Folklore has been a central source for the themes and subjects of classical Eastern and Western drama. It has also helped shape each wave of the Avant-Garde, providing artists with inspiration and raw materials that they could reinterpret or deconstruct as they saw fit.

Ancient Greek and Roman Theater. Western Theater began in Ancient Greece. It evolved out of the Dithyramb, a hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and fertility. Thespis, by introducing an actor into the performance of the dithyramb, converted a narrative song into drama. The innovation initiated the performance of tragedy, and led eventually to the Great Dionysia, a state sponsored festival that included a competition among playwrights. In the Fifth Century B.C., its greatest period, Greek tragedy retained and developed the early chorus and its use of masks, incorporated song, speech and dance in its dramatic performances, and in addition to its emotional and poetic power, became the most profound and lasting voice for Athenian civilization. Fourth Century Greek comedy with its middle-class plots and stock characters became in the Second Century B.C. the model for Roman comedy, which in turn is still the distant but ever-present source for Western comedy from the Renaissance to the present.

Bharatha Natyam is the oldest and most popular form of classical Indian dance. All Indian dance is tied to Shiva in much the same all Western theater is tied to Dionysus. The Bharatha Natyam repertory contains many episodes of Shivic mythology, including the Kodu-Kotti, which commemorates Lord Shiva's victory over the three demon cities of gold, silver, and iron with a single shot of his bow (and, according to some accounts, a smile). The form also contains segments of Nritta (or pure dance), which are nonrepresentational. They are the basis of many yogic practices. Bharatha Natyam is known for its vigorous footwork, crisp movements, and statuesque poses.

Biomechanics. In 1921 the newly formed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics gave legendary director Vsevolod Meyerhold an entire theater in which he could develop new techniques in acting. Meyerhold, who was once a star of Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theater, rebelled against his old teacher's devotion to naturalism on stage, and set on finding a method that would place drama firmly in the realm of theatricality. Biomechanics was an expression of this desire, and was intended to help bring about a new era of self-expression of the actor and director. Unfortunately, Meyerhold fell out of favor with Stalin, and on February 2, 1940, he was tried and executed as an enemy of the state. The practice of his techniques and discoveries was banned in Russia until well-after Stalin's death. Biomechanics is designed to evoke an emotional response from the actor through physical stimulus. It also aims to allow the actor to use his body as the ultimate expressive tool. The body is seen as a protean object that can be molded and changed at a moment's notice. Tied to the idea of archetypes, actors are encouraged to make broad and large choices. Emotions are not only expressed through dialog and nuance, but through explosive, acrobatic action.

Cham Mysteries. The Cham Mysteries are some of the oldest performance rituals still being enacted today. They are performed to commemorate auspicious events and dates in the Tibetan Buddhist calendar. The slow, graceful, flowing movements of Cham are meant to cleanse the body, mind, soul, and community of evil impulses and spirits, while its booming sonorous music is designed to frighten malevolent demons. One of the most important Chams is the Black Hat Dance, which reenacts the victory of Buddhism over Bon in Tibet. In 838 C.E. Tibet fell back under the rule of the ancient Bon religion. The king at the time brutally persecuted Buddhists. During these purges, a man dressed in black robes and a black hat began to dance in front of the king's residence. The king was so delighted with the dancer's grace, he invited him into his palace for a private performance. At the climax of the presentation, the black clad man drew a bow and arrow from the long folds of his flowing sleeves, and proceeded to shoot the king right through his eye, committing regicide. The erstwhile assassin escaped on a horse covered in soot. As he and his horse waded through a river, the soot washed away revealing the steed to be a brilliant white, while the man turned his robe and hat inside out, displaying the white lining. These cosmetic changes allowed the man to evade his pursuers. He returned to his monastery, and lived out the rest of his life in quiet meditation.

