In this class we have asked a number of questions about global theatre in an effort to better understand how to approach it. One of the questions we asked was who can do what? The article we read for class today was about a British man who has devoted his life to the Beijing Opera. As far as Chinese theatre and the Beijing Opera are concerned, can this man be considered a legitimate Chinese theatre artist because he is not of Chinese decent?
In this particular case the answer is a resounding yes! This man is not you every day theatre practitioner longing to find a generic way to add diversity to his craft. Ghaffar Pourazar has devoted his life to the Beijing Opera. He trained at a Beijing Opera school for five years to perfect his craft. “Pourazar spent five years undergoing punishing training at a school so dirty he describes it as a big toilet. He was decades older than the other students, and he tested his body on a daily basis, starting at dawn with unbelievably painful contortions.”
The way Pourazar approaches global theatre is a way we could all learn from. If we want to feel closer to art forms and cultures other than our own we have to find ways to get firsthand experience with those art forms. Waking up one day and deciding that you want to perform Chinese theatre is one thing, but actually taking the time to train like traditional Beijing Opera performers is another. Although it is not realistic for regular theatre artist to pack up and spend five or so years of their lives training for Beijing Opera, the idea that putting yourself in to someone else’s shoes to experience their art form the way they meant it to be experienced is priceless.
2 comments:
I wanted to discuss Gary’s idea. I think that we’ve discussed this idea a little in class. But as we come to the close of the semester, I am inclined to renew the thought. We are living in a global theatre community correct? Any theatre in China can do an amateur production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” using traditional realism and no one thinks twice. Then why is it not PC for us (white and black americans) to do a production of “Snow in Midsummer” in traditional Beijing Opera style performance.
Let’s assume that our theatre in China has been committing itself to approaching realism the way we approach it. They have also committed to making a work of Tennessee Williams that will work as well for their audience as it did for ours. They have gone through their intentions and have attempted to make it as western as possible. Is the result Chinese theatre or Western Theatre? Would the result be a new breed of theatre? Perhaps this is the future of a world without borders.
Let’s assume that our production of “Snow in Midsummer” is much the same way. We’ve gone out of our way to make the performance styles (including the cross-gender casting) as close to the original as possible. Can we assume that any Chinese theatre-goer can attend our production and not be insulted that we have presumed to do something so cultural intrinsic? The reason I ask that is because, if we were to go to the Chinese production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” none of us would be all that offended. So the question becomes why can they get away with using our theatre but we can’t take their theatre and perform it for us.
I recognize the far reaching effects of western culture. I also recognize that western influence is an ever present effect worldwide. But I do not feel that it is an excuse for the double standard.
The answer to this I feel is something that Gary states “can this man be considered a legitimate Chinese theatre artist because he is not of Chinese decent? In this particular case the answer is a resounding yes! This man is not you every day theatre practitioner longing to find a generic way to add diversity to his craft. Ghaffar Pourazar has devoted his life to the Beijing Opera.”
The answer to me is in people like Pourazar. We are heading into a world that is getting smaller and smaller. This idea of nationalism and borders is one that will fade into nothing in the next 100 to 150 years. To confine the type of theatre you do to the generics of what your own upbringing “allows” is absurd. The way it should be isn’t the way it is now. But someday it will be okay for me to play a character in a Chinese play, a Japanese play, or maybe even (god forbid) a Chicano play. Someday race really won’t matter, and neither will borders.Someday. I hope that is some food for thought.
The question of "who?" is one of the most appropriate in the global theatre discussion. I am in complete agreement with Gary and believe that the actions of the individual define that person. Because Pourazar had spent so much time training and undergoing the specifics of Beijing Opera, he too has the right to claim the identity of Beijing Opera performer. The importance of devoting one's self to the extensive training required by other forms of theatre is a strong method of pursuing global theatre. Because many of the traditions (particularly Asian and African) require years of training, total immersion into the understanding of the artform and culture is required in order to earn the right to be a global performer. Pourazar has earned this right, and the realm of global theatre is only accessed by the most respectful, dedicated actor.
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