The Last Days of Postmodernist Theatre

It has been a long and eventful few weeks... And here I was thinking after the Last Days of Judas Iscariot "I'll have so much free time now! I'll be able to go to sleep at eight every night and homework will be done with extreme precision!" In actuality, my last few weeks has been packed with helping the IBTA yr2 girls with their projections and set, watching numerous post modernist plays and finally venturing into the histories and cultures of Turkey. If you couldn't tell already, I have a plethora of things to talk about. So let's begin then shall we?

*I apologize if this blog post is overflowing with inside jokes and perhaps a bit from the Last Days of Judas Iscariot, ArtiFacts and Turkey. I think I use so many little phrases that I expect other people to be aware of, but they always end up looking at me with utter confusion and pointlessness.* 

As per usual, I like to keep to a chronological style of reflection and formatting in the beginning of my posts though at the end it usually results in disjointed thoughts. So, to start, I would like to talk about my experiences in the Last Days of Judas Iscariot. To give an overview, this play basically was formed upon the relationships of Judas Iscariot and Jesus Christ, prince of peace. Ironically, however, it is not a story of Judas Iscariot. Rather, It is a trial of the actions he committed and a reflection of all human beings and the mistakes they can potentially make in their lives. This is what it basically boiled down to for me, even though it's hazy to summarize the depths and messages that this play portrays in a couple of words. What I found particularly interesting was how the different testimonies all offered something new to the table and despite what this discrete message was, everyone was intent on trying and experiencing everything the play exhibited.

There is just so much to say about what I experienced through this journey - as an actor and as a person. In this play, I was blessed to receive the role of Yousef El-Fayoumy, the prosecutor of Judas Iscariot. He is extremely blunt, loud, cheeky, cocky and is a severe opportunist. It was interesting for me as I believe it was the first time that I had a humorous role! It was quite intimidating because with humour, it is almost integral to get a reaction from the audience. At the end of the day, however, I feel like it was the encouragement and endless support from the cast that helped me push through my fears and step over the lines that I hadn't crossed before. It was as much everyone else's role as it was mine.

I found myself, oftentimes, moreover, utilizing the knowledge that we gained through the first quarter in this class into the role of my character. I feel like the workshop with Mark Hill were able to enhance my experiences with the stage to a great extent. I kept telling myself to keep the energy at a high, to be aware of my surroundings not only so I could utilize the stage around me, but also because I had to react to my fellow cast and at everything they were doing or saying and to use violent articulation so that everyone in the back row could hear what I had to say and thus convey messages of the play.

As a person, I can really say that this play posed some questions that I wouldn't have really thought of in the past. It's really helped me grow as a person in terms of maturity and faith. Should we be forgiven even if we can't forgive ourselves? Are there instances where we shouldn't be forgiven? Are humans capable of being good? Is all sin even in the eyes of God? How does God view the human race? What is the difference between ourselves and Judas Iscariot? What is despair and what role does it have in our lives? What holds us back from being good? These are just a few questions that are on the tip of my tongue and that I think really summarizes what I've learned through the play. I think this play was an example of what Peter Brooke would call Holy Theatre. It stimulated thoughts and questions that were there, but I didn't really ask in the past. It helped my relationships with religion and has just played an amazing role in starting my year at SFS.

So as I wrote one part of my blog, I remembered that this blogpost is most definitely not chronological because I watched Post Modernist plays before the actual nights of the play. So I guess I failed once more at this organized thing. But since it is divided into sections, it can still be seen as organized... yes? yes. Anyway, now to move onto some PoMo plays that I've seen. There were some plays that were just phenomenal, some that were just mediocre and some that just confused me. Over 3 weeks, I saw five plays: the Comedy of K, the Odyssey, Inspirations and Improvisations, Gulliver's Travels and finally Black Watch. I chose to watch a lot of plays because I was scared that I would miss something exceptional. Some were definitely better than others, but all in all, I'm happy that I took the time to go to these shows as they offered something completely different in each play.

The Comedy of K was interesting. It incorporated some great dancing, posed some questions through movement and included some themes from Metamorphosis by Kafka. It followed a non-linear story line - the characters did not speak any words and the only thing that was able to guide us were some words that popped up on the sides of the stage - and consisted of a very bare and simple stage with a few props such as a bed and a cool roof that projections were beamed at.

I didn't really understand it at first; actually, I still don't really understand it. But does that mean it's was a bad show? Does it mean it was deadly theatre? No. I actually really enjoyed the Comedy of K because it gave me a chance to step back and just watch a show. I first started to try and understand everything, to try and relate everything to SARS and Kafka's Metamorphosis. But obviously, it was extremely difficult. So I just stopped thinking and started watching. Upon reflection, I was able to recall upon some scorched moments that just blew me away and understand the purpose of them or at least interpret them in a way that made sense to me.

Rather than focusing on black watch, a play that most people seem to be reflecting on, I would like to focus on Parsons Dance, another production that I found particularly amazing. This was another dance show actually and was quite different from the Comedy of K. I would say that the former was more abstract whereas the latter is more straightforward. It centered on two males and one female whilst live singers sung the songs the dancers danced to. Please refer to the video above for my favorite part of the dance - the beginning. We can see how so many of the production elements were infused with each other. The lighting is just amazing in this scene and so is the dancer. How can he move that quickly to match the time? It's just shocking really. The set helps by creating shadows and the costume aids the messages trying to be conveyed. It really puts you in a trans kind of feeling.

The lighting in this play was spectacular. Here's the link to the ligthing designer: http://www.parsonsdance.org/howell-binkley/ Just amazing. You must check him out. It actually made the set in so many ways - like the jail for instance. Everything worked so well together especially the dancing and the singing and the lighting and the dancing. I wouldn't say that this was necessarily so PoMo, but there were diverse elements that could have made it post modernist. Many other plays really wowed me with music. The inspirations and improvisations - Butoh dancer - for example created a really raw and scary atmosphere with the pianist and the cacophonies and clashing of sounds.

All in all, I was so happy to have spent my time and money on these shows. The reason I saw all of these shows was because I was scared that I would miss something spectacular and boy was I right. I really advise all of you guys in the future to attend all shows as you never know which plays will be better than the others. Even then, it is good to see those that weren't as good. :) If you feel me. Black Watch and Parsons Dance will probably be ingrained into my mind as they were just so amazing. Some people were in awe that they couldn't see these two plays, but I did. When in doubt, see all of them.

Postmodernist Theatre Notes

Theatre in the WORLD 

Postmodernism and Modern Theatre

• Words to describe our society: 
• Norm 
• Technology
• Issues in our society: 
• Individualism 
• Corruption
• Equal Rights
• Sexuality
• Drugs

• Po Mo is a reflection of these issues that are posed in our society. 
• Art is created
• A way of thinking, and a way of non-thinking
• Analysis cannot be done using traditional norms.
• Oblivious to logic, parallels to experiences in life. 

