Theodoros Terzopoulos: The Return of Dionysus

Theodoros Terzopoulos

The Return of Dionysus With a Preface by Erika Fischer-Lichte

Theodoros Terzopoulos, born in Makrygialos in northern Greece in 1947, studied acting in Athens. Between 1972 and 1976 he was a master student and assistant at the Berliner Ensemble. Returning to Greece, he worked as director of the drama school in Thessaloniki. In 1985 he founded the theatre group Attis, which he has led since then. From 1985 to 1988 he was also Artistic Director of the International Meeting of Ancient Greek Drama in Delphi, which included participation from Heiner MĂźller, Marianne McDonald, Tadashi Suzuki, Robert Wilson, Andrei Serban, Wole Soyinka, Min Tanaka, Yuri Lyubimov and Anatoly Vasiliev.

He was a co-founder of the International Institute of Mediterranean Theatre and has been Chairman of its Greek Committee since 1991 and of the International Committee of Theater Olympics since 1993, for which he has conceived events in Delphi (1995), Shizuoka, Japan (1999), Moscow (2001), Istanbul (2006), Seoul (2010) and Beijing (2014), Wroclaw, Poland (2016), in 22 cities across India (2018), Toga, Japan and Saint Petersburg (2019). Since the late 1970s, he has continuously developed an individual, heavily codified, intercultural theatrical language. Guest performances of Attis Theater and workshops on Terzopoulos’s working methods take place throughout the world. As a guest director, he has directed ancient tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, as well as operas and works by important contemporary European writers, in theatres in Russia, the USA, China, Italy, Taiwan, Germany and elsewhere.

The Return of Dionysus

powered by

Imprint Theodoros Terzopoulos The Return of Dionysus

© 2020 by Theater der Zeit Text and video material: © Theodoros Terzopoulos All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Verlag Theater der Zeit Publisher Harald Müller Winsstraße 72 | 10405 Berlin | Germany www.theaterderzeit.de Translation from Modern Greek into English: Savvas Stroumpos Translated from German into English (Preface and Interview): James Conway Proofreading (English Edition): Greta Haberer/Thomas Irmer Design: Sibyll Wahrig Cover picture: Johanna Weber Printed in Germany ISBN 978-3-95749-306-4

Theodoros Terzopoulos

The Return of Dionysus With a Preface by Erika Fischer-Lichte Translation by Savvas Stroumpos

7

The rebirth of the theatre from the spirit of Dionysus Erika Fischer-Lichte

21

The Return of Dionysus Theodoros Terzopoulos

22 26 32 38 47 50 60 64 67 72 75 79

Body Breath Energy Deconstruction Rhythm Infinite Improvisation Speech Sense Time Grief Charm Performer

88

Training

110 Dionysus is the god of freedom Torsten Israel in conversation with Theodoros Terzopoulos

The rebirth of the theatre from the spirit of Dionysus Erika Fischer-Lichte

The title of this book, which introduces the basic programmatic writings of the Greek director Theodoros Terzopoulos to a wider readership, heralds the return of Dionysus. What does this mean?

Has the ancient god of theatre finally returned to his ancestral sphere, the theatre, and at the same time entered our hyper-modern, super-digitalised world? Does this return aim for the restoration of an earlier state or a radical renewal?

Throughout the 20th century, theatre artists repeatedly claimed that they were redefining theatre, changing it from the ground up.

The theatre reformers around the end of the 19th century and into the next, the various avant-garde movements in the first third of the 20th century, the representatives of the so-called neo-avant-garde or post-modernism since the 1960s, and since the 1990s the heralds of new and very different forms of theatre and performance – what unites them all is the goal of creating a new theatre able to reflect the specific conditions of their time. In some cases they sought to attain this goal by having the actor shift to the centre, by developing a new art of acting. This applies to Meyerhold and his biomechanics as well 7

as – albeit in a completely different way – to Grotowski and his “holy actors”. But no one has ever invoked Dionysus as emphatically as Terzopoulos does.

What manner of god was/is Dionysus? He was born the son of Zeus and Semele. As the myth relates, Hera jealously incited the Titans to kill the child. They tore Dionysus to pieces, cooked and consumed him, and only his heart remained. From this Zeus re-created Dionysus.

For Terzopoulos, the laceration of Dionysus and his restoration to wholeness, his rebirth, is the guiding principle for the work of the actors on themselves. Over and over again they must destroy something of/in themselves to merge into a new wholeness – a wholeness that enables a journey to long forgotten and deeply buried “landscapes of deep memory” (p. 59). Actors are successors to Dionysus. As his disciples, they keep tearing apart and assembling the individual fragments into a new whole. This is the actual “profession” of acting, the conditio sine qua non for successful work, which continues incessantly in seemingly endless improvisation.

Dionysus manifests as the intoxicated and intoxicating god, and not just through wine but he is an inherently ecstatic deity, who transgresses all boundaries. In an interview with the classical philologist Marianne McDonald, Terzopoulos tells of a 17th century text on phytology which he found in a library in Leipzig and which describes a ritual in a hospital at a site dedicated to Asclepius in Attica: 8

At sunset the patients were all made to walk naked in a circle on wet sand, wet earth. After an hour they had to walk faster, faster still after the second hour. After the third, they had to bend their knees as they do in kabuki theatre. After the fourth, they had to bend their elbows, and as these movements became longer and faster with their limbs bent, their physical pain slowly disappeared and the knots loosened. One had heart pains, another abdominal aches – and suddenly they disappeared. Gradually, after doing this for eight hours, the patients felt incredible energy within themselves. … And gradually the pain dissolved and disappeared. Those who were to be operated on the following morning were in a state of ecstasy and joy, under the influence of Dionysus, like in the Bacchae, but not through wine or words, but through the wine of their bodies, through their own blood. … With their blood circulating in this manner they went into the operating theatre, and the operation was carried out with nothing more than a simple herb anaesthetic. And this secret was very important to me.1 Just like those patients, the actors have to put themselves in a state of ecstasy – a state that Terzopoulos fundamentally distinguishes from that of trance. “To get into this state of ecstasy, the body must

1 Quoted from: Reise mit Dionysos. Das Theater des Theodoros Terzopoulos, ed. Frank M.

Raddatz, Berlin: Theater der Zeit 2006, p. 13 et seq.

9

be aware of the feet. In trance you have no awareness of your feet.”2 In and through the ecstasy the actor approaches Dionysus – and also turns out to be his disciple in this regard.

Dionysus is the god of infinite transformation. He appears as man and woman, as a god and as a beast – lion, snake or bull, constantly transgressing the boundary between madness and reason, order and chaos, I and non-I. He is the god of liberation who dissolves all boundaries; in this regard, too, the actor should follow him.

Transgressing boundaries means transgressing even the ultimate boundary – the one that separates life from death. Dionysus is also considered the god of a mystery cult. The secret of this cult was the belief that rupture is indeed followed by restoration to wholeness and life. Dionysus may not be the ruler of the underworld, but he ensures the wellbeing of those of his initiates who dwell there. He liberates them in the face of death – one of the variants in which Dionysus manifests as a liberator. Here it happens through wine, which is enjoyed in abundance in the mystery cult, and which provides a foretaste of the underworld. The close association of Dionysus with the underworld is extensively documented. In the fragment DK 22 [12] B 15, Heraclitus says: For if it were not to Dionysus that they made a procession and sang the shameful phallic hymn, they would be acting most 2 Reise mit Dionysos, p. 158.

10

shamelessly. But Hades is the same as Dionysus in whose honour they go mad and rave!3 Terzopoulos not only quotes this fragment (see below), he also specifically refers to his theatre as a theatre “performed in the prothanatos, in the anteroom of Hades. … My theatre creates enlargements of this path [our life as a route to Hades], this antechamber of death, the prothanatos”4. The theatre of Terzopoulos in this deeper sense should indeed be understood as a theatre of Dionysus, as a theatre dedicated to the god.

But Dionysus is not just a Greek god. In Syria, he was revered as Adonis, in Egypt as Osiris, in Phrygia as Attis. Another version even holds that he came to Greece from India. Moreover, you can find gods similar to Dionysus in other cultures. Wole Soyinka equated him with the Yoruba god Ogun and Terzopoulos himself references Yurupari, the god of pre-Columbian culture in Latin America.

As such you could see Dionysus as something of a god of globalisation.5 In Terzopoulos’s theatre, the journey of Dionysus through the different cultures is enabled by the body of the actor, who is torn apart and then reassembled. Terzopoulos sees this as a universal.

3 Herakleitos von Ephesos. Greek and German, ed. by Hermann Diels, 2nd edition. Berlin:

Weidmannsche Buchhandlung 1909, Fragment 15, p. 21.

4 Reise mit Dionysos, p. 160.

5 See Erika Fischer-Lichte: Dionysus Resurrected. Performances of Euripides’ “The Bacchae”

in a Globalizing World, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell 2014.

11

Naturally Marcel Mauss’s pioneering essay “The Techniques of the Body” is significant here.6 In it, Mauss argues that there are no natural body techniques, only those that are culturally determined. The anatomy of the human body enables all of us to walk, run, dance, swim, gesticulate and so on; but the way this is done is culturally determined and therefore exhibits differences from culture to culture – at times substantial differences. But that also means that any particular type of performance is changeable – new technologies can be introduced or adopted and within one or two generations completely replace what was once customary.

The body techniques determined by each particular culture can be unlearnt and others acquired which enable access to hitherto unknown dimensions of the body. That is why Terzopoulos considers the exercises he has developed to be transferable to every culture – a conviction that has been consolidated through his work with actors working in a wide range of cultures. This understanding of the human body as something universal also explains why certain postures that aim to produce energy in a specific way can be found in different cultures. When faced with the accusation that the bended knees of his actors in his production of The Bacchae was “Japanese”, Terzopoulos referred to the ritual in the Asclepius sanctuary described in the above-mentioned book, which expressly mentions the 6 Marcel Mauss: “The techniques of the body”, presented to the Société de Psychologie

on 17 May 1934, first published in the Journal de Psychologie Normale et Pathologique, Vol. 32, Issue 3 – 4, 1935, p. 271 – 293.

12

posture of the bended knee. They can be equally understood as Greek or Japanese or pre-Columbian, and can in principle be learned in any culture if the actors succeed in unlearning the techniques of walking and standing they had previously practised. Thus they do not represent quasi-natural body techniques, but can be developed in any culture if the right priorities and objectives are set.

The “archetypal body” they are intended to discover or reveal should not be misinterpreted as a “natural” body. Instead, the point is to abolish the Cartesian separation of body and mind and the associated predominance of the “mind” and its oppression of the body, so that the actor can appear as body-mind. This is intended to make accessible memories that are buried deep in the body and which were previously inaccessible. But this is not to be understood in a psychoanalytical sense; it’s more about physio-analysis – that is, a “rupture” of the body and its restoration to wholeness. In this regard too, Dionysus proves to be a travelling god, a ubiquitous god who can inspire emulation in any culture.

In this book Terzopoulos defines and describes his theatre as a Dionysian theatre in this sense. He barely discusses his previous productions, although he occasionally mentions The Bacchae (1986).

Instead, his remarks focus on the foundations on which this new art of acting and thus his theatre are based, and the fundamental principles that guide these processes. They are each addressed in turn and the focus is on the aspect that gives each chapter its title. But as all these fundamentals and principles reference each other and none of 13

them operates in complete isolation, the aspect in question is always discussed in interrelation with the others.

It is of programmatic significance that the first chapter is dedicated to the body. Because the body is the conditio sine qua non for all acting. The actor can appear only as a body. This is the Dionysian material the actor is given, with which and on which to experiment and develop new body techniques and at the same time explore not just the art of the theatre, but also “the nature of the human and the world” (p. 24) in the broadest sense . In a certain sense we are dealing with the dual existence of humanity of which the philosopher Hellmuth Plessner speaks: we as humans are the body, the bodysubject. At the same time, we have a body that we can use as material, as an instrument or as a sign. We humans are characterised by the duality of being-body and having-body. In this sense, you could assign the first chapter to the being-body, the living organism, which Terzopoulos repeatedly emphasises. The following sections are devoted to the development of specific body techniques – and in this sense, the having-body – which enable the body to manifest itself.

So this text is a complex structure, in which all aspects repeatedly refer to one thing: the body as a universal fact that is to be excavated and rediscovered among the layers of the most diverse, culturally determined means of the having-body, of bodily techniques. The task of actors and the result of their work on themselves consists in making the being-body manifest as “pure” – most likely brought about through specific body techniques, but pushing the having-body into 14

the background. Or to put it another way: transforming the having– body into the being-body and thus eliminating the contrast between the two.

