5: Theatre - Women - Generation
Mothers and Daughters
We were looking for a word that encompassed different strategies for
the passing on of theatre knowledge. We wanted a word that contained
the complexities of the independent auto-didactic reality as well as
those of the master/pupil relationship; the practice of workshops and
training as well as traditional western schooling; the transmission
of a craft through apprenticeship as well as the absence of such reference
points. We came upon the word generation.
Generation is also the creation of scenic material and performances.
Generation can be looked upon as belonging to different ages or theatre
traditions. It could also be seen as the difference between the ones
born into a professional family, those who chose a family to be adopted
by, and the "orphans".
The great Indian dancer Sanjukta Panigrahi complained that she could
no longer find young people who showed her same commitment. In the USA
theatre professors in universities cannot develop challenging training
programmes because they are not allowed to extend their teaching hours.
In Europe, students challenge authoritarianism and theatre schools ask
themselves what kind of job they must prepare their pupils for. In Japan
some of the most famous families of classical forms are no longer able
to attract young apprentices. In Latin America collective creation,
which originated from a search for autonomous identity, is now confronted
by a completely different political reality.
All over the world young people are desperate to learn and to put
their learning into practice. Women especially look for references corresponding
to their own needs which theatre history does not offer.
There is lightness in this issue of The Open Page. Having a life in
front of you, or the recognition of the right to still be learning even
later in life, are reasons for optimism. Connection to the social and
historical context seems to be less present in the articles, because
the individual quest, the personal process of growing - be it teaching
or learning or both - is central. Generation is seen as a lifetime of
growing.
For the younger generation it is not so important to discuss gender
in relation to the theme; other women have conquered the right for them
to ignore that. But still it must be noted that the archetypal image
of a master remains masculine and, although many women are recognised
teachers in theatre, still the prevailing master talked about in the
articles is male. Maybe women do not want to be called masters and are
in search of alternatives.
Many articles place generation within a context: a network, a group,
a whole life, a master or even photography. The main focus is on the
pedagogical process and a section entitled Mothers and Daughters includes
some very young authors. The younger generation appears exclusive and
sure, as every generation has before. We discover generations within
a generation and that things other than age form generations.
The question for all is how to find your own way while learning from
each other.
Julia Varley. Holstebro, March 2000
Compulsory schooling, the need to earn a living, the demand to produce
quick results and the artistic process of live performance being taken
over by mass events and television - all of these factors are influencing
both the way in which theatre is generated and the different generations
of theatre practitioners.