2 ideas to Po Mo: 

• Homage to itself. Reflection of itself. Art that is about Art. 
• Revision/re-imagine the works of the past, the director’s own image. 

• Surrealism
• Perception is reality? 
• Po Mo is not about something - It’s about itself. - It deconstructs itself so we can think about the idea of art and the idea of ourselves. How do we view art? How do we view ourselves in relation to the art? 
• Po Mo comes from anti-realism theatre. 
• Surrealists or Post Modernists wanted to find higher forms of reality 
• Method Acting: 
• Stanislavski - He was sick of it. He wanted to go within and utilize our findings to create emotional memory - realistic
• Theatre in the time of ^ was so formulaic, so prescribed. 
• Much more inside out. - Use architecture. 

• Bertolt Brecht - A genius! The inception of PoMo. Change the relationship between the audience and the actor. 
• Created a distance between the artist and the audience.
• The audience is aware that they are in the play - they are not losing themselves in the play. 
• This is moving towards Post Modernist theatre. 

• Aristotle: An overarching theme.
• Po Mo: Symbols, various themes spread out, sensory discoveries and experiences. Celebrating arbitrary juxtaposition, irrelevances. 
• Hip Hop, Breakdancing, Dj’ing, Rapping, Commercials, Speed Surfing online - examples of Po Mo theatre in our generation.
• Go against the norm. Leaves room for experimentation 
• Dadaism
• You get a group of words and throw it up in the air and retrieve the words 
• Whatever will happen will happen. 
• Cabaret singing, shouting, dancing, painting, pulling words out of a hat... 
• Denied logic and reason
• This is what led to theatre of the absurd. 
• Also grew out of Nihilism and post war feelings of loss and disillusionment.
• Then lead to theatre of alienation. 
• Picture: This is where it all gets a bit... surreal.

Characteristics of PoMo theatre: 

• Non-linear theatre.
• No beg, middle and end. 
• Stories are jumping around. Temporary flashbacks; starts in the future, to past, to present. --- It’s all over the place. 
• You have to figure this out. 
• Open Theatre
• A much wider range interest in cultures and in individuals that exist. 
• Joseph Chaiken 
• His theatre reflected humanity, society (was post vietnam) 
• Disconnect between actor and character - wanted to create roles rather than characters. “That guy is an actor playing a character.” 
• Ideas of actors playing scenery and props!
• A Diverse Theatre
• Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues) 
• Women have been a force in theatre since the seventeenth century, but before were not involved in theatre.
• Discusses issues that might have not really been exposed in society in the past. 
• Racial diversification
• Gender roles
• Pregnancy/Abortion
• Domestic Violence
• Issues that people avoided finally exposed to society. 
• 1980’s - 8 women have received pulitzer prizes for playwriting 
• Sarah Ruhl 
• Mary Zimmerman 
• Suzanne Lori Parks
• Non-Traditional Casting 
• Black people = black actor - perhaps an Asian actor? 
• Patrick Stewart - White man played the black Moor Othello. Changed every character black and made Othello white. 
• Flips character casting on its head

- Sarah Jones - Another example of non-traditional casting. 

• One woman show - played fifteen different characters from different backgrounds.
• Exchanges characters and in a split second can alter her characters. 
• Spectacular Theatre
• Not the mere spectacle, but the spectacles that just blow your mind away. 
• Cirque du Soleil/Performance Art
• Computer graphics
• Contemporary circus 
• etc. 
• A Theatre of Community 
• Clifford Odets started group theatre. - (Waiting for Lefty)
• 1930’s - getting people together dedicated to social causes - change the world with theatre.
• Theatre of the oppressed
• A large part is ‘dangerous theatre’ 
• Cornerstone theatre
• Help the world. Service to the world. 
• Movement Art and Dance theatre
• Sound and movement - sensory impact
• Stomp 
• Blue Man Group
• PINA BAUSCH
• Brought issues, despair into dance
• Matthew Bourne
• A Global Theatre
• Globalization of the word economy 
• Worldwide proliferation of culture 
• World wide web
• Migrations
• Media
• It’s spreading!! 
• Bringing cultures together
• Multiple tongues
• Wider focuses
• A Macaronic Drama 
• Multi-language
• Heighten the translation of meaning 
• Gestures
• Bodies
• Implication 
• Depicts conflicts between culture
• Assimilation of culture
• A Theatre of Difference
• Deals with the topic of homosexuality 
• Angels in America
• AIDS
• By Tony Kushner 
• Verbatim Theatre
• You take manuscripts of real live scripts and interviews. 
• Eve Ensler
• Created plays that came from rape victims in ____. 
• Anna Deveare Smith
• Creates plays by interviewing people
• She embodies these character
• She’s not creating a character, she is completely becoming the people she interviews - gestures, raise of the eyebrows, speech
• in one play she can play 10 people
• Sarah Jones 
• Solo performances
• One man show
• One woman show
• Dangerous Theatre
• Deals with issues that near the edgy areas
• They ‘cross’ the line. 
• Nudity (Dangerous. Self explanatory) 
• Sensory assualt
• Pushing the boundaries wherever you are. (Can sometimes depend on the setting and context you are in) 
• Dealing with issues of political torture. 
• Technology in Theatre
• www.4dart.com/shows.html

Natasha Tsakos”

“In the art of today, we have become scientists and in the science of today, we have become artists.”

Artitecture.

A space study was recently conducted in a mountainous trail and area near the laboratories of SFS high school. What did these adventurous teenagers and their teacher find out? This blog post responding to certain questions will answer that. But let me give you a hint. It alluded to another time when these students used their architecture to create art with M--- Hi--. Could you guess? Of course you can. Now without further or due, the questions:

This is kind of like the piano that our group faced in the middle of the forest! 

1) What are the artistic moments you don't want to forget? 

The moments from this day were filled with brilliance and change. I would like to start off by saying how different yet how beautiful each and every compilation of tableaus were. They were such exemplar pieces of physical expression that I was able to store them in the 'important section' of my intensely disorganized brain.

Focusing on individual groups, I want to start with the presentation of Kevin, Annie, Austin and Joel. They had the chance to perform twice, and what I particularly enjoyed about these two presentations was how they were radically different from one another. When you start with a rough draft with great compliments and feedback, what do you really do to change it right? This group exemplified that statement false by showing us two beautiful pieces of dead man's theatre (I believe that this is what it was called) that were similar in some ways, but were different in many. I especially like how this group's use of proximity was greatly different the two times they presented. The first time, they played with their proximity forcing us to look back and then front and get a wider perspective of the environment. But the second time, they narrowed it down to the core of their stage. Though their scene consisted of a smaller surface area, they were able to really improve upon their message - how the dead draw in the living and how the living remorse for those who are dead - by using the confined space that they limited themselves to. With that being said, they were truly able to use their architecture in both of these settings to its full potential. They used the hills of the graves, the blindspots to the audience (they could hide themselves and make surprise exits and entrances); they used the lugubriousness of the setting and transferred that into their performance. What really just stands out right now was the amount of energy this group put into their performance. Yes, the imagery was great - everything corresponded with the mood and message - but as the actors fell into their individual pits, they were not afraid to just 'get down and dirty' and really just exert all the effort they could to produce this scene. That's what I find truly spectacular. More than that, the effort they produced bettered our connection with the characters that were produced in their tableaus.

