“But we must not forget that for Italian (and French) Opera composers the theatre is not a temple, not a moral institution, not the vehicle for weltanschauung, metaphysics, and ‘deep’ thought, but an arena in which large, heterogeneous audiences are brought together to be entertained and amused.”
Marsco Carner
“If any man where to ask me what I suppose to be a perfect style of language I would answer; that in which a man speaking to 500 people, all of common and various composites, idiots and lunatics excepted, should be understood by them all and in the same sense in which the speaker intended to be understood.”
Defoe quoted from
Marsco Carner
“Any book that is not addressed to the majority- in numbers and intelligence- is a stupid book.”
Baudelaire quoted from
Marsco Carner
“Theatre must counter its image as a weakling that is dependent on handouts.”
Ian Maxwell MacKinnon
‘Elect Better Actors’
“Theatre that gets funding from the commonwealth should be more about the needs of the commonwealth.”
Ian Maxwell MacKinnon
‘Elect Better Actors’
“The French director Jean Vilard – theatre as public service – to him; ‘popular theatre’ meant getting the populace to the theatre, no matter what was playing.”
Ian Maxwell MacKinnon
‘Elect Better Actors’
“Theatre in the round is powerful in part because the audience sees itself.”
Ian Maxwell MacKinnon
‘Elect Better Actors’
“Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work.”
Rita Mae Brown
“Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievement “
Napoleon Hill
“Once you get people laughing; there listening and you can tell them almost anything.”
Herb
“I made some mistakes in drama. I thought the drama was when the actors cried. But the drama is when the audience cries.”
Frank Capra, Film dir.
“Music is the mediator between spiritual and sensual life.”
L.V. Beethoven
“We have art, in order not to die of the truth.”
Nietzsche
“All things are artificial, for nature is the art of God.”
Thomas Browne
“An idea is a feat of associations”
Robert Frost
“The truth isn’t always beauty, but the hunger for it is.”
Nadine Gordimer
“Organized perception is what art is all about.”
Roy Lichtenstein
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Zorastrinism: Ancient Persian religion that viewed the universe as an eternal struggle between forces of light and darkness. (note zorastro in Magic flute)
Neil Turnbull
“Get a grip on Philosophy”
Hedonism: The Idea that pleasure is the ultimate good.
Neil Turnbull
“Get a grip on Philosophy”
Gnosticism: says that the universe was created by a wicked God. According to the Gnostics, Yahweh, the god of the Jews, was a nefarious villain who created the universe out of spite to trap the human spirit in a vile material body. Hence, the Gnostics believed that matter, Yahweh’s creation, was evil.
Gnostics thought of duality of god; evil and a good one. Rooted in Christianity the duality of Christ and god (Yahweh) and highly influenced by Zorastrinism. This leads into the Screwieness of the catholic church.
Neil Turnbull
“Get a grip on Philosophy”
According to Hume (David Hume, Scottish enlightenment), impressions are converted into ideas by a process of association. For example, we construct a general idea of a swan out of the myriad of impressions that have been associated with particular swans we may have seen.
All Knowlage is baised on sense experience.
Notes on David hume from:
Neil Turnbull
“Get a grip on Philosophy”
Hegel:
If you take British politics in the 1980’s, we can see Margaret Thatcher’s ideas as the dominant thesis and Neil Kinnock’s ideas as the weaker antithesis. The final Hegelian synthesis of these two ideas is the ideas of Toney Blair’s New Labor Party. Blair’s ideas will eventually produce their own antithesis and so on until the end of history. (influences Marx)
Neil Turnbull
“Get a grip on Philosophy”
Nietzsche and the theatry of Ubermenschen.
Neil Turnbull
“Get a grip on Philosophy”
Logical Atomism
Like Humes ideas in a way. Language paints a picture for us to understand a word comes with an association to an object in space. (that’s the basic function of language) but like language things are a product of their culture. And not all imagery will affect everyone the same because of different cultural backgrounds.
