Ritual Theatre Reflection

             In class, as I observed another group performing their ritual theatre, I saw how interactive this type of theatre is. It requires everyone to take part; there is no minor role because all the members of the group must play a role in telling the story. Even the audience plays a huge role with the instruments and sound effects it makes. The African Bushmen stood out for me with the flourishes of the arising spirits and creation of the world. It holds such a mystical aura in its story that intrigues the audience watching. I loved the use of props to add creativity to the performance and the collaboration of the group members to create one scene together. The acting of the main spirit/god was very expressive and exaggerated which clearly sent the message of the actor. Simple sounds from the audience to add flourishes to the performance gave that spiritual, magical touch to the ritual. The build up to the rise of the great leader and the shaping of the tree especially showed the effects of a mixture of instruments, expression, and teamwork. I could tell what was going on in the story without depending on the narration, as rituals started out.

            I had so much fun rehearsing and performing our ritual in front of the class. The unique thing about ritual theatre is that rather than a group of performers simply acting out scenes, they re-tell a story passed down by tradition, with the help of the audience who take part. Unfortunately, the role we planned out originally for Haley and me was after the part we cut off so we did not get to perform too much, but otherwise, I think we did a good job incorporating everyone into the play’s significant roles. My group members did great playing their roles in the ritual, being expressive and bringing in the audience to be a part of the performance. Compared to the first day we reheard the ritual, we improved greatly, finding new ways to portray a certain scene, adding new sound effects, or even just being more moving with our body movements. During our rehearsal process, we got advice from our classmates and Ms. Ashley which helped a lot. Because we couldn’t see ourselves from the audience, their input helped us revise our actions. I enjoy being on stage and performing, but with ritual theatre, I would prefer to be a spectator. This way, I can watch the story being unfolded right in front of me which I find fascinating. Part of being a spectator gives me the freedom to simply watch the ritual or to be a part of it by playing an instrument to add sound. Such as any other performance, rituals have storylines, a plot to tell through the body movements of the actors onstage. I think there is always room for improvement, especially in the props or costume category. We were not able to make specific costumes or make props since we did not have a lot of time, but the props we did have and the instruments definitely added a lot to the rituals.