afterlife: a ghost story Notes on the Production

The cast and crew of afterlife: a ghost story are hard at work putting togehter this National New Play Network Rolling World premiere.  New Rep is the second theatre out of three theaters to put this new production on the stage in the 2010-2011 Season.  The show runs from January 16 - February 6, 2011 in the Charles Mosesian Theater at the Arseanl Center for the Arts.  To enhance your theatrical experience we have posted the production notes for afterlife: a ghost story below in order to allow you to read them before you see the show! 

THE AFTERLIFE THROUGH HISTORY AND CULTURE
The afterlife has always been a mystery. All cultures have their own theories as to what happens after death, though none have been able to come up with a definitive answer.

Ancient Egyptians believed that once a person reached the underworld, she had to plead her innocence and declare her good deeds according to the Book of the Dead. Afterwards, her heart was weighed against a feather. If the heart was heavier than the feather, the soul was destroyed, but if the heart was lighter than the feather, it was allowed to enter Skeet Aura, the equivalent of heaven.¹

The Greeks believed that the soul journeyed down into the underworld, where it crossed the river Styx and entered Hades, an afterlife that was neither heaven nor hell.² In the myth of Persephone, a young girl is kidnapped to Hades, where she succumbs to eating food from the underworld and is trapped there eternally.

Hinduism teaches reincarnation, the philosophy that people repeatedly die and are reborn until their soul finally transcends the cycle. At the end of reincarnation, one achieves Moksha and is reunited with Krishna, the Hindus’ highest god.³

Buddhism also believes in rebirth; however, it is a person’s karma which determines into which body he or she is reborn.⁴ The worse your karma, the higher the odds you’ll be reborn as a dung beetle.

Christians believe that after death, a soul is judged and either sent to Heaven or Hell, depending on the deeds that one committed during life. Dante Alighieri created a detailed description of the Christian afterlife in his epic poem The Divine Comedy.

JAPANESE INFLUENCES

Noh Theater is an ancient Japanese form of theater, still popular and significant today, that focuses on emotion and the trials of the human heart. Originally created in the 14th century by Japanese actor and playwright Zeami Motokiyo, Noh Theater portrays its subjects through dance, poetry, and music. Zeami wrote many of the original Noh plays and a treatise about Noh techniques, that are still studied and performed by Noh actors today.⁵ Noh plays are divided into five categories: God plays, warrior plays, woman plays, realistic plays, and demon plays.⁶ The play itself is then divided into three musical sections: the jo (introduction), the ha (development), and the kyu (climax).⁷ The three standard roles in Noh Theater are shite (protagonist), waki (secondary actor), and tsure (companion).⁸ Noh is very visually distinct, with a specific stage and costumes necessary to create the production.

Noh Theater was revolutionary in its theatrical conventions and its bending of time and space. This flexibility and imagination is compatible with Yockey’s handling of the unknown physics of the afterlife. Noh Theater encourages willful suspension of disbelief and uses this suspension to its advantage. The stylized poetic and musical quality of Noh Theater is also very influential to Yockey as an author. The poetry of the second act of afterlife: a ghost story evokes strong emotions associated with loss, just as the poetry of Noh accentuates emotion with dance and music.

Japanese puppet theatre, or Bunraku, is known for its precision and beauty. Influenced by traveling storytellers and puppeteers, Bunraku was officially created in 1684 by Gidayu Takemoto, who opened the first puppet theater.⁹ In Bunraku, three puppeteers operate one puppet. The ashi-zukai puppeteer operates the feet and legs, omo-zukai operates the right hand and head, and hidari-zukai operates the left hand.¹⁰ The puppeteers are visible on stage, yet do not speak; a single narrator creates all the voices of the play. The puppets, which are incredibly realistic and detailed, possess movable eyes, mouths, limbs, and even eyebrows. A three-stringed shamisen creates accompanying music for the puppets and narrator.¹¹ In 1984, the National Bunraku Theater was founded in Osaka, Japan in order to preserve this ancient and beautiful art form.¹²

The Japanese tea ceremony is an ancient ritual of hospitality. Originating as a Buddhist practice, the ceremony is still studied and performed today as an example of precision and beauty. Generally, guests must purify themselves before entering the tea house. “The tea ceremony captures all the essential elements of Japanese philosophy and artistic beauty, and interweaves four principals—harmony (with people in nature), respect (for others), purity (of heart and mind), and tranquility.”¹³ Yockey uses the tea house as a representation of the afterlife, in which the characters are purified of life.

