Theatre as Sacrament (original) (raw)
Related papers
Nothing to Do with the Theatre? 'The shows in the ancient theatre did not only consist of theatrical and other artistic performances. A large variety of other activities, including ritual actions, took place both on the occasion of thymelic and musical competitions and in context of other celebrations. [.. .] Theatre rituals were perhaps not meant to be spectacles; perhaps the theatre was chosen as their setting only because of the advantages it offered in a practical sense (acoustics, seats, large gatherings of people). But the choice of this particular setting, i.e. the space of thea (the watching of spectacles), sooner or later had consequences for the form of the rituals themselves'. 1 The word (as well as the concept of) theatre did not include only dramatic performances, but rather it held together everything that took place in the orchestra. Angelos Chaniotis' assessment sets forth the position that I am going to develop in this chapter regarding the theatrical dimension of the Athenian Great Dionysia's pre-play ceremonies. Unlike Chaniotis, I will focus on the most important period for the Greek theatre and the origins of its pre-play ceremonies: fifth century BC in Athens. It was there that the ritual space of the ceremonies seemingly coincided with the theatrical space of drama for the first time, thus expanding a theatrical programme which would have provided the audience with a mixed set of civic/religious rituals and dramatic performances within the same venue. Such a coincidence in the orchestra invites us to consider the audience perception of and reaction to the spectacle as a whole: for, once having taken their seats, a heterogeneous public attended both performances, the preplay ceremonies and the dramatic plays. Did the spectators consider all of these performances a holistic and coherent set? What made the pre-play ceremonies suitable to the theatrical context (along with its spaces and conventions)? As far as the evidence goes, and despite the importance of this set of problems, no attempt to ask or to answer such questions has been made.
Congruence of rituals and theatre. The use of drama for religious ceremony
I have started this research as a response to a pejorative question that religious rituals are merely theatrical, and the personnel involved nothing else but actors; beyond this there is nothing any religion suggests, e.g. healing, divine touch, blessings et.al. This paper is about rituals and their meanings and roles played as in social drama and theatre play. Considering the relationship between ritual and theatre to be reciprocal I will use their functions to evaluate the process of religious ceremonies and the role they play for adherents/participants, as if they would be attending a play. Religious Studies and Drama joint study offers the opportunity to combine two complementary humanities subjects, as both drama and religion are mainstays of cultural practice.
Ritual in Theatre: The Case of Birds by Aristophanes
The much debated topic in classics and theatre studies is still the relationship between Greek religion and theatre. The issue often gets reduced to the search for origins of theatre. Ever since the emergence of the academic disciplines of anthropology, ethnography and archeology, various scholars have postulated that theatre somehow developed out of religious practices. Theory of ritual roots of Athenian drama, supported by the authority of Aristotle, became a cultural commonplace now. Yet not everybody is convinced. Some scholars even argue that religion and theatre are mutually independent, and that the difference between ritual and theatre is as big as between life and description of life, or between the world and thinking about it. But nobody denies that Athenian Theatre of Dionysus was a religious institution. Today, the complex relations between religion and theatre offer a challenge not only to scholars but also to artists. Everyone who attempts to stage ancient Greek drama is confronted with a dilemma of its religious context and form. The topic is still vivid and its meaning for theatre is basic – it concerns the essence of creativity and artistic practice. I propose to look at ritual in theatre from the perspective of a modern producer of ancient drama. My case study will be BIRDS by Aristophanes directed by me in autumn 2002 in Poland (at the Boguslawski Theatre).
ARYS. Antigüedad: Religiones y Sociedades, 2020
In theatre, actors often perform religious rituals on stage. In this article, we argue that in some cases, like in Plautus and Simone Weil, religious rituals are not just imitated but the specific performative structure of the ritual enhances the affective charge of the theatre play. To illustrate this technique we apply Gérard Genette’s theory of hypertextuality to develop a new concept of hyper-performativity. Consequently, we analyze Plautus’ Rudens and Simone Weil’s Venise sauvée to portray their hyper-performative techniques, in antiquity as well as in late modernity, how to write religious rituals into theatre. || En el teatro, los actores a menudo realizan rituales religiosos en el escenario. En este estudio defendemos que en algunos casos, como en Plauto y en Simone Weil, los rituales religiosos no son sólo imitados, sino que la estructura performativa específica del ritual realza la carga afectiva de la obra teatral. Para ilustrar esta técnica, aplicamos la teoría de la hipertextualidad de Gérard Genette en el desarrollo de un nuevo concepto de hiper-performatividad. Por consiguiente, analizamos el Rudens de Plauto y la Venise sauvée de Simone Weil con el fin de mostrar sus técnicas hiper-performativas para escribir rituales religiosos en el teatro, tanto en la Antigüedad como en la Modernidad tardía.