Chinese Opera. The Chinese Opera is over 5,000 years old. It is considered to be the amalgamation of every classical Chinese art, and each region of China has its own unique variation of the form. In 1903, it was introduced to the West as the Beijing Opera toured Europe. The acrobatic acting style, which relied heavily upon mime, proved to be a great source of inspiration for Meyerhold, while its expansive, presentational dramaturgy became the animus for Brecht's experiments in dramatic literature. The repertoire of the Chinese Opera is taken from the classics of Chinese literature, and tales of the many wars that mark the country's long, tumultuous past. One of the most popular groups of plays derive from the classic novel, Journey to the West. It is a story about the Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who is charged to journey into India in order to retrieve a group of sacred texts, called Sutras. In order to help him on his journey, the Bodhisattva Guan Yin assigns the monk three heavenly guardians, who take the form of his disciples. In actuality, the three beings are aspects of Xuanzang's own personality. When the monk is tempted by food, wine, or women, the porcine Zhu Wuneng takes control of the narrative. When Xuanzang is threatened or feels aggressive, his story falls under the prevue of Sha Wujing, the monk composed of sand. At the times when Xuanzang needs to think quickly, his actions are taken over by Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, who is closely tied to the Hindu Hanuman, the simian hero of the Ramayana epic.

Commedia dell'Arte. The first recorded company was formed around 1550. The companies gradually evolved into tightly knit professional clans, and along with their successes throughout Italy, traveled across Europe, where they ultimately inspired imitation and adaptation in England, Spain, Germany, Russia, and particularly in France, where they fundamentally shaped Moliere's comic technique and performance practice. Traces of Commedia can be seen throughout the history of Western theater. Its broad style, its emphasis on improvisation and use of masks, its physical nature, its dependence on archetypes, were direct influences on Avant-Garde theater in the past century, and particularly on directors such as Brecht and Meyerhold.

Dervish Dance. The term Dervish is used to describe twelve monastic orders devoted to Islam. Although the image of the Whirling Dervish is the most immediate association that comes to the Western mind, in actuality it refers to the Mevlana sect alone. The Mevlana Dervish tradition was founded in the 13th Century by Rumi, who is considered to be one of the Arabic language's greatest poets. By spinning and the positioning of hands, the Mevlanas believe that they are imitating the dance of the cosmos, planets, and stars, which gives them a greater connection to the divine. Their spinning also brings about a state of ecstatic trance, both for the practitioner and observer.

Digital Media. As advancements in digital media have greatly influenced the spectacle of performance, and have largely defined the societies of modern drama, they also hold great potential to enable new forms of dramatic literature and to affect the evolution of performance narrative. As technology continuously evolves and becomes increasingly available and accessible to artists, neither its social context nor its impact on contemporary communication can be overlooked in the development of new drama.

Dionysus was the last major god admitted into the Greek pantheon. He is the god of wine, ecstasy, vegetation, warm moisture, madness and chaos, and the theater. His cultic rites contained a very early instance of transubstantiation, and many of his miracles, including changing water into wine and returning from the dead, were later incorporated into the mythology of Christ. According to the Greek myth, Dionysus's mother was Semele, the mortal daughter of Kadmos, who was the founder of Thebes. Semele was seduced by Zeus, the king of the gods. In turn his divine wife Hera became jealous. Disguising herself as the young woman's nurse, Hera convinced Semele to beg a favor from the lecherous god. Semele insisted that she be able to see Zeus in his true, Olympian splendor. But Zeus's heavenly countenance was too much for her human body, which upon seeing the god, burned into a pile of ash. Within that heap Zeus found the fetus of his son, which the god quickly sewed into his right thigh. Three months later, Zeus gave birth to Dionysus. There are many stories that detail Dionysus's early life, of how he hid and escaped from the wrath of his enraged stepmother Hera, and a world that could not or would not recognize his own divine nature. But of particular importance to the Collective is the story depicted in The Bacchae by Euripides. During his evangelical campaign to be recognized as a god, Dionysus came to his home city, Thebes. The king, Pentheus, who was another grandson of Kadmos, and son to Agave (a sister of Semele), refused to recognize his first cousin, and violently suppressed Dionysus's cult. Pentheus also tried to incarcerate the young god. Dionysus, for his part, transformed the women of Thebes into maenads, while breaking free of his bonds. Once liberated he manipulated Pentheus into dressing as one of the god's female followers in order to spy on their orgastic rites. Agave, already under the vengeful god's sway, failed to recognize her own son, and lead her fellow maenads in ripping Pentheus limb from limb. After the god has left the beleaguered city, Agave placed herself in exile.