Each of the chapters is assigned a fragment, or a quotation from a fragment, from Heraclitus as a subtitle. After Dionysus, the philosopher Heraclitus (c. 520 BC to c.460 BC) serves as the second figurehead for Terzopoulos’s theatre. His work has not been completely preserved and the fragments obtained are often considered to be “dark”. In any case they were underpinned by the fundamental concept of eternal growth and decay, over and over, of incessant transformation, something that finds particularly trenchant expression in the fragment DK 22 [12] B 12: “On those who enter the same rivers, ever different waters flow.” In addition, the concept of the union of opposites is especially characteristic, for example as it underpins the fragment DK 22 [12] B 84 a on heavenly fire: “It rests by changing”, or fragment DK 22 [ 12] B 126: “Cold things become warm, and what is warm cools; what is wet dries, and the parched is moistened.”

In the context of this book, the fragments chosen as subtitles can be understood in terms of a horizon in which the chapter must be placed, rather than as an explanation of the aspect on which it focuses. The first chapter bears as its subtitle a quotation from the above-mentioned fragment DK 22 [12] B 15: “Hades is the same as Dionysus.” It is the Dionysus of the mystery cult who reminds us that the body, which we equate with life, has been dying from the beginning. Bios and Thanatos, the two forms of body unite in 15

Dionysus, just like “Eros and Thanatos” (p. 81). In this, contradictions become one.

In this sense, too, Terzopoulos’s theatre is Dionysian. It takes place in the anteroom of Hades, in the prothanatos. The moment in which the actor succeeds in manifesting the body as a living organism, he is capable of penetrating into landscapes of deeply buried memories and at the same time to transform them into future landscapes and project them into the present. In the body, past and future unite with the present, and life with death. Anyone who propagates such a theatre and aims to realise it can hardly be dealing with a realistically equipped stage and psychologically motivated characters.

This seems like the theatre of a distant past – the 18th and 19th centuries. The theatre of the late 20th century, and especially the theatre of the 21st century, requires a different theatre, a theatre that follows Dionysian principles.

Terzopoulos offers more than just comments on general principles that theatre in the 21st century should follow. He also cites very concrete requirements and ways under or in which it should be achieved. Under the subtitle “The sun has (as it appears) the width of a human foot” ( DK 22 [12] B 3) he then describes in detail forty “exercises” – the title of the chapter – intended for actors to conduct for one hour in preparation for rehearsal or performance, in a circular formation, simultaneously and at the same tempo. This aims not only at strengthening their sense for communal work, but to create the very conditions under which Dionysian theatre can manifest. The 16

details of the descriptions are supplemented by video recordings and on Vimeo (see the link on the inside book cover). An actor of the troupe, Savvas Stroumpos, demonstrates and performs all these exercises, showing them in a very concrete way so that readers can gain a picture that is as precise as it is memorable.

Here the theatre with the principles, foundations and prerequisites espoused by Terzopoulos can be understood not just as a theatre that will only be realised in the future. Rather, Terzopoulos has already implemented such a theatre himself. The staging of the Bacchae can certainly be seen as the first production guided by the principles addressed in this book. While Terzopoulos was already trying out individual principles in Yerma (1981)7, in The Bacchae the interaction of all the principles appears complete. This disturbed many Greek critics, who in the 1980s wished to see a specific image of ancient Greece in a performance of a Greek tragedy and, at the same time, a Greek cultural identity that has remained unchanged since ancient times. In their view, the Greek material that Terzopoulos put to such determined use had nothing to do with this. This material included the bended knee and the squatting posture, with the actors walking in circles (see above), or the dance of Pontus, “in which the hands flutter in a mimesis of flying, while the feet walk firmly on the floor”8. The reversion to the Anastenaria ritual should also be men-

7 See Helene Varopoulou in: Reise mit Dionysos, pp. 80 – 87.

8 Georgios Sampatakakis in: Reise mit Dionysos, p. 96.

17

tioned here. It is a ritual in honour of Saint Constantinos performed on 21 May in north-eastern Thrace. “The holy thiasos walks barefoot into the mountains and prepares to run through fire. After the descent, the cleansed ‘actors’ dance on burning coals with an icon of the saint in hand, without burning themselves.”9 The forms of movement obtained from this material enable the actors to put themselves in a state of ecstasy.

While this was rejected by many Greek critics as “un-Greek”, or “Asian”, on the subsequent tour of Attis Theatre many critics in other European countries recognised that an entirely new form of theatre was being established here, a theatre that had nothing to do with either bourgeois realistic psychological theatre of illusions, nor with new forms of political theatre created in the late 1960s, nor forms of experimental theatre later summarised under the concept of post-dramatic theatre.

Meanwhile Terzopoulos has developed his theatre further and in working with actors from other cultures shown how the human body can actually be a kind of universal element, even if the daily body techniques are culturally determined. Dionysus may be a Greek god – but he is a god also claimed by other cultures for themselves under different names (see above) and, even more, a god who has inspired artists and philosophers for centuries, not least Nietzsche. Because of his specific properties this god appears par9 Sampatakakis: ibid., P. 102, note 14.

18

ticularly suited to the role of “patron” of Terzopoulos’s theatre. And this being a god who is constantly on the move, there is definitely a certain probability that he, as the title of this book suggests, has actually returned to adopt the theatre of the 21st century.

Nevertheless, it seems that the author himself has certain doubts about it. At the end of the chapter about the actor, he writes: “Dionysus is not there, he is in exile … The last word has never been spoken in the theatre. Will Dionysus return?” (p. 83). Or will he remain a deus absconditus, a hidden God? Without the epiphany of the god – which, as we can see from the Bacchae, may also prove to be highly destructive – a Dionysian theatre can never be fully realised.

The human body can only ever approach the Dionysian but never manifest entirely as Dionysian – unless the god actually does return and gifts the actor his powers. Until the day of his epiphany, Terzopoulos’s theatre can certainly be regarded as the closest thing we have to a theatre of Dionysus.

Erika Fischer-Lichte, German theatre scholar, famous for her theoretical foundation of an aesthetic of the performative. Lives in Berlin.

19

20

The Return of Dionysus Theodoros Terzopoulos

The world has changed and the performer must cultivate a fruitful criticism toward things, constantly expressing his agony: theatre is something else than what we thought till today and it should follow different pathways. We need to reconsider theatre through the art of the performer. This is the way of theatre in the 21st century, a century of many redefinitions. Dionysus is missing, he is in exile, the idea of the confrontational man is lost and the road towards measure, harmony, Ithaca has disappeared. Will it be found? The last word of theatre will never be spoken. Will Dionysus return?

21

Body

ὡυτὸς δὲ Ἀίδης καὶ Διόνυσος Hades and Dionysus are one and the same1

1 Herakl., DK 22 [12] B 15.

The passages in Old Greek at the beginning of each chapter in the main part of this book are all from Heraclitus. For the texte base see pp. 11, note 3.

22

The performer at the center of the stage, in front of him the ecstatic God of theatre, Dionysus, child of a double birth, both of Zeus and Semele, exponent of mutually exclusive and fluid identities, woman and man, angry and meek, god and animal, on the borderline between madness and logic, order and chaos. His body open to inner and outer stimuli, changing constantly, balances on a tightrope between life and death. The body of Dionysus is dismembered only to be recomposed, regenerated. In the myth’s journey, Dionysus appears as Adonis in Syria, Osiris in Egypt and Attis in Phrygia. Heraclitus, in one of his dark excerpts, identifies Hades with Dionysus: Hades and Dionysus are one and the same.

The fertilizing Dionysus invites the performer to seek the archetypal body, hidden in the depth of his structure, oppressed and repressed by the mind. This body, with sources of unprecedented psychophysical energy, is the performer’s main material; its boundaries extend beyond the limits of the physical body. It is constantly reformed by memories deeply engraved in the performer’s structure.

The performer is invited to liberate the multiple dimensions of his inner material and fruitfully cultivate the sense, the instincts, the imagination and the idea of the core. He resists narcissism which creates a distorted image of his body. He overcomes the barriers of fatigue and tries to dilate the limits of mental and physical stamina.

23

He develops the ability of reflective reaction to inner and outer stimuli and tries to cast off the innumerable fears and constraints imposed by everyday life.

The body-voice training helps the performer go beyond the limits of linear perception of time and space. Time loses the linearity of social conventions, expands and contracts, slows down or progresses with leaps and bounds, becomes silent, is projected in space, causing rifts to man’s compact perception of the world.

The performer explores materials concerning not only the art of theatre, but in a broader sense, human nature and the world. A permanent task is the liberation of the blocked energy throughout the whole creative spectrum from research to performance.

The performer’s daily training does not intend to produce rapid acting results, which entrench the imagination in a closed system of inviolable technical rules. It mobilizes the functions of awareness and modulates the body of energy.

In modern physics energy is a measure of an endogenous capacity of the body, of motion. Energy, then, is motion, the constant change of the body in space and time, but also the inner motion, the e-motion.

Energy is not an abstract idea, is not implanted from outside, as an order to the performer, but is perceived as an experience and phys24

ical memory. The question arises: How will the performer’s body be the carrier of the material at hand? How can the voice and the body be cultivated?

25

Breath

ψυχῆς ἐστι λόγος ἑαυτὸν αὔξων There lies self-multiplying reason within the soul 2

2 DK 22 [12] B 115.

26

The knees of the performer are loose and slightly bent, the soles are rooted to the ground. The slight bending of the knees cultivates the dynamic unity from the pelvic center to the center of the soles, creating a sense of alertness and readiness. The body position with knees bent and sense of pelvis activated, refers to the similar archetypal physical position which can be found in many ancient cultures; it concerns warriors, athletes, and dancers and generally, includes all the states of readiness and activation of the human body in its extreme limits. Through concentration and breath control, the performer cultivates the sense of the triangle, of the spinal column vertebra-by-vertebra, of the diaphragm and of physical axles.

The performer, in a state of activated immobility, extends his gaze straight ahead and concentrates on one point. Depending on the movement of a part or of the whole body, the point of concentration can be transferred left-right, up-down, it can even be a combination of two or more points. Through the breath control and concentration at the point, the mind stops diffusing in many thoughts. The waves of thought from daily life gradually subside, the spiritual tranquility dilates the peripheral awareness and opens up the possibilities for an inner sense of space and time.

Breathing is a vital function of the body. Starting with breath control, the performer learns to breathe in various rhythms in the depth of the lungs. In each inhalation he mobilizes the broader diaphragm 27

from the rectus abdominis to the genitals and the lumbar region. In the lumbar region there is always a percentage of air stored. When the air of the broader diaphragm finishes, the performer draws air from the lumbar region.

In demanding physical positions and actions, a varying breathing rate and use of diaphragm is required each time. Through this process the actor gradually acquires a sense of the body center. This is the pelvic plexus, which is a set of nerves channeled to all the vital organs of the region. The pelvic plexus is located in the lower abdomen, in the center of the pelvis.

The practice of diaphragmatic breathing liberates the three main triangles of energy, which intersect and meet at the pelvic plexus: Sacrum / anus / genitals / sacrum.

Navel / genitals / anus / navel.

Head / anus / genital / head.

Through the training, the pelvic region strengthens and provides the performer with a solid point of support, which enables him to assume very difficult physical positions, to support the production of sound and the respiratory function. By relaxing the pelvis, the breathing air flows freely throughout the whole body, while the diaphragm opens and operates towards all possible dimensions.

28

The Triangles Head

Navel

Sacrum

Genitals Anus Lower Abdomen

The daily training widens the respiratory ability. The expansion of the lungs reveals in the body unknown sound sources and broadens the range of vocal skills. The performer begins to perceive the 29

different resonators of the body. Their role is to support the natural amplification of the voice during the production of sound.

There are many resonators in the body. Their activation depends on the degree of control exercised by the performer in his body and breath. The basic ones are: the resonator of the head, of the chest, the nasal, the laryngeal and the back of the head. The central and lower part of the spine, as well as the pelvis, are also important resonators. Through time, the training provides the performer with the knowledge that the whole body operates as a resonator, which acts and reacts in a physical manner, depending on different stimuli and impulses. When the performer controls the function of the breath, the body spends the necessary energy to perform an action, without stress or unnecessary muscular tension. Regular training gradually cultivates the sense of relaxation in the tension and vice versa; the limits of psychological and physical stamina expand and the research continues unhindered; the barrier of fatigue is overstepped, the defenses and fears of the mind are reduced, increasingly multiple and unusual dimensions of physical imagination are released.

The various exercises are designed to sharpen the physical and mental capabilities; at the same time, they should not subject the breathing process into such a strict control that it becomes a mental function, encapsulating – instead of releasing – the performer’s creativity.