Neil Turnbull
“Get a grip on Philosophy”
Wittgenstein: Meaning depends upon use.
Neil Turnbull
“Get a grip on Philosophy”
Postmodernism: Contemporary philosophical movement that champions difference and variety of uniformity.
The postmodernists claimed that architecture should not be about “expert” architects and planners imposing their rational designs on an unsuspecting population, but should instead include in its designs the needs and desires of those people who actually have to live in these buildings. Postmodern architects thus attempt to show a sensitivity to local cultures and traditions in their designs, and they celebrate the everyday world of popular reality over the dour rationality of science and technology.”
Neil Turnbull
“Get a grip on Philosophy”
The concept:
No poetry after
Neil Turnbull
“Get a grip on Philosophy”
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From
The Theatre and it’s Double
“In The City of God St. Augustine complains of this similarity between the action of the plague that kills without destroying the organs and the theatre which, without killing, provokes the most mysterious alterations in the mind of not only an individual but an entire populace.” (pg 26)
“The mind believes what it sees and does what it believes: that is the secret of the fascination” (pg 27)
“How does it happen, moreover, that the Occidental theatre (I say Occidental because there are fortunately others, like the Oriental theatre, which have preserved intact the idea of theatre, while in the Occident this idea – like all the rest – has been prostituted) how does it happen that the Occidental theatre does not see theatre under any other aspect than as a theatre of dialogue?” (pg 37)
“It is agreed that a beautiful woman has a melodious voice; if, since the world began, we had heard all beautiful women call to us in trumpet blasts and greet us like bellowing elephants, we would have eternally associated the idea of bellowing with the idea of a beautiful woman, and a portion of our inner vision of the world would have been radically transformed thereby.” (pg 43)
“The Balinese with their imaginary dragon, like all the Orientals, have not lost the sense of that mysterious fear which they know is one of the most stirring (and indeed essential) elements of the theatre when it is restored to its proper level.” (pg 44)
“It is that alchemy and the theatre are to speak virtual arts, and do not carry their end – or their reality – within themselves.” (pg 48)
pg 50 ideas about the original and innate necessity of theatre
(Theatre)”…whether it is entirely fanciful to consider it as an independent and autonomous art, of the same rank as music, painting, dance, etc…” (pg 69)
“We must be done with this idea of masterpieces reserved for a self styled elite and not understood by the general public; the mind has no such restricted districts as those so often used for clandestine sexual encounters.” (pg 74)
“It is idiotic to reproach the masses for having no sense of the sublime, when the sublime is confused with one or another of its formal manifestations, which are moreover always defunct manifestations. And if for example a contemporary public does not understand Oedipus Rex, I shall make bold to say that it is the fault of Oedipus Rex and not the public.” (pg 74)
“…continue behaving like snobs, rushing en masse to hear such and such a singer, to see such and such an admirable performance which never transcends the realm of art…”(pg 78)
“Enough of personal poems, benefiting those who create them much more than those who read them. Once more enough of this closed, egoistic, and personal art.” (pg 79)
“In a word, we believe that there are living forces in what is called poetry and that the image of a crime presented in the requisite theatrical conditions is something infinitely more terrible for the spirit than that same crime when actually committed.” (pg 85)
“…the visual language of objects, movements, attitudes, and gestures but on condition that their meanings, their Physiognomies, their combinations be carried to the point of becoming signs, making a kind of alphabet out of these signs. … the theatre must organize it into veritable hieroglyphs, with the help of characters and objects, and make use of their symbolism and interconnections in relation to all organs and on all levels.” (pg 90)
compose on the stage precise and immediately readable symbols
“If the age turns away from the theatre, in which it is no longer interested, it is because has ceased to represent it.” (pg 115)
“Every popular audience has always loved direct expressions and images;…” (pg 124)
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“Works of art are of an infinite loneliness…”Rilke pg 29
Celebrate the possibility of art by ignoring good taste – Celise Kalke, Brian Bergstrom in a manifesto on neo-romantics
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The Tao of Pooh
Benjamin Hoff
“A thousand-mile journey starts with one step” (an. Tao saying)
“…everything had it’s own nature already within it, which could not be violated without causing difficulties.” (4)
“From the Taoist point of view, the natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness.”(5)
“…a subtle sense of humor is apparent even in the most profound Taoist writings,…”
“Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet. That is the message of the vinegar tasters.” (6)
