“Is this all there is?” must be one of those omnipresent questions forever on the conscious minds of those human-beings that are capable of thought.
The incredible arrogance that dominates the thinking of human-beings into believing that the ‘Human-Being’ is the single cognisant living-being, not only on this planet Earth, but also throughout the entitreity of this particular universe, is beyond comprehension, or at least it is to those human-beings capable of thinking beyond the confines of human constraint.
The planet called ‘Earth’, as defined by human-beings, which albeit constitutes just one of the multitude of living species that inhabits said planet, is in fact simply a speck of cosmic dust in relation to the infinite scale of the ‘Everything’ that comprises that particular ‘Universe’.
I offer two question that any human-being should ask itself…
(Q) – “What Exists?” (A) – Everything.
Ergo: What exists only exists within the comprehension of an individual human-being.
(Q) – “What does not exist.? (A) – Everything else.
Ergo: What does not exist is that which lies beyond the scope of that same individual human-being’s comprehension.
I would therefore posit that Comprehension and Existence are indelibly intertwined and consolidated within any concept of Consciousness.
Therefore an individual’s Consciousness, of whatever living species that exists anywhere in any particular Universe, must be valid within the milieux of that Individual and that Universe.
Communications
Reflections on Phase 2 — ‘JOSEF K’ Project
It was heart-warming to see so many like-minded folk sacrificing their time, energies, and resources, in engaging with the three R&D workshops this year which made up the 2nd Phase of the R.A.T.S. “JOSEF K” Project; first in April at Sabera Shaik’s magnificent new studio in Kuala Lumpur, then as welcome guests of Kamil Haque in his studio at his Haque Centre of Acting and Creativity in Singapore during August, and finally again in Kuala Lumpur in early September thanks to the enormous generosity of Heng and the Damansara Performing Arts Centre. My most profound thanks go to all who helped to realise these events; also to David Glass and Alan Lyddiard for making the enormous effort to travel from the UK to participate; to John Sharpley and Akiko Otao who interrupted their busy schedules to cross the border from Singapore and lend their valuable weight to the proceedings; and to Ralf Rauker, without whom each one of these three R&D events would have been so very much diminished.
Much was explored, much achieved, and much revealed; many doors were opened onto wider horizons ripe for exploration; and the need identified for the acquisition of essential new skills and knowledge.
Much also was achieved towards the fulfilment of the first major objective of this R.A.T.S. initiative… i.e., the successful assemblage of a group of creative artists that possess the wherewithal in abundance to evolve and develop into the establishment of a ‘True’ Ensemble, a creative-collective that would collaborate and work together to create theatre-works of substance, the first of which being the realisation of ’JOSEF K’, a reimagining of Franz Kafka’s novella, “The Trial”.
I believe it also became clear to most that there existed a great deal more to the ‘JOSEF K’ Project than simply the staging of a ‘one-off’ theatre production… for many a realisation emerged that the performance of ‘JOSEF K” was in fact an inherent part of a greater process of development which went far beyond the straightforward provision of a piece of public ‘entertainment’.
To some this realisation came as a welcome enlightenment, to others a source of excitement, fear and/or trepidation, and also, to a few, a target for disbelief and disdain, a response which only went to reinforce the growing need for such an initiative, not just in this part of the world, but universally, right across the global theatre-making milieux.
YT Wong, a Malaysian ‘RAT’ currently based in Los Angeles, where he is teaching theatre arts, wrote recently…
“Chris, I’m glad you started the whole R.A.T.S. project, though I can’t imagine what tough going it must be to do it in KL.
I’m with you and R.A.T.S. for the long term so I’m looking forward to that! What you are doing with R.A.T.S may be rare for KL but it’s happening all over the world – Eugenio Barba’s Third Theatre – all these islands of art and exploration everywhere, including across the water in Singapore. It’s curious and interesting that most of them are rooted in some form of physical theatre, whether it’s Decroux, Grotowski, Meyerhold, Lecoq, Suzuki/Viewpoints, butoh – and the list goes on! You’re not alone! I think, aside from the question of art, all these theatre practices and the performances that come out of them speak to a need for contact with something visceral and real in actors as well as audience.
