The writer and performer of Horripilation!, John Sowle, is unquestionably a shining light in the fields of research and preservation of obscure global theatrical traditions, as well as being an imposing performative figure in the relating and embodiment of these same traditions. In 1973, with a Fulbright fellowship to research a doctoral thesis in dramatic art, he spent time at the Kerala Kalamandalam in southern India, where he was obliged to rise each morning at 3 a.m. in order to begin his day’s grueling training in traditional dance movement and actorly craft. Kept on his feet for hours at a time, in a highly repetitive form of dance stepping, his relief would come finally in the form of a massage administered by his teacher (asan), who would walk up and down his back while he lay in a formally controlled position. It should come as no surprise that classical traditions of drama and dance, wherever they originate, involved a regimen of severe physical hardship and mental discipline, but the sharing of these events in the performance by Mr. Sowle, as he reproduces the exercises nearly forty years later, is quite something to witness.

He is telling us about the southern Indian tradition of Kutiyattam, and of the Natya Shastra of Bharata, an ancient text on the rules and aesthetics of theater – a medium itself imparted to humankind as a divine gift because its sacred deviser would not entrust the gods with such a potent form of diversion. The historical and mythic dimensions of the tradition are complex and rich, and as involved as the formal rites, rules, and roles of the drama are exhaustive. Alone on stage, in traditional Indian garb, Mr. Sowle enumerates some of the primary categories of consideration as to theatrical principles: for the erection of a theater, the composition of such, the qualities requisite in an actor, and the physical language of actorly expression. He demonstrates for us as he does so, at one point marching out into the auditorium with a length of rope in order to show the necessary dimensions required in establishing both the performance space, and the audience space. Indeed, and not surprisingly, there are rules that extend to the audience too, as to their composition, number, and receptiveness. In many ways we are witnessing a form of cultural archaeology.

As he speaks, gestures, and dances, the actor casually moves the minimal props around the space, and matter-of-factly attires himself in various parts of his costume and make-up. He segues easily into excerpted scenes from classical epics of sanskrit, demonstrating the formalized expressions and gestures he has introduced to us. Short of an enticing image of himself as a young man, cycling in the hours before dawn, through monsoon rains to classes, he does not deliver any personal content. Indeed, at the heart of the Kutiyattam tradition is the notion of a non-empathic experience on the part of the audience, a learned, highly abstracted and aestheticized appreciation of the codified artifice of performance. Mr. Sowle here seems uninterested in breaking with this tradition. To whit, at the end of the show I felt like I had been attending a highly informative lecture that made imaginative use of demonstration. I did not feel I had witnessed a dramatic performance. If I had anticipated attending an educational presentation, I might have been a little more prepared to sound the depths of my considerable ignorance.  As it was, I felt a little cheated out of my expectation of a moment of imaginative catharsis. Consciously or unconsciously, we come to theater with our own inherited expectations of  in what a drama should consist.

Mr. Sowle does have one great “dramatic” trump card in this piece, which he plays to perfection right at the conclusion. Horripilation, a word we should all adopt into our vocabularies, is a term describing the upward movement of the hairs on our skins on account of goosebumps stimulated by something observed. In Kutiyattam, all performers should be capable of producing this effect in their audience. For the jaded audiences of the present, it sounds like a tall order. But eerily, almost quietly, the actor creates just this effect in the final five minutes of his show as, fully painted and costumed in high finery, he becomes an extraordinary character while dancing in a quaint, exotic manner, eye and head movements formally observing the codes he has related. You were looking at something quite other, quite riveting. I didn’t check to see if I had goosebumps but, for several minutes together, I was experiencing something quite beyond them.

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Horripilation! was featured as part of the Times Square International Theater Festival at the Roy Arias Studios & Theatres located at 300 W. 43rd St, NY, NY.

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Related Posts:

• THM Sponsors The Times Square International Theatre Festival
• HORRIPILATION!: 4 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)

HORRIPILATION!

