"paratheatre" (f.a.q.)
Infrequently Asked Questions
by Antero Alli, director of ParaTheatrical ReSearch.
Updated 6/1/09.
What is 'paratheatre' ?
The term "paratheatre" was coined by the late great Polish theatre director, Jerzy Grotowski (Aug. 11, 1933 - Jan. 14, 1999), to address a stage of the work his group was doing between 1970 and 1978 in Poland. Generally speaking, paratheatre refers to private, non-performance oriented physical processes of group dynamics usually involving rigorous kinetic and vocal techniques. Without an audience, the focus shifts away from the external "pressure to perform" and towards more self-created pressures of performing actions with enough commitment to transform and refine the instrument (of the self). Grotowski himself claimed no 'legacy of paratheatre' due to the many transformations his own work underwent over three decades, and beyond his death, at the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards in Pontedera, Italy. The term "paratheatre, like the term "theatre", must be periodically updated and redefined to serve the developing contexts of its practice and its practioners.
The paratheatre medium that I, Antero Alli, have been developing with others since 1977 posits an asocial approach
to group ritual dynamics that implements techniques of physical theatre, dance, song and standing Zazen meditation
to access, express and embody the internal landscape. Though inspired by Grotowski's early work ("paratheatre" and "theatre of sources"), this medium makes no pretense of following Grotowski's course, though I remain inspired by it as a valuable resource. One important difference that sets our work apart from Grotowski's is our consistent use of a standing meditation form we call "no-form", a core technique we depend on for developing the very forms and content of our work. Though external forms -- such as songs and text -- are occasionally introduced, they often play a secondary role to the slower development of organic structures emerging through the no-form experience. I call this "no-form approach", ParaTheatrical ReSearch.
What is the practical purpose of this "no-form" ? Tell us more about its use.
The purpose of no-form is two-fold: 1) to deepen receptivity to energy sources innate to the physical and energetic bodies towards their engagement and expression and 2) to discharge and disperse identification with these forces after each engagement. Like an empty container, no-form allows us to become full with the energies engaged and then to become empty, again. Before and after each engagement with internal forces, we enter no-form as a standing meditation of vertical rest. No-form practice is also applied to a 'no-form walk' and 'no-form jogging' when more dynamic transitions between rituals are needed. We approach no-form in context to movement and expression, rather than as any physically passive technique or traditional Zen path to samadhi or "enlightenment".
No-form is not something that can be taught; we either already have some existing relationship or intimacy with Void or, we do not. The experience is essentially personal to each individual but also, impersonal. Astrophysics suggests there is no such thing as 'empty space' anywhere in nature, that space is not empty but teeming with dynamic potential energy. They could have been describing no-form.
Click this for more on "No-Form"
How are you able to discern any progress in this paratheatre work ?
After three decades in this paratheatre medium, I have noticed three overlapping phases through which this work seems to develop, progress and evolve. All three stages express an intimately entwined process; no graduations, no final arrivals. Each remains an essential component of each other.
The first stage involves cultivating deep internal receptivity -- via the No-Form experience -- to energy sources in the body and yielding to these sources in an immersive experience of self-surrender. The intent is to access, express and embody the energetic strata of the internal landscape towards a merging identification with the energy. The results are often ecstatic, convulsive, cathartic and chaotic.
The second stage involves serving the direction of the energy itself -- in gesture, voice, action -- towards clarifying the innate patterns and currents emerging from the first stage. The intent is to serve the expression of the energy itself, rather than identify with it or impose any preconceived ideas, plans or images. The results are often half-formed, dramatic and/or highly expressive yet without necessarily communicating anything understandable.
The third stage involves a sustaining care for tempering spontaneity with a gently increasing precision. Too much spontaneity turns the work into self-indulgent soup; too much imposed structure kills its life. A balance must be struck. This balance requires a certain stamina for maintaining the dynamic tension between precision and spontaneity, between form and force, or flow, towards ever-increasing durations. Stage three articulates what can also be understood by others. The results are often more economical, distilled, dynamic and specific.
Does ParaTheatrical ReSearch ever serve performance or public formats ? If so, how ?
About 80% of our work (since 1977) has commenced behind closed doors without audience or any witnesses beyond myself as facilitator. The private and deeply internal nature of our work has required an equally private environment to nurture and achieve its various asocial, spiritual and creative aims. When a given group reaches a critical mass of skill and proficiency in this medium to merit the challenge of public exposure, a performance event is considered and sometimes scheduled.
ParaTheatrical ReSearch public events have taken on four distinct formats: 1) Witnessing (a public invitation to sit in on an actual lab session with no explanaton of actions) 2) Demonstration (public lecture explaining aspects of the work accompanied by demonstration) 3) Performance (where specific ritual structures are performed often accompanied by text and/or live music) and 4) Video documents (distilled presentations of a ritual lab accompanied by facilitator and participant commentaries). The history of ParaTheatrical ReSearch public events are posted at Public Event History.
Our paratheatre techniques can be applied to almost any performance and artistic medium in a number of ways, from pre-performance warm-up processes to strengthening performance stamina and presence and on to post-performance diffusion of excess emotional charge. Our processes and methods have also proved effective for artists working in many other mediums --such as Painting, Sculpture, Poetry, Composing Music, Cinema (filmmaking) -- that depend on increasing access to creative sources of inspiration. Additional notes on how paratheatre can serve the performing artist are posted in State of Emergence (my paratheatre manifesto): Part Three: "The Performer/Audience Romance".
What other groups or individuals are working in paratheatre mediums ?
There are currently numerous offshoots and hybrids of Grotowski-informed work (those who have worked personally with Grotowski) and Grotowski-inspired work by groups and individuals all over the world. In the U.S.A., I personally know of seven other individuals and their groups fully commited to paratheatre and paratheatre-related projects. Please feel free to contact any one of them for further information:
Matt Mitler; director, Theatre Dzieci (NYC)
Stephen Bogart; director, Rouged Ape (Boston)
Stacy Klein, director, Double Edge Theatre (Amherst MA)
Stephen Wangh; instructor, NYU (Naropa, Boulder CO; and NYC)
Joseph Lavy and Jennifer Lavy; co-directors, Akropolis Performance Lab (Seattle)
James Slowiak, Jairo Cuesta; co-directors, New World Performance Laboratory (Akron OH)
Others working in paratheatre and related mediums are listed at:
ParaTheatrical ReSearch Links
What books on paratheatre would you recommend ?
click image for excerpts
I strongly recommend these books to address
a healthy spectrum
of theory and practical application of paratheatre work:
Towards a Poor Theatre by Jerzy Grotowski; click this for excerpt
At Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions by Thomas Richards
The Empty Space by Peter Brook
An Acrobat of the Heart by Stephen Wangh
Towards an Archeology of the Soul by Antero Alli; click this for excerpt
ParaTheatrical ReSearch links
Participation in ParaTheatrical ReSearch Labs
The Interview Process and What To Expect
RITUAL LAB SCHEDULE
Every Spring, Summer and Fall/Winter.
Interviews with the director
from 1999 to present
(also podcasts)
Paratheatre-related articles
by Antero and others
"State of Emergence"
a paratheatre manifesto by Antero
ParaTheatrical ReSearch Site Map