Then, we moved on to the study of Christian, Andrew, Georgia, Emma and Andy. What I first want to point out is their effective (unintentional?) use of music. The euphonic harmonies of the classical guitar and forest settings really allowed us to appease the drama and copious amounts of stress outside of the class and really delve into what was being presented. Not to mention the music fit the piece extraordinarily well. I'm just going to say this: I thought it was hilarious how the girl just sat there even with sweaty teenagers enveloped her surroundings. She just kept playing... What really struck me about this piece was their use of the environment to create costumes and visuals for the viewer. Unlike the other group who had focused primarily on using their backdrop as their themes and conveyances, this group used their ideas to formulate the environment. It was a great contrast and I could see the beauty of both pieces. Their story/message was not linear, but rather an s-shape. It curved and finally got to the conclusion of being stripped naked to the core of the human spirit - then you're left with nothing... At least, that's how I interpreted it. I loved the ambience and nature of this piece so much.

And finally for our presentation, I would like to give a brief account of this performance as I didn't really see my own presentation; I suggest the blogs of my other classmates. But in brief, I really enjoyed our innovative ideas to have the audience move through the trail. I thought we were utilizing the environment perfectly and I liked how our storyline went backwards. I thought the images we evoked - George hanging on a tree as Reca intensely struggled to reach for him; the slow descent watching as the two friends slowly departed from each other as the dead lingered behind the audience (I'm not sure if anyone noticed this, but it happened); Reca banging on the piano as George slowly descends into our beginning scene: death - were quite ingenius and really were able to suit the theme and message that we were trying to portray.

2) What is one thing that you experienced that you hope will inspire or challenge you in the future? 

In the future, there will be many endeavors to create works of art like this. Whether it's for the IB play or for little skits, there will always be an opportunity to utilize what we learned here in the wilderness to our future studies in theatre or in school or in life in general. I hope to take with me the power of 'thinking outside the box,' as I believe that our group was able to really try something new. Experimentation always leads to a great idea. Reca, George, Sabrina and eventually Sammy and I were not able to think of fresh ideas off the bat. I found that it takes time, and sometimes, you won't even get what you want until the last five minutes you are given. It's like in the last five minutes of a test, you're shoved, and all your brilliant ideas just splash onto the paper. I have learned that through numerous confrontations and experiments with a plethora of no-no's and yes's that making ideas comes collectively from the mistakes and conflicts of the group itself. We put forth ideas and built upon each other's and, eventually we had ourselves a show. I would like to take with me the idea of experimentation in my future years to come. I think greatness leads from experimentation. Mrs. Moon once said during a rehearsal in the Last Days of Judas Iscariot how Christian and Sammy's scene was never trite or commonplace, but how it was always different as they were both trying new ways of saying their lines and expressing their emotions. This, I believe, adheres to all elements of theatre - whether in the booth, or on stage or with a paintbrush ready to paint the set.

3) What emotions did you feel as you watched the space studies? 

There were many emotions that passed through my mind during these studies: a sense of anticipation, a sense of anxiousness, a sense of surprise, a sense of regret, a sense of hope. Oddly enough, for a bunch of happy ol' kids, no happiness was expressed in these tableaus. But I want to again focus on the individual groups... You can pretty much tell from what I've described in the beginning that this scene was not a very happy one. It consisted of a longing for death and a self-diagnosed anxiety caused by the death of the loved ones. As those who fall into the pits of loss, they reach for those who remain above them even though it is not their intentions. Feelings of regret and utter despondency conquered my mind therefore, when I saw this study. I'm sure I would put myself into the shoes of Annie - the girl who lost all her loved ones - if my loved ones were to pass away. Detachment can cause utter despair, especially from those who loved you the most.

The second group had more of a less dark message, and yet, it was still quite somber. The leaves in my mind symbolized the layers upon layers of personality and fraud we layer ourselves with. The innocence and beauty of the leaves, as it sheds, turns into a man. But we then begin to realize that man is hope and man is us and that we are all equal in the eyes of God and in the core of our minds and spirits. I think this brought forth feelings of wistfulness and latter contentment.

Again, I will omit our group's presentation as I didn't 'watch' it. But I would say in general that it encompassed a longing and hope for the unattainable which led to frustration and discouragement.

If anything like this hops onto our plates of journeys, I believe that we should write poetry as so much beauty can result from just thinking about these pieces of work.

4) What inspired your space study and how did the stimulus help you design your compositions? 

Many things inspired our space study, but the message that we wanted to portray came from the poem Where Does the Poem Begin, Where Does it End and a surrealist image of a man's inevitably impossible trek along a desert. We wanted to delineate how we could strive for something, but never quite make it there. The journey could most definitely start, but we could never find the ending. In the painting, it shows a man who has covered his face prohibiting him to move on. But it seems that this wasn't inflicted by another man, but rather by himself. We wanted to convey this self-struggle within one's mind and heart to progress and eventually give up. What really inspired our themes and ideas were the poem and the paintings, but the ideas and scenes generally came from experimentation and the environment we were in. The tree branch was perfect for George to hang in, the piano could sort of formulate sound providing a creepy effect, and the long trail allowed us to see every aspect of the tableaus as we trekked through the forest.



OVERALL, there is so much I can take from this class and this study of the space behind our school. We really learned how to create art with architecture: artitecture. I thought that was really clever around an hour ago, but I retract that claim that circulated within my mind. But I really do think that it encompasses the main lessons that I learned here. What I leave with are lessons to do with theatre and architecture, but what I also leave with are scenes of beauty and grace, combined with despair and hopelessness. It was truly an inspiring class to be in.


PS: I would just like to apologize for my blog posts being late... Because of other commitments such as the fall play, I did not have much time to catch up on all the blog posts I would have liked to catch up on. I had notes and rough outlines for what I wanted to write in these blogposts from a long time ago, however. :)

Conflicting Thoughts of Physical Theatre

"Wayne McGregor is a man in perpetual motion. When not incubating new approaches to choreography with his company, Random Dance, he creates works for ballet, theatre and opera companies worldwide--including the Royal Ballet in London, where he's choreographer in residence, and contemporary dance powerhouse Sadler's Wells. In ongoing collaborations with psychologists, neuroscientists and cognitive scientists, Random dancers are helping researchers measure and analyze how the brain works in the creative process. Whatʼs emerged so far is that we can, and do, think with our bodies.” - Stolen from TED Talks. 

