Performing Palimpsest Bodies

Ruth Hellier-Tinoco

Description

Proposing the innovative concept of palimpsest bodies to interpret provocative theatre and performance experiments that explore issues of cultural memory, bodies of history, archives, repertoires and performing remains, Ruth Hellier-Tinoco offers an in-depth analysis of four postdramatic and transdisciplinary collective creation theatre projects. Combined with ideas of postmemory and rememory, palimpsest bodies are inherently trans-temporal as they perform re-visions of embodied gestures, vocalized calls and sensory experiences.

Focusing on one of Mexico’s most significant contemporary theatre companies, La Máquina de Teatro, directed by renowned artists Juliana Faesler and Clarissa Malheiros, this ground-breaking study documents the playfully rigorous performances of layered, plural and trans identities as collaborative, feminist and queer re-visions of official histories and collective memories.

Illustrated with over one hundred colour photos, Performing Palimpsest Bodies: Postmemory Theatre Experiments in Mexico will appeal to creative artists and scholars interested in contemporary theatre and performance studies, critical dance studies, collective creation and performance-making.

List of illustrations

Acknowledgements

Section One: Outlines

Introduction: Creating theatre through remains of bodies of history

Chapter 1: Performing re-visions: Palimpsests, postmemory, rememory and remains

Chapter 2: La Máquina de Teatro: Trans-temporal theatres, bodies and environments in Mexico

Section Two: Four Performance Projects

Chapter 3: Mexican Trilogy: Scenic correlation of memory and times - Five performers, three years, three entangled parts:

1. Nezahualcóyotl / Scenic Correlation of Memory and Times;


2. Moctezuma II / The Dirty War;


3. Malinche / Malinches

Chapter 4: Zapata, Death Without End: Five collectives, one year, co-participatory performance

Chapter 5: War in Paradise: Twenty-five performers, three weeks, work-in-progress

Chapter 6: Time of the Devil: Trans-solo, one body, many body parts

 

Epilogue: Theatre for generating futures: Performing archives, remaining differently

References

Notes

Index

Sujets

• Traditions
• Social Science
• Theater
• Performing Arts
• HISTORY
• Sociologie, société et politique
• México
• Theatre
• Jesusa Rodríguez
• Puppetry
• Performance art
• General officer
• Customs
• Latin America
• General
• Cultural Studies
• Mexico
• Zapata

Informations

• Publié par: Intellect Books
• Date de parution: 20 avril 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781789380095
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

First published in the UK in 2019 by
Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2019 by
Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street,
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Copyright © 2019 Intellect Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Front cover image: Roldán Ramírez in Mexican Trilogy (Trilogía Mexicana): Malinche / Malinches by La Máquina de Teatro, directed by Juliana Faesler and Clarissa Malheiros, Mexico City, 2010. Photo credit: La Máquina de Teatro and Christa Cowrie.
Back cover image: Ruth Hellier-Tinoco in pre / now / post: una trilogía by Ruth Hellier-Tinoco, USA, 2013 (with image of Ruth Hellier in Aztec by Leicestershire Theatre in Education Company, 1991). Photo credit: Timothy Cooley.
Copy-editor: MPS Technologies
Cover designer: Aleksandra Szumlas
Production manager: Faith Newcombe
Typesetting: Contentra Technologies
Print ISBN: 978-1-84150-466-7
ePDF ISBN: 978-1-78938-010-1
ePub ISBN: 978-1-78938-009-5
Printed and bound by CPI / Antony Rowe, UK.
In memory of
my mum Margaret and my dad Ken
(my dear mum died in the Royal London Hospital on 25 June 1987, and my dear dad died in my arms on 16 February 2016)
and
my brother-in-law David
(who died surrounded by Joy,
Jon, Steph, Tamsin and Kevin on 17 February 2016).
Dedicated to
Jesusa Rodríguez, feminist performance artist, theatre director, activist and now senator.
Contents

