Intercultural Themes

Author(s): Richard Schechner

Reviewed work(s):
Source: Performing Arts Journal, Vol. 11/12, Vol. 11, no. 3 - Vol. 12, no. 1, The
Interculturalism Issue (1989), pp. 151-162
Published by: Performing Arts Journal, Inc.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3245433 .
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Intercultural
Themes

RichardSchechner

1989
INTERCULTURAL THEMES ARE PRESENT in my directing,my
and my hopes forthe futureof the world.Like manyother
writings,
a starving
a lot.Not becauseI've beena refugee,
I've traveled
postmoderns,
in
a
of
of
this
or
that
or
someone
search
food, prisoner
opperson
Gulag,
whomust,as thepolicesay,"Move on!" My jourpressedor victimized
andartisthavebeenprivileged
niesas scholar,tourist,
goingsmadebymy
own choice. In Asia, Micronesia,Australia,native America, Latin
ideas,techniques,
America,and Europe,I have exchangedinformation,
withpeopleI've met.Some oftheseexchangeshavebeencarried
feelings
out in a more or less formalmanner-lecturing,
directingplays,parin
and
to
the
forthe
press,
arranging
talking
ticipating
leadingworkshops,
I
inthe
have
not
on
of my writings.
translation
consciously
Although
I have been enriched(yes,I
dividuallevelbeen a colonizeror exploiter,
knowthemetaphor)
bymytrips.
No cultureis "pure''--thatis, no cultureis "''itself."''
borrowOverlays,
have alwaysmade everyculturea conings, and mutualinfluencings
a hybrid,
a palimpsest.
shouldnot
So muchso thatwe probably
glomerate,
a mythofdesired
speakof"culture" butof"cultures."Racismis basically
as beingnot
culturalpurity
playedoutagainst"others" whoareperceived
inferior.
different
but
only
is useful.Everyapparently
The notionof"culture" thoughquestionable
can be cut up intosmallerand larger
wholecultureexaminedhistorically

151

claimsto "integrity."Some"stable"
pieces,eachwithitsownsustainable
cultures-forexample,the British(or are theyEnglish?Scots?Welsh?
eventoday:forthe
Irish?Anglos?Saxons?Celts?)-are nothomogenous,
influxof former"colonials" fromIndia, Pakistan,the West Indies,
southernAfrica,and elsewhereis changingthe culturesof the British
islandsas drastically
as theinvasionoftheNormansdidnearly1000 years
influx
Is
reducible
to thecollisionofcultures,or doesit markthe
this
ago.
andso on?Justhow
creationofnewcultures:Anglo-Indian,
Indo-Yoruban,
about?Can
it
what
is
take
to
culture
one
does
manyhyphens
specify
talking
ofdistinct
culturesbe locateddownto theneighborhood,
nottheexistence
thefamily
and possiblytheindividual?
grouping,
thenotionofculture'is useful.The slipperiness
But forall itsproblems,
and
termis duetotheextreme
of" culture"as a definite
dynamism,
lability,
evenJapan
ofanygivenculture.Everycultureis alwayschanging,
volatility
duringitsperiodofso-calledisolationthatendedwiththeMeijirestoration
a stop-frame
a snapshot,
of
of1868. Whatis meantby"culture" is actually
ofbothenan ongoinghistorical
action.This ongoingactionis a function
as to make
oftenso tightly
intertwined
dogenousandexogenousinfluences
distinctions
betweenen-and ex-impossible.
to
to fixculturesor stopthemfromchangingis liketrying
Attempting
endor annihilate
history.
and information
notonly
Efficient
communications
networks,
affecting
willmakeculturesincreasingly
less a matterof
buteveryone,
thewell-off
birthand morea matterofchoice.
arts-becausetheyexpressbehaviorsand emotionthrough
Performing
narrativeof both the made-upand collectivemythic
action,
symbolic
kinds-arewideavenuesofintercultural
exchange.
modesofcomRitualsandsportsas wellas arts,beliefsandagreed-upon
as
as
petition well styles,are beingexchanged.
Not all of the exchangingis welcome.Certaincultures,undergreat
But culturesare not "natural
withextinction.
pressure,are threatened
species," and care mustbe takenbeforeapplyingecologicalmodelsto
culturesusingthesamemethodsemployed
to save gorillasor rainforests.
These attitudes
barelyconceala kindof primitivism
wherebythreatened
for
of
the
are
as "livcultures
(theTagalogs
Phillipines, example) perceived
humans
"used
to
be."
interventions
based
museums"
of
the
Also,
way
ing
oftenare
on "saving" or "protecting"cultures,althoughhigh-sounding,
amversions
oftheracistpatronization
orimperialist
latetwentieth-century
whoseavowed
bitionsthatglossed,and glosses,the workofmissionaries
purposewas,and is, to "save" and "civilize" peoplewhowere,andare,
The alternative
of
(ripeforexploitation).
thoughtto be savages/heathens

