05/21/2009
World Theatre Day Message 2009
| World Theatre Day Message 2009 Augusto Boal To hear Boal, go to: http://www.iti-worldwide.org/theatredaymessage.html | |
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| All human societies are “spectacular*” in their daily life and produce “spectacles” at special moments. They are “spectacular” as a form of social organization and produce “spectacles” like the one you have come to see. Even if one is unaware of it, human relationships are structured in a theatrical way. The use of space, body language, choice of words and voice modulation, the confrontation of ideas and passions, everything that we demonstrate on the stage, we live in our lives. We are theatre! Weddings and funerals are “spectacles”, but so, also, are daily rituals so familiar that we are not conscious of this. Occasions of pomp and circumstance, but also the morning coffee, the exchanged good-mornings, timid love and storms of passion, a senate session or a diplomatic meeting - all is theatre. One of the main functions of our art is to make people sensitive to the “spectacles” of daily life in which the actors are their own spectators, performances in which the stage and the stalls coincide. We are all artists. By doing theatre, we learn to see what is obvious but what we usually can’t see because we are only used to looking at it. What is familiar to us becomes unseen: doing theatre throws light on the stage of daily life. Last September, we were surprised by a theatrical revelation: we, who thought that we were living in a safe world, despite wars, genocide, slaughter and torture which certainly exist, but far from us in remote and wild places. We, who were living in security with our money invested in some respectable bank or in some honest trader’s hands in the stock exchange were told that this money did not exist, that it was virtual, a fictitious invention by some economists who were not fictitious at all and neither reliable nor respectable. Everything was just bad theatre, a dark plot in which a few people won a lot and many people lost all. Some politicians from rich countries held secret meetings in which they found some magic solutions. And we, the victims of their decisions, have remained spectators in the last row of the balcony. Twenty years ago, I staged Racine’s Phèdre in Rio de Janeiro. The stage setting was poor: cow skins on the ground, bamboos around. Before each presentation, I used to say to my actors: “The fiction we created day by day is over. When you cross those bamboos, none of you will have the right to lie. Theatre is the Hidden Truth”. When we look beyond appearances, we see oppressors and oppressed people, in all societies, ethnic groups, genders, social classes and casts; we see an unfair and cruel world. We have to create another world because we know it is possible. But it is up to us to build this other world with our hands and by acting on the stage and in our own life. Participate in the “spectacle” which is about to begin and once you are back home, with your friends act your own plays and look at what you were never able to see: that which is obvious. Theatre is not just an event; it is a way of life! We are all actors: being a citizen is not living in society, it is changing it. Augusto Boal (Original Portuguese) * means also having the nature of a spectacle or show (note of the translator) | |
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05/09/2009
The other side of the bed
Last night, I wandered to the other side of the bed. You know…the side I don’t usually sleep on.
When beginning a new relationship, I always try to adhere to certain guidelines, which I naively believe will help keep the relationship vibrant and healthy. One of those guidelines is not having a specific side of the bed, but instead, changing sides on a regular basis. I figure that. at least symbolically, this prevents anyone from getting too set in their ways.
When I moved in with my lover about 8 months ago, we invariably ended up subconsciously choosing sides of the bed, which we seem to have held on to since then. I knew my guidelines were out the window when we bought matching night tables from Ikea and I filled mine with, among other things, various psychology books, a dream diary and my alarm clock. I clearly marked my territory, my side of the bed, breaking my own little precious rule.
Last night, I wandered to the other side of the bed, just to check it out, to see if I slept better there than on my old regular side. The night was going on marvelously until I decided to turn and nearly fell out of bed, catching myself at the very last minute by grabbing on to the matching night stand. 27 and almost falling out of bed….tss, tss, tss….Lesson learned. I’ll stick to my side for now, and go to the other side when I decide to test my self-preservation sleeping reflexes.
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03/23/2009
La tete dans les nuages...head in the clouds
Trocadero. Monday, 23rd March 2009. 8:30AM
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03/19/2009
Protesting for me!
Tom found this picture on the following webpage...
http://www.rue89.com/explicateur/2009/03/18/ce-que-manife...
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02/13/2009
Vinegar
Who knew?! Well. People have known for years...but I just recently tried out for myself the powers of vinegar. Miraculous. White vinegar is great to remove "calcair" (can't seem to find the right word in English). It seems that plenty of books exist telling you great ways to use vinegar as an ecological cleaning product. Try it out! It seems I'm becoming a hippy cleaning lady.
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Rue Lepic
Since October 2008, I have been taking a pretty neat theatre class which takes place just behind the Moulin Rouge. Twice a week, I find myself walking past the bus loads of tourists, past the numerous security guards, past the incessant flow of camera flashes. How many people have a picture of themself standing in front of the Moulin Rouge? Billions? Trillions? I wonder if there is a single minute during the course of any single day when a picture of the Moulin isn't being taken.
Metro: Blanche. Before reaching the Moulin Rouge, I cross the Rue Lepic, which has become one of my favorite streets in Paris. Although it is quite touristy (the cafe where Amelie works in the film Amelie is on this street), it is an absolutely charming little street which leads you up to great neighborhood in Paris, les Abbesses. The rue Lepic is alive with flower shops, wine stores, bakeries, several little clothing and shoe stores, cafes, etc. Typical little Parisian street. Lovely.
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02/05/2009
Batlik
Saturday, January 31st 2009
Rosalie, Arthur, Tom and I went to go see Gaspard Batlik perform at La Maroquinerie, a cool little venue located in my old neighborhood. Batlik is a talented musician highly influenced by Ani di Franco...Terrific songs, great lyrics. He performed with a drummer and a bass/clarinet player. Highly recommended!
More on Batlik on his site.
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01/23/2009
today i am reminded...
of the power of friendship.
i am eternally thankful for the wonderful women in my life, who listen, who share, who talk, who help me process, who challenge my thoughts, who help put things in perspective, who are always willing to hear me out and who remind me that i am cared for and loved. i hope that i return the gift...and remind them that they are cared for and loved.
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