Overview: Purpose and Relevance
A university showing of Twelve Angry Men in Mumbai heavily promoted as bringing “realism to India,” a standing-room-only professional production of the American musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in Bangkok, and a performance about Namibia’s environment following Frantic Assembly’s devising approach created in a school theatre festival; these are just a few examples of the types of theatre work being undertaken around the world that are rooted in Western techniques and philosophies. A great deal of the educational and artistic processes taking place outside of the West draw upon Western scripts and methodologies, in fact Western theatre is being studied and produced in virtually every location on the map. There are both positive and negative aspects to Western theatre’s global proliferation, and the ubiquity of practice demands a deeper analysis of the successes and challenges of the projects that are being undertaken in this area. Theatre that is associated with the West, whether through language, style, technique or pedagogy, remains the dominant force in theatre training and production worldwide. Inspired by our own experiences working abroad, we came to this book curious about what this type of work looked like in other countries, how to solve some of the intercultural complexities inherent in such approaches, and in spite of those complexities, how this work benefits practitioners, students and audiences. Western Theatre in Global Contexts: Directing and Teaching Culturally Inclusive Drama Around the World looks at ways theatre makers, directors and teachers are working with Western theories, pedagogies and English language texts in places that do not necessarily share these theatre histories, practices and cultures. In this text we aim to explore the junctures, tensions and discoveries that occur when teaching Western theatrical practices and performance techniques in locations that, and to participants who, offer different philosophies, ways of working and aesthetics to the art form.
For our purposes, we understand Western Theatre to center around European cultures and to have been promoted and entrenched through historical teachings that have been popularized globally and as a result, have dominated theatre pedagogy worldwide. The birth of theatre, for example, is still often promulgated as beginning with the ancient Greeks. Though the terms “theatre,” “drama” and “catharsis” do come from this tradition, scholars understand that performances which enacted stories, embodied characters and took place in specific locations for the benefit of the audience have existed since the beginning of humanity (Zarrilli, 2010; Barba, 1991; Rozik, 2002; Schechner 1985 and 2013). The idea that developed play scripts and purpose-built amphitheatres began in ancient Greece took root because of surviving historical documents, including Aristotle’s Poetics written around 335 BCE, which detailed a concept and purpose of theatre. This, combined with a cadre of Greek scripts, which influenced the thoughts of philosophers and intellectuals all over the Western world, has become the foundation of the canon that is still dominant today. Yet, the Indian Sanskrit text the Natya Shastra, usually attributed to Bharata, a contemporary of Aristotle, may have been finished as early as 500 BCE and likely included writings from a few hundred years earlier (Ghosh, 2016). This text also outlines concepts on performance and dramatic theory but from a different perspective and ultimately with a different set of goals. And theatre performances throughout Africa, the Middle East and China also existed during the heyday of ancient Greek theatre, but these performances, which centered around oral texts and improvisation, have not been disseminated and recorded in the same way in which the Greek plays were, limiting their reproduction and thus their stake in contemporary culture and teachings about said culture. Because of this theatre traditions from the East, Middle East and South have been obscured, and even erased, leaving Western traditions with an outsized influence on the art form.
Skipping ahead to the Elizabethan era we again have a large group of written plays that have been printed, curated and distributed widely. Of course, these texts must be credited for their value and are certainly worthy of the study and production they receive today, but perhaps if we acknowledge the connection between the popularity and promotion of these texts, combined with the history of the British Empire and its subsequent colonization efforts, we can understand how the spread of the English language throughout the world might be connected to the global esteem of the classical and modern British plays. Relatively more recently, we have seen the proliferation of the Stanislavski System and its derivatives as the dominant acting techniques taught in schools and training programs all over the world. Again, it is important to note that this way of actor training offers a concrete and systematic approach to creating dimensional characters and to understanding their psychology. However the premise of the “magic if,” for example, supposes a level of human universality that not all actors and students are comfortable with. These three examples from popular European theatre offer just a sample of how Western philosophy, language and inquiry have influenced theatre and theatre education around the world.
This popularization of the European theatre narrative has most certainly led the West to overlook non-Western performance practices. More often than not, theatre history texts relegate non-European-based practices to a single chapter at the end of the book. Teachers, professors and theatre companies all over the world often privilege Western texts over local material for a variety of reasons. Perhaps because it is just what they know but sometimes such work is promoted because Western plays and techniques are seen as elite, intellectual, even avant-garde, and frequently more commercially viable. And this dominance of Western theatrical forms in teaching and practice has expanded worldwide. Western theatre and drama techniques and English language scripts have proliferated in amateur, collegiate, high school and professional performance groups and drama organizations outside of the West, beginning with early colonization and growing today because of the social, commercial and economic capital the West represents.
As Western educational institutions and products were thrust on diverse cultures and as local communities themselves desired such programs, academic institutions in particular became eager to cultivate patronage by promoting Western thought. In many places in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, Western philosophies of education and English are seen as languages of commerce, internationalization and power and as a result of the economic, social and professional benefits such power can provide, people in these places continue to seek out training in Western based institutions. Often the more Western the “public face” of an institution, the more treasured and elite it appears. And the more people seek to gain access to the power that a Western education can provide, the more Western institutions expand globally and the more institutions already in existence, both national and private, seek to grow connections in Europe and North America. Western Theatre, as a distinct field of study and art form, is no exception to this phenomenon and because of this, many theatre practices in places outside of the West have been shaped by the Eurocentric eye. For the student or practitioner living and working outside of the West, the dominant Western paradigm and training in Western theories, pedagogies and texts can be a commodity that leads to opportunity. And as a result of such Westernization, regional and local theatre practices and pedagogies have not been promoted equally alongside Western techniques and plays, leaving students and artists less exposure to the rich theatre traditions and pedagogies of their home countries and other world theatre traditions.