The Cartesian dualism of mind and body, main characteristic of the 30

western culture, gradually subsides, the body becomes full of eyes, it thinks, feels and senses, assimilating many functions of the mind.

The word inspiration (Infuse = blowing through) relates to the free movement of the air in the body, which brings us to the importance of breath control. Equally, the word soul (psyche – ψυχη), resulting from the physical experience of breathing (psycheín – ψυχείν = breathe – αναπνέω).

31

Energy

ἀλλ’ ἦν ἀεὶ καὶ ἔστιν καὶ ἔσται πῦρ ἀείζων It was always, it is and it will be an everlasting fire 3

3 DK 22 [12] B 30.

32

I work with the idea that the body consists of seven energy zones; they have to be unified, so as for the body to act as a whole (bodyinstinct-imagination-mind). The idea of energy zones reminds us of certain practices like yoga or martial arts. However, in my work, it derives from the study of the body’s behavior within the Dionysian material.

Zone 1: Anus – base of the spine (sacrum) The exercise of the wider region of the triangle plays a decisive role in the proper positioning of the body. The balance in the human body is always related to gravity, while the position of the body in the center of gravity defines the forces needed to acquire balance in all possible positions. If the body posture is wrong, consequently, there is an excessive muscular use and therefore a waste of energy. When the skeleton is in the correct position, the body operates in a smooth, coordinated manner. A well-aligned skeleton reduces muscular activity and helps us avoid the waste of energy. The pelvis, in its turn, supports and balances the trunk. When the position of the pelvis changes, the alignment of the spine is affected, a fact which also affects the balance of the whole body till the head. Therefore, the correct balance in the upper part of the body requires a proper sense of the position of the pelvis. The liberation of the triangle, a region which contains the three main zones of energy (sacrum with anus, genitals, lower abdomen or lower diaphragm with navel) is of a special importance, because it is related to the liberation of animal ener33

gy. In many ancient traditions – particularly in the Afro-Caribbean and Indian culture – the idea can be found that, in the base of the spine, a sleeping serpent is located, symbolizing the ancient body of memory that lies within the man and has to be awakened.

Zone 2: Genitals The awareness of the genitals helps the performer perceive the body as an open channel of energy. Gradually, the restrictions concerning the male or female gender vanish, as well as the guilt and the fears stemming from them. The non-phobic human body becomes an open conduit of energy, produces frequencies, shapes codes, wobbles and dances the dance of oppositions.

Zone 3: Lower abdomen (lower diaphragm) – navel The third zone plays a key role in supporting the center of gravity.

The strengthening of the area allows the performer to assume difficult and unusual physical positions with confidence and stability, without insecurity or anxiety. The inner softness in difficult positions helps the breathing air circulate smoothly throughout the whole body. This, in its turn, provides the necessary energy for the production of sound and the development of a next physical position. The area is called symbolically “lower diaphragm”. When the performer breathes deeply into the diaphragm, he acquires a sense of activation from the rectus abdominis till the genitals, a motion caused by the reflex from the descent of the air till the depth of the lungs.

34

Zone 4: Navel – Upper rectus abdominis (solar plexus – upper diaphragm) The fourth zone is the passage of the inhaled air which moves to the genitals, crossing all the layers of the body and causing unfamiliar vibrations. During the preparation, the performer needs to acquire the sense of the region and to work towards both relaxing and strengthening it. The main task is to open the passage and to activate the area muscularly, so as to support different physical positions with their specific breathing and vocal requirements.

Zone 5: Sternum Through the decades, the area of the sternum has been one of the principal means of expression in Bourgeois Theatre. The performers of older eras were projecting their chest so as to express the “passion” and the “heroism” of the impersonated characters. However, in contemporary theatre, many performers have not cultivated the diaphragmatic breathing and they breathe up, in the chest. This function blocks the dynamic use of the inhaled and exhaled air; the region is not muscularly strong to support the intense expansion and contraction both of the lungs and vocal cords during a performance, thereby causing great pressure on the vocal cords, unnecessary waste of energy and muscular fatigue throughout the whole body. At the same time, the pressure on the chest for the production of emotional tension, in fact, strangles the mental world of the performer, preventing the natural development of emotion when, as and where it is needed in the cre35

ative process. Additionally, the chest accumulates stress and nervous energy which causes problems in daily life. The performer has to work systematically towards the relaxation of the region in order to cultivate the natural flexibility and dynamics of the lungs. The deep diaphragmatic breathing gradually becomes feasible and the echogenic sources of the chest, the abdomen and the ribs are released. The possibility of concentration accentuates, because the relaxation combined with the proper function of the breath, gradually appeases the accumulation of stress and nervous energy. As the performer gains the consciousness of the 4th and 5th zone, he begins to perceive the body as a channel of energy, cultivating the dual sense of activation and looseness.

Zone 6: Face The work on the face is again twofold: the actor relaxes the facial muscles in order to discharge the unnecessary tensions of everyday life, but also activates them so as to be able to expand and contract depending on the needs of the role. The facial muscles are dilated by the exhaled air and the energy released both by the diaphragm and triangle. The activation of the face’s muscles is an important step of the performer towards the global sense of the body as a landscape of expression and creative development of his material.

Zone 7: Cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex is an area inhabited by many useful, but also useless information, by fears and guilt, which let the gap between body 36

and mind grow. The cortex constantly sets obstacles in the birth of physical impulses and the liberation of senses, instincts and imagination. Through the techniques of concentration and breath control, where mind and body come in a dynamic unity, the performer is trained to be essentially present at each moment. The mind is no longer the controller which blocks the impulses, but becomes a partner and a friend, increasing the physical control of the performer.

37

Deconstruction

µεταβάλλον ἀναπαύεται After being altered, it rests4

4 DK 22 [12] B 84 a.

38

The idea of deconstruction and the basic steps of its development were born during the workshops of Euripides’ “Bacchae”, the first performance of Attis Theatre. This performance was the fertile soil for the creation of a working system, which has been implemented interculturally, in several places, with performers of different cultural backgrounds.

On the occasion of Bacchae, started investigating with my actors in northern Greece the remnants of Dionysian rituals, looking stubbornly for the hidden sources of physical energy. It was a very painful and interesting research. We found in our bodies forgotten echogenic sources; through the research, we even tried to meet traces of our deepest memory.

We were improvising for hours, trying to activate our body globally, wanting to know its dark and mysterious tradition, dancing sometimes awkwardly, twisting around in an agitated manner, trying to reconsider the world, keeping the eyes of our body opened, expanding the limits of our body, of the body which never knows its maturity. We were sensing that the body should be ready to be reformed, exposed to all kinds of stimuli, improvising constantly, maintaining a love affair with tradition; trying to unite the opposites, dancing the crazy dance of the opposites’ conflict. It is shocking to feel the limits of your body penetrable, the energy channels opened and the places of mutating the primary materials activated. We kept going with the 39

faith that our body does not need to mature, as if it was never born and, each time, it tries to be re-born. We were trying to provoke the uprising of deeper forces, to tear down the walls which were keeping us immersed in ourselves, to bring forth images from the space of the unconscious, to fly out of our known limits. We realized that our duty is to make the people our accomplices and let them be our partners in the long journey to the country of memory, the country which hides the primary body and the primary language.

A means for this trip was the “exercise of deconstruction”, born and fermented during the rehearsals of Bacchae.

The exercise of the deconstruction of the triangle (see Link in inside book cover) is the cornerstone of my work, because it creates the idea of the group. The performers walk for hours, within a collective rhythm, in a circle. Their walking is natural, neutral. They maintain the sense of the triangle, keeping activated the diaphragmatic breathing, supporting the spine without unnecessary tensions. The body is as relaxed as possible. Elbows and knees bend so as to create a global sense of the body. Gradually the position of the hands changes. Firstly, they go up at shoulder height, bent, with the angulars projected and then over the head. Wrists and palms are relaxed.

At the beginning, the pace is very slow; the acceleration is gradual, without any hurry. At each step the soles’ center roots on the ground.

40

The importance of the sole’s contact with the ground is great, as it is a perfect miniature of the entire human organism. In the sole of the foot there are 7,200 nerve endings; as a result, the specific pressures and compressions caused by each step, create a reflective stimulus at each point and organ of the body, activating the nervous system of the organism and the blood circulation. During the cardiac cycle, in order for the blood to go up again from the legs to the heart, a boost is required. For this purpose, the body has two appropriate mechanisms. The venous system in the sole of the foot is the first: with the pressure created at each step by the weight of the body, the venous system acts as a “sponge” which is pressed and pushes the blood upwards. The endings of the nerves are perfused, they accelerate the blood circulation and raise the temperature. Then the second mechanism takes over, the muscle pump of the shin; with its contractions, it operates in the same manner. This mechanism is activated by walking, while the veins of the legs act as conduits that carry blood from the legs to the heart.

During the exercise, the collective rhythm of the group accelerates.

The performers walk faster and faster. I often participate in the process so as to support the rhythm. The sole’s rooting on the ground is preserved throughout the whole duration of the pacing. Spine and head remain loose. Gradually the torso tends downwards. The stimulation of blood circulation increases the body temperature and causes perspiration.

41

The work on the sole of the foot, the vibrations caused and the rising of the temperature, activate the body and eliminate the flow of thoughts. The growing tension created by the escalation of the collective rhythm and the feeling of tiredness, expand the limits of mental and physical stamina. It is important, to always maintain the sense of inner relaxation, which allows the body, despite the escalation of tension, to spend the necessary amount of muscular energy, remaining open as a receiver to inner and outer stimuli.

At the extreme point of the collective rhythm’s development, the performers slightly loose the sense of space; of course, the natural control is in function. Then, very carefully, they fall to the ground on their back. They maintain briefly the natural panting and push the air in the depth of the lungs, so as to mobilize the diaphragm, the kidneys and the rectus abdominis. When they relax, the performers find the control of the breathing cycle. They bend the knees and bring the spine and the waist in contact with the ground; they breathe in a fragmented way with the phoneme “ha”, through a series of diaphragmatic pulses. It is important to have the sense of an effortless production of “ha” from the diaphragm, so as not to push either the larynx or the chest at all. When the performers realize the new way of breathing, they also inhale in the same way. The discontinuous diaphragmatic inhalation and exhalation continues at an accelerated rhythm until one “penetrates” the other. The respiratory function is now carried out very quickly, without pressure, from the 42

nose and the mouth, at irregular intervals and rhythms, in a manner which reminds us the dog’s breathing when it pants. This mode of respiration makes the diaphragm stronger and more flexible.

Then the performers gather their sense on the spine and the triangle, where the air of the discontinuous breath of diaphragmatic pulses causes many small vibrations. The triangle receives these vibrations and accumulates the energy they channel, till it becomes their transmitter. Now the rate of the discontinuous inhalation and exhalation depends on the repeated forward and backward motion of the triangle, which begins to move autonomously, till the complete relaxation of the lower vertebrae. The performers experience the area of the pelvis as a guide and a key source of energy in the body.

Through the activation of the triangle, its vibrations spread throughout the whole body, while the sense of inner calmness should be constantly cultivated. As the performers become familiar with the above process, they slowly change the body position, locating and realizing the function of different points in the intervals from one physical position to the next.

The evolution of the movement from point A to point B is continuously analyzed into many small interspaces which create their own points. The performers choose difficult positions, so as to investigate the behavior of the body within them. In a very slow tempo, with43

out ever stopping the function of the triangle, they return to the upright position. Breathing is free. The air comes and goes effortlessly. The knees are slightly bent to facilitate the movement of the pelvis. The muscles of face, shoulders, chest and back, are completely loose. The performers locate blocked points within the body, which progressively loosen up. They move in the space slowly. The vibration of the triangle develops throughout the body, releasing the cervical vertebrae, reaching the head, on which the performers work carefully, thoroughly, without frivolous and sudden movements. The triangle, through its vibrations and pulsations, injects energy to the whole body, creating unprecedented positions and varying rhythms. Opposing forces are activated, the “cross” of the body, diagonals and opposed axes, new counter rhythms are born. The performer gives an order to a part of the body, e.g. to a finger, which begins to move autonomously from the rest of the body. The cooperation of the physical point to the mind is very helpful. The movement from the finger is transferred to the wrist and from there to the entire hand, while the elbow is bent to transfer more energy. A part of the body may be autonomous and assume the dynamics of the center: shoulder, finger and elbow. Thus, the off-center is strengthened and, as a new energy center, collaborates with the precedent, which – although subdued –, never loses its dynamics. In parallel with the function of a limb, another part is activated in response to the first, which gives birth to its own, different, pace.

