Sunday, October 05, 2008
From Ritual to Theatre: OISTAT's Asian Workshop
Sightlines: "In Taoist practice, during the seventh month of each lunar year, the gates of the underworld swing open and the ghosts are free to wander among the living world. Ceremonies are held to both welcome the ghosts and provide for their needs, while discouraging them from staying longer than the month-long celebrations. In August, OISTAT, now with its office located in Taipei, Taiwan, organized an event to introduce the Ghost Festival to theatre practitioners from around the world and to engender conversations about the interconnections between theatre and ritual heritages."
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4 comments:
with the Other Shore being here, I think a lot of use might have become more interested in Asian theater. I think it would be neat to do more workshops not only for the performance end, but for design as well and see the similarities and differences they present
The ritual aspect adds a dimension to the meaning of a play. The culture and history are all backdrop for the ritual. To put on a show about a specific ritual, be it religious or not, requires deep immersion into the culture and history of a place.
I think that this is a traditional cultural stylistic way of doing theatre. I love the fact that they are doing this for the "ghosts" and if there so happens to be a person in the audience, they can watch too. The meaning behind what they are doing is brilliant I think and the team working on this must be doing more than enough research! I love culural based performances, celebrations, anything and this seems like something I would throughly enjoy seeing. What would make this so interesting I think is the fact that they are doing this to welcome the ghosts, not for the audiences approval. The operas and everything are there for a reason, the ghosts and that is so awesome!
I love looking at other cultures' traditions and rituals and drawing similarities to theater. I think that when people draw inspiration or participate in these kinds of rituals, it adds a certain weight to it. Its as if the theater being performed is more than theater...its more universal.
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