Kanohi ki te kanohi - Face to face: frameworks from tikanga Māori meet viewpoints improvisations, shocking the theatrical encounter into alive-li-ness

<p>How can we make theatre that sizzles with life that is kinaesthetically and viscerally experienced? As artists in the theatre our work is to combat the falling back into the habitual. We need to wake ourselves up, to see anew, to respond out of the moment: not out of memory (reaching into the past) nor out of desire (reaching into the future), both of which produce what Peter Brook has famously described as ‘deadly’ theatre. How can we consistently produce work that combats these ‘deadly’ tendencies? Further, can we create work that is simultaneously artistically structured or fixed, created within the moment so that artistry and improvisation combine? This thesis investigates structures derived from the rituals of the New Zealand Māori, combined with choreography arising out of Viewpoints improvisations, testing them out in the context of actor training, predominantly at Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School. Together they provide a framework for theatrical work that anchors actors to the present moment. They refocus performers’ attention towards purpose rather than performance. They allow the artistically structured to coexist with the improvisationally free, engendering a sense of pulsing life, a quality I am calling 'alive-li-ness'. They re-frame the audience-performer relationship, drawing the audience from observation towards a more participatory stance, where the performance becomes a journey undertaken together. This is a creative research thesis in which my own performative research underlies the critical and theoretical examination through a series of productions. Through them I am able to test out this thesis both in performance and on the rehearsal floor, forming the spine of the thesis. I begin with examining theatrical improvisation, the form in which the future is genuinely unknown, the qualities that characterise it and the structures that support it. I explore a variety of forms and uses of improvisation, seeking the underlying attributes of improvisers at their most effective. I then explore the possibility of those qualities co-existing in work where structures such as an extant text and a fixed choreography are used, focusing firstly on the structures and qualities derived from Māori frameworks, then from those arising from Viewpoints. Finally I bring these frameworks together in a series of productions, testing their efficacy in relationship. In combining these two approaches I have developed a powerful tool for creating performance that is immediate and visceral, the attention of the performer firmly anchored to purpose and the present moment, playfully, without self-consciousness or undue tension. In this approach the life engendered lies with the ensemble rather than the individual artist. These frameworks advance our understanding of ways in which this immediacy can be achieved within artistic structures and are shown to be transferable to other contexts. By following a clear sense of purpose and focus on the audience, giving precise attention to choreography and timing, the actor is freed from the siren call of memory and the equally seductive temptation to plan the future, and is thereby held in a precise and vital engagement with the present.</p>

Kanohi ki te kanohi - Face to face: frameworks from tikanga Māori meet viewpoints improvisations, shocking the theatrical encounter into alive-li-ness

<p>How can we make theatre that sizzles with life that is kinaesthetically and viscerally experienced? As artists in the theatre our work is to combat the falling back into the habitual. We need to wake ourselves up, to see anew, to respond out of the moment: not out of memory (reaching into the past) nor out of desire (reaching into the future), both of which produce what Peter Brook has famously described as ‘deadly’ theatre. How can we consistently produce work that combats these ‘deadly’ tendencies? Further, can we create work that is simultaneously artistically structured or fixed, created within the moment so that artistry and improvisation combine? This thesis investigates structures derived from the rituals of the New Zealand Māori, combined with choreography arising out of Viewpoints improvisations, testing them out in the context of actor training, predominantly at Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School. Together they provide a framework for theatrical work that anchors actors to the present moment. They refocus performers’ attention towards purpose rather than performance. They allow the artistically structured to coexist with the improvisationally free, engendering a sense of pulsing life, a quality I am calling 'alive-li-ness'. They re-frame the audience-performer relationship, drawing the audience from observation towards a more participatory stance, where the performance becomes a journey undertaken together. This is a creative research thesis in which my own performative research underlies the critical and theoretical examination through a series of productions. Through them I am able to test out this thesis both in performance and on the rehearsal floor, forming the spine of the thesis. I begin with examining theatrical improvisation, the form in which the future is genuinely unknown, the qualities that characterise it and the structures that support it. I explore a variety of forms and uses of improvisation, seeking the underlying attributes of improvisers at their most effective. I then explore the possibility of those qualities co-existing in work where structures such as an extant text and a fixed choreography are used, focusing firstly on the structures and qualities derived from Māori frameworks, then from those arising from Viewpoints. Finally I bring these frameworks together in a series of productions, testing their efficacy in relationship. In combining these two approaches I have developed a powerful tool for creating performance that is immediate and visceral, the attention of the performer firmly anchored to purpose and the present moment, playfully, without self-consciousness or undue tension. In this approach the life engendered lies with the ensemble rather than the individual artist. These frameworks advance our understanding of ways in which this immediacy can be achieved within artistic structures and are shown to be transferable to other contexts. By following a clear sense of purpose and focus on the audience, giving precise attention to choreography and timing, the actor is freed from the siren call of memory and the equally seductive temptation to plan the future, and is thereby held in a precise and vital engagement with the present.</p>

Andres Neumann’s Theatrical Archive. Sources for the History of Contemporary Performing Arts