44

In the exercise of deconstruction, the basic function of the triangle does not stop, it becomes more dense and internal. The performers’ physical axles relax and become fluid; through contrasting flows and unpredictable bursts of energy, they become autonomous, energy axles, components of the triangle’s vibrations and of the impulses it provokes, giving birth to unknown till that moment expressive codes, revealing echogenic sources which have not been used before.

Energy axles multiply at breakneck speed, and each time, at the intersection point, new axles are created, with new tempo-rhythms, in infinite spindle movement. The facial muscles dilate, eyes and mouth are magnified and the euphoria which the performers start to feel, multiplies the energy and strengthens the stamina.

The pauses in the function of the triangle help the performers realize what happens within the body: the opening of the inner space and time. Time deepens and the performers are taken by surprise. The body turns into an alive resonator of vocal vibrations. The performers investigate various possibilities of sound production, without restriction, with vocalisms, breaths and forgotten tunes of their own tradition.

All kinds of resistance are eliminated. The ecstatic bodies of the performers, on the borderline between order and chaos, are open and perforated, exposed to all kinds of stimuli. Gradually they are reconstructed, regenerated as energy bodies, as bodies primary material.

45

Through this process, the performers condense the inner energy and acquire its constant feeling. The body projects new bodies, the subconscious as the core becomes a reservoir of energy and a powerful source of Art. The body becomes a battlefield of fermentation and artistic expression.

46

Rhythm

καὶ ὁ κυκεὼν διίσταται <µὴ> κινούµενος Devoid of movement, even kykeon dissolves5

5 DK 22 [12] B 125.

47

Rhythm gives birth to Form. Even the most abstract shape, the most fleeting movement born by the rhythm, is based on a deeper logical law. If you can find the core rhythm in two phrases, the rhythm which characterizes the entire section will be uncovered and after that, the rhythm of the whole text. I believe that the text consists of rhythmical sections, especially in ancient Greek tragedy. Many times I am amazed, because, without prefabricating the rhythm through a dramaturgical process or through a directorial preparation imprinted on paper, the process of deconstruction, analysis and reconstruction of the material is born by the rhythm.

In the rehearsals of Bacchae, our research material was the phrase “kamaton t’ ‘efkamaton (κάµατον τα’ ευκάµατον)”. Bacchae come to Greece from Asia, accompanying Dionysus and singing “kamaton t ‘efkamaton”; it means “we are tired, tired but happy”. This phrase has often been attributed in an entirely descriptive way, where the Bacchae come on stage tired; they lean on some stones of the ancient theatre, as if they want to rest. While we were investigating “kamaton t ‘efkamaton”, we found the rhythm of the pyrrhic dance. Bacchae come dancing the dance of fire, stomping their feet on earth, like in the Pontiac pyrrhic dance or in some related dance of the East. The performers of Bacchae, intoxicated, were driven in an unexpected burst of energy and through the cracks of their deconstructed body, were bringing forth bright, rebellious materials, ready to be transformed.

48

I believe there are no punctuation marks in theatre. There is no full stop, comma, exclamation mark and bracket. All these, which the bourgeois theatre uses extensively as dynamic elements of its expressive language, do not exist. There is always a temperature that lies beneath the speech and too many variations of the inner sounds.

Usually, I follow the rhythm and I do not refer to specific images, wanting to catch the end of the thread. I follow the rhythm, aiming at a point of this abstract and unruly material, exploring its limits. I follow the rhythm as if I’m one of its components and I am often led to an unusual landscape, where the speech is not illustrative, but natural; many times, “speech-pain”. For me speech is not its conceptual interpretation, its description, but the image of the word’s structure, its internal cause. And here is my point of difference from the Conceptual Theatre. I am interested in how someone, while interpreting a phrase, can discover even its echogenic source, its core rhythm.

49

Infinite Improvisation

ψυχῆισιν θάνατος ὕδωρ γενέσθαι, ὕδατι δὲ θάνατος γῆν γενέσθαι, ἐκ γῆς δὲ ὕδωρ γίνεται, ἐξ ὕδατος δὲ ψυχή For the soul’s death is to become water, for the water death is to become earth, the earth again becomes water and the water becomes soul 6 6 DK 22 [12] B 36.

50

The infinite improvisation is the natural development of the triangle’s deconstruction. The performer is now ready to begin the journey towards the depth of physical memory. This dive requires a global participation of the body and the mind beyond the given circumstances of theatre plays with the emotional increases and decreases, the emphasis on the meanings and the interpretative clichés of realism.

Through the infinite improvisation the performer opposes the realistic approach to theatre. He does not search for a form of imitation or representation of everyday life, with the familiar behaviors, the open and hidden cards of bourgeois theatre. The performer does not act mimetically, representing the everyday gestures, does not deal with the psychological interpretation of his role.

He disputes and collides with the “normal” language, he looks for side behaviors, for parapraxis and unfamiliar levels. He diverts from the conventional official language, which is hamstrung by the rules of articulation. He investigates the expressive possibilities of a paralinguistic genre born in the crevices of situations from audible sparks, often being in a state of catalepsy, till aglossia.

The conflict with realism, beyond its aesthetic implications, results from the need to break with the very representation of daily life, which masks, repels and diminishes the dynamic dimensions of 51

human existence, with its strong desires and intense passions, its nightmares, agonies, dreams and unspoken fears. The rupture with realism has an ideological, philosophical and political dimension and does not concern only aesthetics.

In the infinite improvisation there is a strong psychophysical research process where the performer emancipates the primary material. There is a kind of structural poetics being created, which develops a range of deep human behaviors, where the body brings the primary material without psychological and mental blocks. The body, activated in its extreme limits, without resistances, starting from zero point, traces the difficult but rich path towards selfawareness, the ever-deeper knowledge of existence and its multiple possibilities.

This kind of improvisation is called infinite, because it does not attempt to give form directly to the material, its target is not to create a first-level configuration of the performative landscape. The performer is in no hurry to create an external choreography; instead, he tries to develop the ability of a descent towards the core of the structure, towards the root of his deep physical tradition. This is a permanent process of birth â&#x20AC;&#x201C; instant formation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; dissolution â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and increasingly more and more qualitative redefinition of the material, where the body dances the dance of the forms of memory, where the various dynamics of the material penetrate the body through the 52

clash of opposing forces of instinct and consciousness, order and chaos. The performer becomes a man of action, carrier and component of primary impulses of the body, ever ready to reverse the action at hand, to set aside the moment, to step in a condition of selfnegation, constantly opening new research fields.

Through the triangleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activation and the vibrations it causes throughout the body, the performer experiences a newfound sense of unlocking many physical and mental blocks. So as to develop his research gradually in space and time, expanding the expressive means and the energy axles, each time he needs to insist on a specific point of the body, to study the multiple possibilities of development and codification that the material provides, till he experiences the need to move to a next point, in a natural way. This process can be continued without interruption till the configuration of an entire landscape of psychophysical actions, with various tempo-rhythms and affective reflections. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look more specifically at the relationship between the body point and the infinite improvisation.

The performer starts the exercise slowly, totally concentrated. He keeps open the inner feeling of the body in space and time. Without the mediation of an intellectual order and through the sense of the triangle, he focuses on a particular body point, which becomes his center. The performer explores the physical impulses that come through from this specific point.

53

He handles his energy skillfully and listens with sensitivity the intermediate times which are born. It is about this transitional, ambiguous and obscure intermediate time, where the subsoil of creativity is hidden; the actor should insist on it without defenses and resistances, so as to taste its special silence, the released vibrations and the expressive possibilities that the time gestates. The concentration on the point and the accumulation of energy that is created, cause the natural reaction of the body axles and the mobilization of the corresponding echogenic sources. The performer insists on each micro-motion or on each minimum raw sound that comes from the depth of the body; he follows its development of energy with clarity, offers himself totally in the process, becomes its component, walks on the road that the flow of energy opens and perceives its limits and axles in their globality.

The performer works persistently on a point, such as the head, but the rest of the body does not sleep. If the point is not released, for sure, it cannot give any commands. The point should be self-expressed as a living organism, should exhaust its limits through the infinite improvisation. The performer first releases the blocked energy and then the whole body. When relaxation occurs, he finds a point on which he has already worked and notes if it is sufficiently released.

As much as the body is released point-by-point, there are unexpected, polyrhythmic sounds born. After the deconstruction, the 54

body can be self-systematized and self-controlled. The performer, like an acrobat, has a constant sense of the flow of energy, he is vigilant and ready to fight. He follows without a pause every physical axle that is born, the direction of the body at each particular moment, the point which reacts first and is released, till the liberation of the whole body, developing his imagination, new rhythmical variations, but also the sense of vacuum and nothingness. We must not remain stuck, serving an axle dogmatically; through this way we stop the evolution of the movement, its development, its natural direction. The body stops naturally, resumes naturally, creating constantly physical axles.

Basic prerequisite to start the work with the body point is concentration. Without it, no inner process or mobilization of the energy can be developed. Concentration, on that account, takes too long till a point starts moving. In this sense, our task is not to create impressive axles, but to liberate the energy and to create an energy axle and its tempo-rhythm.

The performer can create a complete person from the beginning to the end, with all the inner parameters, all the inner wealth, without needing external crutches. Instead, in realism, he must constantly embellish the textâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s material, without being a result of a deep physical need. Under this sense, while we go deeper and deeper, we open.

Whatever deepens, naturally opens, whatever does not deepen, naturally becomes a grave.

55

The performer comes from a depth and goes to another depth, he lives here, while he is in another place and time. Through the concentration and the densification of time, he strengthens the root of depth. He wants to meet the deep traditions, to become a carrier of passion, of charm and mourning. He roots here, crosses the present, goes towards the future, so as to turn back, but he is not uprooted, the root is not the root of present time. Each present has no root.

The present is uprooted, , the current situation, this current reality.

That’s why the performer is present while he is absent, plays between presence and absence, between “here” and “beyond”, between “I” and “Not I”. Absence creates nostalgia, located in the bitter aspect of the art of theatre, in temporariness, in the ephemeral.

There is always the sense of a passage: I am here and I pass somewhere else. We often watch performances where everything is here and stays here, even with too many movements everything is immutable, because everything remains in this condition, in this state, without evolution. What gives value to things is the awareness of the length of time, the accuracy and the belief in elimination.

To come back to the work on the point, if we insist on the palm, it can create extraordinary things. No use to run from one point to another. The command to move is given by the point itself. We must constantly see what axles the point creates, where it leads us, what behaviors and what sounds begets. We are not interested in the limits of a role, but in the no-role, in the moods. The roles will be created 56

when the time comes. Only a hand moving through a parapraxis and a text spoken, is a significant experience.

The stillness of the performer and a self-entrapping element create the labyrinth, a dangerous place, which may devour the performer.

He has to struggle with the labyrinth, he has to compose, constantly maintaining the sense of the trap, the prison, trying to open its borders. The performer composes his martyrdom, leads his body to an absolute impasse and fights with the impasse itself. The performer battles in a natural way and the spectator follows both the natural flow of energy and the performerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effort to escape from the prison.

We should not be interested in virtuosity for the sake of virtuosity, which, in a narcissistic way, consumes itself and becomes inactive.

Our concern is to surprise the spectator. A physical point, for example the shoulder, can become autonomous and tell its story. Like a poem, which becomes autonomous, is self-written and the poet goes with it. If the hand is a component and the performer insists, this point will be the resultant, the center. The fingertips, the elbows, the soles of the feet may become centers. If the chest or the shoulders of the performer dance a tango that will be transferred on the elbows, then the performer will realize the value of releasing a point.

The performer watches the axles and the sounds created by the point in its evolution. No need for orders from the head, â&#x20AC;&#x153;do this or 57

thatâ&#x20AC;?. If we insist, each point can generate unpredictable sounds, de-rationalised and fragmented. The fragment, when delivered properly, functions as a whole, without having to complete it, as in surrealistic poetry. The body of the concentrated performer, in a reflective way, develops angular movements which constantly generate new unexpected movements and sounds.

The performer gradually becomes a carrier of the tempo-rhythm, bearing a rich spectrum of physical and vocal actions of his deep tradition. The taps of memory open, the tempo-rhythm, which is generated by the structure, sculpts the body, creating new expressive codes and spaces of action. The accumulation of energy at one point and the in-depth investigation of its multiple possibilities, lead in a natural way to the next point, which is the energetic extension of the previous one. The time of research opens as much as possible. The body creates new expressive landscapes, with explosions, pauses, gaps, jumps, accumulations and detonations of energy.

The performer does not care to reach fast results, but also, does not forget the work he has already done. As much as he insists in his research, without succumbing to psychological and physical fatigue, he expands the capabilities with which he continues to work persistently in the depth. Despite the fatigue, the performer continues with the net charge of energy, the energy reserve.