PRODUCTION HISOTRY
The National New Play Network (NNPN) is a group of leading nonprofit theaters with a common desire to develop and support new plays. NNPN was originally founded by David Goldman and George C. White with the vision that new play development should be regionalized by uniting developmental theaters and their playwriting communities. Since its founding 1998, NNPN has commissioned over one dozen playwrights, provided paid residencies for MFA graduates, and sustained nearly 100 productions through its Continued Life of New Plays Fund. Over the past ten years, NNPN has given nearly half a million dollars to theaters and artists.¹⁴

Yockey found New Repertory Theatre through his work with artistic director Kate Warner during their time at Dad’s Garage Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. In February 2010, New Rep presented afterlife: a ghost story as part of New Voices @ New Rep, a staged reading series dedicated to introducing New Rep’s audience to emerging playwrights, and bringing attention to new works by established writers. Through NNPN’s Continued Life of New Plays Fund, afterlife: a ghost story will receive a Rolling World Premiere, first presented at Southern Rep in New Orleans this past October, and moving on to Edgemar Theatre in Santa Monica, California this spring. New Repertory Theatre is pleased to join in the world premiere of Steve Yockey’s afterlife: a ghost story.

Endnotes
1 Lewis, James. “Afterlife Beliefs and Phenomena.” Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife. 2010. < http://www.near-death.com/religion.html>.
2 Ibid.
3 Leaman, Oliver. Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy. London: Routledge, 1999.
4 Ibid.
5 Binnie, Paul. “Japanese Noh Theater.” July 2001. Artelino Japanese Prints. 2001-2010.
6 Keene, Donald. Twenty Plays of the No Theatre. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970, xi.
7 Ibid, 13.
8 Ibid, 6.
9 “Bunraku.” May 2007. Osaka-Info: Osaka Tourist Guide.culture/2007may/04.html#>.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid.
13 Pettigrew, Jane. The Tea Companion. New York: Macmillan, 1997, 12.
14 Loewith, Jason. 2010 .

Bibliography
Binnie, Paul. “Japanese Noh Theater.” July 2001. Artelino Japanese Prints. 2001-2010 .

“Bunraku.” May 2007. Osaka-Info: Osaka Tourist Guide. .

Chopra, Deepak. Life After Death: The Burden of Proof. New York: Harmony Books, 2006.

Johnson, Matthew. “A Brief Introduction to the History of Bunraku.” August 14, 1995. The Puppetry Home Page. .

Keene, Donald. Twenty Plays of the No Theatre. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970.

Leaman, Oliver. Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy. London: Routledge, 1999.

Lewis, James. “Afterlife Beliefs and Phenomena.” Near-Death Experiences and the Afterlife.  2010. 

Loewith, Jason. About NNPN: Overview. 2010 .

“Noh Drama.” Contemporary Japan: A Teaching Workbook. .

“Noh Drama and Kabuki.” May 2007. Osaka-Info: Osaka Tourist Guide. .

Pettigrew, Jane. The Tea Companion. New York: Macmillan, 1997.

Verwoerd, Leo. “Moon of Pure Snow at Asano River.” Yoshitoshi. 2008-2010. .

Wiencek, Henry. The Lords of Japan. Chicago: Stonehenge, 1982. 

“Yoshitoshi’s One Hundred Aspects of the Moon.” Carolyn Staley: Fine Japanese Prints. 2008. .

Photo Credits (top to bottom):

http://e-ducation.net/aestheticians.html
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