At this moment in time, when I'm writing my blog, the TED talk that we have just witnessed seems a bit ambiguous to me. Perhaps it's because I'm in a state of nauseating sickness, but nothing seems to click inside my brain. He seems to delve into very metaphorical and perhaps profound (I'm not really sure yet) concepts that I cannot fully grasp. I feel as if this presentation needs to be watched again to fully understand the extremities of his ideas. BRB as the young people say.

...

So, I just watched it again. Parts of it at least... And thoughts are starting to come to me. But as these thoughts come, it's exacerbating the problem of confusion. What exactly is physical theatre because from what I've gained so far, there's no specific way of defining it. Butoh theatre, Masked dance and this all differ greatly in so many ways. I originally thought that physical theatre was just a means of portraying ideas and themes to stimulate the sleeping factory workers inside our minds to start working. But through further comprehension and thought processes, it digs deeper and wider than my previous claims.

Some of McGregor's work..

Indeed many factors of these forms of physical theatre share similarities, but they also contrast with each other well. Mark Hill taught us to localize our bodies and to forget expression; he told us how Butoh theatre was making movements that just encompassed a certain feeling (skin crawling up your spine or how your legs oozed like honey or how your hair was gently being swayed back and forth in a freeing river). He also told us how to make grandiose movements, to keep the energy level up high, to create abstract and literal shapes and to utilize the architecture when performing. The Masked Dance showed us how abstract, subtle movements with defining attributes could form an individual character whose moves could be seen as similar and yet they were so different. And McGregor finally believes in using physical thinking to formulate a dance. To be acquainted with one's body and thus be knowledgeable about how the seem when they move a certain way; to know how many inches your arm extends from your shoulders. This is what McGregor really surrounds in his work.

It's understandable why he works with scientists and neurologists to help them ameliorate their research about physical intelligence. It's a sense of our own bodies in our worlds. He also explores more westernized dance patterns such as ballet, a key difference than the styles of Mark Hill and talchum. He expresses, through his TED talk the beauty of our bodies and how we can sometimes neglect them unless we injure ourselves. His ideas are innovative and refreshing, and at the same time, discrete from what I stereotyped in the past as dance.

I think it would be really interesting to partake in the endeavor of learning to dance like McGregor to really be able to differentiate between Mark Hill's ideologies and his. They conflict at times and go hand in hand at other times. And thus, it would really be helpful for me to actually experience both types of dance. Visualize a T and dance around it.

Overall, I would like to say how much I love physical theatre. Every time I am faced with a performance or learning, I am touched and inspired and amazed. What it is and how it is expressed - this is a thought that hasn't been solidified yet, and maybe it shall remain like that for several more months... As time moves on, however, I think that the ideologies and classifications will clear up as I am exposed to more physical theatre throughout the days to come. In the past, I've seen in the past a film of Pina Bausch, recently seen the Power of K and a Butoh performance and will see Parsons Dance in November. But the possibility of further haziness could dominate as too much exposure to much physical theatre could blur every line of the endless possibilities of what physical theatre has to offer.

Discovering the Beauty of the Korean Countryside.

*Note, due to my sparse knowledge of Korean, I may have gotten some of the information wrong, but I’m pretty sure my recollections are correct to a certain extent* 

The IBTA YR1 class of 2014

Last week, our theatre class embarked on a trip to discover. I think that phrase is really able to encompass our experiences and our learnings throughout our time in Andong. We discovered a Korea and culture completely alien to what we are exposed to in our every day lives; We discovered friendships and more about each other and were able to foster relationships; We discovered a new type of theatre and dug well into its core; We discovered the beauty of Korea that we may have been blinded to in the past. 

We commenced our excursion on what seemed like a short, joyful road trip, trying to coordinate singing and guitar playing. In reality, it actually took us a plentiful 4-5 hours to arrive at our destination. When we arrived, I was astonished by the beauty of our surroundings: the echo of the crickets, the moonlit straw roofs of the hanoks and the freshness of the air. Our walk in the night and the morning further deepened what was for most of us our first traditional Korean experience. The pictures in this post should exhibit the beauty of our experiences. 

During our walk in the morning, Mrs. Moon informed us about a yearly festival that takes place in Andong. She told us how, the mask dancers used the environment - dancing around the trees and using the roads - to create performances for the many visitors that came to experience this culture. She formulated a picture of how people would set ablaze certain things from the mountain as ashes floated down from the mountain to our noses, then a show of fireworks. Unfortunately, this festival took place the week after we visited Andong. 

It's Choraengi (Joel) in the flesh! 

After our leisurely stroll in the village, we visited a few stores, bought some masks and set out for our lesson in (탈춤), a form of traditional Hahoe Korean mask dance. We first began with a lecture on the origins and the types of these dances. Talchum is the original form of masked dance in Korea. It was made to rid the village of evil spirits and a ritual for the Gods. The masked dancers all assemble in a line from the top of a mountain, and descend in a parade down to their area of performance (during special occasions in current time). All the characters within talchum resemble an aspect or prominence of village life. The eleven Hahoe masks are the two lions (Juji), butcher (Baekjeong), old widow (Halmi), the depraved monk (Chung), flirtatious young woman (Pune), nobleman (Yangban), scholar (Seonbi), bride (Gaksi), meddling low-class merchant (Choraengi), and fool (Imae). 

An interesting and unique feature among all these masks is the maneuverable chin. You can portray many emotions by changing the angle of your face to play with the audience’s view. If you tilt your head down, the shadows and placement of chin formulate a more lugubrious aspect; tilt your head up, then you see more of an elated emotion. An interesting story about Imae, a character in the assembly of masks is how he does not have a maneuverable chin. This was because the creator of these masks died while crafting Imae. The legend states how the emperor’s daughter desired to meet and see the man who was rumored to craft these amazing masks. The minute the two met eye contact, they both fell to the ground. Dead. Quite a pleasant story in my opinion. If you couldn’t tell by the tone of my voice which is more often than not incorrectly portrayed through means of text, I am being very sarcastic.

But by digging deeper into this masked dance, we don’t only see its spiritual intentions, we see that this means of performance is for satirical entertainment and to shed light on certain issues that took place in this community. In the mask museum, we saw how many masks were gruesome in their conveyance of corruption - red worts and scars to symbolize evils. We also saw how some masks had red dots, alluding to the times when people suffered from smallpox - another problem those in that time period had to face. 

A key difference between this type of theatre and other types of theatre, moreover, is the interaction made between the actor and the audience. This theatre embraced audience involvement to a maximum extent. Though the actors had a general story line that they had to follow, most of the show involved asking the audience who would like the buy the cow’s testicles and going around and asking for scraps of money. The audience could yell out something and the actors would react. It was quite interesting as this kind of theatre, except for maybe in improv, is not really prominent in western culture (or at least from what I’ve experienced). 