58

The performer elaborates the data that have come to light, refines them and reaches the distillate of infinite improvisation. He creates a multi-rhythmical grid of psychophysical and vocal actions, which reminds the musicianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s score with the corresponding variations in the quality of energy, increases and decreases, points where the time expands and contracts, aggravation and mitigation of the emotional load, intervals of silence, but also momentary bursts of spontaneity, of energy output and of ecstatic behavior.

The composition of psychophysical actions is constantly subject to inner motion and change. The performer repeats with interpretative precision the function, without ever losing its vigilance of the first time.

The body, at a breakneck inner speed, like a spinning top, looks still, with its rhythms in a state of alarm, travelling in the landscapes of deep memory, which become landscapes of the future and are projected to the present day. The body in revolt, fighting, attributes ontological and political dimension to the human being.

59

Speech

τοῦ λόγου ἀκούσαντας ὁµολογεῖν σοφόν ἐστι ἕν πάντα εἶναι If you listen to Speech, it is wise to confess that everything is one 7

7 DK 22 [12] B 50.

60

The interpretation of the text is also encountered through the terms of infinite improvisation. The text finds its physical dimension, becomes a map of various actions and behaviors, it is dissolved, de-rationalized and reconstituted, so as to give meaning again – this time energetically and not necessarily mentally – to the psychosomatic behavior of the performer. The speech loses its normal, daily life function; the nuclear rhythm of the speech is sought, its vibrations that penetrate the body, opening many interpretative possibilities. Small ideas subside, theoretical information is removed from the sphere of references, becoming part of the active analysis, implemented and illuminated as long as the process requires, through the energy of the body and the particular spaces and times it creates.

The reproduction of known clichés from the narrow space of the performer’s autobiography and of various impermanent emotions, subside and the interpretation is steadily removed from the theatre’s literary tradition.

The confrontation with the fundamental and useful materials of the role, becomes for the performer an all-thymic battle for self-awareness; in its duration, he explores all the aspects of a deep relationship with himself, with the others and the world, trying to move towards a more integrated interpretation.

61

I would like to stress that the performer has to always mobilize his inner world, to cultivate and transform it into a high work of art. He can accomplish a lot, if he includes the cultivation and control of the breath in his work, the technique of concentration, the activation of the triangle and the spinal column, the flow of energy and the psychosomatic codes this process can generate. The performer should not be based on the psychological and intellectual analysis of the role’s motives and of the text’s meanings, leaving the body inert and incarcerated in the prison of its daily habits.

The emotion of the performer has its root in the depth of his structure, has its own special tempo-rhythm, its own score, shapes a mask and a corporality, a special breathing pattern and way of speech, a special quality and quantity of energy. The performer’s body is sculpted by every emotional state; from its side, the body also sculpts its emotional state and codifies it. The development of the score of physical actions gradually transforms the performer’s body into a map of various emotional landscapes. The question of identification or not with the role and how one “gets” each day in the same psychic landscapes, no longer concerns the performer. The emotional states are engraved in the body and can be recalled whenever the performer adopts the same physicality.

The path we have walked, from the performer’s preparation and his work on the role, till the formation of the interpretative landscape, 62

invites performer and spectator in a journey to the depth of the structure, in the unknown landscapes of memory, where a total redefinition of the human existence is attempted. It invites us to open a window in the chaos of the human enigma and articulate with love and courage the ontological question: â&#x20AC;&#x153;What is this all about?â&#x20AC;?.

63

Sense

ἄνθρωπος ἐν εὐφρόνηι φάος ἅπτεται ἑαυτῶι ἀποσβεσθεὶς ὄψεις During the night, when his vision is extinguished, man turns on a light inside him 8

8 DK 22 [12] B 26.

64

The performer should have constantly activated the function of physical control, so as to maintain an absolute sense of the moment.

When an energetical cataract is born by the performerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body, all the senses are mobilized; they control and participate in the process of transubstantiation of the all-thymic material into art. So, the allthymic material generates all-thymic emotion.

The performer alters at rest and through change he creates a vertigo, which is supervised by the senses. During the rehearsal he tries many things, he dabbles; there is no need for respect and consistency in something yet unborn.

The body can become a channel of anarchic situations and thus can mobilize the mechanism of physical control. Through extreme physical conditions, the dynamics of control and the ability of sense grow more and faster. The performer balances on a tightrope and, despite the emotional charge, does not fall, because he has strengthened the ability of control.

When the performer goes deeper, the control should be more and more sharpened. As much as the field of view is expanded, that much the depth is expanded; it becomes deeper and generates images and rhythms from dreams and archetypes. I could tell that the depth is self-interpreted and as much as it opens, becomes a universe. When it stops being selfinterpreted and we add an external element, then the depth is betrayed.

65

The grasp sees the times, the changes, the disasters, it is an enduring thermometer. It feels and identifies the dark sides of our existence, those which have not accepted to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;civilizedâ&#x20AC;? and attempts to make them reappear.

66

Time

τὰ ψυχρὰ θέρεται, θερµὸν ψύχεται, ὑγρὸν αὐαίνεται, καρφαλέον νοτίζεται The cold ones heat-up, warm ones freeze, the wet dry out, (and) dry ones moisten 9

9 DK 22 [12] B 126.

67

The performer moves from point to point, as a refugee. When he succeeds something, there is a vacuum created, a crack. He opens and closes it, he re-opens it, so as to re-close it with fear. He should open the crack in slow time, concentrated and respectful. Then the crack, deepening and opening, will explode, revealing the depth of its material, ready for research.

While the performer dilates time, he develops his material, which usually tends to close, to be limited in one paragraph, creating a small idea of the role. I often say: “The slow time bears a cause”, wanting to stress that the persistence of the performer to the slow time generates various explosions and intermediaries, unpredictable times of dense energy. The performer’s body gives birth to time and time is the carrier of meanings, of sensations and images. Time gives the rhythm to the body; by doing so, unexpected sounds are generated from it, linguistic axles of parapraxis, words-bullets, a slowmoving song, a completely deconstructed monologue, which can bring forth another sense, can give a new promise. Because, the more this promise grows, the greater becomes the value of text and situation. Time opens, magnifies and flourishes.

In theatre, the body, the words, the thoughts make up time; by opening time, space opens, and vice versa. But what is space – time? In my opinion, it is the projection of the inner energy and need. Sometimes, the performer wanting to reach a result, eliminates the inter68

stitial space-time and does not go anywhere. Some other times, entering the interstitial space-time, he sleeps; his alertness and consciousness are totally eliminated. In the median time between A and B â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with B forever unreached â&#x20AC;&#x201C; resides the whole idea of development of artistic expression. The performer moves towards the horizon, but the horizon keeps going away. If the idea of dilating the median spacetime is annulated, the research is automatically annulated too.

When in research, the performerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s task is not always specific; it can be abstract, so as to become concrete and abstract again. Nothing is predictable, the task of the interpretation does not yet arise. Many times the constant references to society, to characters and to writers do not allow the performer to wander in the median time, the space of nothingness, like Beckett says. Many times the text becomes a trap, because it has a specific logic, a particular ideological position, a textual idea. If the text is not deconstructed, it cannot be developed, because usually, even in the great texts, we stay in the selfevident.

The performer finds his freedom by studying the depth. He learns through living and seeking the unfamiliar, the element that he does not understand and tries to understand it. He looks for the unpredictable, for the unusual, the paradoxical. The median time begets unfamiliar images, inter-negating situations, parallel and converse roads, a meeting and its deregulation; we speak about the energetical 69

and rhythmical deregulation, the deregulation between different persons. It is a shore from somewhere to somewhere else, where you cannot reach the end, because the shore never ends, and neither does the passage. The performer must believe in the function of dilating time. He should offer his body to the altar of the unfamiliar, putting constant questions, having many dilemmas. Then the performer can be developed.

During the rehearsals, I usually repeat the following sentence, wanting to stress the importance of the contrasting flow of things: “We say something and mean something else: other things are implied, other reactions are born here, others there and we are elsewhere, but you’re still in the same position as a volcano ready to explode.” As the performer’s time opens, it seems that his body, when it is in a state of global function, generates memories of many things, becomes timeless, a multiple passe-partout of sensations, ideas, feelings and images. The persistence in time can also create another time, a variant, going further, as much as possible. Slow time gestates explosions, many unforeseen issues, defines the end which never ends.

The crack of time gradually creates a trap that leads you to the gap, to the Beckettian landscape of the frozen air, where, inevitably, you move slowly, with inner vigilance, trying to put order into chaos.

Time travels us and we travel it, opens as much as it wants, becomes a prison and the performer must open the boundaries of this prison, 70

always opposing difficulty. The spectator follows the creative process of the performer’s attempt to unite body and speech, sculpting time. The performer’s desire is to penetrate the audience. He must be direct, having the feeling of a frontal attack. The stage becomes a war zone.

The aesthetics of the performance is the result of the dynamic relationship between the body and time, as well as memory. Through this relationship, the fundamental ontological question is raised: “What is this all about?”; a question where, evidently, definitive answers have no place, while it constantly navigates the performer towards an increasingly deeper investigation of the sound’s root, of the word and the multiple dimensions of the human enigma.

Time reveals the forms of memory, of the archetypes, sheds light on the structure and unites the body with the spirit. Time explodes and the performer has the deep sense of participating in the explosion, but after the explosion he remains component of time. The polyrhythmic and transcendental behavior of the body de-rationalizes the relationship between space-text-performer-spectator. The spectator is invited to communicate with the performer through his senses and imagination.

71

Grief

τῶι οὖν τόξωι ὄνοµα βίος, ἔργον δὲ θάνατος Life is the name of the bow; death its aim 10

10 DK 22 [12] B 48.

72

The performerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art is the art of the defeated. The baby, coming out of the womb, cries, it is cut from the umbilical cord and placed from parental warmth to ice; it cries, this is the first defeat, a great shock, the first experience. From the first moment, pain is engraved, causing grief over the deprivation of the babyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very own lost world. From the first moment the pain is engraved and from the pain is born the grief for the loss, because the baby loses its world and grieves. It walks out of utopia with anguish. Even his first smile is born out of grief. It brings the ontological sadness. It has nothing to do with sadness over social causes; it is the grief of the great loss of the human being.

Man tries to stand on his feet, to be the winner, to become God, climbs a ladder trying to look God in the eyes, but God knocks him down and, upon falling defeated in the vacuum, he grieves and mourns. Pain is expressed with lament, is engraved as grief and deepens as ontological sadness. The human being is a grieving being and its grief is the grief of the great defeat. Grief feeds the infinite improvisation in search of Ithaca â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a distant Ithaca, creating an endless existential reorientation.

The relationship with death exists since childhood; the co-existence, the embracing of death. Without this reconciliation, life is determined by the avoidance of pain and death. Then a grotesque death awaits. Man is by nature a grieving being, and like a tragic person, 73

continues the march of grief in perpetuity. The deep erotic embrace of the performer with death, synonymous to charm, sets the value and the importance of art. The suffering performer grieves and charms.

74

Charm

ἐδιζησάµην ἐµεωυτόν I searched for myself 11

11 DK 22 [12] B 101.

75

Charm hides a burnt passion, is the daughter of death; grieves over loss and vain. Ecstatic charm carries a sweet death. Seeking life, it embraces death tightly, an encounter that leads to another life, where the core of grief is hidden. Grieving becomes the intermediary between life and death, like the birds that link the two worlds. In my work there is always this bitter charm from afar, from hereafter.

If you notice the Venus of Milos, you will see that its very position bears charm, though allusive, as if it has been invaded by another force, and what remained became a sob. The charm of Venus opens time, makes it cyclic, so as to be hurt directly by the arrow of Cupid.

Charm hides burnt lust, it is a song with thousands of magical voices, and if charm is the daughter of death, then is also the sister of grief.

The ecstatic performer charms, charm grieves, grief charms. His primitive fear of the void grows, because within the void many inexplicable things take place. He is afraid and the same time charmed by the void. He feels the void like a dead, motionless sea. He is afraid of the empty core, because it encloses nothingness; even so, the charming performer steps on the void, on nothingness.

The Void. What is the void? What happens in this so interesting area? Usually, for theatre the void is a taboo. The performer sees the void like a hole into which he risks falling and getting lost. As if death appears for a moment â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the time of the void, the time of death.

76

The fear of hereafter. The void threatens him, makes him anxious, that is why he tries to cover it as fast as possible. He is in a hurry to close the hole, to exorcise it, because it causes fear. It is the fear of the void, because through it we go to the nightmare, and this is something we all fear and repel.

