CONTENTS

 

The Open Page - OPEN QUOTES

Patricia Ariza (Colombia) - TRAVEL TRESPASS RETURN

Sae Nanaogi (Japan) - DANCE TO PLAY KABUKIA

Gisela Cremer (Germany) - THE SNARLING SPECTATOR

Nancy Reilly-McVitti (USA) - A POSTMODERN PERFORMER PREPARES

Else Marie Laukvik (Norway) - DO MIRACLES HAPPEN?

Jill Greenhalgh (Britain) - OFF WITH HER HEAD!

Rosa Luisa Márquez (Puerto Rico) - THE PLAY IS THE THING... THE THING IS TO PLAY

Marika Lagercrantz (Sweeden), THE DANCE OUT OF KLINGSORS TOWER

T. I. Nepia, P. Moore, B. Grace-Smith, K. Kawana (Aotearoa NZ) - TRICK OR TREAT

María Cánepa (Chile) - A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS

Kirsten Dehlholm (Denmark) - TRESPASSING IN A TRANSCENDENTAL WAY

Anne-Britt Gran (Norway) - WHEN THE BODY BECOMES THE STAGE

Brigitte Cirla (France) - SURVIVAL AND RECOGNITION

Carran Waterfield (Britain) - BEING A GIRL AND RUNNING HOME

Ida Ouhé (Ivory Cost) -

Reine Mukinisia (R.D. Congo) -

Yolande. Mukagasana (Rwanda) -

Florida Uwera (Rwanda) -

Barbro Rønning (Norway) - BODY TEXT - THEATRE LANGUAGE

Francesca Mazza (Italy) - AN OPENED DOOR

Anette Røde Hagnell (Norway) - MEMORY PICTURES

Ni Wayan Sekariani and Cristina Wistari (Bali) - BEAUTY BEHIND A MASK

Ana Woolf (Argentina) - BELONGING TO THE COUNTRY OF SOLITUDE

Geddy Aniksdal (Norway) - HEY, BABE, TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE...

Tess de Quincey (Australia) - COMPRESSION RESPONSE TRILOGY

Mia Törnqvist (Sweeden) - ART HAS NO LOYALTIES

Julia Varley (Britain) - THE POWER OF VULNERABILITY

The Open Page - OPEN LETTERS

The Open Page - OPEN NEWS

 

 

EDITORIAL

 

Theatre allows women to live in a country that is not determined by geographical borders, where social norms are continuously challenged. It gives us the possibility of being cultural nomads. Even the limits and boundaries that each of us creates to define our own identity, the banks that run along the rivers of our lives, are continuously crossed over. Trespass is the very concrete action of invading a territory that does not belong to us, and is the abstract need to enter unknown or forbidden territories.

 

This is the fourth issue of The Open Page. After the issues on myths, lives and politics, we wanted to trespass. The theme establishes a particular point of view for women to reflect upon theatre in general or on the details of their activities: theatre in itself is an act of trespass, and different forms of trespass exist within theatre. The theme has proven to be difficult. The interpretation has been so open that it is not always easy to get the point. Reading the articles we can understand how a concept like trespass is connected to social and cultural backgrounds and while for some women it is deeply related to their work, for others it is difficult even to think of going against the norms. In some articles the theme is implicit in the description of activities, in others it is a political necessity, in some the boundaries are personal, in others the authors address the whole historical heritage of theatre.

 

Trespass: intrude, transgress, invade, infringe, usurp, displease... Crossing borders: physical, geographical, psychological, of genre, of tradition... Women in theatre trespass with performance art, happenings, performances in secluded places like prisons. They trespass by going against their own tradition and challenging their past, by not accepting the rules, by bringing different cultures and genres together. They trespass by making theatre in a virtual reality, by using their own flesh as scenography, by erasing the difference between actor and spectator, by inner change. The creative process is based on trespassing: jumping from one level to another, using intuition and experience without respecting a linear logic, our brain follows paths that cross boundaries all the time. We have learnt this in actor training, in the apprenticeship of directors, listening to the body's intelligence and we apply it as a survival technique. To continue doing what we want, we must change, adapt, go beyond our habits and find new ways, when confronted with the realities we have chosen or with those which are imposed upon us. Sometimes the crossing of two old paths, sometimes rules and bureaucracy, and sometimes the simple need to transgress forces us to find new directions in our work.

 

One boundary is represented by the body. The scenic body and behaviour, and the effect they have on the spectator, are the basis of theatre. In the need for development and change, women in theatre reach beyond their bodies and in firm unity with them, into society and history. The world is changing all the time, yesterday's limits and borders are not today's. In which direction do we want to trespass now? What unknown and forbidden territories do we want to invade? What new and old traditions do we want to found? Where do we want to direct our protests?

 

Julia Varley

Holstebro, March 1999