It's officially over: goodbye play, hi Paucartambo

June 30th
Description:
This week is our goodbye time. On Tuesday we got a chance to say goodbye not only to the people in the play but to the play itself, we will never perform it again. This makes all of us sad but satisfied it went all so well. Mr. Cino and Mr. Quantrill came over to congratulate us for our big effort.
Now that the play is over, what we have been doing in class is studying about Andean theatre, more specifically the celebration of la Virgen del Carmen in Paucartambo, Cuzco. Since we are going in a couple of weeks we have to be well informed and were given several handouts.

Analysis:
As Roberto said, we should always finish what we started, not only in theatre but in everything we do in life. This is true, we should always find a proper way to finish up things. So we decided, as every year to talk, share and comment about the play while we were all together.
We started with the smaller ones and then got to the older ones. Most of the people said they were glad to be in the play and that they are definitely going to be a part of the next one. We also shared the comments of what other people had said to us about it: "It was really good", "One of the school's best plays", ""I enjoyed it very much", etc. After all I can say we were all satisfied with what came out. Mr. Cino and Mr. Quatrill as well shared some comments with us about what people thought about the play and even asked some questions which made us reflect. It felt good they congratulated us because it meant they were valuing our effort.

Moreover, in class we started studying Andean theatre! We studied things like the form, text, culture, art, ritual, author,  conventions and theatre. It was general information given to us to comprehend widely our next topic. Terms such as the difference in 'real' and 'reality' were defined as "Everything is real; real is what is there" and "Reality is the way we separate what is real".
We learned about how was the celebration was going to take place. It was a tradition so it had a strict order but the way it was represented depended on the actors. We were told about the research we were going to do and what were the conditions for us to consider the celebration theatre:

1. Involvement of the body to represent another person in a certain time and place through performance.
2. A content, something to say.
3. Order, composition and game.
4. A social and ritual function.

Having this said, we were explained how did each of the previous terms was incoorporated to the celebration. As I repeat, it was generally explained to us, as if we were discussing Andean theatre and not the celebration specifically.

So overall we learned about the concepts previously mention and had a general idea of what to expect when we got there. We were to read the different handout to learn more about this interesting culture.

Connections:
I have to might a big connection here with German Expressionism. This is not only because we are finishing a chapter and starting another one, but because these two theatre practices can be really different but as well very alike.
As we know German Expressionism is a theatre practice that has as its characteristics overwhelming buildings, big and exaggerated movements, lines over curves, intense use of make up, etc. It is aiming to show what you want to say which most of the times were a critique to the bourgeois, no matter if people like it or not; it was generally not done for entertainment.
On the other hand, on what I have just learned about Andean theatre, the celebration is to venerate the Virgin. It shows in a playful and colourful way how people honoured the Virgin. It tends to be happy and accompanied by dances.

Anyway, as I mentioned German Expressionism tries to critique bourgeois society and in a way Andean theatre as well. They don't specifically critique anything but they make fun of thing and parody the current affairs happening in the country. They make of it a funny situation. So we can say both criticise in a way or another how things were in the context or what they wanted to say.

Also German Expressionism aimed for the creation of a "new man". Someone who was not the person interpreting but the archetype of a group of people represented by a single being. They aimed to transcend, to make the audience feel identified and connect with them.
As for Andean theatre, they aim to transcend in a different way. By wearing their masks and revealing parts of them that they wouldn't without them. That is their way to connect with the audience; by playing, by dancing, by being near them, etc.
In this way we can see both theatre practices aim to transcend at their own way. They might differ but as well have some aspects in common.

Reflections:
Being a part of this year's school play has been one of the best experiences ever. And I actually mean it. As I have mentioned in previous entries, having more responsibilities in it makes you feel more attached to it and have a special love for it; not only because you acted in it, which is important, but because you had bigger responsibilities like production tasks. This time it was really special for me, not only because of the responsibilities but because of the bonding with people. Being in charge and directing a scene turned you into a symbol of authority which meant you were able to control the kids you were in charge of; it meant you were responsible for their scene and that you were showing one of your proposals to make the play better as a whole.
I have learned a lot of team work by doing this play. I was never involved in scene transitions many times before, but this year we all had to do everything. I worked with the other actors to move around things. We depended on each other.
Overall I can say you cannot be selfish doing this. This is something that required commitment, this year more than others before. It was not about acting, which was all I did the previous years but about worrying about other aspects that were involved in the play; to try to make it as perfect as possible, to check every detail. That is why it was way more satisfactory for me than the years before, because I put a whole lot of effort more and it was worth it.

Studying Paucartambo right now made me question many things. I didn't know there was so much behind a 'fiesta patronal'. At first I thought it was all about partying and drinking, but there is way much more than that. The importance of the party relies on the Virgin; she is the main reason why everything happens. I learned that I have a special interest in this celebration, it sounds really appealing and I can't wait to go. It sounds interesting how this culture has a very specific and different (for me) way to celebrate their saint. It makes me reflect on how many other cultures there are in the world and their own particular ways to make a celebration. They might be really unfamiliar to us but normal to them. It just makes me think of how different we all are in our thoughts and ways of being; and how can theatre be our channel to bond with other people, the channel in which we say something or critique something.

All this week made me realise, there is some certain satisfaction in being congratulated and people liking the play, but theatre in general is done because you want to say something, and being this German Expressionism theatre, where we shouldn't mind if other people like it, why do we still feel this? Why do we still mind what other people believe of our play while there are other representations of theatre, such as Andean, that are to venerate? Should we always have in mind the audience? Or should we sometimes think only about what we want to say?

PS: I know this is a very descriptive entry, but this week has been mostly of the transition from one theatre practice to another.