152

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SCHECHNER'S PRODUCTION OF THE CHERRY ORCHARD

IN INDIA
to prevailis
allowing"marketforces"or otherkindsofsocialdarwinism
kind
of
Some
exchangeamong
rule-governed
equally unsatisfactory.
culturesis the best course. These rules would guaranteeto cultures
the
tonations,andprevent
guaranteed
paralleltothesovereignty
autonomy
and
on
from
cultures
morepopulousandgeographically
encroaching
larger
thesmaller.It is easyenoughto statethisas an ideal,butas the
eliminating
ofrelationsamongnationshas shown,there'slotsof distance
experience
betweencup and lip. Who is to settherulesofcontactand exchangeand,
is thegrowthem?The besthopeforsuchan arrangement
onceset,enforce
human
for
the
is
cultural
that
awareness
species.
healthy
diversity
ing
ofonepeople,orpeoples,byanotherdoesnotnecessariThe subjugation
cultures
oftheircultures.In theAmericas,African
lyleadto theextinction
are
members
whose
cultures
the
haveflourished,
deeplyaffecting European
of
In
conversion
the
and
stilldominant
economically politically. Indonesia,
than
cultures
Hindu
the populationto Islam did not eliminate
anymore
Islam.In Indiaitself,
eliminated
ofyearsofEuropeancolonization
hundreds
Moghuls ruledforcenturies,succeededby the ChristianEnglish,but
theircultures.
maintained
all this,theHindusofIndiaeffectively
through
which
ofinteraction
andallthevariousforms
Thisis nottosaythatcontact,
and
the
both
the
of
cultures
the
do
not
conquered.
conqueror
follow,
change

153

is, ofcourse,thatculturesare alwayschanging-evenifwe

My argument
do not(yet)knowhowto predictwhatchangeswilloccur.
1974
tradehasinfluenced
so-called"genuine" performances
Surelythetourist
in Bali and elsewhere.I haveno contempt
forthesechanges.Changesin
and
occur
becauseofopportunism,
conventions,
themes,methods, styles
a
new concept),and new
audiencepressures,
often
(itself
professionalism
has
been
and
Tourism
technology.
reallyimportant worldwide
onlysince
willregardtourism
as ofas
theadventofcheapair-travel.
Theatrehistorians
muchimportance
to twentieth-century
theatreas the exchangebetween
was in thesixteenth
andseventeenth
centuries.
EnglandandtheContinent
Theatrepeopleimitatepopularimported
modes,and thelocalsrespondto
the demandsofrichvisitors-orlocal audiencesdemandchangesbecause
they'veabsorbedthetastesofaliencultures.Fromone pointofviewthese
changesare corruptions-aclamoris raisedto establishculturalzoos in
But even
whichthe originalversionsof age-oldritualscan be preserved.
from
to
traditional
performances
varygreatly
generation generation-an
is flexible,
ableto absorbmanypersonalvariations
oraltradition
withinset
And the cultural-zoo
parameters.
approachis itselfthe mostpernicious
aspectoftourism.
I hatethe genocidethathas eradicated
[...] cultures.[...] But I see
in
Bali
with
what's
andNew Guinea,wheretwo
nothing
wrong
happening
of
exist.
The
between
theseis nota simpledivitheatre
relationship
systems
andauthentic.
sionbetwentourist
Morestudiesareneededon theexchange
andemerging
betweenwhat'sleftoftraditional
tourist
shows.
performances
And at what momentdoes a touristshow becomeitselfan authentic
theatrical
art?
Tourismis a two-way
street:traveler'sbringbackexperiences,
expectascenes,and even
tions,and-if thetouristsare practitioners-techniques,
entireforms.The birthritualof Dionysusin 69 was adaptedfromthe
AsmatofWestIrian;severalsequencesin theLivingTheatre'sMysteries
andParadiseNow weretakenfromyogaand Indiantheatre;PhilipGlass'
is deeply
musicdrawson gamelanandIndianraga;ImamuBaraka'swriting
influenced
African
and
drama.
The
list
be
modes
of
could
by
story-telling
and
all
War
to
the
arts.
innovators
since
World
II (a great
extended,
Many
warfortravel)havebeendecisively
influenced
byworkfromculturesother
thantheirown;thismeans,forWesternartists:Asia, Africa,andOceania.
The impactof communal-collective
Western
formson contemporary
theatreis likethatofclassicalformson theRenaissance.The differences,
in the Renaissanceall that remainedof
however,are also important:

154

classicalculturewerearchitectural
ruins,old texts,and relicsoftheplastic
and corrupt.Also,
arts. This materialwas frequentlyfragmented
evenawe,at whatthey
scholarslookedwithuniversal
Renaissance
respect,
feedis mainlyin
foundofclassicalGreeceandRome.Today'scross-cultural
of
theshowshavebeenseenintact,theoriginators
theareaofperformances;
are former
colonialpeoples,or peopleswho werecontheperformances
aroundthe northAtlanticbasin.In other
sideredinferior
by populations
shouldbe feltfirstin theavantis
that
it
words, logical
today'sinfluences
garde.
-' 'FromRitualto Theatreand Back"
EducationalTheatreJournal26, 4: 475-76
1979
is verytraditional.
Whatis "traditional"is
feeding
[. . .] Cross-cultural
andrepeated
overtheyears.Thereis no culture
what'sremembered
finally
uninfluenced
evangelists(Muslim, Christian,
by foreigners-invaders,
I enjoythewaya Madrasmusicianhandlesa
colonizers.
traders,
Buddhist),
Europeanviolinas muchas a thrillto Glass' Tibetansounds.And what's
moreItalianthan(Chinese)spaghetti?
Towardsa FieldTheory
-"' 'Introduction:
ofPerformance,"
TDR 23, 2:2
1981
is replacing-ever
so tenderly,
butnotso slowly-interInterculturalism
andthecultures-IemThe nationis theforceofmodernism;
nationalism.
the
force
word
can
the
(what
plural-are
replaceforce?)of
phasize
a
As
world
information
order
comes
into
being,humanacpostmodernism.
three
levels:
tioncan be mappedas a relationship
among
EVEN SUPRA-HUMAN
COMMUNICATIONS
NETWORKS
PAN-HUMAN,
information
from/to
anywhere,
anyone
CULTURES,CULTURESOF CHOICE
localbehaviors
ethnic,
individualistic,
ofchoice
cultures
peopleselecting
actualities
various
peopleperforming
subjunctive
PAN-HUMANBODY BEHAVIORS/DREAM-ARCHETYPE
NETWORKS
andethological
unconscious
basis
ofbehaviors
andcultures

155

This map may scare you as it sometimesdoes me. It can be of a

an Orwellian
world.Butitcanalso-dependingon what
totalitarian
society,
orlevels,or acpeople"predict"fromit-liberate.It depictsthreespheres,
tualities;but the dottedlines say that a lot of spongingup and
links,leaks-joinstheserealms,making
down-transfers,
transformations,
to
ofthemoneverycomplicated
Yes, that'swhat'smostinteresting
system.
I mean,without
theoverarching
andthe
me:thewholethingis onesystem.
universalsthere is little chance for the middle-the
underpinning
evercombining
of
cultures-ever
achieving
harmony,
stability
multiplicity
relationsamongand in themidstofmanydifwithcontinuously
shifting
ferent
items.
forpeopleto
aspectofthismapis thepossibility
Maybethemostexciting
have "culturesofchoice."
-"The CrashofPerformative
Circumstances,"
52 (Fall): 100
Triquarterly

