Abraham Celaya

Yolanda Ulloa: La nueva estrella del teatro y cine español

She is one of the raising stars in the Spanish theatre and cinema. Check her regularly.

I saw her doing Brecht’s THE GOOD PERSON OF SZECHWAN and she was absolutely amazing.

Tell me your first time.

In Hospital Central, there was a before and after Yolanda Ulloa

Here with Verónica Forqué Yolanda Ulloa is hillarious.

June 30th, 2008 Posted by Papo | Film, Theatre | one comment

The China Disabled People’s Performing Arts Troup

A great work of art is one that truly moves and inspires you. You yourself must be moved. Don’t look at art with others’ eyes. Don’t listen to music with others’ ears. You must react to art with your own feelings, your own heart and mind. If you allow yourself to be swayed by the opinions of others - “It must be good because everyone else likes it,” “It must be bad, because no one else likes it” - your feelings, your sensibility, which should be the very core of the artistic experience, will wither and die. To enjoy art to the fullest, you must abandon all preconceived notions, leaving a blank slate. Then confront the work directly, with your entire being.
If you are deeply moved, then that work is, for you, a great work of art.

Daisaku Ikeda

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This is absolutely astonishing.

It was established in 1987 and it was originally composed of amateurs, but in 2000 they became professional. they will open the Olimpic Games in China this summer.

They have toured everywhere, and they have over 100 dancers on tour. These dancers are blind, deaf and mentally or physically disabled. As their main dancer and coordinator, Tai Lihua (she is deaf/mute) says: “They all have a common purpose of sharing their love of special arts and coming together to realize this dream.”

Below there is an interview with Tai Lihua.

This one is more This one is more psychedelic:

June 13th, 2008 Posted by Papo | Film, Theatre | no comments

Peter Brook: Marat / Sade

Check this scene from Brook’s film masterpiece (1967) based on the play

by Peter Weiss (Español) / (English) , Marat / Sade:

In the years just before the French Revolution, The Marquis de Sade is locked in the Charenton mental hospital and decides to put on a play.

His overseers agree as long as he follows certain conditions. He writes and directs the other mental patients in a play based on the life of Jean-Paul Marat. As the play progresses, the inmates become more and more possessed by the violence of the play and become extremely difficult to control. Finally, all chaos breaks loose.

Fragment I

With a stellar cast of, among many other, Patrick Magee as the Marquis de Sade: (Español) / (English) ; Ian Richardson as Marat: (Español) / (English) ; Glenda Jackson as Charlotte Corday: (Español) / (English).

Fragment II

Fragment III

Fragment IV

Fragment V

Fragment VI

May 13th, 2008 Posted by Papo | Film, Theatre | no comments

Ariane Mnouchkine: La Mort de Molière

This is an amazing scene from the film that Ariane Mnouchkine wrote and directed in 1978. She was nominated for Best Director for La Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival.

The film won the Cesar for: Best Cinematography (Meilleure photographie): Bernard Zitzermann

and Best Production Design (Meilleurs décors): Guy-Claude François

It was nominated at the Cesar for:

Best Director (Meilleur réalisateur): Ariane Mnouchkine

Best Film (Meilleur film): Ariane Mnouchkine and

Best Sound (Meilleur son): Alix Comte

Mnouchkine is a strong believer in the collaborative process of theatre. She builds her work with her company Théâtre du Soleil and she believes that “the director has already achieved the greatest degree of power he has ever had in history. And our aim is to move beyond that situation by creating a form of theatre where it will be possible for everyone to collaborate without there being directors, technicians, and so on, in the old sense.” She and her company develop their works using many techniques. Sometimes, the troupe develops ideas out of improvisational exercises. They also incorporate multiple styles of theatre in their work - ranging from commedia dell’arte to various Asian theatre traditions.

While mainly a Stage Director, Ariane Mnouchkine has been involved also in film. Her movie 1789 (filmed from the live production) about the French Revolution, brought her international fame in 1974. In 1978 she wrote and directed Molière, a biography of the famous French playwright.

May 1st, 2008 Posted by Papo | Film, Theatre | one comment