Re: sociocultural/drama <Kerry.Elliott who-is-at jcu.edu.au>

Ricardo Ottoni Vaz Japiassu (rjapias who-is-at ibm.net)
Thu, 16 Oct 1997 20:14:46 -0200

Reading your message, I found some old known "friends".

Would you please answer me a few questions?

1) Are you developing any research on theater-education?

2) In your opinion what's the diference between "drama play" and
"theater games"?

3) Are you "from" UCSD?

Thanks.

= diane celia hodges wrote:
>
> Kerry - do you read/have you read any of Raymond Williams or
> Walter Benjamin, Bertolt Brecht,
>
> Antonio Gramsci, Mikhail Bakhtin, Andre Breton...?
> (whoops. Is my marxism slipping?)
>
> Any influences from Laurie Anderson? Antonin Artaud (and his ever-so-special,
> theatre of cruelty? [tsk! just like a man!]) ...[kidddiiinnggg]
>
> How about John Cage? Roland Barthes?
> Have you ever read
> Isadora Duncan's (1928)
> "The
> Dancer of the Future" from her book "The Art of Dance"?
>
> Can you tell me more *women/queer writers* in this area? because just listing
> these names is making me feel like I've just been
> [insert verb describing 'penetration' here].... but anyway, before I offend
> anyone
> again,
>
> I'm not trying to put you on the spot here - it seems to me that drama and
> theatre
>
> offer powerful and compelling ways for thinking about the important questions
> of identity as/in/ the "cultural" with/in the contexts of the "social" and
> vicey-versa,
> (as if they were distinct?)... rebel/guerrilla theeatre, and so on...
>
> Certainly theories of "performance" play well in terms of our
> "everyday" interactions -
>
> the implications of the everyday use of the word "theatrics" when
> describing someone (usually meaning "hysterical") -
>
> and
> as an intervention, especially in forms of articulation
> for marginalized/minority groups, I think drama and theatre are potent
> tools...
>
> my own artisitic work tends to lean more towards the "theatre of cruelty" model,
> because I think that too much of theatre/drama is about complacency
> in the guise of entertainment... you know,
>
> (for goddess's sake! don't make me THINK about anything!!!)
>
> or summat to that effect. I like to disturb folks, similar to Walter Benjamin's
> use of the "quotation" as a way for "interrupting" discourse (and maybe
> you witnessed the effect of that recently here on xmca? ah. but I digress...)
>
> Brecht's work, too, influences
> a lot of what appeals to me about theatre as a tool, although Brecht certainly
> has his problems (like, can u say self-centred misogynist alcoholic?)...
>
> anyway, I'd be so interested in hearing more about where you go with your
> work... theatre and drama are. as far as I'm concerned, a veritable
> sociocultural
> toybox!!!!
>
> diane (is my enthusiasm showing?) ;-)
>
> ooh ooh ! how about Guy Debord? (chicks! we need more chick names!!!)