Sometimes I tell my students: we go out hiking, surfing, or whatever to experience nature, we are awed and sometimes exhilarated by storms and the ocean – but we carry a piece of nature with us every day. We’ve been led to believe that it’s mostly tame, that we know it, that it has few secrets, but it only takes a fall or a break or a moment of forgetfulness to realize that the body we carry with us and that carries us is as wild, untamed, dangerous, and fragile as the nature out there. I think theatre, and physical theatre in particular (what theatre isn’t physical?) allows us to explore this wilderness, and come to terms with it on its own terms, in a safe way. Maybe this visceral wilderness in us is what Artaud wanted to see in his theatre of cruelty?”
Building on from Phase 2, the 3rd Phase has now already begun… consisting of a series of seven, fortnightly, 2-day Teaching/Training Workshops, focusing on those much needed, specific Physical-Theatre skills and Ensemble-Building, identified in Phase 2, taking place at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC) in Kuala Lumpur for the rest of this year.
These are ‘Open’ Workshops to which the general performing-arts population are invited to join and receive a taste of what it means to work in a collective, creative-consciousness, and to feel the joys of discovery, both in themselves and in the world around them.
Simply follow the link below for further details, and either contact me directly or here through the R.A.T.S. website should you wish to know more of the project, or apply to DPAC to take advantage of this opportunity.
Kindly
[Chief Rat]
‘The Trial’ – R&D Update 1
OK, Now that a group of like-minded folk have been drawn together who share the desire to commence developing a theatricalisation of Franz Kafka’s “The Trial”, under the umbrella of the Really Aloof Theatre Symposium (R.A.T.S.), it is vital that the journey begins from a platform of collective strength. To this end all involved will need to provision themselves with sufficient nourishment for the journey. In this context such nourishment that best serves each traveller would take the form of;
(a) a comfortable familiarity with Kafka’s original story and his reasons for writing it,
(b) an assemblage of reflections on how its themes reflect parallels with current sociopolitical conditions within Malaysia, SE Asia region, and the globe, and
(c) personal reflections on ways in which the effects of such conditions have affected your own life.
There are now 28 days before a number of this group shall be meeting together at a location in Kuala Lumpur to begin to physically explore the life of ‘Joseph K’. However, the work needs to begin now if maximum value is to be gained from the very short time they shall have together; indeed it has already begun.
The secret to successful Theatre is in communication, of course, and the communication of all thoughts, ideas, and opinions, between all participants in the endeavour, freely, honestly, and fully shared will help to generate a environment of creative communion and provide the fuel that drives the engine carrying us on this remarkable journey..
- Making Theatre is all about communication!
- Making Theatre is all about honesty!
- Making Theatre is all about taking risks!
- R.A.T.S. is all about Making Theatre!
Bon Voyage!!
Chief Rat [for the time being anyway]
Black Dog Barking!
Hello!
There now follows an intimate communication…… those of a sensitive nature are advised to read no further and to exit now.
[pause]
OK.
Since the turn of the new year I have been endeavouring to entice and inveigle the participation in the initial R&D session for a dramatisation of Kafka’s ‘The Trial’, by those whom I believe might have something special to contribute, and thereby help maximise the value of this unique occasion, which is planned to occur on the 3rd & 4th March this year in Kuala Lumpur.
To date I have received a number of rather disappointing, not to say depressing, responses to recent notices, and direct approaches. In consequence I have been moved to confront a number of pertinent and relevant issues, with respect to both my own Self, and to my current aspirations of the theatrical kind… not just concerning ‘The Trial’ R&D, but also, more profoundly, of the R.A.T.S. initiative itself.
Be assured –
REVOLUTION IS BLOODY HARD WORK!! NOTHING WORTH ACHIEVING COMES EASY!!
Obstacle after Obstacle is, and will continue to be, emerging.