MW:

Ax:

VU?:
SCHECHNER'S
PRODUCTION OF
MOTHER COURAGE
IN INDIA

IIM:
01

156

1982
ifour species,and
Peoplesare goingto haveto learnto be intercultural
and its
nationalism
are
to
survive.
Clearly
manyof our sisterspecies,
in thenuclearcatastrophe
armaments,
rivalries,
boundaries-culminating
we humansaregoingto haveto learnto
ofmassextinction-issomething
getridof.
More like:unlearnwhatis blockingus from
Learnto be intercultural?
For as farbackas we can look in human
to
intercultural.
the
returning
intercultural.
have
been
unashamedly
continuously,
deeply,
peoples
history
The
swift
natural
our
is
to
adoptionof Western
species.
Borrowing
a
recent
is
non-Western
exampleofveryancient
peoples only
by
technology
into
transformed
is
What
is
borrowed
of
acculturation.
swiftly
patterns
native
re-makes
nativematerial-attheverysame timeas the borrowing
even-when viewed
culture.So human cultures-themost traditional
liketheearthviewedfromnearspace:a whirling
aresomething
holistically,
whatis introduced,
massof constantly
incorporating
changingpatterns,
wellorganized.
into
the
surround:
out
feelers
active,
very
yet
very
sending
is
the
norm
ofhumanacnew
stuff
of
cultural
and
the
making
Syncretism
tivity.
virulentformof Western
Only with the adventof a particularly
European-Americanexploitative nationalism, and its ideological
foreclosed.
(includingSovietMarxism),was interculturalism
outgrowths
We mustworkto makethisforeclosure
Thus, I am arguing
temporary.
evenancientvalues.This
anda return
to traditional,
bothforan experiment
inexperimental
artfora longtime:itis theroot
has beenimplicit
argument
even inis a predictable,
of that art's "primitivism."Interculturalism
heir.
its
natural
of
the
outcome
evitable,
[...]
avant-garde,
I'm not Pollyanaaboutall this.Some verysinisterforcesare present
in interculturalism.
[...] Firstoff,it is people fromthe economically
that
are able to traveland import.Areas are culturally
places
advantaged
ofotherareas.
and long-term
becauseofextensive
exploitation
advantaged
are
performances,
importing
Many tourists,as well as some impresarios
whoseemto be sucor worse.Also,multinational
corporations
philistines,
ceedingthenationsas thePrincesoftheEartharenotanybetterequipped
I trustnot
in government.
morallyor ethicallythantheirpredecessors
itis notin these
hasonlyone advantage:
network
Mobil.The multinational
to promoteglobalwar. It wasn't alwaysthat
self-interest
conglomerates'
as
And
"small
wars," well as the "arms industry,"are stillvery
way.
and
veryevil,business.Good ifyou wantto makea buck.
good,
I am opposedto thesetrendstowardone worldundertheaegisofstate