I would finally like to touch up on the physical aspects of this form of physical theatre. We experienced many things that Mark Hill taught us, proximity to the audience, using vision and architecture to create meaning, and violent articulation. But, what I really did not expect from this simple form of ‘dance’ was the arduous work your muscles had to endure to portray a certain character. Energy level 5 is right. To get the movement and grace of your arms to correspond with the steps of your feet were not hard to grasp instantaneously. Simple it may look, but in actuality, I’d rather be doing ballet... No I wouldn’t. But, both are hard. 

 

I feel like I grew so much throughout this trip. My knowledge of what kinds of theatre expanded through the museum and I feel like I am so much more open to the unfamiliar. I now know that Korean theatre, to my surprise, can in fact be entertaining. Beauty is difficult to explain. But when you see it, you know it’s there. I feel like someone said something along these lines to me at some point in my life, but I just can’t really remember who it was. We experienced so much beauty this weekend. I experienced the beautiful nature of the individuals in the theatre class, the antique village, the scenery and the culture (including mask dance) that I remained oblivious to all my life as a Korean. I take with me, not only friendships and bonds that I’ve made with others, but beautiful experiences that remain in my mind still. Thank you Mrs. Moon, Mr. Moon, Mr. Dornbach and Mrs. Dornbach for making this excursion possible! 

Here are a few photos to encompass the beauty that we faced (Creds to Emma and Joel for the photos) 

I just want to say for this photo that I love old people and everything about them. They are amazing. And a photo like this just makes me want to cry. The effort the put into their lives is inspiring. How connected they are to their cultural roots is inspiring. 

PS: I just realized how I started off with a chronological blog post, then changed it so that it would not have any chronological sense whatsoever. The sequence of the events at Andong go: walk, sleep, walk, lecture, movement lesson, lunch, show, walk around. Or at least something like that. 
PPS: Videos of Talchum to come. 

Speaking Through Movements..

Mark Hill is, from my experiences and impressions, a teacher and a performer who has infused two of his loves - visual art and physical movements - to his passion: physical theatre. He practices and teaches his fervor for Butoh theatre around the globe. He has taught in Asia, Australia and Europe and has performed/practiced Butoh through the companies: Dairakudakan (Japan) and SU-EN Butoh Company (Sweden). We learned so much from Mark this past week, gaining knowledge from his previous experiences and his ideologies that he gained from many theatre practitioners such as Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki. Working with mark has not only been an opportunity, but also a privilege. 

Mark teaching the class about the Japanese Rock Garden.

With this experience of physical theatre with Mark this week, I think you could either say a lot, or extremely little. It is my opinion that what we did or what we felt throughout this week cannot be expressed through words (to a certain extent). So many different emotions and extremities encompassed - I'm sure everyone would agree with me on this - our lessons ranging from utter sorrow to extreme happiness and from placid movements to violently exuberant ones. We were able attain a wide spectrum of knowledge of what physical theatre can be. Throughout this week, however, I would say we focused more on the Japanese (Eastern) methodologies than the western ones. 

Before I really delve into how I felt throughout this process of growth, I really want to review (in brief) all the concepts that were introduced by Mark. I’m sure I am going to miss out one or two things here and there as I did not take notes during Mark’s lesson - which I greatly regret because it would have really helped me phrase my impressions - but I’ll try my best. I would also like to note how difficult it is to describe these lessons as it is an experience you just had to be there for. 

I’ve already shared my thoughts and experiences of day one, but I would really like to emphasize how much more I’ve grown from the inception of these lessons. Our first lesson did not focus very much on physical theatre, but more on building a connection with the IBYR1 class. My perception on what physical theatre can be was limited to dance and flexible/complicated movements that only involved flamboyant expressions through body. My conceptualization of physical theatre has now grown to cover many different types of physicalization and yet, I know there’s more. 

We focused on four things during our first lesson that summed up what an actor must exhibit for a mind grabbing show: fixed/peripheral focuses, an energy level of five, group awareness and physical awareness. We executed an exercise for each of the concepts and were able to really grasp what Mark was trying to teach us. For example, we were to walk around the room displaying different levels of energy in theatre. Level one: almost dead; body drooped on the floor, stumbling to wherever the centre of your body moves you. Level two: like a zombie; still moving wherever gravity moves you to; monday morning walk from your euphoric sleep to your dreadful realization that you have school. Level three: a normal walk; how you would walk around the city perhaps. Level four: you're starting to see things around you; starting to notice what you can use in a production. Level five: excited to experiment with the architecture and space; curiosity. Level six: the most exciting and exhilarating day of your entire life. Level seven: dynamic stillness. The least level of energy to exert in theatre is a level five. We saw as a class, exactly what Mark wanted to portray by taking involvement in the activities ourselves and were able to ascertain the main points of Mark's teachings. 

Mark and I displaying 'extreme proximity.' (Need help with this) 

Next, we learned about spatial relationships and shapes. Spatial relationships consists of many ideas that make a space look interesting such as extreme proximity (kiss or kill), distance, the use of lines and angles, shapes, counterpoints, location on the stage (centre stage), diagonals, levels etc. An activity to exemplify the importance of a space we tried was entitled "Rock Garden." We focused on the space between each other by positioning ourselves in different parts of the room in a fetal rock, sitting rock, standing rock and a jumping rock. We were not able to use our arms or face to portray any emotions, but we were able to create wonderful contradictions and pictures throughout this activity that emphasized the importance of space. We then shifted our focus to abstract and literal shapes. The shapes we show with our bodies had to be extra-ordinary. Let's say we had to become a fork, a literal shape meant that we would stand upright and pointy like a fork. But for an abstract shape, our poses would have to be sharp and cunning and have the concepts of a fork, rather than the exact features of a fork. 

Architecture. We also learned that we can take this literally and abstractly (a door could be a door, but a door could also be a bed). We were able to play with the architecture and see how we could use the smallest features of our space to create marvelous pictures and performances. When Mark was here, we experimented with Poor Man's Blackout - a form of presentation where the audience would have to close and open their eyes to a new tableau dictating a specific part of a story. We were not able to say any words during this performance. We were then given a list of some elements of great theatre (which I will post later on during the day) and we were required to use theatrical poetry, - a non realistic event that reverberates on many layers. It points to truth rather than copying it. Allow the audience to meet it half way and fill in the picture with their own imagination - surprise entrances/exits, the elements: air, fire, earth and water, music/song and sex death and food. Everyone was able to make spectacular tableaus and were able to utilize the space amazingly. The first group's use of light and shadows was mystifying and somber. The second group's use of the floor and the chairs to place the audience was unique and imaginative. Their entire performance was based on sound and were able to find places in that small space to create sound. The third group's use of the balcony and acoustics for Annie's voice formulated a great storyline. And the last group's use of the elements and sound was, in my humble opinion, refreshing. All our groups' were able to find something spectacular about the architecture we were in and utilize that into our performances. 

