And We Begin Again

In our second round of theorist reports, today we heard from the works of Tadashi Suzuki and Capo (though I can't exactly remember his first name). Suzuki definitely stood out from the two, considering his unusual work with animalistic energy. As he emphasized the use of only the lower portion of the body, Suzuki specialized in pre-performance exercises that would establish some sort of connection between the actor and the ground. Through the "Suzuki Crouch", I felt that the entire class became painfully conscious of their bodies, ultimately the basis behind Suzuki's concept. Suzuki's innovative theories were apparently in response to the extravagance of the time embodied within the popular Noh and Kabuki theater. As Capo was being presented, everything I heard seemed oddly familiar. He especially stressed the integrity of the text, in the sense that the actor must stay true to the intent of the author. To perform the piece as the author intended, a performer must take it upon himself/herself to experiment the gamut of emotions possible with different sections of the piece until he/she finds the most suitable. Personally, though, it feels particularly time consuming to go through this process each time you are presented with a new text. But there's no harm in trying.

Afterwards, we picked back up with our discussion of Everyman. It was quite interesting to see that out of all the people to approach first after facing death, Everyman chooses his friends over his family. In effect, this essentially characterizes Everyman's shallowness. At first, it seems as though everyone or everything that Everyman confides in is willing to do practically anything for him, or so they say. When it finally comes down to death, however, everyone and everything abandons him with the exception of his good deeds and knowledge. Goods even goes as far to taunt Everyman for actually believing in the loyalty of money. As morals are presented, each one is associated with a different attitude. Quite innovative for something produced in the 18th century...