Episode #212 - Physical Theatre
nytheatre.com is adding a new listings category — Physical Theatre. You can find it on the left hand sidebar of every page under “Now Playing”. To introduce and explain, Martin Denton sat down with Mark Lonergan of Parallel Exit for a talk.
Mark founded the NYC Physical Theatre Network which has been the spearhead behind giving Physical Theatre its rightful place among the many genres we see in theatre today and has worked hard to see that people understand just what it is and why people should recognize its uniqueness (and in many ways, its sameness) to other types of theatre.
In response to a question by Martin, Mark concisely defined what should be included when one speaks of Physical Theatre. It is typically story telling that primarily uses physical means. It includes dance theatre, circus, vaudeville, mime, and even puppetry.
Noting this definition is not enough to explain it, Mark continues with examples: Movin’ Out and Contact, Jump; many works by companies such as Parallel Exit, bluemouth, etc. He talks at length about how difficult it is to put too firm a definition on this type of theatre, and explains how plays he really enjoys that are, perhaps, more traditional but are only involved with telling a story such as August: Osage County, would never be considered Physical Theatre.
Mark and Martin would be most interested in hearing your comments about this podcast and about nytheatre.com’s new feature that will help you find theatre that suits you best. Please comment!
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