Then on Thursday, Mark started specifically talking about Eastern methodologies of physical theatre. He talked about how Western culture generally viewed upwards and expressed their bodies to the sun or to God. In Eastern culture, however, he exclaimed how the Japanese did not believe that contorting our bodies in unnatural ways to the sky was their means of expression. He talked about how grounding ourselves and focusing on our centres (hara) was the subject to Japanese movements. Remember, knees bent, back straight, loose torso and arms, but firm and immovable legs. To show how this could be utilized in a performance, we tried Chicago Story which I had experience with in Random Acts, but everything was different. In Random Acts, we were told to walk slowly to the other side of the room and kill our partners. Here, everything was about struggle, about focusing on our haras. We had to stand and walk a specific way and were really put to the test. This was a whole new form of physical theatre that I had not experienced in the past. Rather than fast and exuberant motions, we focused on grounded and slow movements. So much focus and work was put into such a simple routine. The result? An intricate and beautiful performance exhibiting the abundance of work that is needed for this exercise. 

We then moved to an activity where we were to localize our movements. We were to picture in our minds different scenarios (long hair floating in a river; snake slithering up our spines; legs gooey like honey; arms turned into feathers) and then exhibit our picture to a different part of the body. This was extremely difficult because I usually like to move my body all at once and connect my movements. This was difficult, but also cleansing for the mind and soul. I felt rejuvenated and uplifted by the activity we had done. It was an interesting experience and hope to do it again sometime. What felt like 3 minutes, actually was 15 minutes. I was just being in this activity, and my mind was free from exterior stress and pressure and was only subject to beauty and motion. 

The last day, we focused on gestures and Anne Bogart’s viewpoints (space, time and body). But I really want to focus on the stomp which I believe really encompasses what we learned on that day and throughout the week. My peers stomped around focusing on their haras for around three minutes, formed a line in the back, fell and slowly started progressing forward. It doesn’t sound like much. This is what I meant by not being able to express my emotions through words. I could probably use more eloquent vocabulary, but that would only take up my time. I know what I felt, and I think the feeling is much more important than actually describing it because I will remember that performance for a long time. Not much was being done, but so much was being expressed on the faces, the arms, the legs, the torso and every inch of their body was struggling. We all enjoy seeing struggle. Because with struggle comes more expression. If you want to express something well, you have to work incredibly hard to show what you want to say. If you want to be a fork, you can’t have flimsy arms, you must be anchored and sharp to the point of immobility. I also really enjoyed how they were able to use the light beautifully and how they were able to tell an intricate story with such simple (but extremely straining movements). They were all kinesthetically aware of their cast and I’m just rambling now, but I have so much to say about this performance. Everyone was different, but everyone was in sync simultaneously. 

I wrote a lot, but believe it or not, that was only a brief look into what IBTA has done this week. Now I want to focus on the basic ideas that I will take with me from this week. A lot of this you can infer from my learnings, but I want to make it into clear statements. First, I learned that there are so many different types of physical theatre and I am so excited to start this journey of discovery for the next two years. Second, I learned that a lot can be expressed through simple movements, but there must be struggle and effort in that movement to convey the emotions you are feeling. Third, I learned that space and architecture is as vital as the props and the people in the production. At times, the space between the actors can say much more than props or sets can. The architecture of where you’re performing can also speak volumes. The biggest thing I really gained from this course is obvious to a certain extent but powerful and connects through all the lessons with Mark: If silence can speak louder than words, then our movements must yell into our ears. Not much is needed to be said to express what we feel. Sometimes, there are things in life that cannot be expressed through our voice. I kind of understood this after watching Pina Bausch’s movie, but I understand this so much more now that I have experienced physical theatre with Mark. I now even understand that there are different ways of moving that still portray the same story or emotion. 

Will I remember ALL of the terms from this week? Probably not, but what I will remember is the amount of dedication and effort it took, the basic concepts and ideas that surrounds all forms of theatre and the friends and relationships that grew throughout this week. Mark always encouraged us to be with people we never work with and I have made such strong relationships with my class that it is unbelievable. I don’t think there’s any awkwardness anymore which was what I really wanted from this class. But I also got more than my desires. I got the knowledge that has changed my perspective of theatre and has helped mold my artistic perspectives. 

Last words of this extremely long and dragging blog post. 

I want to thank you Mrs. Moon for all your tremendous efforts in organizing this memorable experience for all of us. We learned so much and we will be able to utilize everything we gained throughout this week in the next two years in theatre and elsewhere. I also want to thank Mark for his efforts in planning out our lessons and teaching us not only his viewpoints but that of Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki. You both are prodigiously inspiring. 

Pictures updated but still more to come. 

I shall see you next Friday, or anytime in the week where I feel like I have to write. Au revoir. 

From Mark Hill to PINA

This week started off as a stressful and overwhelming compilation of work then transformed to be a tranquil thought provoking and mind moving process. It has been an odd week as I hated some parts of it and absolutely adored the other parts. Sometimes, I like how life can fluctuate and vary, showing me different parts of the world and how it can change within perception, but when it differs to an overpowering extent, it can be tiring.

Anyways, this week I got the enormous pleasure and privilege to do two things: meet Sensei Mark Hill and watch PINA - a documentary (more like beautyinspirationmentary) of Pina Bausch's work and an insight of what her dancers learned from and thought of her. Both of these experiences were able to spark new ideas and were able to move me in different ways.

It all started on about Wednesday when my week was starting to look skywards (as Joel might say). In theatre class we first started off with a Korean cleansing - Yahooooo - moved to a miming exercise then moved on to a follow-the-leader type of exercise. Other than temporarily injuring myself, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and learned so much (about myself and about others) from this experience. It was like every conscious thought in my mind disappeared into thin air and to be honest, I don't even remember thinking that much when I was mimicking or executing my movements. It was surreal. I'm not going to lie; every time we did an exercise where I had to put myself out there, I would close up and feel a bit foolish, but this class, I was able to let myself go and explore my body without actually thinking about it. I think it was a good introduction to what we would learn throughout this week and the next. (I'm wondering if there are any photos from this exercise as I would really like to see how it looked! And thank you Mrs. Moon for taking me through this process. It was, to me, incredibly fulfilling.)

Then we met Mark Hill. This lesson focused not so much on Butoh theatre itself, but rather on the personalities and backgrounds of everyone in our class. I think this was great because there are a few people that I wasn't familiar with in the class. It served as an ice-breaker and an introduction to our future relationship as artists and friends. I think Mark is also here to build upon our relationships with each other. I'm hoping that after he is gone we will all be a part of a family rather than having different factions that isolate themselves from others. After this, Mark gave us a taste of the strenuous work that we would have to face in the future and let me tell you... It's been a day and I'm already sore. Though I haven't really been able to encompass what Butoh theatre is yet, I'm positive that I will grasp its concepts and intentions by next class. I'm 'dripping with anticipation' as El-Fayoumy might say...