“…simple minded does not necessarily mean stupid.”(12)
“- simplicity, the simplicity of the Uncarved Block? And the nicest thing about that simplicity is it’s useful wisdom,…”(18)
“When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you will discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the uncarved block: life is fun.”(20)
“From the state of the uncarved block comes the ability to enjoy the simple and the quiet, the natural and the plain. Along with that comes the ability to do things spontaneously and have them work, odd as it may appear to others at times.”(21)
“The wise are not learned; the learned are not wise” Lao-tse (24)
“…one who studies Knowledge of the sake of Knowledge, and who keeps what he learns to himself or to his own small group, writing pompous and pretentious papers that no one else can understand, rather than working for the enlightenment of others.” (26)
“Now the annoying thing about scholars is that they are always using big words that some of us can’t understand… { } …and one sometimes gets the impression that those intimidating words are there to keep us from understanding.” (28)
“…after all, from a scholarly point of view, its practically a crime not to know everything.” (28)
“But isn’t the knowledge that comes from experience more valuable than the knowledge that doesn’t?” (29)
“…wants to blame the mind of the Uncarved Block – what it calls ignorance – for problems that it causes itself, either directly or indirectly, through its own limitations, nearsightedness, or neglect.” (31)
“Things are as they are.” (39)
“…everything has its own place and function.” (40)
“The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not.” (43)
“One disease, long life; no disease, short life.” Proverb (48)
“And then you will find, in many cases, your limitations can be your strengths.” (49)
“What we need to do is recognize inner nature and work with things as they are. When we don’t, we get into trouble.” (50)
“Everything has its own inner nature. Unlike other forms of life, though, people are easily led away from what’s right for them, because people have brain, and brain can be fooled.” (57)
“The way of self-reliance starts with recognizing who we are, what we’ve got to work with and what works best for us.” (57)
“Sooner or latter we are bound to discover some things about ourselves that we don’t like. But once we see they’re there, we can decide what we want to do with them.” (58)
“…instead of struggling to erase what are referred to as negative emotions, we can learn to use them in positive ways.” (59)
“ ‘Music and living--------‘
‘The same thing,’ said Pooh.” (59)
“So there is no such thing as an ability that is too useless, too crooked, or too small.” (60)
“When we learn to work with our own inner nature, and with the natural laws operating around us, we reach the level of Wu Wei. Then we work with the natural order of things and operate on the principle of minimal effort.” (69)
“Tao does not do, but nothing is not done.” (Tao Te Ching, ch. 37) (70)
“Cleverness, as usual, takes all the credit it possibly can. But it’s not the Clever Mind that’s responsible when things work out. It’s the mind that sees what’s in front of it, and follows the nature of things.” (75)
“Things just happen in the right way, at the right time. At least they do when you let them…” (80)
“Our Bisy Backson religions, sciences, and business ethics have tried their hardest to convince is that there is a great reward waiting for us somewhere, and that what we have to do is spend our lives working like lunatics to catch up with it.” (97)
“A way of life that keeps saying, “around the next corner, above the next step,” works against the natural order of things and makes it so difficult to be happy and good that only a few get to where they would naturally have been in the first place…” (99)
“The Backson thinks of progress in terms of fighting and overcoming.” (104)
“Enjoyment of the process is the secret that erases the myths of the great reward and saving time.” (112)
“We would call it awareness. It’s when we become happy and realize it, if only for an instant.” (112)
“No matter how useful we may be, sometimes it takes us a while to recognize our own value.” (117)
“In order to take control of our lives and accomplish something of lasting value, sooner or later we need to learn to believe.” (120)
“The Play-it-safe pessimists of the world never accomplish much of anything, because they don’t look clearly and objectively at situations, they don’t recognize or believe in their own abilities, and they won’t stretch those abilities to overcome even the smallest about of risk.” (122)
“first treasure, …from caring comes courage.” (from Tao ch. 67) (128)
“Knowledge doesn’t really care. Wisdom does.” (128)
“…when it comes to enjoying life and making use of who we are, all of us can; it’s just that some don’t.” (133)
“Working with the Tiddely-Pom principle [snowball effect], you use respect to build respect. The more it snows, the more it goes…” (135)
“Wisdom, Happiness, and Courage are not waiting somewhere out beyond sight at the end of a straight line; they’re part of a continuous cycle that begins right here.” (137)
“Music is the space between the notes.” (Debussy) (147)
“Many people are afraid of emptiness, however, because it reminds them of loneliness.” (147)
“To attain
knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.”
