Editor's Note

by Jim O'Quinn

This month's special section on indigenous theatre from around the world, titled Cultures in Peril, is a compelling, thought-provoking, sometimes stark reminder of things we know about the theatre but seldom step back to contemplate.

For example: The fascinating symbolic parallel, suggested (in Leslee Asch's cover story) by Basil Jones of Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa, between the eponymous 16-foot-high giraffe in the production Tall Horse and the "gifts" that have flowed out of Africa during the past century to enrich the world—Cubism, jazz, modern dance, even Modernism itself, in Jones's view—reinforces what we know about theatre as a humanizing bridge between nations, and between the past and the future. Playwright Lynn Nottage's heartrending accounts of "theatre of necessity" in Uganda remind us of the elemental nature of performance; the courageous efforts of Mayan women in Chiapas, Mexico, underscore the art form's enduring potential as a tool of political transformation.

For me, the most potent theme running through the collection is the irreducible significance of the actor—the importance of the body of the performer as a site of cultural knowledge, and as an instrument of its preservation and transmission. As Susan Leigh Foster points out in her 1995 study Choreographing History, the ability of the actor to communicate signs, complex ideas and history through gesture, performance, dance and sexuality puts the body on an equal footing with, or in an even more powerful position than, the book or the archive. Because no written record exists of many of the stories being told in these indigenous performances, the actor's body becomes paramount: not merely the conduit of a narrative but a literal incarnation of it—and a living link to theatre's ancient origins in ritual and magic.

The international focus carries over into other parts of the issue: In addition to American Theatre's annual directory of international summer theatre festivals, Joan Channick's editorial advocates a greater role for artists in U.S. diplomatic policy; Melanie Joseph is inspired by the energy and rigor of a progressive gathering in Brazil; and French director Ariane Mnouchkine extols the art of theatre in two languages on the occasion of World Theatre Day.

At a time when the U.S. seems politically alienated from many parts of the world and culturally suspect in others, theatre can be an indispensable reminder that we are not alone. —Jim O'Quinn