And today, I may have watched the most inspirational/thought provoking/beautiful movie that has come before my eyes. The movie barely had any words, but was able to express so much emotion through the power of dance and movement through the body. The work of Pina Bausch was so avant garde... But it expressed so much at the same time. I just adored how she incorporated so much nature in to her work as you can see from the picture on the right. I also enjoyed hearing her dancers' memories and thoughts from Pina. All it took was one sentence or saying from Pina for them to change their outlooks and learn so much. I remember one woman told us how she had to keep looking (through the instruction of Pina) for something even though she had no direction or idea of what she was searching for. That was very thought provoking.  Pina Bausch, from watching the movie, was a woman of amazing ideas and she was able to implement them onto the stage. Sometimes, the dances were so simple, but they meant so much - like the dance to the bottom. It consisted of men just touching and feeling this woman's nose, hair, and body - playing with her as if she were a toy. I thought that this resembled how many woman are given gender roles. I don't know if I am right, but it was so unique and open to your own views that it was like an open canvas. Another dance had women and men just walk up to the front of the stage and do some simple movements. (Such an interesting dance) I could talk about how amazing this movie was, but sometimes there are those things that you cannot describe and you have to go see for yourself.

What I can take away from this week is the power of movement. So much can be done with our bodies, and yet we sometimes mistake that our voices are the power to the engine. And sometimes, there are those things that we cannot form through words but express through dance. I believe that Pina Bausch said something of those lines in the film. I'm exhilarated by what's to come next with Sensei Mark and am keen to learn more about the realm of physical theatre.

To address the question that you had on your blog Mrs. Moon: Is dance an art or a sport? Only once did that question pop up in my mind during the movie. It was when the woman was trapped by a rope and was trying to escape it running to different corners of the room. At this time, I was thinking dance is theatre. But then I thought about So You Think You Can Dance and thought that maybe dance is a sport. I think it varies with perception... But, sometimes dance/art/theatre can be so engaging that we forget about how to define it. We just watch, big eyed and amazed, by the beauty that it radiates. In this regard, does dance need to be categorized? Can it not be both? Do we even have to care if it is both? Is dance everything/anything? These are a few questions that I'm thinking about at this moment.

Now it is time to go to bed, but I'm leaving this week incredibly inspired by both Mark and Pina Bausch. Thank you both, and thank you Mrs. Moon for introducing me to them.

I would just like to say that what I am feeling right now cannot be put into words. The extent of what I discovered in indescribable. I learned so much from hearing so little, but seeing so much and what I feel is so immense that I don't think I can sleep right now. There are just so many questions that are circulating within my mind!!

For now, I'm going to leave, but I would love to have some further conversation on this topic to anyone who is reading this.

Goodnight for now. :)

The Deadly Theatre: Questions

1. Is theatre nothing more than entertainment?

Everyone is entitled to his/her opinions. Some people call it a whore: impure; taking money and leaving short on pleasure. In my opinion, however, entertainment is only a thin slice of what theatre can extend to. It's a vast field of possibility where anything is possible and everything is expressible.

2. How does the deadly theatre take easily to Shakespeare? 

In the eyes of Brook, the deadly theatre smugly secures itself into the works of William Shakespeare. Considering the renown and reverence of his plays, the work itself is a beautiful piece of work that no one can annul its design and meaning. A good interpretation of any of Shakespeare's work is impossible to criticize. Many of his plays are what "seem like the proper way - they look lively and colorful, there is music and everyone is all dressed up, just as they are supposed to be in the best of classical theatres (Brook 10)." Even with the panache of the portrayal, we somehow find the rendition boring and tedious.

3. Is "boringness" a certain guarantee of a worthwhile event? 

In a certain way, according to Brook, "the right degree of boringness is a reassuring guarantee of a worthwhile event (Brook 11)." It provides the perfect mixture between of excitement and monotony; "too much and the audience is driven out of their seats, too little and it may find the theme too disagreeably intense. (Brook 11)" I agree with this concept because too much excitement can more often than not be too much. I like to think of it as cake. If you put in 9 cups of sugar, it's going to be mawkish and excessive. Boringness, however is not a guarantee of a worthwhile event, as nothing ensures a good turnout. The audience, the piece is all subjective to what the result will be.

4. What role does mediocrity play? 

Mediocrity is a good medium of two extremes. It helps us balance the sweet with the sour, the ice to the fire and too much work with too little work. It's an equilibrium of people's distate and taste that aid us to reach a good means of general amiability.

5. What is the difference between passing down "meaning" and "manner?" 

"There it is meaning that is communicated - and meaning never belongs to the past. It can be checked in each man's own present experience. But to imitate the externals of acting only perpetuates manner - a manner hard to relate to anything at all (Brook 12)." I thought it was appropriate to quote that part of the book. It perfectly answers the question and it gives us insight deeper into the trenches of its intentions. I think Brook is trying to say that meaning is variable (extendable and moldable) and that manner is stuck, concrete.

6. Is it true that "the best dramatists explain the least?" Can you think of some examples from plays you have seen or read? 

In our society today, (especially in an academic setting) we are so focused on nailing the meanings and intentions of others' writings. These people reflect on the past and try to imitate the original creative enactment of a piece and it ends there. There's no further research that needs to be done because it would be useless.
In a certain way, I can agree with this because silence can yell into your ear if used properly. And sometimes just enveloping and encompassing the character at hand rather than elaborately analyzing a text can provide a better result.
I haven't seen very many works of theatre, and it saddens me to say this, but there is no outstanding individual that just pops to mind. I'm sure if I look back at my history at a slower pace, I'm sure I'll be able to find a few, but as of now, there are no actors/actresses that just position themselves to the bottom of my brain.

7. How can you go from Deadly Theatre to Living Theatre as an actor? 

"In a living theatre, we would each day approach the rehearsal putting yesterday's discoveries to the test, ready to believe that the true play has once again escaped us. But the Deadly Theatre approaches the classics from the viewpoint that somewhere, someone has found out and defined how the play should be done." I think this is pretty self-explanatory. Theatre is subjective and can be molded into one's perspectives. To try and find the initial intentions of the play precipitates the oncoming deadly theatre.

8. How did Pekin Opera lose its connectedness to the life of society around it? 

The real Pekin Opera was the perfect example of how its exterior forms remained constant even as time rolled by - like a monument. But as time continued, it was inevitable that the life around the society would somehow affect its state. Now, "few of the attitudes and meanings of the traditional Pekin Opera relate to the new structure of thought in which this people now lives (Brook 15)." This reflects how the state of society somehow impacts how theatre is formed.

