|
Founders Jyana S.
Gregory, a
theatre director trained in the U.S., Paris and Japan, and Rika Iino, a
pianist/composer/producer raised in Tokyo, Japan, who has gone on to study in Europe and
New York, first collaborated on an adaptation of Zeami's IZUTSU for the Lincoln Center Directors Lab at
HERE in the summer of 2000.
While working to render Noh drama's ethereal
atmosphere and balance of music, text, and dance while creating a piece that
would resonate with a contemporary American audience, Jyana and RIKA were struck
by the challenges and rewards of blending their East Asian and Western
backgrounds and by the richness of the total integration of the theatrical
elements. These discoveries led to the founding of ACTIVE EYE, named for the
Japanese word "katsugan" meaning "insight" or
"penetrating eye," in the winter of 2000.
Jyana and Rika's second
production,
SENJO: AN OPERA IN FOUR PARTS, based on the Zen
koan "Senjo and Her Soul are Separated," built upon the foundations
laid by
IZUTSU while incorporating the new elements of an original text by
Lucas Hnath and a collaboration with a contemporary music ensemble,
counter)induction.
SENJO premiered at the Ontological Theatre at St. Marks Church in the
summer of 2001, playing to near-capacity houses.
In 2003, ACTIVE EYE
has collaborated on an adaptation of Büchner's WOYZECK.
In this production, Jyana and Rika have expanded upon their previous work
by incorporating new technology, working with scientist and musician Ben Brown,
and by tackling a Western classic with the same rigor and freshness with which
they have tackled East Asian classics in the past.
In May 2004, ACTIVE EYE, with a grant from Meet-the-Composer, produced and
premiered DOJOJI at the Cleveland Public Theater, wooing audiences
and critics with powerful multi-disciplinary adaptation of the Japanese classic Musume
Dojoji. |
ACTIVE EYE seeks
- to create performance pieces that relish the spontaneity and energy of the live
event
- to fuse elements of East Asian traditions with elements from the West,
creating a layered, rich texture and new possibilities for expression
- to fully integrate the theatrical arts, giving equal weight to music,
movement, and text
- to engage the audience on a visceral level, invigorating mind and spirit
- to free the imagination to explore the often perplexing and overwhelming
experiences of being human
|