The void, a motionless sea, a place of underground fermentations, the enigma of the Sphinx. The artist goes mad with the absence of the core center. He wants to fill the gap with death, with madness, rather with art. He feels the charm of the empty core of the dead body. The image of charm becomes puzzling. The void is synonymous to madness, death, grief and charm. He thinks of the void between two lines, the long distance, the empty pause and goes mad. He tries to face the void from the side of death, from the side of hereafter, from the side of murder. A murder, an artwork â&#x20AC;&#x201C; boundless eroticism. He senses that, within the void, Eros and Thanatos reside. He grieves. Grief is tied to his mortality and, from one life, he tries to move deeper, into another: creation.

The roles die one after the other and become ghosts and dead.

The void is growing and inside it resides madness, death, grief and charm. The stage becomes their mirror.

A Mirror of the performer and the audience. The performer, by opening time, sees himself in the mirror, till he becomes a mirror which includes the spectators.

77

The gaze expands making his idol explode, to break it into thousands of pieces. The fragments dance and at the same time, they recreate his image, a new image, the image of his other self, in which the figure of Dionysus is displayed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the God of Theatre. The performer looks deeply into the eyes of Dionysus, travels in the labyrinth and is occupied by his energy. With the fertilizing bacchanalia of Dionysus, he travels towards transcendence.

During this journey, the other self occurs, who acts in absentia. The other, as a projection of the performerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body, narrates while he is self-narrated, interprets while he is self-interpreted. As in life, many times a mood becomes autonomous, and a split occurs between mood and person. So, ambiguity is the task in the Art of Theater; we say something, we mean something else; we say something and, while doing A, we indicate the way to B. .

78

Performer

πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν µένει Heraclit says, everything moves and nothing stays the same 12

12 DK 22 [12] A 6 (= Plat. Cratyl. 402 a – Translation: Friedrich Schleiermacher).

79

The performer, for many decades, has wanted to get out of his normality, to be exposed to other levels, to become an instrument capable of composing, without projecting this ability as a first level skill.

The performer is a living organism of our times, who has social, political and ideological agonies, but does not experience them in a descriptive, referential and obsessional way. He wants to speak about the modern drama, he tries to redefine the basic principles of his life and art.

The performer should not pollute the soul of the spectator but ennoble it. If what he wants to say cannot be expressed in a poetic way, so as to ennoble, to elevate and lift off the other in front of him, it is better not to tell anything.

The performer, through his art, should collaborate with todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s man, because fear, alienation and bad use of technology made him bodiless and eventually turned him into a product, into a subhuman. The modern man shrinks, loses his body, his soul, his energy, becomes passive and is manipulated. The modern way of life does nothing more than reproduce the small ephemeral body, the constant miniaturization of everyday people. However, the idea of the Body is greater than we think. Our task is the body as an open universe with open channels. The great idea for the body, the body as Epic, the great idea for art and life. The idea for the body is greater than the body, the idea of art is greater than art.

80

Modern city has made us bodiless. In todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world everything hurts, nothing rejoices. When you see people on the street, you see a motionless, sad expression, a silent cry, a lament without lament.

What is the human being? His destination is just to wander around and produce? Today people do not cry, do not laugh, they are silent, they do not dance, do not sing. Man is computerized, is one-dimensional and solitary, an object without capabilities of transformation.

Nowadays, there is a completely rickety idea about life, about art, about death.

We, the creators of theatre, want to redefine the value of man. With the body, the spirit, the words, the energy, the sense of transcendence. It is an appeal, a cry against what is being lost, but not irrevocably lost, because the body brings the hope. Today God does not exist, God is the bank, the stock market that threatens us. The idea of God tends to disappear, namely that force which exceeds us, activates us, and we, wanting to grasp this idea, to overcome it, we mobilize ourselves, and we become confrontational. The performer, so as to be combatant, is confrontational. He threatens, because the Dionysian energy is also destructive. His body is a carrier of an energy which has two forms, Eros and Thanatos.

With the materials we have in our disposal, the materials of man, of humanism, we struggle to create a Project in the form of an appeal, a projection from the future, like a call from the future. But what we do 81

is meaningful only when we fight to broaden the horizon. We go deep and in there we give the battle. And when we want to work deeply on the material, this brings forth many tasks: we need to see the natural rhythms of time, the physical imagination, its universal naturalness, the place where it happens. In this sense, we enter more deeply and openly, trying to create a new horizon. Whatever goes high in the sky is deep in the core of the earth and what is down is up, this maximum energy of the nucleus of time that traverses the universe.

What is modernity? It is the explosion of the core of the classic; this procedure which dissolves everything, in order to be recreated anew in a creative way. That is why we deconstruct the body; we cannot sense the blow up of the time in a closed and solid body. The normality of the body only generates feelings and then, usually, we go to self-referentiality, in the autobiography.

From antiquity, the performer is the definition of the body, is synonymous to the body. In modern world, the body has been extinguished and man has become a pawn of capitalism, existing to serve capitalism. Theatre today should restore and cultivate with ethos, anew, the idea of the universal body. The performer must be at the center of the theatrical action, with self-awareness, knowledge and militancy. The cultivation of the body, the temple of situations, instincts and senses, is an agonizing call in our times, which are constantly threatened by barbarism.

82

The world has changed and the performer must cultivate a fruitful criticism toward things, constantly expressing his agony: theatre is something else than what we thought till today and it should follow different pathways. We need to reconsider theatre through the art of the performer. This is the way of theatre in the 21st century, a century of many redefinitions. Dionysus is missing, he is in exile, the idea of the confrontational man is lost and the road towards measure, harmony, Ithaca has disappeared. Will it be found? The last word of theatre will never be spoken. Will Dionysus return?

83

Theodoros Terzopoulos with his company during rehearsal.

Pictures Johanna Weber

Training περὶ µεγέθους ἡλίου εὖρος ποδὸς ἀνθρωπείου The sun appears to have the width of a human foot 1

Before the exercise of deconstruction, the rehearsal and the performance, the actors prepare themselves for about an hour with the following circle of exercises (Synthesis of known and new exercises).

During the exercises the performers, concentrated, warm up body and voice and train their breath and diaphragm. They inhale and exhale all together. This function helps the actors communicate and coordinate themselves during the training, which is performed in a circle, at the same tempo, from the whole group. The exercises cultivate the sense of teamwork, which is transferred to the practical work of rehearsal and performance.

1 DK 22 [12] B 3.

88

1

The performer stands upright; the feet are together, the knees relaxed and slightly bent. He concentrates on a point straight

ahead. Shoulders and arms are relaxed and the coccyx locks inward.

The spine is vertical in relation to the triangle, so as the area of lungs and diaphragm to be open, helping the breathing air circulate freely in the body throughout the exercise. Through the point of concentration, the actor opens his peripheral awareness in the space. He inhales through the nose and mouth and leads the air to the depth of the lungs, activating the diaphragm to the genitals and the lumbar region. The exhalation with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, which is maintained throughout the whole duration of the training, exercises the muscles of the mouth, lips and tongue to spend the necessary air for the production of sound. In this position, the whole group inhales and exhales together. The duration of each subsequent exhalation needs to be slightly larger in order to increasingly expand the space of the lungs. The exercise is repeated for three to five respiratory circles in silence.

2

The performer is in the initial position. Through the air of exhalation head and eyes move to the left. Head and eyes coor-

dinate and move together. At the end of the exhalation, the performer looks just to his left. The movement takes place in slow tempo and lasts as long as the air of exhalation. Upon completion of exhalation, the performer inhales in the diaphragm and in the duration of the next exhalation, moves his head in the same way to the right. The knees are kept bent and the spinal column is vertical in re89

lation to the triangle. The exercise is completed with three movements to the left and three to the right. At the end, the group returns to the initial position.

3

The performer moves head and eyes slowly upwards. The movement lasts as long as the air of exhalation. Upon comple-

tion of exhalation, the performer inhales in the diaphragm and in the duration of the next exhalation moves head and eyes downwards.

The head should not be raised that much so as to break the neck or lowered so as to close the neck. The exercise is completed with three movements up and three down. At the end, the group returns to the initial position.

4

Through the air of exhalation, the performer accomplishes with the head and eyes an entire circle from left to right. Each of the

rotations is performed in slow tempo and lasts as long as the air of exhalation. By completing three rotations from left to right, corresponding to three exhalations, the performer repeats the same procedure, this time from right to left. The whole group needs to coordinate breathing and rotation of the head.

5

The performer is in the initial position and inhales deeply in the diaphragm. After the first inhalation he concentrates on the ex-

halations of the exercise, leaving the inhaled air enter freely in the body. With the air of exhalation, he rapidly moves the head left and 90

right. Jaw and lips should be relaxed. Each turning of the head left or right corresponds to one exhalation. The basic command for each movement of the head is always given by the triangle. The connection to the triangle cultivates the sense that in each movement the whole body takes part. The point of concentration, which in the initial position is located straight ahead, now moves either to the right or to the left, depending on the movement of the head and the eyes.

The exercise is performed in the same tempo from the whole group.

6 7

The function developed above is repeated with the head of the performer moving up and down.

The performer is in the initial position. During the exhalation with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;sâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; makes one full rotation of the right shoulder from front

to rear. When he returns to the starting position, inhales and in the next exhalation repeats the rotation. The exercise is completed in three rotations of the right shoulder and three of the left from front to rear. The exercise is then repeated from back to front, again in three rotations of the right and three of the left shoulder. During the exercise, the actor needs to find the extreme point of moving the shoulders, so as always to complete one full rotation.

8

Following the previous exercise, the performer, from the initial position and during an exhalation, rotates both shoulders from

front to back. When he reaches the initial position, inhales and in the 91

next exhalation repeats the rotation. The exercise is completed in three rotations of the shoulders from front to back and is repeated for other three rotations of the shoulders the other way round, from back to front.

9

The performer is in the initial position and inhales in the diaphragm. After the first inhalation he concentrates on the ex-

halations of the exercise. Through the air of the exhalation he moves both shoulders together up and down rapidly. Each exhalation corresponds to a movement of the shoulders. The main order of the movement is given by the triangle. The knees bent, activate the body from the waist down. The exercise is performed at the same tempo from the whole group.

10

From the starting position, with the air of the exhalation the actor raises his hands slowly upward, as if they are an ex-

tension of the spine. The head follows. This time the point of concentration is transferred upwards. The movement of hands and head through the air of the exhalation takes place at the same time for the whole group. In this position the triangle does not extend rearward, it remains always in perpendicular relation to the spinal column, so as to support and activate the body. With the air of exhalation and in a fast tempo, the actor extends the hands one by one upwards, as if he wants to touch the ceiling. Like in the previous exercises with corresponding function, the performer takes the basic initial inhala92

tion in the diaphragm and then concentrates on exhalations. Although the work is done with the upper body, the command of every movement is always given by the triangle.

11

The performer stands erect; feet together, knees relaxed and slightly bent. The hands remain uplift, one parallel to the

other, as an extension of the spine. The performer inhales deeply. In four tempos, corresponding to four exhalations, the trunk of the body falls to the left just enough to open the right side. The left arm is parallel to the left leg, while the right hand goes over his head, to facilitate the opening of the ribs. Over the next four tempos the trunk falls to the right side. Now the right hand is parallel to the right leg, while the left hand goes up over his head, to facilitate the opening of the left side. The exercise is repeated alternately to the left and right side with increasing speed. At the end of the exercise, everybody returns to the initial position with hands uplift, parallel to one another, as an extension of the spine.

12

From the above position, the performer catches the right wrist with the left palm. Through the air of exhalation and

in slow tempo, the body descends to the left just enough to open the right side. In this position, the performer breathes deeply and slowly, during one exhalation, moves the trunk to the right just enough to open the left side. During the transition from the left to right side, the performer catches the left wrist with the right palm. The exercise 93

is completed after three repetitions to the left and three to the right side. During each of them it is necessary to maintain the sense both of activation and alignment of the spinal column in relation to the triangle, so as the area of the lungs to remain open and not to compress the diaphragm.

13

At the end of the exercise above, the performer returns to the upright position with feet together, knees relaxed and

slightly bent. The point of concentration is straight ahead. The hands remain uplift, parallel to one another, as an extension of the spine. With the air of exhalation the hands descend to the sides, at shoulder height. The shoulders are relaxed and the vertebral column is vertical in connection to the triangle. During the next exhalation, the actor raises fingers and palms upward. The fingers are stretched and joined together. In the next exhalation palms and fingers descend downward. During the exercise the actor continuously maintains the connection to the triangle. The exercise is completed in three movements from palms and fingers upward and downward.

