Response Journal
Theatrical Elements
Stephen Hatzai
|
|
On Wednesday evening, July 15, 1998 the monks from the Drepling Loseling Monastery of Tibet presented a concert of music, dance, and slice-of-life pieces at the Mary D'Angelo Performing Arts Center on the campus of Mercyhurst College. The performance took place on the stage of a traditional proscenium theatre before an audience of 800. The evening was presented as a concert, but as a theatre educator and practitioner, I was intrigued by the theatrical elements inherent in the performance. The act curtain was closed initially; it opened to start the evening, and then did not close again. The lighting consisted of full stage illumination and did not change during the concert. The set included a flown fabric collage of a mountain village, two flags, and a table with several artifacts. Four hanging microphones were just inside the grand teaser. The individual pieces were interspersed with brief statements by a narrator who emerged from the wings after each segment and stood behind a podium. There were periods of silencebetween each segment while the audience viewed an empty stage. Since these chants and dances are normally performed under much different circumstance in their culture, our audience had to be cued for applause - the removal of the impressive headresses and a bowing of the head served that purpose. Clapping in Tibetan culture normally serves to eradicate evil spirits and many were expelled during the concert The "debate" piece was fascinating to watch for the body language exhibited by the participants but I would have loved to have seen supertitles explaining the flow of the debate. |
|
|
As I left the concert, a colleague asked if I enjoyed it: I had to pause and reflect. The aesthetic parameters for watching an event of this kind are different than those for The Lion King , Ragtime. or any other form of Western theatre so "enjoy", for me, is not an appropriate word. I was filled with a sense of wonder and awe at how connected their music and dance are to their religion and I was fascinated by the way this merger generates the occasions for performance. The elements of ritual and costume, common to both religion and theatre, were very evident and added a sense of occasion even though the works were performed out of context. The repetetive nature of the music and dance was fascinating and at times almost hypnotic.I left the concert feeling renewed and very aware of my unrealized potential for sharing myself with others. The most significant and frightening idea that came out of the evening was the fact that this gentle and esoteric culture is being methodically wiped out by China. I feel the need to act and I will be contacting my congressional representatives when I return. I urge you to do the same. |