Non-Western theatre students, educators and artists often have an interest in the West in part because of what it represents: access. Western theatre offers access to larger audiences, the possibility of making money or gaining notoriety, and having more artistic freedoms including for many, far less censorship. In part because of this, students and artists from across the world view Europe, North America and Australia as the places for higher education and training. Knowledge and expertise in Western theatre provides employment access to artists and artist/educators and numerous institutions and arts programs hire Western trained artists specifically, who in turn promote Western approaches and plays above local ones. The institutions in these places present exceptional economic and cultural capital and so it is no surprise that individuals with exceptional intellectual and artistic gifts often seek to study in the West. A Western education offers a promise of success and the possibility of entry into a world market. As a result of this, the West is the place where most of the training of theatre professors and educators takes place and those considered to hold “expertise” are often Western-trained. Additionally, K-12 and university international education in countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America cater to this philosophy with the English language becoming the dominant academic language. In addition to institutional dominance, there is a societal perception that American or British styles of education offer greater educational rewards. In looking at Jordanian perceptions on this, educational researchers found that amongst potential and current students: “American education is considered to have higher standards than Arabic education. Arab students are inclined to pursue American education due to its pedagogy and opportunities for career advancement” (Smail and Silvera 2018, 15). In theatre, we see this viewpoint reflected in the students’ stated desire to work on Western forms. This also helps to undergird the institution’s reputation within the community. As theatre is often the public’s entry point into seeing this pedagogical methodology in action, plays and musicals that are seen as quintessentially reflective of the Western style of education offered at these institutions become prized symbols of educational goals by students, faculty, administration and audiences alike. For example, according to internationalschoolsearch.com in 2019 there were over 500 English medium K-12 schools in China, most which follow American and British programs and exams. And the mega-cities of Hong Kong and Cairo have an average of 55 K-12 international schools serving both local and international students but teaching Western philosophies, including Western theatre approaches. Generally speaking, this is not because the artist educators believe their way to be better, it is simply because it is what they know.
This text seeks to share examples of the merits of Western theatre practices outside of the West and to make observations about how such work can be ethically undertaken, but it is equally important to remember that the places in which Western theatre techniques have been privileged over local traditions have incredibly rich performance traditions. Talchum, Korean masked drama/dance, for example offers participants and audience members a study of the region’s social classes and customs and a way to laugh at the difficulties of life resulting from invasions, poverty and political corruption (Kim 1985 and Lee 1982). Nigerian folk operas present the songs and dances, histories and myths of the Yoruba people (Idachaba, 2018) and the Shi’i Islam Ta’ziyeh plays, performed mostly in Iran but also throughout the world in places where Shi’ites reside, mourn the death of the Prophet Muhammed’s grandson Hussein who was martyred after refusing to accept the rule of the caliph Yazid ibn Muawiya (Riggio 1994). These examples of world theatre traditions offer just a small sample of the type of robust performances that exist all over the world, in every geographic and cultural region and throughout history. But often when productions are mounted, when new work is made and when students are trained, rich local performance traditions and pedagogies are relegated to a second class position in favor of a more European approach. There is most certainly great value in examining Western practices outside of the West. Undertaken in context and without negating the experiences and foundations of the culture where the work or study is going on, such explorations and practice offer Western theatre a place in the global canon. We hope to challenge artists and educators to expand the ways in which they teach, direct and facilitate Western theatre, to acknowledge and embrace the challenges and to listen to, learn from and work with the local communities.
Of course European approaches to theatre and Western plays have great value and deserve to be appreciated all over the world. However it is important to understand that the prevalence of Western forms leaves little room to recognize and celebrate the richness and diversity of world theatre approaches. And Eurocentric theatre traditions represent only a fraction of the styles and practices that exist, or have existed, throughout the world. The Western approach and canon is certainly worthy of attention, but attention in the context of the history of world theatre. By paying attention to the local languages, interests, social customs and theatre traditions in classrooms, rehearsals and theatre productions we can perhaps strive to dismantle such hierarchical tenets that place an unbalanced emphasis on Western performance practices in the global public. Western plays and pedagogies will likely continue to be embraced but we argue for a broader focus, attention to the local and consideration of ways non-Western theatre practices can be explored alongside Western practices. This would allow artists, students and audiences to see themselves represented in the stories, characters, themes, designs and exercises. Studying and making theatre in locations outside of the Western world provides educators and practitioners opportunities to learn from and embrace regional and local aesthetics, cultures and methodologies and to adapt their work so that it resonates with, and is accessible to, the participants, amateur or professional.
When co-editor Yasmine Jahanmir arrived in Kuwait, it was a bit like diving into the unknown. Although Jahanmir is Iranian-American, she grew up in the United States and had limited exposure to Arab culture prior to her move to the country to teach at the American University of Kuwait. In her first semester directing at AUK, she discovered a disconnect between the students’ depth of knowledge about Western cultural products, such as American films and television shows, and the lack of attention to the historical context of these representations. Additionally, she found it odd that students often expressed negative opinions about their local performance contexts. She was curious about what other practitioners and educators encountered while working abroad and how they were able to balance expectations of teaching Western theatre while accounting for local theatrical traditions and found no academic text that discussed these common situations. She set out to connect with other practitioners/educators in similar situations, among them co-editor Jillian Campana who, at the American University in Cairo, was finding that the students’ lack of connection to the material being presented was resulting in a general lack of enthusiasm for the subject matter. She immediately sensed that her curriculum and pedagogy was simply not resonating ...
