Guest: Thomas Riccio. With work spanning the contemporary and the shamanic indigenous roots of Theatre, Thomas will recounts his work with indigenous cultures in Alaska, Africa, Russia, China, exploring their ritual traditions through theatre and performance. Here we are exploring the memory and knowledge of Shamanism through theatre. We will discover that the language of theatre that crosses all barriers, and reaches deep into our collective past, while singing to us today, prompting is to ask, is this too the language of the Spirits?
From generation to generation indigenous performance stories, songs, dances, acting, props, costumes and mask traditions were passed on with adjustments and evolution taking place over time. Thomas finds his way to the roots of a culture’s myths revealing the power and origins of a culture’s expression.
Bio: Thomas Riccio is a performance creator, writer, and director is Professor of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Texas at Dallas and Artistic Director of Dead White Zombies. Riccio works in the area of ritual and indigenous performance, creating performances and conducting research in South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Russia, Alaska, Korea, India, Nepal, with the !Xuu Bushmen and the Miao of China. The Republic of Sakha (Siberia) declared him a “Cultural Hero.” Published internationally, most notably by TDR. Since 2005 he has worked with Hanson Robotics as Lead Character writer and Creative Director.