One particularly galling Obstacle is the growing formation of a notion that perhaps the theatrical milieux in these parts is largely made up of apathetic pedestrians, shuffling their way through the morass of the ‘Is-Now-and-Ever-Shall-Be’ mentation.
Is it a coincidence I wonder that of those that have responded to ‘The Call’ only those whose cultural heritage is rooted outside said theatrical milieux have actually taken the trouble to do the necessary Research and Analysis, followed by the essential Thinking, before submitting positive responses in the ‘Spirit’ of the Call, which is rooted in the objectives and philosophies inherent in the R.A.T.S. initiative.
Those that responded from within said theatrical milieux have, to a person, offered nothing but irrelevant inconsequentialities, redolent of the prevailing mindset against which I have been battling for 20 years, and precisely that which R.A.T.S. was created to combat. All of which leads to the potential conclusion that none, from within said theatrical milieux, have comprehended its objectives, recognised the import of the initiative, nor, in many cases, even so much as read the materials.
Do such folk not ‘Read’ anything anymore?
Do such folk not ‘Think’ anymore?
What to do?
My sense of isolation, and frustration is growing, and the Black Dog is howling! I feel a strong compulsion to vomit pompous, emotionally-driven verbal-diarrhoea over whomsoever deserves it, irrespective of who might be listening or reading.
Ah Me! Though I am aware of the dangers in doing so, mayhap not to do so would generate such pressures within the soul that the resultant explosion… well… such an event does not bear even so much as a moment’s ponder.
So whatever happens on the 3rd & 4th March, whomsoever might be present, and wherever its locale, it shall, I hope, generate a cathartic experience for all who participate, and shall secure a foothold from which to launch the R.A.T.S. Revolution and its raison d’être in earnest, by way of ‘The Trial’— For such is my personal, ultimate bourne… to make theatre-works of substance, work that connects with and moves us mortals and our society upwards and onwards, not work that merely entertains.
Are you moved to respond to this diatribe? To communicate whether it be caustic, contrite, or complicit? Or shall you simply dismiss it as the ravings of an embittered soul.
Making Theatre is all about communication! Making Theatre is all about honesty! Making Theatre is all about taking risks! R.A.T.S. is all about Making Theatre!
If you desire to accept the risks inherent in communicating honestly in the interests of Making Theatre of substance, then please do so.… or let your silence speak for you… and for your art.
Chief Rat [for the time being anyway]
Another Nightmare!
’Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K.,
he knew he had done nothing wrong but, one morning,
he was arrested.’
“The Trial” — Franz Kafka.
The socio-political conditions inferred in such an opening line resonate strongly throughout most contemporary societies. Most inhabitants of those societies choose to respond to such resonation as they would a bout of tinnitus; they acknowledge it, push it into the subconscious, and simply learn to live with it.
I am now actively seeking Actors eager to explore this condition through means of a new stage-adaptation of Kafka’s celebrated nightmare,.
These Actors will be special: They are Actors who would relish the opportunity to…
— join the forces of aesthetics and scholarship.
— be independent of the normal production economy of mainstream theatre.
— be freed from the laws of common morality or catechism.
— work with the free interaction of the actor and the spectator.
— define acting and theatre in the broadest possible sense, and thus not accept any historical separations such as those between acting, dancing and singing, or between the arts.
— immerse themselves in the practice of collective creation.
— work independently of existing performance conventions.
— use improvisation extensively.
— explore all means of human expression separately.
(“ACTOR” is defined here as an artist who performs, whether that artist’s initial speciality is in Dance, Drama, Music, Mime, Pole-Dancing, Dwile-Flonking or any other performing arts discipline.)
Actors, for whom the above criteria exites, are invited to contact me in the first instance via this location or e-mail at <stagesense@gmail.com>
Those Actors that already know the necessary digits may call me, repeatedly, or message me on my wire-less telephonic device.
Kindly.
Chief RAT (for the time being)
R.A.T.S. — The Really AliveTheatre Symposium 