Kaliyuga Arts
Written and performed by John Sowle
Director: Steven Patterson

This stunning work combines the Natya Shastra, a remarkably refined and elaborately detailed pre-Christian theatre text from India, with Teyyam, a primitive South India ritual, to create a work that “plunges audiences into a dazzling realm of color and movement, virtually unknown in the West but filled with amazing insights and invaluable lessons for all those who treasure theatre.”

Show Times:

• Mon 1/16 @ 6:30pm
• Thu 1/19 @ 10:00pm
• Sat 1/21 @ 8:00pm

Answers by Steven Patterson, director

Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
This is an international festival. What part of the world are you coming from … and will your show tantalize the NYC audience with a taste of your nation’s culture?
Steven Patterson: Our production company, Kaliyuga Arts, is currently based in Catskill, NY, approximately 2 hours north of Manhattan, although our production itself concerns a westerner’s encounter with the practices of an ancient (but still living) Indian theater tradition. It therefore offers NY audiences an opportunity to view the basics of an art-form and a culture with which they may be totally unfamiliar in an accessible, entertaining, and audience-friendly format.

Dianna Martin’s Question
Who is the greatest inspiration to you artistically?
Steven Patterson: The major inspiration for HORRIPILATION! would have to be Raman Cakyar, who was John’s asan (teacher) at the Kerala Kalamandalam when John was studying Kutiyattam on a Fullbright Fellowship in 1973 in preparation for writing his doctoral dissertation for the University of California at Berkeley. But we have also been influenced and inspired by the work of Ariane Mnouchkine and Peter Brook, both of whom frequently incorporate theatrical traditions from cultures not their own into the productions they present.

Geoffrey Paddy Johnson’s Question
What emerged as the greatest challenge during the development of this production?
Steven Patterson:Actually, our greatest challenge on this particular iteration of HORRIPILATION! was one of time and age! The show was originally presented at the San Francisco Fringe Festival back in 1995, and it was subsequently performed (for a few performances only) at the Open Secret Bookstore in San Rafael, CA in 1996 and 1998. The show contains VAST amounts of incredibly detailed material (and deals with it in a very entertaining manner in less than 60 minutes) and is EXTREMELY demanding physically. John’s major concern when we made the decision to revive it was whether or not he still had the stamina and the retentive memory to cope with the show’s requirements. Fortunately, he seems to have succeeded and the intervening years have brought new depth and resonance to the piece.

Antonio Minino’s Question
You’re in Times Square surrounded by the best Broadway houses and highest selling entertainment in the world. What resources are you utilizing to spread the word about your show and get butts in seats?
Steven Patterson: We have many contacts within the NYC Theatre community itself and word of mouth, social networking (both on- and offline), and postcard distribution (to theaters and theater-related businesses, as well as several institutions, such as the Asia Society, whose staffs and patrons might have a connection to or an interest in the material we are presenting) have been our major advertising outlets. John also works as Associate Artistic Director for a small Equity house near our home upstate and they were gracious enough to do an email blast to everyone on their mailing list for us.

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Related Posts:

• THM Sponsors The Times Square International Theatre Festival
• Horripilation! By John Sowle, Kaliyuga Arts (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)
• SEASONS (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)
• Legacy Of The Tiger Mother (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)
• 1,934 Days: 4 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)

There’s a great independent festival kicking off tonight – right in the heart of the theatre district at the Roy Arias Studios & Theaters. What makes The Times Square International Theater Festival special is two things – one, it’s an international festival which means there will be a great range of talents from all over reflecting cultures from around the world.  The second thing is that The Happiest Medium is the proud sponsor of this festival! In the coming week we’ll bring you Q&As with each of the production teams to get you excited about the shows, and we’ll review as many as we can get to!  In the mean time, check out the full schedule here:

Related Posts:

• SEASONS: 4 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)
• Horripilation! By John Sowle, Kaliyuga Arts (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)
• SEASONS (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)
• Legacy Of The Tiger Mother (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)
• The Knocking Within: 4 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (Times Square International Theater Festival 2012)