14

Following the previous exercise, the actor is erect with the arms extended at shoulder height. The fingers are joined to-

gether, but this time in the line of the hands. During the exhalation, the performer moves his hands in front at chest height. The fingers are still joined together, facing straight ahead. During the next exha94

lation, the performer makes a rotation of the entire palm in the following order: fingers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; palm â&#x20AC;&#x201C; wrist. The right palm rotates clockwise and the left counter-clockwise. The rotation in both hands takes place simultaneously. The exercise is completed in three turns of the hand. The actor returns to the starting position with arms at chest height.

15

The performer is in the above position, concentrated straight ahead. The knees remain relaxed and slightly

bent. The spine is vertical in relation to the triangle. He inhales through the nose and mouth deeply in the diaphragm. The performer, after the first inhalation, focuses on the exhalations of the exercise. With the air of each exhalation and in three tempos, connected to three exhalations, the hands, located straight ahead, cross alternately. In the fourth tempo (connected to the fourth exhalation) arms extend to the sides, dilating the area of the sternum in its extreme limits. The cycle of four exhalations is repeated with increasing speed. During the exercise, the performer maintains a very good sense of the triangle in relation to the spine, while the torso remains stable, despite the tensions exerted on it. The exercise is performed at the same tempo from the whole group and culminates with arms extending to the sides at shoulder height. The entire group remains in the same position in silence, until the shortness of breath decreases and the connection to the diaphragm can be re-found.

95

16

The performer is in the initial position. His hands are extended to the sides at shoulder height. The shoulders are

loosened. Focus ahead. After the first inhalation he concentrates on the exhalations of the exercise. With the air of each exhalation the hands create concentric circles in the direction from front to back, at increasing speed. The perimeter of the circle created by the hands constantly increases. The shoulders remain loose throughout the whole exercise, to facilitate the development of the handsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; speed. It is necessary to maintain a very good feeling of the triangle in connection to the spine, so that the trunk remains always stable. The whole group performs the exercise at the same tempo. The coordination of the group takes place though the exhalations. At the extreme point of the speedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development, the hands stop abruptly in an upward and parallel direction. The exercise is repeated from the entire group at the same tempo, but inversely.

17

At the end of the previous exercise, the performer is in the initial position. His hands extend to the sides at shoulder

height. The shoulders remain loose. Through the air of exhalation the hands descend to the sides in contact to the feet. The actor is in the basic initial position. From this position, and having the sense of the triangle, he opens the distance between the legs. He maintains this position till the moment he goes down to the floor. With the spine activated and the coccyx locked inside, the triangle and the soles of the feet create a very solid base of the body, developing a strong 96

sense of readiness and deep grounding. In this position the performer inhales deeply in the diaphragm and the lumbar region. After the first inhalation, concentrates on the exhalations of the exercise.

The hands are completely loose. Through the speed they develop with the air of each exhalation, the hands create a circle in the periphery of the body, which reminds the function of the pendulum.

The spine is vertical in relation to the rest of the body. The point of concentration is straight ahead. The triangle remains completely immobile. It is not entrained by the dynamics of the motion of the hands left or right. This exercise is performed by the speed of the rotation of the hands, which increases. The dynamics of the exercise is not a result of muscular tension. The impetus comes from the air of exhalation, while the basic command for the hands’ movement is given by the triangle. At the extreme point of development of the hands’ movement, the speed gradually decreases, till the hands are immobile and left loose to the sides of the body.

18

The performer joins thumbs and forefingers and places his hands on the lower part of the rectus abdominis. He inhales

through the nose and mouth deeply in the diaphragm, and exhales with the phoneme ‘ha’. Through each inhalation and exhalation, the face gradually dilates; mouth and eyes open as much as possible. The expansion of the face is not the result of muscular tension. It occurs from the air of inhalation and exhalation, which dilates the face from within. The whole group inhales and exhales in the same tempo.

97

19

The performer places the left hand on the lower part of the rectus abdominis and the right on the coccyx. During

the exhalation the triangle shifts to the left as much as possible. The knees remain bent and the spine is vertical in relation to the triangle, however, the knees, the spine and the point of concentration shift depending on the movement of the triangle. During each subsequent exhalation, the triangle from the previous position, shifts backward, right and front. In all of the triangleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transitions, the performer looks for the extreme limit of the movement.

The exercise is repeated for three cycles at the same tempo by the whole group. The reverse procedure is then followed from right to left. Each inhalation activates the diaphragm in different directions, depending on the movement of the triangle. At the end of the exercise, the performers return to the initial position. Their hands remain in the position they assumed at the beginning of the exercise.

20

The performer is in the above position. The point of concentration is straight ahead. After the first inhalation he

concentrates on the exhalations of the exercise. In this exercise each exhalation corresponds to a rapid displacement of the triangle forth and back. The spine remains activated and vertical. The chest is stable and is affected by the movements of the triangle only in a reflective way. The exercise is performed at the same tempo from the whole group.

98

21

The performer joins the hands at face height. The spinal column is vertical, the coccyx locks inwardly, the knees are

also vertical in relation to the soles of the feet, without inclining inwardly. During the exhalation, the performer slowly descends in lunge, without bending the spine. In the next exhalation rises slowly to the initial position. The exercise is repeated for five breathing cycles by the whole group and leads to a squatting position.

22

In squatting position the spine is activated and the neck is open, so as to facilitate the respiration. The performer in-

hales deeply in the diaphragm till the genitals. He remains in this position for five to seven respiratory cycles. The squatting position is an optimal position for the actorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concentration before the performance, especially when there is not enough time to warm up.

23

The performer sits on the ground. Palms and soles on the floor. His hands are shoulder-width apart, as close to the

body as possible. The legs are vertical, opened in the opening of the pelvis, also as close to the body as possible. The spine is vertical and activated; the shoulders are loose. Point of concentration straight ahead. During the exhalation, the performer lowers the right knee inwardly until it can touch the floor, without moving the left leg to facilitate the movement. During the next exhalation the right knee returns back and the left knee lowers. The exercise is repeated for three to five breathing cycles.

99

24

The performer is on the floor. Feet apart in the opening of the pelvis, hands open at shoulder width. This time, the

distance of legs and arms from the body is slightly larger. During the exhalation the performer slowly elevates the body upwards, starting from the triangle. The performer develops the movement and his body creates a straight line from the knees to the top of the head.

During the next exhalation he slowly descends, until he reaches the initial position. The whole group performs the exercise at the same tempo for three to five respiratory cycles.

25

The performer is in the previous position. After the first inhalation, he concentrates on the exhalations of the exer-

cise. In each exhalation, he rapidly raises and lowers the body. For the proper execution of the exercise, the performer must have a good sense of the triangle, the spine and the solesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and palmsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; centers.

26

The performer is on the floor with the legs extended, the vertebral column vertical and the hands extended ahead.

During the exhalation, he descends slowly, vertebra by vertebra, till the spine rests on the ground. In the next exhalation, starting from the head, he rises slowly, vertebra by vertebra until he reaches the initial position. The exercise is repeated by the whole group for three to five respiratory cycles at the same tempo. While performing the exercise, head, legs, arms and torso must be completely loose, but at the same time activated. The performer is very concentrated in the 100

triangle. As he descends or ascends slowly, reflectively, the bottom of the rectus abdominis is activated to support the body in its movement.

27

At the end of the previous exercise, the performer lies on the floor. He, now, bends and embraces his right knee.

During the exhalation, he pushes the knee towards the chest, without leaving the left leg to be lifted. In the next inhalation he relaxes the knee, which he carries back to its initial position, so as to push it back to the chest. The exercise is repeated for three respiratory cycles. Then follows the left knee and finally both knees. The last phase of the exercise, wherein the two knees are pressed to the chest during exhalation, is beneficial for the back, especially in periods of high stress, because it relaxes the analogous muscles. In this position, there is no visual contact between the group and the performers should coordinate through the sound of inhalation and exhalation.

28

At the end of the previous exercise, the performer lies on the floor with knees bent at the opening of the pelvis. Dur-

ing the exhalation he raises the pelvis as high as possible and places his hands on his ribs, to support the rising of the pelvis. This position is ideal for practicing diaphragmatic breathing, because it impels the performer to push the air consciously in the depth of the lungs, mobilizing the diaphragm till the genital organs and kidneys. The exercise is repeated for five to seven respiratory cycles.

101

29

From the previous position the performer slightly lifts the left leg and, with the help of the toes, gives impetus to the

pelvis to bring his feet on the ground behind the body. In the new position, the feet should be joined together and stretched. The arms osculate on the floor in the opposite direction. The group coordinates the inhalation and exhalation for about five to seven breathing cycles. At the end of the exercise, they return vertebra by vertebra, till they rest on the floor.

30

The performer is lying on the floor. The legs are extended straight ahead and joined together. He places his hands un-

derneath his hips. He slightly raises his legs above the floor with soles and toes facing upwards. During the exhalation he slowly raises his legs upwards to make a right angle in relation to the trunk. In the next exhalation he slowly brings the legs down, till they reach the initial position. He does not let his feet on the floor till the end of the exercise. The feet, both in their ascent and descent should be stretched. Shoulders, neck and chest should be loose. The exercise is repeated from the whole group for seven breathing cycles.

31

From the ground, where the performer finds himself in the previous exercise, he gets up slowly from the side, so as not

to exercise undue stress on the spine. He stands on his knees, with the spinal column vertical, the coccyx locking inward and point of focus straight ahead. During the exhalation he slowly descends till 102

he sits between his legs. During the next exhalation he rises slowly upwards in the initial position. The exercise is repeated for five respiratory cycles from the whole group. Actors with knee problems should be careful.

32

Following the previous exercise, the actor is sitting between his legs, with knees together and soles of the feet

near the hips. Point of focus straight ahead. The actor remains in this position for three to five respiratory cycles. The group inhales and exhales in the same tempo, while the duration of each next breath is slightly larger. During the exhalation, the performer opens the distance of the legs and keeping the hips on the ground, goes slowly forward, as if he wants to catch something. He goes so far ahead that the chest touches the ground. Hands are parallel and lie on the ground, while the spinal column is horizontal. In this position the performer pushes the inhaling air to the kidneys. The group remains in this position for three to five respiratory cycles. In the next step of the exercise, during one exhalation and in slow tempo, the performer, while keeping his feet in the same position, with the help of the hands lifts the trunk and goes backwards until he lies down on his back, between his legs, with the hands parallel, touching the floor as an extension of the spine. In this position is cultivated the inhalation in the depth of the lungs till the genitals. The whole group is breathing in the same tempo for three to five respiratory cycles.

Then, during one breath and with the help of the hands, the per103

former gets up slowly and returns to the front position for other three to five respiratory cycles. Finally, he returns to the initial position of the exercise. From this position he moves very slowly, bringing his legs to the side, extending them straight ahead to relax.

The group shakes legs and knees and relaxes them. Then, he rotates the soles inside out and vice versa in a rapid pace. Each rotation corresponds to an exhalation.

33

Following the previous exercise, the actor, with his legs extended straight in front, the spine vertical and the shoul-

ders loose, focuses ahead. After the first inhalation he concentrates on the exhalations of the exercise. At each exhalation and in fast tempo he moves forward, alternately pressing on the left and right seating bone (bone at the bottom of the pelvis), with arms extending straight ahead, as if to grasp something. The exercise lasts for ten exhalations. Then the performer goes back for the next ten exhalations.

The exercise is performed at the same tempo and is accomplished after three routes forward and three back.

34

The performer in a squatting position with the spinal column vertical, concentrates straight ahead. The knees are ver-

tical in relation to the feet, not leaning inward, so as not to cause damage to the cruciate. The performer, after the first inhalation focuses on the exhalations of the exercise. The hands are straight ahead. With the air of each exhalation and for three tempos, associated to three exha104

lations, the hands cross themselves alternately. In the fourth tempo (associated to the fourth exhalation), while the arms extend fully to the sides, expanding to the extreme limit the region of the sternum, the body rises upward; the legs stretch and then the body goes down again to restart the next cycle of four exhalations. The exercise is performed at increasing speed. At the end of the exercise the performer remains in a lunge (see exercise 22), until the breathing rate comes to normal levels. The performers use the panting, to bring the air of inhalation deeper in the genitals and the lumbar region. Then, they get up from the squatting position vertebra by vertebra, starting from the coccyx, until they arrive to the initial upright position.

35

The performer kneels down and his hips rest on the heels.

