Engaging Indigenous Artistic Process through Embodied Practice

This essay explores a variety of questions about embodied approaches to Indigenous storytelling, artistic process, and methodology, and the ways which they are taken up in the creation of new theatre work. By engaging in a discussion with Yolanda Bonnell, creator of the play bug, this article examines some of the implications of embodied storytelling and new play development. The article also considers how new Indigenous theatre works and performances at festivals such as SummerWorks can offer audiences entry points and sites for engaging difficult topics and issues that pertain to Indigenous/non-Indigenous relations. Further, the reader is invited into a discussion that teaches about an artist’s own process and methodology and how these are mobilized and activated through Indigenous storytelling, memory, and embodied practice.

Tiger mother and her cubs on a stage:

Ever since the publication of Amy Chua’s memoir, Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mother, in 2011, Asian or Asian-heritage parenting has received more time under the limelight both in and out of the United States. More attention is given to the effects of that particular parenting style on the children’s academic achievement and wellbeing. Listen to Me (LTM), a play by Bernadeth Febyola Linando (2018) published as one of Petra Little Theatre’s New Play Development Series, indicates that the issue also hits a nerve among young contemporary Indonesian playwrights. This paper is interested in finding out how LTM portrays Tiger Mother parenting style and its impact on the children. Upon analyzing the play using the conceptual framework of parenting styles and their impacts, this paper argues that LTM displays a typical Tiger Mother parenting similar to Chua’s with a slight difference, and it shows mainly negative results of such parenting on the main character, and, on the side, some positive results on two other supporting characters.

Architecture and New Play Development at the National Theatre, 1907–2010

In recent criticism a perceived dichotomy has emerged between ‘new writing’ and ‘new work’ for the theatre. In this article Rosalind Haslett contends that this dichotomy is often reflected in the infrastructure of theatre organizations and theatre spaces themselves. Thus ‘new writing’ is seen to refer to a literary process which takes place in a conventional theatre building, while ‘new work’ tends to occur in non-traditional forms and spaces. The relationship between non-conventional spaces and the performance work that might take place in them has received some critical attention, but there has been less exploration of the ways in which theatre architecture can inform the processes which surround new writing for the theatre. Tracing the history of the National Theatre in London back to its origins, long before it occupied a building of its own, Rosalind Haslett explores the relationship between the policies and processes taking place within the organization and the physical and architectural development of actualizing its building. She suggests that, if the layout of a theatre building has the power to influence the kind of work and the modes of production which take place within it, the activities of the individuals and organizations residing within such structures can also drive architectural change. Rosalind Haslett is Lecturer in Dramatic Literature at Newcastle University. Her research interests include dramaturgy and literature management, theatre architecture, and theatre history.