Is your understanding of theatre history based pretty much exclusively on western history and influence? If you studied theatre in the united states, it probably is (no judgement. It is a big topic). Theatre History. Those 2 words together cause a lot of actors to yawn, but it is vital that we know our history. Why? Well, because all of our theatrical traditions draw their inspiration from forms of the past.
That is me in the middle. Bali, Indonesia.
Nobody creates on an island. We are all products of our learning and stimulus-exposure. Everyone has their sources of inspiration.
There is rarely anything really “new” under the sun—usually just variations on the past. If you strive to create “something new”, you must know what has been done. Otherwise, your efforts are in vein and you create only from your imagination, which can lead to ignorantly copying forms and efforts of the past, with the delusional belief that what you are doing “is new”. Continue reading
The Hart Technique 