Izanaki and Izanami. The god Izanaki and the goddess Izanami created the islands of Japan, as well as other gods. One day, when Izanami was giving birth to the god of fire, she died from the burns. Izanaki felt he could not live without his wife, so he went to the underworld to see her. When he saw Izanami, she said, "I already have eaten the food of the underworld, so I can't come back to you. But since you are here to see me, I'll ask the god of the underworld if I can go with you. You have to promise me one thing. Do not try to get a look at me until I come back to you." However, Izanaki could not wait, and he went to the palace of the underworld. There he saw his wife's dreadful body with worms crawling all over it, and being watched over by the terrifying gods of thunder. Horrified, Izanaki immediately ran away. Infuriated, his former wife chased after him, with the thunder gods and the army of hell under her command. In a panic, Izanaki moved the largest boulder he could find in front of the cave mouth that led to the underworld. This caused the two realms, the land of the living and the dead, to be separated forever.

Kabuki began as a courtesan dance performed at temples around 1596. It blossomed as a form though, during the Tokugawa Era (1688-1703), which had an analogous relationship with the West's Renaissance. During that period, power had shifted from the warrior, or Samurai class, to the emerging merchant class, who quickly grew bored with the slow pace and the demanding nature of the Noh drama, the aristocracies' preferred form. Although Kabuki borrowed from the dramaturgy of Noh, and some of the style of the Banraku doll theater, it has become an actor's art. Audiences demand virtuoso performances from the dynastic families of actors who perform Kabuki today. Kabuki strives to create a rich world filled with symbolic gesture. It is not enough for a Kabuki actor to imitate or mime an action or situation; he must capture its inner essence. To achieve this goal, a series of group tableau and individual poses (kata) have been created over the centuries. Each kata is designed to portray the "true" meaning and workings of a specific event and character. Other emphasized elements of the Kabuki include the entrances and exits of major characters, complex dances, and the highly stylized elocution in which most Kabuki characters speak.

Kathakalibegan as a court entertainment in Southern India around the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Because of its highly spectacular nature, it quickly became a popular art form, although it demanded a connoisseurship to be fully appreciated. Modern Kathakali still revolves around the complex relationship between the artist/performer and the connoisseur/patron. Like most Indian theatrical techniques, Kathakali draws from the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and the puranas (other popular folk tales designed to instruct and entertain) for its source material. These plays are written in a heightened and formal dialect, and are performed through a combination of song, dance, sign language, and mime. Particular attention is paid to the actor's face and eyes, which have their own unique set of expressions. The dramaturgy of Kathakali intends to depict the mood or flavor of the scene, as opposed to the event itself.

Karagoz. The Karagoz tradition began in Turkey, but quickly spread throughout the Ottoman empire. According to legend, two workmen, Karagoz and Hacivat, were part of a construction crew who were tasked to build a mosque. But the project kept on being delayed because of the constant repartee and patter between Karagoz and Hacivat, which had the other men bent over in continual laughter. This angered the sultan who contracted the building of the mosque in the first place. He was also concerned that Karagoz and Hacivat were positioning themselves to be leaders in a popular uprising, so the sultan had them executed. However, their colleagues did not forget the antics of the two men. A member of the crew made images of Karagoz and Hacivat out of dried camel skin, and began to give performances in their memory and honor. The Karagoz shadow puppet plays became especially popular in Greece and Bulgaria. It was and still is used as a forum for the common people to voice their concerns and hardships in a highly satirical venue.

