The term 'global theatre' spans innumerable theatre and performance traditions. The completion of a text is merely the beginning of a theatrical pieces life. Intercultural performances emphasize what connects or is shared or what separates or is unique.
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thea 481 - on the merits of seeing, studing, and making global theatre
The term 'global theatre' spans innumerable theatre and performance traditions. The completion of a text is merely the beginning of a theatrical pieces life. Intercultural performances emphasize what connects or is shared or what separates or is unique.
The term 'global theatre' spans innumerable theatre and performance traditions. The completion of a text is merely the beginning of a theatrical pieces life. Intercultural performances emphasize what connects or is shared or what separates or is unique.
On The Merits of Seeing, Studying, and Making Global Theatre
In dealing with theatre, we should not ignore the clue given to
us by the semantic implications of the word playwright. Plays are not merely written they are wrought from many elements, the text being merely one element in the whole process (Hauptfleisch, 147). The term global theatre spans innumerable theatre and performance traditions, which include but are not limited to those grounded in written texts. It bodes well to follow Hauptfleischs warning that in approaching theatre, the text is not the final stage of the pieces theatrical life. Moreover, it could be argued that the completion of a text is merely the beginning of a theatrical pieces life. In such, one cannot hope to see, study, or make global theatre simply by examining words on a page. As it stands, intercultural defines the relationship between or among two or more cultures (rather than nations). [Hence,] intercultural performances emphasize[s] what connects or is shared or what separates or is unique about these culture and in making this comparison creates an opportunity for celebration, dialogue, and greater understanding. Thus, accepting the definition of intercultural and intercultural performance, and understanding Hauptfleischs warning of theatre being so much more than the text found online or in a book it is essential to see, study, and make global theatre in order to grapple with concepts of differing cultures as a
means to arrive on the other side of the experience a more
understanding, engaged, and enlightened world community. The term grapple, is one that is well suited for a discussion of theatre. The work created in any performance medium is often created as an opportunity to grapple with a concept, circumstance, ideal, or belief that is inaccessible through any other medium. Consider Maishe Maponyas The Hungry Earth, a South African work falling into the category of Black theatre. Black theatre in South Africa is most comparable to the American tradition established by the Theatre of the Oppressed, established by Boal, in that the works are meant to motivate black South Africans towards racial equality in a country deeply scarred by Apartheid. The Hungry Earth through song, dance, and episodic plot explores the manner in which Black South Africans are fed to the earth in order to further the Umlungu, or White mans wealth. There is no resolution, there is no open condemnation of the white man, there is only a piece of theatre that delves fully into the Black experience in South Africa and exposes, viscerally, the experience to the audience. The Hungry Earth is an instance of grappling with concepts of inequality, historical injustice, and concern for an unchanging future. The purpose is not to arrive at a conclusion but rather to rip open the issue, subjecting the heart of the matter to scrutiny. Furthermore, the structure of theatrical performance gives creators the freedom to wrestle with various issues in unconventional
ways. One need not explore the atrocities of the Holocaust in a
concentration camp, but could bring that terror into a fairytale as a new means of approaching the topic. Theatre provides a new lens, and when that lens expands into global theatre styles and traditions the possibilities for exploration become endless. The endlessness of the possibilities of global theatre is also manifest in its cyclical nature. The traditions of Japanese Noh and Kabuki drama influence the development of Tadashi Suzukis actor training and find themselves at the foundations of the avant-garde modern dance form, Butoh. The Handspring Puppet Company, based in South Africa, restores a connection of inanimate objects into live performance throughout the world in which these puppets are endowed with the lives of South Africans, Europeans, and many more. It all eventually returns to its beginning, but forever altered. To understand ones place in the world of global theatre necessitates the ability to see, study, and make global theatre. The student familiar with the traditions of another culture may find them resurface in unexpected ways and is able to approach and appreciate them because of familiarity. Art cannot and should not be created in a vacuum, devoid of the ability to touch, explore, and embrace the world surrounding it. This surrounding world is interconnected, whether through history or mass media is irrelevant, and this connection renders ignorance impossible and exploration vital.
Theatre artists without interest of the theatrical world, or world in
general, that surrounds them open themselves to cultural imperialism simply through neglect. To deploy elements from the symbol system of another culture is a very delicate enterprise (Schechner, 265). This enterprise cannot be undertaken without an understanding of global theatre. If interculturalism hinges on the question of autonomy and empowerment than it is the duty of the artist to development both an intellectual and practical understanding of the elements of autonomy and empowerment that apply in these circumstances. Consider Bartho Smits Afrikaans play Christine, set in Nazi Germany with numerous shifts of time and place. The piece is a historical exploration of both the persecution and systematic execution of Jews in Europe and the atrocities of Apartheid. The comparison cannot hold with one historical understanding being stronger than the other, even though the setting favors that of Nazi Germany. Similarly, one cannot understand how Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet functions as a means to assess the Arab-Jewish interaction without an understanding of both Shakespeares intellectual inspiration and the context of the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. To deny one to see, study, and make global theatre in the most visceral, full-bodied manner is a disservice to the artist and the world, for art speaks to the wounds this world has sustained at the hands of its inhabitants and there is no hope for repair if there is no understanding of the weapons which created those wounds.
Theatre is a tool through which to explore, celebrate, and
criticize the human condition. The human condition is not limited to what one can find in their backyard, but what one can find across mountain and oceans. To see, study, and make global theatre is to engage with the world, fearlessly. It requires the utmost care and kindness, but yields rewards that can compensate for small indiscretions or fumbles along the way. The importance of engaging with the world at large resides in what it yields, the global theatre that is produced and shared. The works stand for themselves in that they capture moments, archetypes, and emotions that are universal and grounded in their cultures at the same time. It is an injustice not to share these global theatre texts and performance traditions for it denies the world an understanding of the unique way in which humans approach questions of life and conflict. Global theatre is vital to the study of theatre because it is theatre there is no separation.