List of illustrations
Acknowledgements
Section One: Outlines
Introduction: Creating theatre through remains of bodies of history
Chapter 1: Performing re-visions: Palimpsests, postmemory, rememory and remains
Chapter 2: La Máquina de Teatro: Trans-temporal theatres, bodies and environments in Mexico
Section Two: Four Performance Projects
Chapter 3: Mexican Trilogy : Scenic correlation of memory and times
Five performers, three years, three entangled parts:
1. Nezahualcóyotl / Scenic Correlation of Memory and Times ;
2. Moctezuma II / The Dirty War ;
3. Malinche / Malinches
Chapter 4: Zapata, Death Without End
Five collectives, one year, co-participatory performance
Chapter 5: War in Paradise
Twenty-five performers, three weeks, work-in-progress
Chapter 6: Time of the Devil
Trans-solo, one body, many body parts
Epilogue: Theatre for generating futures: Performing archives, remaining differently
References
Notes
Index
List of illustrations

The majority of the photos portray four specific performance projects of La Máquina de Teatro. I am deeply grateful to the artists of La Máquina for sharing these photos.
Photos for each project are mainly included within the corresponding analytical chapter (Section Two, Chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6). Repetitions and juxtapositions of illustrations are also included in Section One and the Epilogue. To simplify the labelling I reference the four projects with the following abbreviations: Trilogy Mexican Trilogy (see Chapter 3 for analysis). La Máquina de Teatro. Photo credit: La Máquina de Teatro (including photos by Christa Cowrie). Zapata Zapata, Death Without End (see Chapter 4 for analysis). La Máquina de Teatro, A la Deriva Teatro, Teatro de la Rendija, Colectivo Escénico Oaxaca and A-tar. Photo credit: La Máquina de Teatro (including photos by Andy Castro, J. Martin, ensemble participants, R. Hellier-Tinoco). War War in Paradise (see Chapter 5 for analysis). La Máquina de Teatro. Photo credit: La Máquina de Teatro (including photos by Andy Castro and J. Martin). Time Time of the Devil (see Chapter 6 for analysis). La Máquina de Teatro. Photo credit: La Máquina de Teatro (including photos by Andy Castro). Figure 1: Trilogy. Figure 2: Trilogy. Figure 3: Trilogy. Figure 4: Trilogy. Figure 5: Zapata. Figure 6: War. Figure 7: Time. Figure 8: Ruth Hellier in Aztec . Leicestershire Theatre in Education Company, UK. 1991. Director Maurice Gilmour. Photo credit: Keith Thomson. Aztec programme. Leicestershire Theatre in Education Company, UK. 1991. Designed by Craig Bee. Photo credit: Ruth Hellier-Tinoco. Figure 9: Simon Cuckson, Ruth Hellier, Jane Perkins and Paul Waring in Aztec (see production details above). Figure 10: Trilogy; publicity for Mexican Trilogy ( Trilogía Mexicana ). Graphic design by Quetzal Calixto León. Photo credit: La Máquina de Teatro. Figure 11: pre/now/post: una trilogía, by Ruth Hellier-Tinoco. Nitery Theatre, Stanford University, USA. 2013. Performer: Ruth Hellier-Tinoco. Photo credit: Tim Cooley. The performance includes a photo of Ruth Hellier performing in Aztec , 1991, Leicestershire Theatre in Education Company, UK. pre/now/post was created and performed by Ruth Hellier-Tinoco as practice-as-research to explore Mexican Trilogy created by La Máquina de Teatro, Mexico. Figure 12: Programme for pre/now/post, including photos from Aztec and Trilogy (see above). Figure 13: Trilogy. Figure 14: Trilogy. Figure 15: Trilogy. Figure 16: Trilogy. Figure 17: Trilogy. Figure 18: Trilogy ; Zapata. Figure 19: Trilogy ; Zapata. Figure 20: Zapata. Figure 21: Time. Figure 22: Trilogy. Figure 23: Time ; Trilogy. Figure 24: Trilogy. Figure 25: Clarissa Malheiros and Juliana Faesler, artistic directors of La Máquina de Teatro. Photo credit: La Máquina de Teatro; Clarissa Malheiros in Time of the Devil ; Juliana Faesler in Mexican Trilogy (see above for credits). Figure 26: Inside the studio of La Máquina de Teatro, Coyoacán, Mexico City. Photo credit: La Máquina de Teatro and Ruth Hellier-Tinoco. Figure 27: Time. Figure 28: Poster for the artistic residency of La Máquina de Teatro displayed outside el Museo Universitario del Chopo and an image for the artistic residency of La Máquina de Teatro, showing The Time of the Devil , performed by Clarissa Malheiros, inside el Museo Universitario del Chopo, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City. March 2015. Photo credit: Ruth Hellier-Tinoco. Figure 29: Trilogy. Figure 30: Zapata. Figure 31: War. Figure 32: Time. Figure 33: Trilogy. Figure 34: Trilogy. Figure 35: Trilogy. Figure 36: Zapata ; Zapata ; Trilogy. Figure 37: Zapata ; Time. Figure 38: Plaza of the Three Cultures, Tlatelolco, Mexico City. Photographer unknown; Trilogy. Figure 39: Trilogy. Figure 40: Trilogy ; Zapata ; War ; Time. Figures 41–73: Trilogy. Figures 74–86: Zapata. Figures 87–96: War. Figures 97–104: Time. Figure 105: Trilogy ; Time ; Time. Figure 106: Trilogy ; Zapata. Figure 107: Trilogy ; Zapata ; War ; Time. Figure 108: Trilogy. Figure 109: Zapata. Figure 110: War. Figure 111: Time ; Zapata. Figure 112: Time. Figure 113: Trilogy. Figure 114: Trilogy. Figure 115: Trilogy. Figure 116: Trilogy . Remains of embroidery created by the performers during the many performances of Mexican Trilogy: Malinche/Malinches.
Acknowledgements

