(no subject)
Dear reader, dear anonymous (possibly non-existent) reader.... christina don't kill me nabokov nabokov nabokov. was it even "dear reader"? or something else? bulgakov does something like that too.
ANYWAY. dear reader. i have only begun this blogging/journaling stuff, and yet, i keep ordering you to go here, see this, do that. and yet, i will do it again and again. in fact, this may turn into a journal of commands.
this time,
GO SEE THE "MYTH CYCLE" by THEATRE MITU. It is playing at 107 Suffolk St, at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, at the La TEA Theatre, 2nd floor of the building- it's an old church- you'll know it when you see it. at $15 bucks a pop, this is rare theatre. Check out their website for fascinating info on their mission and work, including detailed essays on their philosophy at http://www.theatermitu.org/.
but here's their mission statement:
"Theater Mitu's mission is to use the power of the theatrical to strengthen the soul of the community.
We explore and transliterate ancient ritual and performance traditions to generate a vibrant theatrical vocabulary that we call Whole Theater. We define this as a theatrical experience whose form is rigorously visual, aural, emotional, intellectual and spiritual.
Whole Theater creates a sacred landscape within which to shatter the illusion of an isolated human experience and re-ignite the unignorable strength that lies in communion."
this idea of whole theatre: rigorously visual, aural, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual as well as the idea of communion are things which they actively attain- and if they don't attain it, they are clearly striving for it. this act of reaching alone makes the whole thing exciting. in fact, i'm pretty exhausted. the level of the committment of these actors and artists was just astounding. i can't really describe it or talk about it too much- it doesn't sound right, and i need to give it much more thought. but there were many moments which in the hands of lesser artists might have come across as cheesy or overdone-- the play works within a common myth/hero structure, and therefore uses archetypes we know in and out, and some of these archetypes border on or use cliche. however, with this performance, those moments come off as powerful, beautiful, and honest, possibly because of their recognition and full acceptance of the archetypes.
i don't know if the play is finished- in fact, Ruben, the director/artistic director, seemed a little hesitant to call it finished. i don't think it is. but it doesn't really matter- i would like to see it again in a few months or a year. the most striking thing to me is, again, committment. even if the idea didn't work fully, it was almost always fully committed to by the performers.
this is blather, and pretty unformed, but still- i recommend the show- really unusual experience, i think. let's see if i have anything more coherent to say in a couple of days.
ANYWAY. dear reader. i have only begun this blogging/journaling stuff, and yet, i keep ordering you to go here, see this, do that. and yet, i will do it again and again. in fact, this may turn into a journal of commands.
this time,
GO SEE THE "MYTH CYCLE" by THEATRE MITU. It is playing at 107 Suffolk St, at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, at the La TEA Theatre, 2nd floor of the building- it's an old church- you'll know it when you see it. at $15 bucks a pop, this is rare theatre. Check out their website for fascinating info on their mission and work, including detailed essays on their philosophy at http://www.theatermitu.org/.
but here's their mission statement:
"Theater Mitu's mission is to use the power of the theatrical to strengthen the soul of the community.
We explore and transliterate ancient ritual and performance traditions to generate a vibrant theatrical vocabulary that we call Whole Theater. We define this as a theatrical experience whose form is rigorously visual, aural, emotional, intellectual and spiritual.
Whole Theater creates a sacred landscape within which to shatter the illusion of an isolated human experience and re-ignite the unignorable strength that lies in communion."
this idea of whole theatre: rigorously visual, aural, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual as well as the idea of communion are things which they actively attain- and if they don't attain it, they are clearly striving for it. this act of reaching alone makes the whole thing exciting. in fact, i'm pretty exhausted. the level of the committment of these actors and artists was just astounding. i can't really describe it or talk about it too much- it doesn't sound right, and i need to give it much more thought. but there were many moments which in the hands of lesser artists might have come across as cheesy or overdone-- the play works within a common myth/hero structure, and therefore uses archetypes we know in and out, and some of these archetypes border on or use cliche. however, with this performance, those moments come off as powerful, beautiful, and honest, possibly because of their recognition and full acceptance of the archetypes.
i don't know if the play is finished- in fact, Ruben, the director/artistic director, seemed a little hesitant to call it finished. i don't think it is. but it doesn't really matter- i would like to see it again in a few months or a year. the most striking thing to me is, again, committment. even if the idea didn't work fully, it was almost always fully committed to by the performers.
this is blather, and pretty unformed, but still- i recommend the show- really unusual experience, i think. let's see if i have anything more coherent to say in a couple of days.