From Ritual to Theater, 2023
Magic, religion, and art spring from an incomplete cycle; an intensified desire of which the active satisfaction is blocked and therefore it runs over into a presentation. The artist usually desires something impossible (e.g., absolute beauty, infinite love, etc.). Nevertheless, he (or she) goes ahead and fulfills his (or her) desire by creating an artistic miracle that makes the impossible possible and presents it to us in a very emotional, engaging, and convincing way. All great works of art contain their unique artistic miracle which makes our engagement with them an awesome experience. This experience is multifaceted: It is impressive, inspiring, and entertaining. It gives us extra psychological power, but above all, we admire the works of art that have something important to say about our life. One of the earliest magico-religious and artistic miracles in human history was the ritual of the death and resurrection of the Sacred Bull. This article is the first article of a series of articles that trace the development of this early ritualistic drama from prehistoric times to the time it was transformed into something entirely new, the theater.
Convivium. Exchanges and Interactions in the Arts of Medieval Europe, Byzantium, and the Mediterranean VI/1, 2019
In Spanish early modernity, a theatre genre deeply embedded in Catholic material religion and cult of images rose to popularity and saw an aesthetic proliferation, while iconoclast tendencies in the northwest dominated a fundamental change in media and representation culture. During Corpus Christi celebrations, the so-called auto sacramentales-a form of liturgical drama descending from medieval mummery and morality plays-addressed the staging of the Eucharistic miracle. This essay explores how ritual and theatre, as forms of cultural performance, share a common nucleus that also applies to walking ceremonies with images. Likewise, sacramental drama in its liminality can only be explained with reference to its pragmatic religious context in Eucharistic ritual and processions. A juxtaposition of the poetics of transubstantiation in allegorical performance and the mediation of Eucharistic and image presence in Corpus processions aims to differentiate the varieties of presence in sacramental theatre.
The Theatricality of Ancient Rituals
Theatricality of Ancient Rituals, 2015
An investigation of the roots of theatre and alternative approaches to understanding the root of one of humanities most cathartic artforms.
Altar and stage: Liturgical drama in three theatrical traditions
2013
Theater and in this thesis. Special thanks go first to Amy Lehman, who has always been kind, considerate and supportive through this whole process. I am also grateful to all of my professors at the University of South Carolina, especially Nina Levine, Victor and Amy Holtcamp, and Robert Richmond. Your dedication and talent are an inspiration to me. Thanks also to the administration of Cardinal Newman School and in particular to Jacqualine Kasprowski for making it possible for me to pursue Theatre in both practical and scholarly ways. Finally, I thank my wife Laura for putting up with the long hours and strange schedules.
Seeing Theater: The Phenomenologies of Classical Greek Drama
Discussions of this pot have generally been concerned with identifying these various details. One of its most remarkable features, however, is its focus on theatrical spectatorship itself. Actors, chorus, musician, judges, and audience have been reduced to an exchange between a single performer and two spectators. 6 The latter have been variously identified: as both judges; a judge with the chorēgos, the man who financed the production; a judge with the dramatic poet; or perhaps just regular audience members. 7 Whoever they may be, the scene invites its viewer to position themselves alongside this pair-to look upon the actor and the physical properties of his performance space and perhaps also, like modern scholars, to wonder about their potential objects of representation. Yet the curved shape of the pot prevents any stable viewing of or with the spectators, for only when not actually using this chous to pour wine might a user see the entire scene; otherwise they would flit between audience and actor. 8 In a way, this experience is analogous to that of seeing a play, especially in a light-filled open-air structure: that is, an audience member may look as much at his fellow spectators as at the performance itself. 9 It also