Bitef

GLUMCI okrenuti licem puhlici, sada dišu drugačije. Mrak. Dah. U ovom trenutku, mi ovo vidimo kao poslednju scenu komada. ■

TERMINAL ZA MILENIJUM Pre dvadeset i pet godina, produženim postupkom saradnje, Open Theatre ostvario je nesvakidašnje istraživanje o smrtnosti, Terminal. Komad je bio proizvod mnogih pozorišnih talenata koji su radili mimo konvencionalnih podela: glume! su radili na tekstu, reditelj je radio istraživanje, pisac započinjao improvizacije. Sada, u vreme kada je naša kultura napadnuta fundamentalizmom forme i mišljenja, baš kao i pustošenjima SIDE, slučajnim uličnim nasiljem samoubistvima tinejdžera, itd..., mi se vračamo toj temi i tom postupku. Qanovi originalnog Open Theatrea, uključujuči reditelja Džozefa Čeikina, pisca Suzan Jankovič, glumce Šemi Čeikina, Tinu Šepard, Pola Zimeta, saradivače sa drugim profesionalcima mešavina generacija, kultura i pozorišnih tradicija - kako bi razvili novi sloj reči i slika, koji če presecati sa postoječim tekstom. Plodovi ovog međusobnog oplodavanja još uvek nepoznati hibridi, slatki ili gorki, lepi ili šokantni - esencijalni su za vaskrsnuče i transformaciju ovog dela, koje če se na kraju prikazati u različitim pozorištima u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama i van njih, pod okriljem 7 Stages. ■ novembar 1995. Suzan Jankovič

1969 TERMINAL 1996 The company of actors call upon the dead, the dead who are buried under this ground. We call on the dead because they are finished with the argument that we are still in. We bang on the floor of the dead. We offer our bodies for them to speak through. We come among the dying to call upon the dead. Let the dead come through and let it begin with me.< We dance on the graves of the dead. During this seance we wait for the dead to come through. We consider the matter of dying and the dead, who we shall all become. The living embalm the dead in order that they should appear

like the living. The living are initiated into the dead world. The living manipulate and exploit the hving. The Dead Come Through: First is Marie Caveau . She is a black mystic from New Orleans who has been dead for fifty years. She comes through the body of a white actor and speaks. Then the soldier comes through another actor. The soldier speaks of what it is to say >yes<. When the dead leave, the company of actors put on cosmetics and describe the procedure of cosmetics as it resembles embalming. The Dead Come Through: The responsible one comes through. Here is a dead one who believes that all that has ever taken place was her responsibility, the massacres as well as the snow falling. The Dying Pray. The Dead Come Through: The executed man is the only person who knows the exact hour and day his death is to be. It’s been decided by other people. His last days in prison are all in relation to the specific hour and day. Then is the song from the dead. In the final scene an actress ascends the ladder to begin the scene The Dying Imagine Their Judgment«. The scene begins with the statement: ‘The judgment of your life is your life’. Those were the words which described the production of Terminal a quarter of a century ago when it was at Bitef. Today, much has changed in the world, especially when one thinks of human mortality, immportality, death and dyng, the end of things, terminus, terminal. Mr. Chaikin and Ms Yankowitz approached 7 Stages several years ago with the notion that die themes of the Open Theatre’s seminal theatre piece are still relevant, but also that new thought-forms, new energies, exist today around how we think about consciousness and the conclusion of what is called life. We asked several original Opet Theatre members to join in the search for young actors from various cultures to look again at how we meditate on life and death. We created auditions and workshops in New York, Ireland and San Diego to selec the actors and develop scenes. Recent rehearsals with the company have revealed varied perspectives, many fascinating conversations and a combination of text and staging from the original blended with new discoveries. The basic ideas remain. The dead come through. We call upon tire dead. We accept responsibility for diese acts: let it begin with me. There are new characters in our presentation. There are new ways of considering how we prepare for or avoid our spiritual and physical conclusion. The world has indeed altered and been altered. The conditions which define human mortality have changed. And everything has stayed the same.