1. Make believe and make belief. “make believe” is pretending the unreal to be real consciously and it happens so often in performance, especially in theatre that we tend to forget its existence. But isn’t that how “make belief” happens? When things start to feel spontaneous and then snick into our subconsciousness. It is a level higher above and much more powerful, touching upon people’s passion and irrationality.
2. The making of they and us. By which I mean spectator-ship and retro spectator-ship, particularly in the contemporary theatre and other performance fields.
3. Identification. This is something implied by Brecht when he talks about the roles actors should play in theatre. I also want to expand its context to find out how we identify with one another and how we revel against others. In other words, how is ally and enemy formed with intention.
4. Truth and representation (and fiction). It is of common knowledge that theatre is not a copy of reality. Aristotle states that it should be the recreation of the creative principles in nature and help nature to right its wrongs. Therefore, it should contribute to something true although itself is fictional. I wonder does truth matter or even matter as the core value in performance? If so, then how far can representation go without running into distortion?
5. Entertainment and Education. I do agree that theatre should be joyful, it should reach out with emotion and speak to the souls, make them akin. However, it then inevitably becomes educational. And that is exactly what Brecht did with his own theatre work. Theatre is used to achieve sublimation, to inspire greater admiration or awe and to make a difference, which I find fascinating and hope to explore more. Also, which is the true core and which is the tool, or candy coat? That is also something worths thinking.
6. Empathy. It is called the dangerous thing by Boal, as it’s manipulative, encouraging people to give up part of their emotion to another being and enable that person to lead or even act on behalf of themselves. He cast it away because of its potential power, very much likely as what Plato did with art. I have always understood empathy as one of the greatest gift in human, and I wonder if it is a merit of humanity, or a instinct all mammals have (According to Taylor). Moreover, is empathy only about emotion and sensory feelings, or it’s bonded with the most instinctive and trust worthy judgement that involves ration, which happens so fast that we barely realize.
7. Emancipation, freedom and equality. The question of nature right versus legal right still haunts me from the first day. Emancipation refers to some people being deprived of their natural right (freedom and equality) and become the object to be freed, which infer to different class structures. Schiller even states that art should be used to educate and make people more qualified to their right of freedom. However, as nature right, it should not be earned but given by birth, and having to earn it already indicate an established solid structure of politics that is somehow paradoxical and against its original motto.
8. Alienation. Something seems a method in theatre but a core reflecting the social and political construction in fact.
9. Civility. A complicated concept, especially when associated with political correctness. It helps build a bridge for all political discussions, but also create complexity through regulations, sometimes even covers up the most pressing issues.
10. Activism. It concerns “doing” in transformation on a large scale and requires the cluster to turn passion into strategy, which then ideally involves ration.