"The paper, at the conclusion of the work conducted during the first year of the PhD course in Storia delle Arti e dello Spettacolo (History of Cinema, Music, Fine and Performing Arts) at the University of Florence, briefly describes the structure and content of the theatrical archive of Andres Neumann, preserved at the il Funaro Centro Culturale of Pistoia. The fund is a precious instrument of historiography, because it contains documents relating to the main plays of the international theatre of the last thirty years of the twentieth century. After having presented and discussed some examples of documentary types contained in the archive, in particular regarding Tadeusz Kantor and Anatoly Vasiliev, the paper illustrates the prospects for development of this research project. Keywords: Andres Neumann, contemporary theatre, Tadeusz Kantor, Peter Brook, Pina Bausch, Anatoly Vasiliev, il Funaro Centro Culturale, Rondò di Bacco. "

Diálogo Intercultural

Este artigo faz uma proposta de aplicação do “sistema” de Peter Brook no trabalho com comunidades, tendo como base um processo de trabalho comunitário que reformule e recupere de forma digna e meritória uma tradição de teatro religioso. O mesmo processo poderá ser executado noutros contextos e comunidades.

Akram Khan and English National Ballet

This chapter examines the development of Akram Khan’s choreographic pathway as an aggregate of diverse influences, primarily experienced through issues of identity, otherness, and interculturalism. Beginning with the early confusion of juxtaposing classical dance training in kathak and a fascination with Michael Jackson, Khan’s career has progressed, largely through an instinctive opportunism—absorbed from the “formless hunch” philosophy of early mentor, Peter Brook—and an ongoing fascination with the exploratory possibilities of collaboration through the hybrid mixing of dance disciplines to create his own style of mood movement. This process has taken Khan from the classical world of kathak, through contemporary dance, and back into another classical discipline, ballet, with detours along the way into flamenco, the Olympics, and text-based physical theater. The chapter describes the impact of all these experiences on Khan’s contribution to modern ballet, particularly in his association with English National Ballet.

Análisis del proceso creativo en el documental Looking for Richard: aproximación a las bases de la construcción de los personajes Shakesperianos desde el sistema Stanislavki y el método Strasberg

Analysis of the creative process in the documentary Looking for Richard: Approach to the bases of the construction of Shakespearean characters from the Stanislavki system and the Strasberg method.The American actor, Al Pacino, in 1996 approached Shakespeare with his documentary Looking For Richard. A 112-minute film in which Pacino reflects on Shakespeare, the public’s perception of his works and the way in which the actors approach the characters.In this article we propose a study of the film to analyze the acting methods used by Al Pacino and the rest of the cast to be able to play the roles of Ricardo III. The goal is to identify the bases of the Method through the work of Al Pacino and the rest of the North American actors opposite to the way of working of the English actors, as well as to establish the similarities with the Stanislavski System.Through the case study we can discover the work of each interpreter and we will build on the methodological contributions of Stanislavski, as creator of the System, Strasberg as initiator of the Method and finally we will include Peter Brook as renovator of the English theater.

"O Mahabharata", de Peter Brook - Reflexões sobre intermidialidade e "orientalismo" em uma perspectiva pós-colonial

A proposta deste artigo é analisar as adaptações teatrais e fílmicas feitas do poema indiano Mahabharata dirigidas por Peter Brook, considerando as discussões e críticas feitas às produções, principalmente por autores indianos. O Mahabharata é um texto épico indiano, considerado como uma das maiores produções da história da humanidade em termos de volume, com cerca de 90.000 versos duplos. A linguística sugere que o sânscrito utilizado na obra é de cerca do final do primeiro milênio AEC, pela tradição oral, enquanto a escrita data aproximadamente do século III. Dentre as diversas divisões de textos sagrados, o Mahabharata é entendido como um Itahasa, “aquilo que de fato ocorreu” (iti, “dessa maneira”; ha “de fato” e asa “ocorreu”). Esta obra, então, foi adaptada para o teatro em 1985 e para o cinema em 1989, com a direção de Peter Brook e roteiro de Jean-Claude Carrière. Sendo Brook um inglês, as adaptações do poema suscitaram debates e críticas de autores indianos a respeito da questão colonial envolvida e de uma visão “orientalista”, segundo Said (1998). Assim, além de realizar uma análise desta obra considerando a Intermidialidade entre o épico e o filme produzido, pretende-se contribuir para este debate dialogando com as produções e discussões que abordaram o tema.

Principles of Japanese Noh and Butoh Theatre in the Solo Performance and the Play “Words in the Sand” by Birutė Mar

In this article, the author focuses on the solo performance “Words in the Sand” (Žodžiai smėlyje, based on Samuel Beckett’s play Happy Days, premiere in 1998) by Birutė Mar, one of the most prominent creators of solo performances in Lithuania, with the aim of defining the originality in the interpretation of this representative drama of the absurd, produced by the actor. The creative principles of the Japanese theatre noh and butoh are observed in this performance, which makes it possible to talk about an original intersection of the ideas of Western existentialism and Eastern philosophy and aesthetics. Emphasis is placed on the specific performativity of the solo performer. The author suggests that while creating her personal “holy” theatre (a notion introduced by Peter Brook), Birutė Mar renews the “traditional” metaphysical thinking in Lithuanian theatre, which she combines with original and contemporary ways of artistic expression.