Seriously what is this "El Duende" thing?
"Duende is a difficult-to-define word used in the Spanish arts, including performing arts...
....Tener duende" ("having duende") can be loosely translated as having soul, a heightened state of emotion, expression and authenticity...
...It is what gives you chills, makes you smile or cry as a bodily reaction to an artistic performance that is particularly expressive..."
Thanks wikipedia!
Okay, but still, what is this El Duende blog about?
Well. For awhile now, I've wanted to publicly praise good theatre and talk about theatre from a specific point of view. Meaning not necessarily the standard critic's point of view.
I've delayed doing it because I didn't want to become known as a critic per se, not that there is anything wrong with that.
I also don't give bad reviews to fellow theatre artists. Not interested in kicking anyone when they're struggling.
But I AM interested in promoting good theatre and especially interested in talking about new trends and experiments in theatre and the ever elusive search for El Duende.
I've invited several other friends and artists to also post their thoughts about the quest for and hopefully some discoveries of ole El Duende in theatre.
Our first confirmed contributor will be Jessica Doherty. She plans on writing about experimental performance pieces in her entries as well as looking at regular old theatre pieces through the lens of experimental performance.
More contributors to follow shortly...
Their posts will be guided only be their own tastes and their specific points of view.
What a fun hodgepodge mess this blog will be!
I plan on doing some interviews as well. Maybe even some podcasts later on.
If you have suggestions for pieces that should be noted, people that we should talk to, or people that should be posting here--let us know.
Talk to you soon.
Isaac