Ramayana. Vishnu, in his human guise as Prince Rama, is exiled into the forest after a series of court intrigues. He is followed by his wife, Sita, and his brother, Laksmana. The three pose as simple esthetics, and are charged with ridding the forest of its demons. One demoness, Surpanakha, falls in love with Rama, and attempts to capture him. However, she is defeated by the trio, and retreats to her brother, the mighty Ravana. Upon hearing of Sita's beauty, Ravana kidnaps her. Rama enlists the help of his friend, Hanuman, the king of the monkeys. With a monkey army in tow, Rama lays siege to Ravana's castle. After defeating and killing the demon, Rama questions Sita's chastity, and asks her to undergo a test of fire. Sita is unscathed however, and rejoins her husband. Rama, Sita, and Laksmana return to their kingdom. Rama and Sita's reunion is brief though, as public opinion turns against the princess, who is seen as impure, because she has lived with a demon. The royal couple acquiesces to the crowd, and Sita leaves to live with the sage Valmiki. There she bears twin sons, Lava and Kusa, who as young men reunite with their father.

Shiva. Shiva is the third god in the sacred trinity of the Hindu religion. He represents the divine aspect of destruction and renewal, and is the lord of dance. In fact it is his dances that allow the universe and its denizens to create, destroy, preserve, obfuscate, and confer grace upon themselves. One of the earliest instances of the god's dancing came when 10,000 wise men(Rishis) decided to become heretics and reject Shiva. The god visited them in order to teach them the error of their ways. At first Shiva was greeted by curses, but since these had no effect on him, the Rishis created a tiger from their bonfire to devour him. In a single, continuous motion, Shiva skinned the tiger alive with the nail on his little finger, using the new pelt as a shawl. The wise men then summoned a mighty serpent, which Shiva simply wrapped around his neck, transforming the snake into a garland. Finally the wise men summoned Apasmara-Purusha, a demon dwarf of ignorance. Shiva simply stepped on the back of Apasmara-Purusha, and began to dance. The Rishis were entranced by the dance, and when the heavens parted in order for the other gods to watch Shiva's performance, the former heretics threw themselves on the ground in order to worship the destroyer god. This tale forms the basis of the Nataraja (King of the Dance) image, which is still the most pervasive representation of the god.

Mahabharata. This expansive epic is eight times the length of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey combined. It spans several lifetimes, and traces the conflict between two branches of one family, the devious Kauravas and their semi-divine cousins, the Pandavas. Of interest to the Collective is the episode in which two Pandava brothers lose a game of dice to their bitter rivals. They are exiled for 13 years with their common wife, Draupadi. For the first 12 years, the Pandavas were allowed to wander India freely, spreading wisdom and morality, clothed as hermits. In the 13th year though, the Pandavas were forced to hide. If the Kauravas found them, they would have had to spend another 12 years in exile. The Pandavas disguised themselves as servants to a minor king. Their transformations were so thoroughly complete, Yudhishtira, who had lost the fateful game of dice, became a master of the game, while his brother, Arjuna, changed gender and became dance mistress to the princess. After this year was over, the Pandavas returned to their ancestral kingdom, where they were once again betrayed by the Kauravas- forcing the two parties into one final conflict.

Ngonpa. The Ngonpa is the ritual dance of the Tibetan fisherman and hunter. It is used to purify the stage before each and every Lhamo performance. Lhamo is the traditional folk opera of Tibet, in which the participants are masked and perform stories depicting the power of Buddhism to overcome all negative forces. A Lhamo Opera performed in Tibet lasts seven days.

Noh. The Noh theater is the oldest of the Japanese performing arts. Originating in the early 14th century with morality plays sponsored by the Buddhist priesthood, it quickly evolved. By the end of the 14th century, it had become the official art for the aristocracy. As such, Noh became the embodiment of the ideals cherished by the nobility- containing the basis of Japanese aesthetic concerns. Noh is a drama that possess some of the most beautiful poetry written in the Japanese language. Actor training emphasizes refinement, suggestion, abstraction and understatement. Most characters are masked, and dialogue is only assigned to senior actors who chant their lines.

