SHADOW
HOUSE PITS operates
like a cockroach at the table of culture. Up through the cracks from
the pits and the shadows it feeds from the crumbs, making an
appearance before disappearing into the darkness. We acknowledge the
deaths and struggles of the thousands of individuals who fought hard
to win basic human rights over the centuries and face the horrors of
dogmatic cultural and religious might that continues to squash the
personal "i" with an insane psychosis proclaimed by the
books of prophets.
Shadow
House PITS mission
is to:
-
present
theatre which stimulates personal and cultural challenge while
affirming the struggles and joy of humanity;
-
create
and inspire an organic artistic response to questions of cultural,
historical and personal significance;
-
publish
critical observations and reflections on theatre and cultural practices;
-
challenge
and heighten perceptions of contradictory personal and cultural
motivations, behaviours and social constructs;
-
create
and present compelling theatre which challenges itself, its creators
and the audience.
SHADOW
HOUSE PITS seeks
to challenge and inspire audiences and participants through theatre
development, presentation and education.
Our
longer term aims are to:
-
create
a centre of constant rejuvenating force for arts practice;
-
create
and present outstanding theatrical mixed media and theatrical events;
-
provide
international networking with like-minded people who seek cultural
and social reform through theatre arts practice and related
by-products, writings and practices;
-
promote
and stimulate new writing and works of art that inspire local
cultural, spiritual and creative exploration in form and content;
-
publish
critical and perceptive writings in theatre arts expression,
communication and philosophy infected with the personal "I";
-
operate
an education unit capable of stimulating community knowledge and
action in theatre and multi-media challenge to orthodox mass media presentation;
-
conduct
research and experimentation in metaphorical and spiritual
cross-cultural referencing for theatrical presentation and audience perceptions;
-
provide
cross media links in the development of content for live on-stage,
on-screen and on-line presentation;
-
provide
significant market penetration to challenge cultural perception to
re-evaluate its precepts and assumptions.
How Do
We Proceed?
A theatre beyond
cultural subsistence; a "theatre
from the cracks in the psyche of culture"
requires that we be very realistic in our strategies and daring in
our art and our creative processes.
Strategies
for a theatre beyond cultural subsistence
Our
theatre will focus primarily on new works; works created from
original observations, reflections, interpretations and considered
decisions regarding the validity and meaning constructed for us as
participants in the creative process. Doing this requires a strong
collaborative methodology while retaining a strong sense of personal
artistic vision. It is phenomenological by design and implementation.
The composition of cast and associated collaborators will necessity
the actual shaping of the meaning within the work; evoking a kind of
organic responsiveness giving rise to a maximizing of the work's
potential. An obvious paradox is that the artistic shaping must still
be within the artistic vision of the personal "i" of the
instigator. Such a process requires considerable challenge to all
participants and to the nature of the work itself. Where possible
each work should have built into its creation a constant antagonism
or tension created by the infusion of different perceptions and ways
of engaging within the art form.
A
defining feature of Shadow
House PITS methodology
and thinking which separates it from groups that might appear
similar, is its constant attention to personal and collective
challenge within the actual creative process. This can be summarized
under the heading or "Organic Response". It is used
to strengthen the personal "i" through challenge and
constant clarifying and rejecting. While acknowledging the personal
difficulties this creates, it does the have the effect of cementing a
greater texture and bonding of the work to achieve a greater
relationship between artistic creation and philosophical discourse.
In this respect, our theatre owes a debt to the inspiration of
Eugenio Barba and his work on "personal dramaturgies".
Our
theatre will harness the conceptual thinking of people such as
Antonin Artaud, Peter Brook, Eugenio Barba and others who work in
dynamic ways to open the systems of creation and presentation.
Our
theatre will harness digital technologies involving the Internet and
interactive live and pre-recorded video. By using projections and/or
screen monitors in the design of live theatre performances, we can at
once heighten the live performance while re-focusing audiences on to
aspects that would otherwise be missed. It also means that the scope
for audience interaction is greatly enhanced. Where possible,
audiences should be able to link on to a huge universe of information
which the performance should tempt them to access. And so we engage
the emotions and, then through them, the minds of our audiences.
By
integrating on-line and movie making technologies, we aim to break
down the barriers of live and recorded performance. This integration
is a most significant and important tool and a major component of our theatre.
The
more we can add value by way of linking our work into the eyes and
ears of popular culture, the more we can create awareness of our
being in relation to that culture.
To
break the new subsistence of cultural, artistic and spiritual ennui
and commodification, our theatre seeks to awaken the powers of:
-
metaphors
constructed from Nature
-
anger and
the urge to destroy
-
poetic violence
-
lust and
erotic instincts
-
dangerous
journeys and adventures
-
dreams and
the sub-conscious truth
-
fear and courage
-
love ...
even naive love
-
artistic
action and daring
-
Nature and
the Universe
-
the body,
skin, blood, pain and the senses
-
thought,
feeling, passion and aspiration
-
vicarious
association and experience of extremes in action and feeling
-
the
vitality of words
-
staking a
claim on the arts to wrench it from the clasps and binds of ugly
cynicism and cowardess
-
struggle
and perseverance
-
exposure
-
individual perception
-
contradictions
and dialectics.
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 declares
its commitment to the personal "i" of artistic creation
and uses this commitment to challenge orthodoxy and charlatan
practices where-ever they emerge; and then to create and present the
highest quality theatre from within our imagination and intuitive
connection to the natural order of the universe.
