To the modern temperament and to its artists, in a manner that will undoubtedly remain modern in generations to come, the main stream of theatre art in this century is clearly associated with developments in the visual and plastic arts. The sequence is apparent; from Gordon Craig (and Neo-Romanticism) through the Futurists, Dada, the work of the Russian formalists, the Expressionists, the Surrealists, the Bauhaus, and so on, to the work of the present day that draws in various ways upon this background. We perceive ever more clearly in this work an underlying intention: the creation of an abstract theatre. Its symbol, and that which clearly represents its function and aesthetics, is the mask—or the masked actor whom Craig called the Übermarionette.

While spending some time during the winter of 1801 in M., one evening in the public gardens I chanced upon Herr C, who had been recently engaged as the leading dancer at the opera house and who had found exceptional success with the public there.

I mentioned how surprised I had been to notice him on several occasions attending a marionette theatre that had been set up in the local market place, which entertained the masses with short dramatic burlesques interspersed with song and dance.

He assured me that the performance of these puppets was a source of great pleasure to him, and he made it quite clear that a dancer who wished to improve himself could learn a great deal from observing them.

Because his remarks were obviously not to be taken lightly, I sat down with him so that we might discuss his reasons for such a remarkable statement.

Otomar Krejča's productions employing masks have formed a small but striking part of his total oeuvre. A contemporary Czech director, Krejča (along with Josef Svoboda and Ladislav Vychodil, both designers, and Alfred Radok, a director) has drawn international recognition to the theatre of Czechoslovakia. Consistently seeking to expand the limits of his art, he has extended the parameters imposed by a socialist-realist policy in the arts that has been influencing theatre in Czechoslovakia for nearly twenty-five years. His productions have ranged from fresh ventilations of Chekhov (The Sea Gull, Three Sisters, Ivanov) to boldly staged Shakespearian revivals [Hamlet, Brussels, and Romeo and Juliet,, Prague) to work with new Czech dramatists such as František Hrubín, Josef Topol, Válav Havel, and Milan Kundera.

The Bread and Puppet Theatre was established in New York in 1962 by Peter Schumann, with the idea that “the theatre should be as basic as bread.” Using masks and a variety of puppets as their basic theatrical tools, the group has created its own distinctly innovative performing style. Their presentations often combine religious themes with a political message, with the war in Vietnam a particularly persistent topic. The troupe has done a large amount of traveling outside of New York, performing at GI coffeehouses and at various political demonstrations in the United States and Europe. Their desire to reach a popular audience that does not usually go to the theatre has led them to perform in the streets, parks and ghettos of cities. Bread and Puppet has always been a poor theatre, with unpaid actors and little or no admission charge.

Dario Fo, Italy's foremost practitioner of AgitProp theatre, is one of the world's most versatile theatrical talents: actor, director, playwright, scene and costume designer, dancer, mime, mimic, and political clown. Because of his extensive use of mimicry, masks, and puppets, Fo's theatre is mistakenly characterized as stemming primarily from commedia dell'arte.But commedia satirized social stereotypes, whereas Fo's political satire (broad comedy and highly presentational), originated in the period between the tenth and twelfth centuries, the post-feudal age when the Italian peninsula experienced a burst of political freedom; jesters roamed the land with a repertoire of gags and skits celebrating the end of feudalism, and ridiculing the remaining feudal overlords and the Church. Performing in streets and market places, presenting comic routines consisting of simple language, mime arid mimicry, the feudal jester delighted the common people while awakening them to the tyranny of the nobility.

Tenjo Sajiki, which is one of Japan's most famous experimental theatre troupes, was founded in 1967 by Shuji Terayama, the chief director and playwright of the troupe. During the Summer of 1971, they toured several European cities with their piece, Jashumon, written and directed by Terayama. The theme of the six-scene play concerns the tragic nature of the family as an institution, which is characteristic of traditional Japanese society. The plot revolves around the enormous emotional and economic interdependence of Yamataro, the son, and Ogin, his aging mother.

What follows is a description of the production of Jashumon, which was presented at the Nancy International Theatre Festival, Nancy, France, on April 28th and 29th, 1971. Shigeo Takenaga assisted Terayama with the direction of the piece. The sets were designed by Ryoichi Enomoto.

David Gordon's The Matter was performed on April 1st and 2nd, 1972, in a large white room at the Merce Cunningham dance studio in New York City. Spectators and performers, indistinguishable from one another except for an occasional nude body, were let in together about twenty minutes before the dance was to begin. The room was empty: mirrors spanned a wall at one end; a stage with steps jutted a little into the space at the other end. The floor was large and well-lighted.

The distinction between performers and nonperformers was noticeable only as individuals found places to sit: spectators sat at what could be considered the front of the performing area on and around church pews facing the dance floor and along the opposite (back) wall on window ledges; performers, most carrying unobtrusive bundles of clothing and shoes, settled along the mirrored wall on the dance floor.

The Grand Union was formed in the Fall of 1970. Founding members of this anarchistic democratic theatre collective were: Becky Arnold, Trisha Brown, Dong, Douglas Dunn, David Gordon, Nancy Green, Barbara Lloyd, Steve Paxton and Yvonne Rainer. Characteristic of the Union, there are nine different answers to how and when it began. The lives of the members have been intertwined for anywhere from five to ten years. In 1970, the members of Yvonne Rainer's Continuous Project Altered Daily (CPAD) conceived of an organization in which they might share choreography. Three other choreographer/performers of similar mind were invited to join. This was the beginning of the organization but not of the concept.

Trisha Brown began studying dance when she was thirteen—“ballet, tap, acrobatics and modern jazz, as it was interpreted by my dance teacher in Aberdeen, Washington.” She also was involved in another physical discipline. “My older brother was an athlete and he was training me to be an Olympic star when I was ten or eleven. I played basketball, football, did tackling, and ran out for passes all the time I was growing up. He trained me in pole vaulting and running. He tapped my physicality when I was very young and pushed me a lot.”

She attended Mills College in California where she majored in dance and studied traditional modern dance techniques. “At that time the mode of teaching choreography was to use the Louis Horst forms of theme and development. I never understood it. I always had difficulty because I hadn't developed my own source of movement, so the restrictions of the choreographic forms just got in my way.”