Orpheus was the son of the god Apollo and the muse Calliope. Being neither a mortal nor a god, Orpheus wandered the Earth, stopping from time to time to help humans tame wild animals and other forces of nature with the power of his music. Orpheus was alone in the world though until he met Eurydice, a nymph. The two fell in love and were betrothed. During their wedding, Eurydice wandered from the celebration and was stalked and cornered by one of her guests, a libidinous satyr. Eurydice rejected the creature's advances and fled into a field, with the satyr giving chase. In her panic, Eurydice accidentally stepped onto a poisonous snake, and was bitten and killed. Orpheus fell into despair, and tried to enter the underworld in order to retrieve his bride. In order to get past each of the underworld's guardians, Orpheus played his music, which lulled each of his would-be adversaries into a sense of overwhelming peace. His music also persuaded Persephone, the Queen of the Dead, to allow him to retrieve Eurydice. But Hades, Persephone's husband, added a stipulation- on their journey to the world of the living, Orpheus was not to look at his wife. Temptation, curiosity and fear got the better of Orpheus. When he approached the mouth of the cave that separated the two realms, he looked, losing Eurydice forever. He became a hermit, and was ripped apart by the Maenads, crazed female worshippers of Dionysus, after he refused to join in their frenzied rites. Being an immortal though, Orpheus survived as a disembodied head, and became an oracle.

Stanislavski vs. Meyerhold. Whereas Stanislavski's teachings were directed wholly toward theatrical naturalism (still the most pervasive mode in Western theater, and still used as the foundation for training actors and directors, influencing heavily, too, the training and habits of playwrights), Meyerhold's Biomechanics was heavily influenced, among other forces, by Asian theater, and helped set the foundation for much of the twentieth century's Avant-Garde which accorded more with the physical orientation of traditional Eastern theater. Meyerhold's explorations contributed importantly to the building of an enduring artistic bridge between the theory and practice of East and West. These techniques flourished within the Bulgarian theater, especially after being outlawed by Stalin in Meyerhold's native Russia.

Topengi is a traditional dance drama form from Bali. Used as a ritual and as an entertainment, it usually depicts episodes from Balinese mythology and history, as well as sections of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Although Topeng follows a strict pattern of performance, improvisation is a key element to the genre, since the narration is driven by the Panasar, who fulfills the role of comic servant. Topeng offers unique blend of ancient fable and satire pulled directly from current events. It is both a rigorous discipline and the expression of a free spirit.

Wayang Kulit / Shadow Puppetry / Gamelan. The origins of the shadow puppet have been lost in the annals of prehistory. Remarkably, this theatrical form still plays a vital role in contemporary Indonesian culture. The art of the puppeteer, or dalang, blurs the line between art and religion. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the island of Bali, where dalangs perform at funerals, exorcisms, and births, and are expected to have the ability to make holy water. During the shadow play, the dalang is the sole actor, imbuing each of his handmade figures with an individual physical and spiritual life. At the same time, the performer serves as the conductor of the gamelan orchestra. Wayang Kulit is a clear fusion between aboriginal beliefs in ancestor worship and the Hindu philosophy. By casting a shadow on a screen, and being able to manipulate it, ancient Indonesians felt they had created a link between the material and ethereal planes. This tie allowed them to communicate and venerate their ancestors. As Indian culture started to pervade Southeast Asia, the Wayang Kulit became a vehicle to portray the Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Through the centuries, the dalang's responsibilities have evolved. The dalang has become a central figure in many aspects of Indonesian life. No longer just a priest, the dalang has become a primary source for entertainment, the dissemination of current events, and philosophical discussion. Today, dalangs are still expected to incorporate local, political, and historical references to their ancient texts, and are encouraged to create new stories that speak to a modern audience.