Summary of Jill's talk on the Artistic (Theatrical) Approach to Knowledge 1_12_07
Author: Jill
Summary of Jill's talk on the Artistic (Theatrical) Approach to Knowledge 1_12_07
"We’re not in a theatrical environment here. We’re in a kind of theatrical desert. So it must be we’re completely mad and “must” do this thing called theatre. Our study has been to see what we know. There are people here who are actors, who have done it before and studied it. There is the whole gamut. There is a core group of about eight people. When we have a point of concentration, something that inspires us, we get together and do it. Theatre has this cycle. It is a great concentration of joy and love and energy, you work towards the goal, then you have to let it go. It vanishes. We want to make something out of nothing. You start with nothing and at the end you have something. Then it all disappears. You knock down the set, remove the nails and screws. All that’s left is this light that never goes out. It’s in the nature of theatre to exist in the moment; it’s ephemeral.
There is a lot of theatre theory…theoretically what inspires us is, we feel we represent humanity, we are there for you, we speak the words you, he audience, cannot speak – we play you, become you. We don’t act, we are. That’s in the best of times when the character and the actor are one. We speak for our larger community as inspired beings who get something that comes through us, with words that may have been given by others or words we invent ourselves to tell your story. It’s a bunch of people gathered around a campfire at night and we tell stories that are very cathartic and revealing. They are the essence of community because we speak from an inspired place. So if you have enjoyed that experience of sitting around a campfire telling stories you know it is a very strong necessary experience. We want to hold that energy in Auroville. …
Ultimately we want to tell Auroville’s story. Our research is to find out what is uniquely our experience that needs telling. Example: Legend of the Kaluvelli Siddha. We choose plays that have to do with the search for human unity and man’s search for the divine and overcoming the forces of nature through inner struggle. We are trying to build an aspect of Auroville culture. It is our way of expressing our joy in being here. Sometimes we may not understand why we have chosen a story but as we work on it the connection between that story and what is actually happening in Auroville appears and we say AAhh. …This is the moment you live for." - Jill
Listen to the full audio presentation
at:
http://www.universityofhumanunity.org/theatrical_approach_jill_1_12_07