7: Theatre - Women - Travel
- Iben Nagel Rasmussen (Denmark) A ROAD IN MY MIND
- Neusa Thomasi (Brazil/France) WALKING TO AVIGNON
- Ayla Algan (Turkey) FROM THE CROSSROADS OF ISTANBUL
- Ananya Chatterjea (India/USA) ETCHINGS IN THE SAND
- Cora Herrendorf (Argentina/Italy) WORDS FROM EXILE
- Ileana Citaristi (Italy/India) DESTINATION INDIA
- Kerensa Johnston (Australia/Bali) EASY RIDER
- Cristina Wistari (Italy/Bali) FOREIGN LANDSCAPES
- Hala Nassar (Palestine/USA) THE INVOCATION OF LOST PLACES
- Nehad Selaiha (Egypt) AT THE FAJR FESTIVAL IN TEHRAN
- Julia Varley (Britain/Denmark) NEFERTARI UNDER COVER
- Touria Hadraoui (Morocco) TRADITION AND I
- Nasrin Pourhosseini (Iran/France) RESTING INJURED FEET
- Sonia M’barek (Tunisia) A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE
- Helen Chadwick (Britain) PAGES FROM MY NOTEBOOKS
- Luisa Calcumil (Argentina) WOMAN, MAPUCHE, ARTIST
- Petra Lindblom (Sweden) MYTH OF THE SPIDER-WOMAN
- Savannah Walling (USA/Canada) RUNNING FOR LIFE
- Beatriz Seibel (Argentina) NO OTHER OPTION
- Guillermina Willet (Brazil) WANDERING KNIGHT OF LOVE
- Ginevra Sanguigno (Italy) LET’S GO!
- Yamile Lanchas (Colombia) TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE TIDE
- Leo Sykes (Britain/Brazil) FROM MY DIARY
- Clelia Falletti (Italy) THE INACCESSIBLE MOUNTAIN
- Geddy Aniksdal (Norway) CROSS COUNTRY
- Laylage Courie (USA) MEDEA IN THE DESERT
- Liza Magtoto (The Philippines) SEA BREEZE
- Marianne Blichfeldt (Denmark) AT THE FEET OF THE HIMALAYAS
- Sally Rodwell (Aotearoa New Zealand) ROADS, WHEELS, ROUNDABOUTS
ORIENTEERING
- Miff Moore ON MY WAY
- Monica Borg Fure AWAY FROM IT ALL
- Sara Serrano López THE EYES OF AN OLD WOMAN
- Susanne Christensen THE FISHING TRIP
- Verena Tay WHAT IS SNOW LIKE?
- The Open Page BEING IN TRANSIT
- The Open Page OPEN LETTERS - OPEN NEWS
- The Open Page OPEN LETTERS - OPEN NEWS
- Susan Bassnett FLYING TO SIBERIA
This
is the seventh volume of The Open Page, a theatre journal which originally
complemented the Magdalena Project's Newsletter, the last issue of which
was published in Autumn 1999. The Newsletter gave an opportunity for
the sharing of accessible information and documentation, and its function
has been replaced by a website (www.themagdalenaproject.org).
The Open Page was founded in the belief that there needed to be a more substantial space for women theatre practitioners to report on their work and express their thoughts, feelings and analysis of theatre, as a means of building their own memory and a critical perspective within theatre history. As the journal has grown so too has the necessity to document and historicise women's work in theatre: we have to leave behind traces of our work for ourselves and for future generations.
Women's work in theatre has until very recently been poorly documented or neglected. The Open Page does not come from one ideological position through which the choice of what is or is not published is filtered, nor does it insist upon an adherence to theoretical perspectives which can inhibit the expression of a plurality of ideas and experiences. Rather The Open Page seeks to give space to many different voices, some of them dissident, others not, keeping a balance among contributions from experienced authors and scholars, practitioners needing to put their thoughts on paper and first time writers more accustomed to expressing themselves through performance.
The seventh issue of The Open Page has the theme Women - Theatre - Travel and issue eight will focus on Women - Theatre - Character. In collecting articles we have given great importance to international diversity although the choice of printing in one language forces us to confront the problems of translation. As far as possible we have tried to be faithful to the original intention of the texts even if this has meant showing disrespect for English scholarly form or grammar. The gender form chosen by the author for the word actress-actor-female performer has been respected.
We welcome comments and suggestions and information and letters in relation to the eighth issue, Women - Theatre - Character.
Theatre women have always travelled. Beatriz Seibel reminds us of this by quoting María Esther Podestá who wrote in Argentina in 1911 that theatre traditionally only exists on tour. Indeed theatre does not respect national borders nor can it be confined to a building. Many articles in this issue on Travel reflect the reality of women who work in theatre feeling estranged and foreign deep inside. They become exiles by choice or constraint, leaving the country where they were born. They are outsiders and rebels in society, eternally in search of a home, or carrying their home with them, like the indigenous women of Patagonia who kept a fire alight on their boats as a symbol of where they came from. Travelling is both a physical and metaphorical experience, a movement towards the unknown and fear, excitement and getting lost, learning and forgetting. It can include visiting exotic places and navigating on the internet, letters and diaries, discovery and escape; travel implies both meetings and solitude.
In the last issue of The Open Page, the theme of Text presented itself as a journey that used words to move from one kind of silence to another. Almost every article we have ever received has expressed a need for movement and the feeling of belonging to a professional country without borders, where origins are blurred, and destinations are crossroads. In this issue, Ginevra Sanguigno points out that the geography we refer to is determined by disparate audiences, while Ileana Citaristi and Cristina Wistari amongst others indicate that "countries" and "continents" can be created by particular techniques and masters. Neusa Thomasi, making her way on foot to the Avignon Festival, uses a mountain in the distance as compass while Florinda, the 17th century character whom Clelia Falletti tells us about, worries that she will not be able to cross over the mountain she sees before her. Laylage Courie gives an example of how travel and creation can influence each other. The tension of travelling in between tradition and renewal is present in many articles that refer to the Arab world, while others have chosen to confront the theme as a journey back and forth in time, a visit inside memory.
The choice of Travel as a theme answered our wish to hear about personal experiences of lives on tour as well as how professional, cultural and personal identities are defined by encountering that which is different. Reading this issue is another opportunity to understand that with theatre we can travel even when we stand still, and that as women we can discover the freedom and joy of travelling while establishing our right to exist on the move and our need for peace in the world.
Julia Varley
Holstebro, March 2002