The palms touch the floor and his head is over them. He

inhales deeply in the diaphragm till the genitals and the lumbar region. Exhalation with the vowel â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. The performers project the sound to the ground, which is used as a resonator. The exercise is performed in three to five breathing cycles. In the vocal exercises, the performers should always have the feeling that they project the voice to a point. No need to listen to their own voice, because they introvert it, their voice does not open and they lose contact with the group. The space in the mouth should be opened, so that the sound could find natural passages in its development; the performers should always listen to the collective sound, without trying to transcend it. The vocal exercises have the performer's natural bass notes 105

as a base, without the extra pressure which makes the voice false.

When the bass notes area is cultivated, the voice strengthens and the whole range of hue and tonality is developed.

36

In the same position, the performer breathes deeply in the diaphragm, to the lumbar region. He exhales with the

sound ‘io’ and during one exhalation rises slowly up to the point where the spine is vertical and the point of concentration straight ahead. During the next exhalation with the sound ‘io’ descends slowly till he reaches the starting position. The exercise is performed in the same tempo by the whole group.

37

The performer is in a squatting position, with the spinal column vertical, concentrated straight ahead. The knees are

vertical in relation to the soles and do not incline inwardly. Hands are stretched inside the knees, with the palms open, facing upwards.

During an exhalation, the actor creates the sounds ‘ma – me – mi – mo – mu’ sending the voice in the center of the circle created by the group. The actors perform the exercise in the same tempo for five respiratory cycles.

38

The performer places the palms on the flour. The palms are shoulder-width apart and the knees open to the opening of

the pelvis. The spine is horizontal in relation to the ground. Point of concentration straight down. The performer exhales with the 106

phoneme ‘ma’. During one exhalation and in slow tempo his gaze leads straight ahead. The body follows till the back breaks up. The performer exhales with the phoneme ‘ma’ and returns back to the starting position. After, he exhales with the phoneme ‘me’. During the exhalation he carries his gaze inside and down, trying to look at his belly. The body follows and the spine rises upwards as if someone pulls it with a rope. The performer exhales with the phoneme ‘me’ and returns back to the initial position. The exercise is performed in the same tempo by the whole group. The actors alternately go back and forth. Forward, they exhale with the phonemes ‘ma – mi – mu’ and backwards with the phonemes ‘me – mo’. In this exercise the entire spine is activated as a resonator. The space of the wider diaphragm gradually relaxes and accepts increasingly larger amounts of air.

39

(see exercise 26) The performer is on the ground; feet and hands stretched forward; the spinal column is vertical. Ex-

halation with the phoneme ‘ma’. During the exhalation the actor descends slowly, vertebra by vertebra, till the spine touches the ground.

Exhalation with the phoneme ‘me’. During the next exhalation and starting from the head, he rises slowly, vertebra by vertebra up to the initial position. When the performer descends, exhales with the phonemes ‘ma – mi – mu’ and when he ascends with the phonemes ‘me – mo’. While performing the exercise, head, legs, arms and torso should be completely relaxed but at the same time activated.

107

40

The performer is lying on the floor with the legs stretched and joined together. He puts the hands underneath the

hips. He slightly raises his legs above the floor with the soles and toes looking upwards. During the exhalation with ‘ma’ he slowly raises his legs up to make a right angle relative to the trunk. In the next exhalation with the phoneme ‘me’ lowers his legs slowly until he reaches the starting position. He does not rest his feet on the floor till the end of the exercise. When the feet ascent and descent should be stretched. Shoulders, neck and chest have to be loose. At the ascent the performer exhales with phonemes ‘ma – mi – mu’, at the descent with the phonemes ‘me – mo’.

At the end of the exercises’ circle, the performers get up slowly from the ground and form a line, one behind the other. With the air of exhalation and being sensitive towards the body of the other, they offer a massage with soft and light movements. After, they all exhale together with the vowel ‘a’, while they gently tap the top of the partner’s upper back. In the next step, the actors are in couples, standing opposite to each other. One stands with the point of focus straight ahead and exhales with ‘a’. The other places his hands on his partner’s chest and upper back. During the exhalation of his partner, he offers slight blows both on back and chest to activate the corresponding resonators of both areas. The exercise is for two or three exhalations.

They finish working versa.

108

109

Dionysus is the god of freedom Torsten Israel in conversation with Theodoros Terzopoulos

Torsten Israel: Theodoros Terzopoulos, how did this book come about?

Theodoros Terzopoulos: It is the result of fifty years of experience in the theatre and it reveals what I would retrospectively call the core of my work. It was in the late 1980s that I first had the idea of writing down some thoughts on the theatre – on its Dionysian aspect, on pathos, on energy, on ecstasy. I didn’t dare do it at the time. But after many more productions – of ancient tragedies, but also bourgeois dramas and contemporary plays – I was quite certain that this experience was of value, not only in terms of ancient Greek classics, but for the entire repertoire. My workshops in different countries have also shown me that. And then, all sorts of trends have come and gone in the theatre in recent decades. By contrast, I have always stayed with very specific axes – with bodies, energy and voice, very elementary things in other words. Of course, my work has also changed over time, but more in the sense of expansion. In the beginning, what interested me most about the energetic actor, for example, 110

was the scale of pathos. Later we moved on to other scales: the grief scale, which emits incredibly powerful vibrations, or the scale of enchantment, which I believe is inherent in the ecstatic body. And now I hope and in fact believe that this book can be useful, especially for actors, because they are the focus of my work.

T. I.: Being an actor, it says at one point in your text, means “the body, the definition of the body, being its synonym”.

T. T.: Exactly. But one should bear in mind that this is not just an ontological statement, or a drama theory statement. It also has a political dimension – the body is something highly dangerous. If you really get involved with it, perceive it, work on it, give it space, cultivate it, I believe it becomes an irresistible tool, a forceful weapon against power and against its own oppression, a tool of uprising, if not revolution. Because all of today’s culture is really nothing more than masked barbarism, which succeeds above all in creating mechanisms that destroy the human body. Human beings are disembodied today because the systems, because capitalism and neoliberalism wish it so; slavishly hunched in front of the screen, pumped full of toxins, blasé, apathetic, annihilated. But when you make the body disappear, the person also disappears, along with any hope of uprising and resistance. In this respect body work, as I understand it, so not in a narcissistic or autistic sense, but integrated into social processes, as part of them, is also a signal.

111

T. I.: According to an Orphic version of the Dionysus myth, the god was, as you know, ripped to pieces, only to rise again with renewed vigour. Do today’s social conditions provide the butchery that mythical forces once committed?

T. T.: Yes. With the difference that Dionysus was really torn apart by the Titans, while today’s society dissolves and disintegrates. But of course the archetypal schema, with its three main sections of birth – deconstruction – reconstruction, remains the same.

T. I.: According to your description, improvisation plays a crucial role in restoring or even recreating the body, leading to a release of the actor’s individual energy. At the same time your productions are strictly structured, thoroughly choreographed and semantically charged down to the small detail. How can the actor be impulsive in such a clearly defined system of coordinates?

T. T.: We shouldn’t confuse improvisation with randomness or lack of planning. Of course, it is extremely important, but not so much in a general sense, rather focused on a very specific topic. Without this condition, the actors can neither release their energy nor develop their body axes. Incidentally, I am talking about “dirty” energy, because overall this process has the character of a discharge in which all the stress, the energy blocked by everyday life, is gradually released. Often I say to the actors for example: “Imagine you are in a suffocatingly nar112

row space, two by two metres, that you are living in a prison and now you have to open out this space, its limits.” If you wish to open such a space from the inside, of course you need a system, you have to be able to concentrate well and you need stamina. In any case, once the body got rid of this “dirty” energy, the body automatically takes the next step to abstraction. This is the point at which a closer collaboration between the actor and myself begins, the joint composition of the event.

Here I provide the actor with very specific information and offer a structure that has to be opened gradually – but with great caution. I never start a rehearsal without a clear idea of the whole staging, not just the individual scene I am working on at the time. And this structure is not just in my head, it is also on a sheet of paper. Regardless of this, in the rehearsal process you always need to have the desire to transgress, and also to release time itself and create new axes of energy.

T. I.: In German-speaking theatre, many directors would try to reflect or question this desire at the same time.

T. T.: I have always had good experiences in German-speaking countries – in my time as an assistant and a master student at the Berliner Ensemble, and also later. I have often come here for guest performances, have organised and staged many workshops, for example at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, or in 2010, when Essen was the European Capital of Culture, with Prometheus at the Zollverein mine. But it is true that I became interested in other traditions early on, especially 113

from Asia, which has become very important for my theatre, but also Latin America and Russia, with its great theatre culture. And needless to say I am completely indifferent to the post-modern mainstream of German-language theatre as it has developed in the last few decades.

My theatre is a counter-paradigm, not a counterpoint, a counterparadigm based on a fundamentally different position. The main difference is that my theatre tries to get to the substance of things. It is an elementary theatre that has never ceased to address and explore the entire spectrum of human dispositions and conditions: suffering, terror, grief, fear, and so on. It pays no attention to trends and it is not eclectic, rather it is self-contained. The post-modern theatre and also neo-realist theatre, they have no relation to archetypes and roots. What they bring forth is nothing more than an image of the current reality. It is as current as it is ephemeral. But if you have a firmly rooted position, starting with the archetypes, you pass through contemporary reality and arrive at the future, you make your work a reflection of the future.

T. I.: In Brecht’s “Fatzer” fragment he says: “Like ghosts once came from the past/Now they come from the future as well”. Heiner Müller often quoted that phrase.

T. T.: Nothing more, nothing less.

T. I.: So there are still delayed effects from your time at the Berliner Ensemble, a connection between your work and Brecht?

114

T. T.: The most important connection is abstraction and simplicity.

Brecht made deliberately simple, very efficient, structurally clear theatre. For me, too, it’s about reduction to the essentials, with a few shifts in emphasis of course. But Brecht’s theatre was also didactic, while mine is deeply ontological. To be precise, it is rooted in the ontological question posed by the ancient Greek tragedy: “What is it about?” Under the pressure of this question, the actor will sometimes act like a hunted animal for me, which for Brecht would have been unthinkable. Overall it is the actor who dominates on stage – menacing, like a gladiator. In any case, the various forms of postmodern theatre certainly do not allow this threat that proceeds from actors to unfold, if only because there is a whole mechanism of effects, technical media and other tools with which they have to interact in some way.

T. I.: It sounds as if you have to choose – especially as an actor – between your concept and the realistic or post-modern theatre, in the sense of an alternative in which one excludes the other.

T. T.: Not at all. Even actors who are otherwise only active in the field of conventional realistic theatre or the present-day mainstream can learn a lot with my method, expand their limits, develop. If they deals with it systematically they will see improvement in their ability to concentrate, their body control, their breathing technique, their stamina. They will even become less dependent on technical crutch115

es, like the microport. I have already received a lot of feedback, and that includes people who have never attended a workshop of mine or otherwise met me in person. The hidden body, which is my area of concern, can be activated at any time. In the beginning I even wanted to call this book: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Hidden Bodyâ&#x20AC;?.

T. I.: But now it has a different title.

T. T.: It will be apparent to everyone that almost every chapter speaks in some way of the hidden body and its trapped energy. This idea runs through the entire text. But in the end it was important that I emphasise the central meaning of Dionysus and the concept of the Dionysian for my work and for me. We need Dionysus to return, this is my firm belief, my obsession if you will â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the return of the life-giving god, the god of the theatre, who was sent into exile. But now it is finally time for him to return, with all his instincts, sensations, visions and abundance, to enter this flattened epoch which is guided only by the rational. As you can see, Dionysus is my god.

T. I.: And what does that mean?

T. T.: He is the god of diversity, multilingualism, universality and above all the god of freedom.

Torsten Israel, author and translator. Lives in Athens and Mannheim.

116

Theodoros Terzopoulos

The Return of Dionysus

The Return of Dionysus Videos on vimeo.com 1. Training 1 – 10 https://vimeo.com/396905900/9e8b823053 2. Training 11 – 20 https://vimeo.com/397981878/33dbc33feb 3. Training 21 – 30 https://vimeo.com/399119064/92be1c1285 4. Training 31 – 40 https://vimeo.com/399191750/47d6093ab1 5. Deconstruction https://vimeo.com/399815488/2a47b54ab1

The famous Greek director Theodoros Terzopoulos describes in “The Return of Dionysus” the basics of his internationally celebrated work: the rebirth of modern theatre from the origin of creature-like bodywork. The focus of this unique method of actors training, which he developed and elaborated over the last 30 years, is on the reflection of central concepts like “breath”, “energy” or “time” in their relation to the body and the scenic presence of the actor himself. Apart from that his work focuses on the presenting experience and the practice: 40 exercises for actors in the form of self-education are explained in detail and also introduced with video live recordings on the internet platform Vimeo.

powered by

ISBN 978-3-95749-306-4

www.theaterderzeit.de