The Theatre Times: When I was initially brought as a dramaturg into the Mahajanaka Dance Drama project, directed by composer Sebastian Reynolds and choreographer Adrienne Hart (Neon Dance), in collaboration with Klunchun and Thai musicians Pradit Saengkrai and Great Lekakul, we began by asking “how can we tell a story from the Buddhist mythology using traditional Thai and contemporary Western art forms?”
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For a dramaturg, and a creative team, this is definitely a cultural combo feat. One of the important things Laurence brought up was how she had to consider audience, because all audiences would never be the same and they would all come in as viewers with different background information. One of her challenges was in exposition. The struggle seems to be re-telling something familiar, but in ways that are unfamiliar. The story itself is interesting enough, a prince goes on a journey to reclaim his fortune and position, falls into the ocean, has to pass a bunch of tests to win a princesses heart, and even though he does, his more spiritual experiences have led him to eventually live a life of simplicity and he becomes a hermit. It's quite popular, and I enjoy the idea that this story would be more accessible to Western audiences. One common barrier between stories is the language. By telling these stories, and combining these cultures through dance, there becomes an universal language. As always, good dancers are able to tell these stories through physical emotion only, and in this piece there are multiple dancers following different paths, and its up to them to represent distinct characters while also remaining unified to the pieces. Because the piece is a mix of so many things (Buddhist ideology, Thai culture, Western execution), as a dramaturg it seems important that they be flexible to explain and expand on all the different aspects.
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