into the legendary Monkey King at the Historic Great Star Theater in the heart of San Francsico’s Chinatown. This FREE Community screening blends storytelling across mediums from iconic Chinese animation to modern opera and action-packed fantasy.
Uproar in Heaven (Shanghai Film Group/Shanghai Animation Film Studio)
經典動畫《大鬧天宮》 (上海電影集團/上海美術電影製片厰)
11:30 AM-1:30 PMThe Monkey King: Havoc in Heaven's Palace (Filmko Pictures (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd.)
《西遊記之大鬧天宮》 (星酷影業(香港)有限公司)
1:45 PM-3:45 PM
Join us for one or both of these culturally significant films! Registration required. -
The Monkey King: The Legend of Sun Wukong & The Making of a New Opera
Featuring composer Huang Ruo & librettist David Henry HwangSaturday, November 15, 4-6 p.m.
Minnesota Street Project
1275 Minnesota Street
San FranciscoDive deep into the enduring legend of the monkey king (Sun Wukong) with powerhouse artistic duo Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang on the heels of their world premiere at San Francisco Opera (November 14). The free, two-part program will begin with an exploration of the cultural significance of the iconic novel, Journey to the West, and a look at its many forms in popular culture, moderated by Ling Hon Lam of UC Berkeley’s Chinese Program and Weihong Bao of UC Berkeley Film and Media.
That introductory presentation will be followed by a conversation with the dynamic composer Huang Ruo and Tony-award winning playwright/librettist David Henry Hwang about the creation of their groundbreaking opera. The public program is presented by Minnesota Street Project and San Francisco Opera and produced with Lumahai Productions, in partnership with the San Francisco Arts Education Project (SFArtsED) and the Asian Art Museum.
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San Francisco Opera is thrilled to expand its impactful partnership with San Francisco Public Library in presenting this free encore streaming of the World Premiere Production of The Monkey King.Monday, November 24 at 2:00 PM – SFPL Ortega Branch (3223 Ortega St, San Francisco)
Opera House Events
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Curator Caitlin Pambid will present a series of artworks from Bay Area artists inspired by The Monkey King.
About the Exhibit
The Monkey King is a revered character, an immortal trickster deity seeking redemption. A comedic figure, he has a proud and impulsive streak that gets him into trouble, but Sun Wukong is also cunning and ruthless in battle.
This exhibition will present the cross-cultural versions of the Monkey King that we grew up knowing. The Monkey King Exhibition will feature artworks from Bay Area artists whose visual depictions of him will allow audiences to feel a connection to his multi-faceted character, expanding their initial beliefs of who he is.
Audiences can expect to see various portraits and scenes of the Monkey King accompanied with inconography he's known for--the cloud he flies upon and powerful staff.The installation will be on dispay in the War Memorial Opera House from 11/14 - 12/01, and available only to ticket holders.
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All performances of The Monkey King will be preceded by a 20-minute talk by scholar Sidney Chen. (Open to all ticketholders.)Perfect for newcomers, opera aficionados, or anyone in between, our pre-opera talks provide an engaging 25-minute overview of the opera and its themes.Live pre-opera talks occur 55 minutes prior to each performance.Audio recorded pre-opera talks are made available on our website following the first performance.
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Chinatown, and the Chinese and Chinese American communities are vital and vibrant parts of the San Francisco Bay Area’s cultural fabric. The presentation of the Monkey King is an opportunity to celebrate San Francisco, and a story that has immense resonance and importance across the Asian diaspora, and to so many who call this city and region home.Open to ticketholders and the public alike–The Monkey King Public Market will be a convergence of artisans, artists, and food vendors in the Memorial Court, just outside the War Memorial Opera House. Patrons and passersby are invited to enjoy culinary delights, witness cultural demonstrations, and purchase artistic crafts and creations from local artists prior to the final two performances of The Monkey King.
Markets will be held at the following performances:Friday, November 28, 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Sunday, November 30, 11:30 AM to 2:30 PMMemorial Court
301-401 Van Ness Ave.
San Francisco, 94102Made Possible in Partnership with BeChinatown and the Chinese Cultural Center of San Francisco.
The Monkey King
Digital Art Exhibit
Artwork featured in the gallery display inside the War Memorial Opera House will be available for view online upon the opening of the opera.
The Monkey King is a revered character, an immortal trickster deity seeking redemption. A comedic figure, he has a proud and impulsive streak that gets him into trouble, but Sun Wukong is also cunning and ruthless in battle. This exhibition will present the cross-cultural versions of the Monkey King that we grew up knowing. The Monkey King Exhibition will feature artworks from Bay Area artists whose visual depictions of him will allow audiences to feel a connection to his multi-faceted character, expanding their initial beliefs of who he is. Audiences can expect to see various portraits and scenes of the Monkey King accompanied with iconography he’s known for -- the cloud he flies upon and powerful staff.
Meet Our Partners
Art Builds Community
Amanda Rawson is an accomplished arts leader, curator, and strategist with a multi-faceted background in public art, consulting, and museum management. As Co-owner at Art Builds Community (ABC), she develops public art plans, creative placemaking, and co-manages curation for cities and institutions. Her work—including projects at Vietnamese American Service Center (VASC), the Creekside Art Corridor, and for San Jose Jazz—is driven by a core commitment to inclusivity, accessibility, and reflecting local community identity. This expertise is reinforced by her foundation in arts administration, which includes roles at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles and program development for CreaTV San Jose.
Quỳnh-Mai Nguyễn is a multidisciplinary social practice artist, curator, community organizer, creative producer, and co-owner of Art Builds Community (ABC). She has over 13 years of experience in curating arts and cultural programs for small and intimate events to large festivals. In 2018, KQED Arts Bay Brilliant named her one of 10 recognized movement builders for arts and culture in the Bay Area. She believes in encouraging artists to create art as a way to share and determine their own narratives rather than be subject to others. Creating art is a way to create new artifacts to replace those that have been outdated, appropriated, and/or erased. Some of her current curations include the Lunar New Year Art Exhibition, which she has curated for the past eight years to promote local and emerging AANHPI artists and the further development of art experiences for cultural plazas, neighborhoods, and non-traditional spaces.
Caitlin Pambid is a young professional interested in museum work, specifically curation or collections management. She currently interns at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park in exhibits, collections, and preservation departments. She has also curated for Chopsticks Alley Art, focusing on Southeast Asian artists. Representation is at the forefront when she curates. With her anthropological background, Caitlin operates as a cultural detective to curate exhibitions that bring attention to ideas and issues that are otherwise difficult to articulate without the structure an exhibit provides. Her published research, “Death to the Museum (As We Know It),” further articulates that goal and how cultural exhibitions can become active sites for meaningful change.