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Ritual and Theatre

Ritual

Entertainment

CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES

LINKS BETWEEN RITUAL AND THEATRE

BRIEF HISTORY OF THEATRE

Pir Vilayat's "Cosmic Celebration; performed in the 1970's as a mythic pageant, "celebrating unity of all religious paths and the human family."

WHAT IS A RITUAL?

AUDIENCE: Human/nonhuman Human

AUDIENCE: Participates Observes

AUDIENCE: Believes Appreciates

SERVES: Divine Market

TIME: Eternal Present Historical Time

STORY: Revealed Truths Invented Fictions

TRANSFORMATION: Possible Unlikely

AWARENESS: Trance Possession Self-Awareness ROLES: Nonrepresentational Characters

VIRTUOSITY: Downplayed Valued

CREATION: Collective Individual

CRITICISM: Discouraged Flourishes

  • Site specific locations
  • Participants and witnesses
  • Costuming, special clothing, use of masks
  • Focus on identity (real/imagined)
  • Use (Catharsis, emotional, self-involved)
  • Symbolisms
  • Use of dance, speaking, and singing
  • Elements of time

- Theatre is a form that has been traced back to approximately 2550 years ago (started with Greek tragedy, around approximately 530 BC).

- Original uses of theatre have included: religious activities, performances, entertainment.

- How theatre has been viewed throughout history: both as a form of fiction and lying, and as a truthful reflection of occurences in the world.

An act that is performed often as part of a ceremony, always done in a particular situation and in the same way each time, done in accordance with social customs or normal proticols.

Resource taken from: http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3424502396/performance-and-ritual.html

referenced from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ritual

RITUAL AND THEATRE?

HISTORICAL LINKS: THEATRE AND RITUAL

LINKING THEATRE AND RITUAL IN THE REAL WORLD AND EVERYDAY INSTANCES

Rituals date back to the Paleolithic period, over 130,000 years ago. Intentional burials, drawings, fertility goddess representations, shrines, etc.

Pure ritual is centred around concepts of efficacy (ability to produce a result effectively), and pure entertainment is centred around concepts of aesthetics (dealing with notions of beauty). Theatre often blends the two concepts.

Historically, theatre and ritual were separated by setting, yet both were modes of story telling (working within two different realms). As time progressed, the line between the two has blurred. Theatre often touches on themes of ritual, in one form or another, to varying degrees. For example, some pieces of theatre explicitly discuss themes of ritual, whereas others may simply employ examples

of ritual within the performance aspect.

Every society has conventions (norms, rules, methods, and ways in which activities are completed). These can be regarded as social rituals, and we witness and take part in these daily. In addition, these social conventions are usually brought forth regularly through the mode of theatre. A ritual does not always have to be a grand gesture.

THEATRE

Aesthetics

Efficacy

<------------------------------------------->

Ritual

Entertainment

referenced from: http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3424502396/performance-and-ritual.html

For example: shaking hands, direct eye contact when speaking, saying please and thank you, avoiding invading personal space, brush your teeth three times a day, shower and bathe regularly, etc.

CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES, CONT.

Marina Abramovic: Performance artist, often deals with issues regarding social conventions and contemporary rituals.

The House with the Ocean View, 2002

Imponderabilia, 1977

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