9. At the heart of the meaning of LIving Theatre: "theatre is always a self destructive art, and it is alway written on the wind." What is your interpretation of this? 

I think it's trying to say something that has been coming up a long throughout this blog post. I think it's trying to say that a work of theatre always have a single fault that precipitates the downfall of itself. Also, I think it's trying to say that theatre is always changing and moving different directions as wind is never still.

10. According to Brook, what should be influencing theatre at all times? 

I believe he said something about time affecting theatre as with time theatre always changes. Because theatre always changes, it offers us fresh perspectives and ideas that are implemented into theatre. New color schemes, set designs keep our eyes excited and curious for what it will supply us with next.


What is a deadly spectator? 
Is there flexibility in modern theatre? 

Notes: Chapter 16 (Theatre: The Lively Art)

So before I commence the plunge into the realm of theatre, I would like to ask anyone who reads this to think of a more creative main blog title than: IB Theatre Arts. I generally think of myself as an interesting person and don't want people to see first glance that I am insipid.

It is currently the evening; I accidentally took an hour nap; My textbook is open to the last page that we were required to read; and I am ready to tackle the first legitimate blog post of my career in IBH theatre. There are two more years left on this journey and I am excited to see myself change and grow not only as an actor but also as a person.

I would first like to pose the question that we are asked and ask often: What is Theatre? There are many interpretations and answers to those three words that vary the responses vastly. I'm going to try to make as this chain of answers as coherent and chronologically valid as I can. To begin, in the beginning section The Dawning of a New Century, we see a viewpoint that theatre, more often than not, directly reflects the status or state of the society that it's in. Much of the time, we see that playwrights want to express concern for the state of their societies. The TB gives us examples from the AIDS movement to the 9/11 incident and shows us the correlation between diverse events and their effects on drama.

*note: these are not MY opinions, but the opinions of the book unless stated otherwise. Please also note that I usually agree with a lot of different opinions even though these opinions may overlap and contradict themselves easily. Every idea can evoke a new perspective (and vice versa) and it is within no one's right to say that that perspective is an incorrect one. No ideas are incorrect; it depends on how you see things.* 

Furthermore, theatre IS ambiguous and extremely elaborate simultaneously. Here's my way of seeing it. Because of the immeasurable areas and practices that this art can take you, there is no way of viewing theatre in one single way. I, for instance, could think that the spoken word or slam poetry could most definitely be a type of theatre, but in someone else's eyes that could be extremely different.
It is detailed because theatre not only answers questions, but also poses them. It goes deep into a person's mind and evokes feelings in different areas of life and lets them delve into the issues, morals or messages at hand. Theatre is in other ways (how the TB describes it) diverse and eclectic. And just to to snowball something I found interesting was how theatre is also different in where it's played and how it's played. Whether it's a huge theatre that could seat 4000 people, or a small, run-down area; Whether it's done elaborately with breathtaking set designs and costumes or done completely simply and blandly, everyone has a different taste for what they like and enjoy.

Diverse: Showing variety.
Eclectic: Deriving ideas from a wide range of sources.

Adding to how theatre is diverse and eclectic are the numerous different areas of theatre that are practiced globally and in the United States. We have...
Asian American Theatre: I am, to be frank, in total biased favor for Asian-American actors. This is because I am a westernized (not American, I'm from Canada) Korean person. Power to the Asians! I know how difficult it is to make a living as an actor in the world especially if you are a foreigner or someone not naturally of a Caucasian heritage. So I'm in full support, as an actor/person, of what these people do. This specific type of theatre is cultivating and is centered for and on Asian Americans.
Hispanic Theatre: Chicano, Cuban American and Puerto Rican/Nuyorican Theatre are sub categories in the general area of Hispanic Theatre. The productions produced can be written in Spanish or English.
Native American Theatre: This is really interesting because I feel like I've been in one of these productions, but at the same time I have no idea. This type of theatre, compared to traditional theatre practices, focuses on spiritual and social traditions that involves theatre techniques and elements. Rather than performing to an audience, you perform with an audience, making me confused as I feel like I was a part of a performance, but I was also dancing and making noises.
Feminist Theatre: This form of theatre allows us to look beyond the stereotypes that are laid in our society. As the name suggests, I am talking about gender roles. I, being a man, even understand discrimination and think that these plays (The Heidi Chronicles, The Sisters Rosensweig etc.) are wonderful because they empower women to be more than what our society gives them credit for.
Gay and Lesbian Theatre: This type of theatre promotes equality for homosexuals/raises awareness and gives all people an insight of what goes on in their lives. I didn't even know that this existed before reading this textbook.
Performance Art: It poses three questions: What is performance? What is theatre? What is the subject of theatrical representation. It is up for debate. That's what they want the audience to confront. Performance Art is highly experimental that initially incorporated elements of dane and visual arts. It's always changing, and currently, because performance art is drawn from visions of individual performers or directers (rather than a playwright), autobiographical monologues have become popular.
Postmodernism: Forget modern. Pshh, we now have postmodern. This emphasizes theatre that deviates from reality and realism and ventures toward surrealism. The Lion King (Musical) was a very post modern play because of its unique staging techniques. They use puppets and combine them with people and provide a beautiful piece of art.

And as you can see, there are so many areas of theatre in just the United States alone and I'm sure I was listing only a few of them. Beyond these areas of theatre, there are also different types of theatre (eg. Butoh theatre, pantomime etc.) that we will research and explore at a later time. In terms of theatre outside of the United States we have: African Theatre and Drama, Latin American Theatre, Teahtre in the Middle East, Asian Theatre and Alternative European Theatre.

So the last question I want to pose is Why and How is theatre so powerful and popular. There are numerous other mediums of media that are cheaper and more accessible, and yet, we have a surprisingly high amount of theatre activity. In the TB, it gives us examples of how pictures/videos of people do not compare with seeing them live and how it is just human impulse to create theatre. I agree very much so with both of these reasons, but more with the former. Any type of media can be trumped with face to face performance. Whether it's music or art, you connect with the art made 13087325times better. That's why concerts are so much funner to go to. :) In this way, I think theatre is an everlasting form of art that will never die down. I also think this because of how it can cover anyone in this world because of its eclectic, diverse nature. It's survived this long, why stop now?

Just a side note, I decided what I'm going to name my blog. Here's a big shocker: it's to do with Kingdom Hearts, BUT I think it has a pretty great message. I'm going to name it "the Kingdom Key" because in the game, the key can open any lock in the world and it solves as a tool to expose. I think that's what theatre can be this year. A tool to open different realms of topics that we haven't even thought about and a tool to expose ourselves to each other (that sound stupid, but don't take it like that) and learn from each other and learn about each other.

Anyways, it's time to go! I say goodnight! Live long and Prosper!