(Tao
“The end of the cycle is that of the independent, clear minded, all seeing child. That is the level known as wisdom.” (151)
“Too many who think too much and care too little.” (154)
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Taoisum
Martin Palmer
“A man has hardly a hour in which he is quite content and free from worry.”
“It does not set out to ‘create’ but things emerge as a result of Tao. It is what the Tao Te Ching refers to as the ‘natural way’.”
“In their eternal struggle, which is the struggle of natural forces not gods, they generate the energy (ch’i) which fuels the creation and which causes all to come to birth.” (about yin and yang)
“All things have their origin in the interaction of the two opposites of yin and yang.”
Fundamental unity and inadequacy of knowledge
Flow with the way, bend and survive
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Brecht on theatre (selections)
Ed.
Willett
“The demorilization of our theatre audiences springs from the fact that neither theatre nor audience has any idea what is supposed to go on there.”
“A theatre which makes no contact with the public is a nonsense.”
“And nobody who fails to get fun out of his activities can expect them to be fun for anybody else.”
“we germans are uncommonly good at putting up with boredom and are thoroughly hardened to the unfunny.”
“Let us treat the theatre as a place of entertainment, as is proper in an asthetic discussion, and try to discover which type of entertainment suits us best.”
“The theatre set-up’s broadest function was to give pleasure. It is the noblest function we have found for theatre.”
“From the first it has been the theatre’s business to entertain people, as it also has of all the other arts. It is this business which always gives it it’s particular dignity; it needs no other passport than fun, but this it has got to have. We should not by any means be giving it a higher status if we were to turn it e.g. into a purveyor of morality; it would on the contrary run the risk of being debased, and this would occur at once if it failed to make it’s moral lesson enjoyable, and enjoyable to the senses at that: a principle, admittedly, by which morality can only gain. Not even instruction can be demanded of it: at any rate, no more utilitarian lesson than how to move pleasurably, whether in the physical or in the spiritual sphere. The theatre must in fact remain something entirely superfluous, though this indeed means that it is the superfluous for which we live. Nothing needs less justification than pleasure.”
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“There are no truths there are only stories.”
-proverb
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Yen – Yang
Didactic – Entertainment
Trying to combine opposites
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From “The Way of Zen”
Zen is active
As when you drive a car – being one with things
To know that your being is one with everything around you.
“Let well enough alone” Taoisum
Things that are made are just put together and can be pulled apart : things that are grown just grow together
Non-graspingness of the mind
The center of the mind is in non thinking
Spontaneous virtue = Te
Tao and Mahayana Buddhism = Zen
The truth can not be put into words the text of Tao must be taught by a master
Words can not communicate, just experiences
Words are the frames of mankind not the universe
What can not be transmitted in speech can be transmitted in action
*Laughing is not an intellectual action but an emotional action. It is spontaneous action like that of enlightenment.