157

ButI amopposed,
orinternational
socialism.
too,
capitalism,
corporatism,
andideological
thathas brought
us to theedgeof
to thenational
fervor
has pushedus overtheedgeofsquandering
nuclearannihilation-that
andresources
on thedeathindustries.
wealth,
energy,
So wheredoesthatleaveme?
Themorewe,andeveryone
Themorecontact
thebetter.
peoples
among
ourownandotherpeople'scultures
thebetter.
elsetoo,canperform
To
a
a
is
someone
else's
culture
takes
that
"translation,"
perform
knowledge,
more
than
a
book.
Intercultural
different, viscerally
experiential, translating
whoknows
thebodyofperformance
takesa teacher:
someone
of
exchange
The
is
a
theculture
translated.
translator
of
culture
not
mere
as
being
agent,
Thisis why
a translator
ofwordsmight
be,butan actualculture-bearer.
becomes
so important.
Notjustreading
othercultures
them,
performing
them.
notjustvisiting
orimporting
them-but
So that
them,
actually
doing
orlaidexperientially
"them"and"us" is elided,
side-by-side.
An Introduction,"
TDR 26, 2:3
-"Intercultural
Performance:
1983
Of coursehundreds
have come to Europeand
of non-Westerners
At firstthesepeoplemostly
in the
Americato studytheatre.
worked
back
their
own
countries
versions
of
to
modern
mainstream-brought
inAmerica
Western
Butmorerecently
theatre.
at
manynon-Westerners,
in experimental
Thishasledto the
least,haveparticipated
performance.
ofintercultural
anda verycomplicated
development
companies
feeding
oftechniques
andconcepts
back-and-forth
thatcan no longerbe easily
as belonging
located
oranother.
tooneculture
Between
Anthropological
-''Points ofContact
andTheatrical
South
Asian
4, 1:24
Thought,"
Anthropologist
1985
is
Therewillbe more"in-between"
performative
genres.In-between
the
norm:
between
literature
and
between
and
recitation;
becoming
religion
andtheatre.
between
ritual
ofcultures:
Also,thein-between
entertainment;
eventsthatcan'teasilybe saidto originate
in,or belongto,thisor that
butthatextend
culture
intoseveral
cultures.
[. . .]
-"News, Sex,andPerformance
Theory"
inBetween
andAnthropology,
Theatre
322

158

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THE CHERRY ORCHARD

1986
ofepochs:one
May I suggestto youthatwe arelivingin a convergence
had
we
which we thought
collectivelyescaped from-pre-industrial
at war witheach other,whollycasteforever
and city-states
theocracies
boundsocieties-andone comingat us fromthe nuclearand ecological
a crowded,uncomfortable,
tomorrow:
dangerousworldthatcan onlybe
and
controlled
deepestfears.
humanity's
exploiting
byarousing
-"Uprooting theGarden,"
8
New TheatreQuarterly
5 (February):
1988
is a long
norbeatific.
I see is neither
The future
Approaching
apocalyptic
whereprivileged
sectors,regions,and
individuals,
periodofhumanhistory
theirpoliciesof
whileslowlyadjusting
theirowninterests
continents
protect
thegoose
on
not
based
ones
of
conservation
to
fundamentally
killing
greed
thatlaysthegoldeneggs.The eliteswilldo justenoughto keeptheworld
intact.
aliveand theirownprivileges
willboilwithunrestandhatredbutnothaveenough
The underprivileged

