me: hmm, hmmm.
6:02 PM oh, you wanted to talk about your project too
Arthur: sure.
6:03 PM if you're interested, I'm interested in where you're at with improv and theatre in general
6:04 PM me: well, i feel like I've gained a level of confidence as a performer
i feel like i can do a good show not just with pgraph but with almost anyone
6:05 PM so i guess i've built up a certain level of trust towards the universe in general
which is why i'm interested in doing projects with new and different people
6:06 PM and i've been doing a lot of narrative and genre stuff, which has been enjoyable, certainly, and is amazing for building specific skills that can be applied more generally
but i'm eager for a chance to do something more open, with less defined expectations and greater possibilities for discovery
6:07 PM Arthur: what interests you about what you've read on ol' Jerzy?
6:08 PM me: i was intrigued by his drive to make theatre relevant and meaningful
and it made me wonder how that would apply today
it seems in difficult times like revolution and dictatorship it's clearer how theatre can have an impact
6:09 PM i haven't studied much about theatre of the oppressed, but i get the impression that that's what it's tending towards
6:10 PM and so it makes me wonder how theatre can be similarly meaningful in a relatively stable and comfortable western society
i can see some possibilities around challenging the need for instant gratification
and the constant multi-tasking
6:12 PM it could be about creating actual relationships rather than virtual ones
i think it taps into the same kind of storytelling impulses that make things like the Moth and This American Life so popular
6:13 PM what i love about true stories, and great song lyrics, and good movies and books, is the small details that are so particular but make it feel so real and relatable
because generic things aren't universal
specifics are
6:15 PM i feel kind of rambly, is this what you're looking for? do you have any follow up questions?
6:18 PM Arthur: nope, I think we're on the same page :)
6:20 PM me: it sounds really exciting
6:22 PM i'm reading some more of grotowski and it resonates with other things i've been reading and thinking about the past couple of years
zen, social interactions, transactional analysis
6:24 PM did you see biography of physical sensation?
6:26 PM Arthur: no, what's that?
me: it was a show rubber repertory did not long ago
i didn't see it but it sounds like it touched on some of the same ideas
Arthur: interesting
i saw The Casket of Passing Fancy
6:28 PM me: i was talking with someone the other day about how theatre is a strange space
6:29 PM the act of being on stage in a way condones whatever happens on that stage
6:30 PM it conveys to the audience "this all right, we've planned this for you"
and some people would exploit that for art
push boundaries
6:31 PM but i think that that dehumanizes the audience
and it says, "what is happening here is not real. you are not a part of it"
6:32 PM i'd rather see what happens when you tell the audience "what's happening here is real. You are a part of it
Arthur: yep, i agree completely
6:33 PM there's a Theatre of Revolt
and then there's a Theatre of Community
6:36 PM me: it's a very intriguing project
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