Two Pieces At Once

In short, that is the work.  The text for Medea, preserved in its entirety and unchanged, will be one piece.  The second will be a more open, purely theatrical work which exists around the Medea play.  I call this ‘empty theater’.

Why?

I have always been interested in the idea of a “universal language” in theater.  Peter Brook certainly searched for this (does he continue to do so? Hard to say).  Brook’s work still stays very close to text, which distances certainly the non-english speaking spectator but, as well, the culturally different too. 

In my days working with Merce Cunningham, one thing was immediately apparent.  We were travelling constantly to non-english speaking countries.  His work was open, accessible and universal.  It was pure movement.  There were no stories attached, no plain-motifs, no seeming ‘worldly’ relationships either (this could be argued, but I think this is generally the case).  You were watching movement for movement’s sake.  Merce was exploring the possibilities of the human organism in motion (and, in stillness). 

John Cage had a similar exploration with music, sound and silence.

As I watched Merce’s work, night-in, night-out, I kept wondering if this sort of atmosphere could be created without dancers, but with actors.  Can a purely theatrical event be staged that is not about movement (as I am not a dancer or choreographer, as my friends will attest) per se, nor is it about story, character, plot, or even emotion.  Is there something that exists, that can be found, that we can call pure “theater”?

My first attempt at this was a piece I did in 1996 called “Noah’s Flood”.  I used three players, and we explored both the original Miracle Play chronicling Noah’s saga.  But, we then broke the words down into pure sounds and engaged in a theatre game using pennants of differing colors.  These were sort of “magic wands” with fabric attached to the end of differing shades of blue, purple and gold.  The audience was asked to be interested in the game, of what would happen “next” with these objects.  The text, or sound score (as I called it), was the platform for the game.  It was a way for us to stay together, connected, while we did something else.

Next, I worked with a piece I called “Tale of the Magic Glove”.  I still intend to do this work, though after a few other pieces.  It’s scope and magnitude are large, it’s possibilities – endless.  It tells the story of any human society which evolves and then destroys itself.  It centers around the discovery of a “magic” glove in a box which, when worn, produces a sound in the wearer.  In this sense, a new verbal language is created every single time the show is staged.  There are only 5 players, but once the 5 sounds have been introduced, the players then morph sounds, and are able to steal new ones they hear from the audience.  Someone coughs?  Great – we can use that as a sound. 

Through this vehicle, we searched for a basic society that we could then color in any way that we chose.  Here we had 5 individuals, speaking – suddenly – language.  They would then search for ways to attach meaning to the sounds, to convey thought with the sound, to pursue an aim with the sound, and to connect with others.  It was an extraordinarily large possibility. 

The other aspect here, that I must relate even though it is slightly separate from this theme of a “universal language”, is that in having an open society in this way, we could explore any “first” we wanted to.  So:

• The first kiss
• The first ritual
• The first dance
• The first prayer
• The first fight

There were suddenly countless ones.  In each of us, we had to search for HOW – through our own DNA – these things might have happened.  Was there a trace of some pure impulse within us that could serve as a guide?

This project was shelved, as it suddenly mushroomed into this enormous work – once that I was not ready for.

But, the curiousity in discovering theater that is universal continues.  Listen, I like to travel and always marveled at how Merce’s work could literally reach anyone – it was open and pure.  Any audience could sit in front of his work and have a sincere impression of it.  You cannot say the same for a play or opera.  Unless the audience speaks english, you won’t be booked overseas.

Of course, it is not solely about travel…but about a search.  My opinion: the theater art has stalled.  With the exception of a few, bold artists (Robert Wilson, the largest example of this in our current culture), the theater art has stalled – it has simply agreed with its followers to repeat the same, basic form over, and over, and over, again…the Play.

I haven’t a thing against a play, but it is really the only form we can discover? 

Two Pieces At Once, say I.  And here’s why.  One that is truly a play – the Medea play, in this case.  Another which exists around it, to explore ideas completely separate from the Medea, but that can also support Medea.  Oh, and the Medea play will be asked to support the empty work as well.

The very interesting piece is what happens in between?  What is the atmosphere created when these 2 works come together?  This is not about the chaotic “happenings” of the 60s where 2 pieces distracted from each other (or more than 2…) vying for attention in the same space/time. 

No, this is about us, as artists, exploring the space between the 2 works, and making something THERE.  It is there that I believe something rather universal, significant and purely theatrical exists.  It is also about the relationship between the 2 works, and in exploring ways that the 2 can influence the others.  Can they support the other along its journey towards its own, independent conclusion.

And, isn’t this a little like life, relationship and vying for space in this, our new 21st Century world?

We’ll see.

SS.