159

withterrorism,
localwars,and
powerto do morethanannoythepowerful
will
all this
otherfitful
of
Various
media
ventilate
expressions desperation.
as debate,rhetorical
and entertainment.
flourish,
A kindof postmodern
and stunningly
medievalism,
highlytheatrical
willemergeand prevail.Religiousauthority-both
ofthetradielaborate,
tionalkindand ofnew faiths-willbe enginesofinventing
and vesselsof
"comfort"andbeautyto massesunableto actuallychangein
transmitting
oftheirexistence.
substantial
any
waythematerialcircumstances
What could changeall this is contactwithextraterrestrial
intelligent
and populatethemoonor Mars.
beingsor theabilityto terraform
Don't holdyourbreath.
It is not irraHaving said so much,whatmakesme feeloptimistic?
in theET connection.
tionalism,
religiousfaith,or confidence
andhopeful
inThereis alivein theworldan inquisitive,
urgent,
strong,
terculturalism.
That is, the developmentof the world information
order-withall its problemsregarding
imperialism,
exploitahegemony,
localculturesbutstimulating
them.These
tion,andso on-is notcrushing
localculturesonceappearedto theirownmembers
as supremeanduniversal. Whenlocalpeople(French,Han, Yoruba,Javanese,
Yaqui-you name
there
are
came
contact
with
into
others,theillusion
them,
manyhundreds)
or worthy
thattheotherswereinferior
or superior,
dominable
of
persisted
obedience.This illusionresultsin warsofconquest,conversion,
exploitation,and extermination.
With the emergentworld information
order, a workablekind of
relativism
is beginningto glimmerand brighten.At some levels-the
forthedecencyoflife
thesharedresponsibility
genetic,theinformational,
andall
on theplanet(andbeyond,ifwe evergetthere)-alltheindividuals
culturesare at least theoretically
identical.
At
another
even
equal,
andculturalexpression,
thereis an
level-thatofindividual,
local,regional,
abundanceofdiversity.
We have not yetlearnedhow to balancethesetwo levelsof socialexistence.
Butwe arelearning-asa worldculture,
as a worldofmanycultures-to
therights
theselevelsofexistence.
Eventothedegreeofrecognizing
respect
ofotherspeciesandtheircultures,
and
oftheplanetas a unified
ecosystem
itsculture.
and
or in mychildren's,
therageofnationalism
Perhapsin mylifetime,
will
to
of
cultures
celebrations
appetite-driven
ideologies subside,givingway
withintheframework
ofplanetary
systems.[. . .]
I have experienced
an approximate
modelof thiskindof livingwhile
ofBali. Beon theterraced
landscapesandsystematic
reflecting
pageantry

160

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A VILLAGE AUDIENCE IN INDIA

tweenthemuchworshiped
abodeof
highvolcanoAgungandthelowfearful
the demons,theocean-both largelyout ofhumancontroland therefore
stillwild,fromthe Balineseviewpoint-exists
a middleearthwherethe
forceofAgungand thesea meetand interact
withhumanbeingsand the
otheranimalsand lifeformsoftheisland.All is notpeaceand plentyon
Bali. The usual humanformsof avarice,jealousy,rivalry,
and the other
are
exercised.
But
there
is
I sayit-a
also-how
shall
belly-lusts robustly
senseofmanners,
a certaincourtesy
owedto gods,nature,family,
friends,
evenenemies.Thisdecorumestablishes
limits,allowsfortragedy
strangers,
andfarce,framing
lifeon theisland.Fromtimetotime,one,some,ormany
Balineserunamok,unleashing
wholesalemurder,
anddestruction
violence,
on each other.So theBalinesesystem,
too,has itsbugs.
There is no perfection
on this earth or any other (even of the
imagination).
But thehumanspeciesappearsto be ableto co-create
theworldsit lives
in. In otherwords,we willkeeptrying.
-"Letter Response,"ICIS Forum18, 3:3-5

161

1989: FromAnother
I hada hardtimeadI wasinTaipei,Taiwan,forfivedayslastNovember.
or less like me.
looked
more
who
surrounded
to
by people
justing being
Therewereothershocksas well-of a socialkind.I findI no longerknow
fora
whichis embarrassing
in Chinesesociety,
howto behaveappropriately
venerable
of
age.
person my
Chineseto me bya well-known
-From a letterwritten
in
has
lived
and
worked
Americanscholarwho formanyyears
theUSA. This personwishesto remainanonymous.

NOTES
'Culture,thesedays,rarelymeans"excellencein theartsorscholarship"or "peoplewith
and
ratherthanfalloworwild(fieldorforest),
goodmannersandtaste''-as in thecultivated
the civilized(thosewho cultivate)as opposedto the savage (thosewho huntor
therefore
the determinable
architecture,
behavior,artifacts,
scrounge).These days culturesignifies
there
customs,rituals,arts,and languagethatdefinea particular
groupofpeople.Formerly,
was a singlestandardof "culture" to whichall people mightaspire;todaythereare
"cultures" not one of whichis best. For what happenedread RaymondWilliams,Key
Words:A Vocabularyof Cultureand Society(New York:OxfordUniversity
Press,1976):
76-82.

RichardSchechneris theauthorof severalworkson the themeof interand a revised

the latestBetweenTheatreand Anthropology
culturalism,
and expandededitionofEssayson Performance
Theory.

162