When hungry eat, when tired sleep. – Definition of Zen
What is pleasant or good can not exist without the unpleasant or evil.
Life is not approached from outside to succeed means to fail because you must fail to succeed.
Reversal of cause and effect subject and object reversal
Duality – the subject creates the object
Qui Yen doctrine- Every jewel is a reflection of the others
The relativity of time and motion
The universe stays their the mind moves forward
Timeless motion
Don’t try to resist the movement of events
Never anything but the present
Where you are going is not more important than where you are.
All ideas of getting something in the future take us away from the way
See things as they are
If your trying your trying to hard
When there are no names there are no boundaries
Everything is an abstraction from the natural
The world is not an obstacle
In walking, just walk
In sitting, just sit
Above all don’t wobble.
Everything needs a margin of error
Act in the moment
Feeling blocks action
We must act and think from a place beyond our control
Act without second thought
Don’t try to control life
To arrive at suchness aim at nothing
Word work because they imply meaning beyond themselves
There is nothing you can do to be genuine but there is nothing you can to that is not genuine
You live in a universe where nothing can be grasped but you can not stop grasping.
The Art of artiness*
West- Spiritual/philosophical concerning the medium
East – everything determines the result
Painting by not painting – when have you said enough.
Just so, just as it is
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Hume In 90 Minutes
Paul Strathern
“By a process of rational doubt, he showed that it is possible to deny everything – with one exception. I cannot doubt everything and yet at the same time doubt that I am thinking. I think, therefore I am.” (Descartes)
Locke and empiricism- “This claimed the ultimate ground of philosophy lay not in reason but in experience. In Locke’s view, all that we know is gained from experience.”
“Neither the world of religion nor the world of science are certain. We can choose to believe in religion if we wish, but we do so on no certain evidence. And we can choose to make scientific deductions in order to impose our will upon the world. But neither religion nor science exist in themselves. They are merely our reactions to experience, one of any number of possible reactions.”
“All our knowledge is ultimately biased on experience. In Hume’s view, experience consists of perceptions, of which there are two types, “Those perceptions which enter with most force and violence we may name impressions; and, under this name, I comprehend all our sensations, passions and emotions, as they make their first appearance in the soul. By ideas I mean the faint images of these in thinking and reasoning.”
“The powers of men are no more superior to their wants, considered merely in this life, than those of foxes and hares are, compared to their wants and to their period of existence.”
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Creativity
and the Dell’arte School of Physical Theatre
By
Peter Buckley
There is a constant belief here that it’s possible to create great works of theatre, that it’s possible to work productively as an ensemble, and that it’s possible to be an integral part of and make a difference in the community in which we live.
The universal is approached through a focus on the particular.
Clarifying the agreements: This is the step when assumptions are made that lead to confusion, Hostility and flat out lousy work. The challenge here is to make as few assumptions as humanly possible.
There is no one way of working
There is, however, the absolute need to define which way your group is going to use.
Enter into the work, stay in the work, keep it going. That’s when the creativity has a chance. Creativity doesn’t come forth from endless debate.
But the danger to our creativity is that we start to believe our definitions to be reality. They aren’t they are choices we have made.
“In the beginners mind, there are countless possibilities. In the expert’s mind, there are few.”
“Nothing great is ever accomplished without enthusiasm”
As your willingness grows, your creativity also increases.
Buddist thought: all life is suffering. If you expect things to be perfect they never will. You have to expect problems.
If you refuse to accept that suffering exists, that things will not always go your way, you will spend your life in a vain fight against what is.
If we accept it, if we actively engage in a life of problems presented and problems solved, we are working in the realm of the actor/creator.
Joyfull participation in the sorrows of life.
The goal of the actor creator is to continuously choose the most creative path available-to experience as fully as possible and to move onward.
I’ve heard
that in the vedic tradition
in
“emotional bank account” between co creators
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