As I reflect on what remains, through the traces, glimmers, specks and ephemera, I cherish and value all the diverse inspirations and interactions of so many people—friends, family, teachers, students, artists, scholars and other travellers—who have shaped my journeys over the passing years and have influenced this book.
For their specific interactions in creating this book, I particularly thank: Juliana Faesler and Clarissa Malheiros, the two extraordinary directors of La Máquina de Teatro, for all their stimulating, profound and playful contributions; the many performers and creative artists involved with Trilogía Mexicana , Zapata, Muerte Sin Fin , Guerra en el Paraíso and La Hora del Diablo, including Diana Fidelia, Natyeli Flores, Roldán Ramírez, Horacio González García Rojas, Sandra Garibaldi, Edyta Rzewuska, José Juan Cabello, Elizabeth Muñoz and the practitioners of A la Deriva Teatro, Teatro de la Rendija, Colectivo Escénico Oaxaca and A-tar; Mariana Gándara, a director at el Museo Universitario del Chopo during the residency of La Máquina de Teatro; and Antonio Prieto Stambaugh, for his astute and insightful feedback on this manuscript.
For broader professional, intellectual and creative contributions, I thank: the inventive undergraduate and graduate students at the University of California Santa Barbara who have taken my classes on “Creating Experimental Performance: memories/histories, processes/practices,” “Theatre and Performance in Mexico: Embodying, Resisting and Subverting Stereotypes,” and “Performance Studies”; the students who acted as research assistants, particularly Luis Mendoza, Daisy León and Kimberly Valenzuela; faculty and staff at UCSB who have supported me since my migration to the United States in 2011; colleagues and students involved with contemporary performance, theatre and dance at the University of Winchester, 2002–11; colleagues in the fields of performance studies, theatre, dance and music, particularly in the Dance Studies Association (formerly Congress on Research in Dance and Society for Dance History Scholars), Performance Studies International, the Society for Ethnomusicology, the British Forum for Ethnomusicology, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and the American Society for Theatre Research; teachers and fellow students at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London (1973–79); Birmingham University, Departments of Music, Drama, Dance (1980–83), City of Birmingham University (PGCE Drama in Education); Birmingham Conservatoire (Ph.D.), especially Mark Lockett and Peter Johnson; teachers and students at St Thomas Aquinas, Bishop Challoner and Camp Hill schools; friends and family on the islands of Lake Pátzcuaro, in Morelia and elsewhere in Mexico; collaborators in Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos at UNAM; and many performers and artists with whom I worked in the acting world in Britain in the 1980s and 90s.
I am deeply