I have been always fascinated by the ways the wisdom of the past can provide us with grounding metaphors, which can be able to enlighten the present and enhance our knowledge.
The Indian Natyasastra is both a sacred text and a practical handbook, in which the rules of ancient Indian drama were fixed. It begins with the outstanding myth of how the Gods conceived theatre, and presented it to the human beings. It recounts how the first performance, showing the primeval war between good and evil gods, reactivated the fight in the audience, among which the Asura (the evil gods) were present as uninvited guests.
In the workshop we will explore creatively the myth, not claiming to distil its true message, but more in the spirit of what Károly Kerényi called ‘parodia aurea’, balancing playfulness and respect, irony and awe. Expanding imaginatively its core metaphors, we will encounter some remarkable issues, concerning the relationships between stage and audience, between the theatre and the world, and even, in dramatherapy terms, between dramatic and everyday reality. Along this inquiry, we will reflect on the subtle ways in which life and drama meet on the stage, mutually influencing each other, and on the role of the dramatherapist as the facilitator of this encounter.