DramaLit Blog 1.0: BU School of Theatre

“The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.”
-Wade Davis

“We all sing we all dance we all have art, but what’s interesting is the unique cadence of the song, and the rhythm of the dance in every culture.” -Wade Davis

My favorite TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html

Wade Davis is an Anthropologist, Ethnobotanist, National Geographic Explorer in Residence, and advocate for the diversity of the human experience. He is dedicated to preserving the ancient wisdom of indigenous cultures around the world. I’ve read three of his books, “The Serpent and the Rainbow,” “One River,” and “The Wayfinders.” All of them profoundly changed the way I understood reality and humanity. Until I discovered Davis and his thesis, I had always unconsciously considered indigenous cultures to be more like a piece of art than a complex human community. The ancient cultures of the Andes, for instance, were only photographs to be marveled at, too far away from my personal understanding of the universe to be anything more than living symbols of the differences between us. As much as I hate to admit it (I know this is awful), I also used to consider them unfortunate. I sort of pitited them. Science, modern medicine, literature, and industry were the some of the correct solutions to the human problem, and ancient cultures around the world were missing out. It didn’t cross my mind that their solutions to the same problems are successful and elegant. As he talks about in the video, we view indigenous people as quaint and colorful, rather than capable of, say, science or medicine different to, yet as powerful as our own.”Indigenous people are neither sentimental nor weakened by nostalgia.” They are not museum exhibits on the sidelines of industrialized culture.

We talk so often in our theatrical training about giving voice to the voiceless. In this context though, that assumes that indigenous cultures have no voice. Perhaps they speak an alien language, but their voice is just as strong. I want to bring the unique voice of the Kogi, or the Maasai, or the Hopi to the global theatre community. This gets a little delicate because It has got to be the sharing of different solutions to basic human problems rather than a western culture gawking at a people they find incomprehensible but ever so fascinating. How does one start a theatrical conversation between two cultures that are so different? How can it be an equal exchange of artistic ideas? If I could just find some contact information for Wade I could ask him, I bet he could help…