WELCOME
SHADOW
HOUSE PITS is
Canberra's leading experimental
theatre offering
an alternative laboratory and performance arena utilizing drama,
dance, digital/photographics on-stage, on-screen, on-line to explore
the psyche of culture. It began in 1995 under the name PITS
Productions and became Shadow House PITS in 1998.
SHADOW
HOUSE PITS uses
rituals, symbolic action, new texts and meta-textual revisiting old
texts to evoke the powers of nature and focus on areas of experience
that are not easily defined or explained. Sex, power, love, hate,
survival, acceptance and rejection and the need for some
representation of a paternal god and an all embracing goddess are
themes that appear in virtually all layers of art throughout history.
However, new technologies pre-empt new modes of expression.
SHADOW
HOUSE PITS has
a mission to:
-
create
and present theatre, digital media and dance events and works of art
capable of stimulating personal and cultural challenge while
affirming the struggles and joy that is humanity;
-
create
works of art that inspire local cultural, spiritual and creative
exploration in form and content;
-
publish
radical and / or other writings in theatre arts expression,
communication and philosophy;
-
research
and experiment with metaphorical cross-cultural referencing for
theatrical presentation to challenge and heighten perceptions.
Shadow
House PITS
affirms the value of the personal "i": the power of
individual thought, perception and feeling as a tool for artistic
endeavours. The personal 'i' is being jettisoned from both the
ideological 'right' and 'left' of the socio/political spectrum.
"i" is harder to manage than the self-conscious
"we" of perception. "i" is silenced by self-censoring
and imposed constraint. The paradox is lost. For without a strong
sense of "i" there is little sense of "we" and
what there is can only be made seem real by unseen controllers of
agendas to which the "we" sheepishly follows. It's not only
up to the social scientists, the agendists and the high priests to
examine the truth and falsehoods which present to social humanity. It
is also up to the artists and those who practice the art of theatre.
SHADOW
HOUSE PITS offers
and presents exciting theatre scripts and productions which
elucidate the shadows and invisible binds that can both connect and
destroy our connection to the universe and to each other.
SHADOW
HOUSE PITS offers
a dynamic and provocative theatre practice that contributes to
culture while challenging its belief systems and practices.
SHADOW
HOUSE PITS offers
"meta-textural" and experimental theatre approaches to the
development and presentation of all its theatrical offerings and
draws significantly on the writings and inspirations of people such
as Antonin Artaud, Eugenio Barba, Peter Brook, Bertolt Brecht et al.
SHADOW
HOUSE PITS offers
investigations into the shadows of the cultural and personal psyche
inspired by the thinking and analogies offered by C. G. Jung.
Artists
have long given extensive credence to the shadow. Long before C.G.
Jung, Shakespeare described the shadow as:
"This
thing of darkness I acknowledge mine."
Jung
spoke of it as:
"Everyone
carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's
conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms
an unconscious snag thwarting our most well-meant intentions."
Venture
into our site. Read NEWS of
what is happening for SHADOW
HOUSE PITS.
Have
a SCREAM
indulging a little philosophical gazing with essays and articles
about theatre and art. Spend a moment on our MANIFESTO.
It's a conspiracy of Shadows. Visit our beautiful GALLERY.
Find out a little about the HISTORY
of this unique theatre group. And why not LINK
into some great sites that we visit regularly for inspiration and
companionship. Check out our TRINCULO'S
SHADOW news letter archives for valuable insights and
information re theatre around the world.
Participate
in a WORKSHOP
on the Actor's
MESH: the 4 States of Artaud.
Check
out our exciting extreme
theatre scripts available
for performing. FREE SAMPLES for reading.
Purchase
on line for only $12. Just click on the title for
a
sample of a theatre script and synopsis.
