Between Theater and Anthropology

Between Theater and Anthropology
Author: Richard Schechner
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2010-08-03
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 0812200926

In performances by Euro-Americans, Afro-Americans, Native Americans, and Asians, Richard Schechner has examined carefully the details of performative behavior and has developed models of the performance process useful not only to persons in the arts but to anthropologists, play theorists, and others fascinated (but perhaps terrified) by the multichannel realities of the postmodern world. Schechner argues that in failing to see the structure of the whole theatrical process, anthropologists in particular have neglected close analogies between performance behavior and ritual. The way performances are created—in training, workshops, and rehearsals—is the key paradigm for social process.

Fritz Bennewitz in India

Fritz Bennewitz in India
Author: Joerg Esleben
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2017-01-06
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 148751090X

This volume offers the first comprehensive analysis of the work of East German theatre director Fritz Bennewitz in India between 1970 and 1994. Joerg Esleben has gathered together many of Bennewitz’ own writings, most published for the first time, in which he reflects on his production of plays by Bertolt Brecht, Shakespeare, Goethe, Chekhov, and Volker Braun. By translating these writings into English, the editors have provided unprecedented access to Bennewitz’ thinking about intercultural work in India. This material is illuminated by explanatory annotations, contextualized commentary, and critical perspectives from Bennewitz’s former colleagues in India and other leading scholars. Through its kaleidoscope of perspectives, Fritz Bennewitz in India offers a significant counter to dominant models of Western theatrical interculturalism.

Ramayana Theater in Contemporary Southeast Asia

Ramayana Theater in Contemporary Southeast Asia
Author: Madoka Fukuoka
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2022-11-30
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1000589730

The ancient Indian epic poem Ramayana has been disseminated throughout large tracts of Southeast Asia since the 9th century. Versions of the epic poem have come to adopt and reflect the unique characteristics of the countries and regions where it has gained cultural currency. The epic has been a source of popular themes in both traditional and contemporary art forms, including literature, performing arts, fine arts, and films. This book showcases Ramayana theater as a platform where the multiple meanings and senses of values are negotiated. It focuses on the relationships between the cultural representation and the various meanings of Ramayana theater, as well as other dramatic art forms. Focusing on the various contemporary contexts of art performances where the epic poem has been represented, the book also presents the ideologies and moral values contained in the theatrical forms of the epic poem. It discusses various performance contexts, such as diaspora communities, production of popular content culture, cultural diplomacy, designation as intangible cultural heritage, transmission, tourism, and the representation/exhibition of culture, as well as the performance in rituals. It also includes works of three contemporary and inspiring artists: cross-gender dancer Didik Nini Thowok, animator as well as puppeteer Nanang Ananto Wicaksono, and composer Ken Steven.

Ramayan

Ramayan
Author: P. R. Mitchell
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2009-02-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0595616399

Ramayan, a blend of “Lord Of The Rings” and “Star Wars,” and one of India’s oldest epics, longer than the Odyssey and Iliad combined, is a momentous story from start to finish. The hero, Prince Ram, heir to the throne of Kosala, loses his crown, then his wife, and is flung headlong into action packed adventure where he must battle against evil, gain wisdom and use mystical weapons in a final showdown with the most ruthless demon in the universe. This is a fresh, dramatic version of Ramayan aimed at English-speaking readers in the West.

Valmiki's Ramayana

Valmiki's Ramayana
Author:
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 563
Release: 2018-04-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1538113694

One of India’s greatest epics, the Ramayana pervades the country’s moral and cultural consciousness. For generations it has served as a bedtime story for Indian children, while at the same time engaging the interest of philosophers and theologians. Believed to have been composed by Valmiki sometime between the eighth and sixth centuries BCE, the Ramayana tells the tragic and magical story of Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, an incarnation of Lord Visnu, born to rid the earth of the terrible demon Ravana. An idealized heroic tale ending with the inevitable triumph of good over evil, the Ramayana is also an intensely personal story of family relationships, love and loss, duty and honor, of harem intrigue, petty jealousies, and destructive ambitions. All this played out in a universe populated by larger-than-life humans, gods and celestial beings, wondrous animals and terrifying demons. With her magnificent translation and superb introduction, Arshia Sattar has successfully bridged both time and space to bring this ancient classic to modern English readers.

Ancient Indian And Indo-Greek Theatre

Ancient Indian And Indo-Greek Theatre
Author: M.L. Varadpande
Publisher: Abhinav Publications
Total Pages: 242
Release: 1981
Genre:
ISBN: 8170171474

In The Year 326 B.C. A Play Agen Was Staged In The Military Camp Of Alexander The Great On The Bank Of River Jhelum In Upper Punjab. A Fragment Of A Vase, With The Painting Depicting A Scene From The Play Antigone , Was Found Near Peshawar. As Amphitheatre Which Betrays Greco-Roman Influence Was Excavated At Nagarjunakonda In Andhra Pradesh. A Papyrus Manuscript Of A Farce Written In Greek And Kannada Languages Was Found In Egypt In The Year 1899 By The Team Of Archaeologists Deployed By The Biblical Archaeological Association. Early Greek Records Speak Of Export Of Flute Girls And Singing Boys To India. A Sanskrit Farce Of Gupta Period Mentions A Yavana Ganika Karpoorturishtha Settled In Ujjayani In Central India. Striking Similarities Are Found In The Theoies Of Aristotle And Bharata About The Origin And Nature Of Dramatic Arts. In This Book M.L. Varadpande, A Distinguished Scholar And Theatre Histoian, Analyses The Data To Explore The Probable Relationship Between Theatrical Arts Of Ancient India And Greece. He Starts This Fascinating Study By Giving Historical Account Of Early Indian Theatre. He Studies Dancing Figures On The Walls Of Mesolithic Cave Shelters Of Bhimbetka, Musical Instruments And Figurines Of Dancers And Jesters Excavated At The Sites Connected With Ancient Indus Valley Civilization And Vedic Rituals, Dialogue Hymns. Here Is A Brilliant Work Which Focuses Attention On The Unexplored Areas Of Indian Theatrical Tradition And Speaks About The Contact Between Theatrical Arts Of Two Great Ancient Civilizations Of The World.