Ecstasy: a Source of Intimacy or Applications of the Dionysiac Model for Grotowski’s Theatre

Anna Misopolinou

The idea for my thesis and therefore for this article, was born of a sense of frustration. As fanciful or commonplace as it may sound, the truth is that even though I think that theatre represents an ideal, I have seen too many performances in which ‘nothing happens’. Of course there was a plot and a director, there were actors, etc, but there was no ‘soul’. Once I had an acting teacher in Greece who shared my feelings and challenged us, the class, by taking us to observe a ritual called Anastenaria. I will give more details about this later in the article, but in short, it is a Greek custom in which the participants dance until in a trance and then walk over burning coals. They are not ordinary people. They all have the same origins and most of them are descendants of people who used to perform the same ritual. Anyway, I remember noticing how intimate the participants were with each other and how they concentrated on what they where doing, even though they have performed the same ritual time after time! I also remember a participant talking to me about the curiosity of the visitors who come to the village and ask questions, ‘ They ask what will happen to me. How should I know? I don’t know. May it be God’s will that I dance again this year!’ That was the key thought for me. They did not take their actions for granted. Every year, every day, they were equally motivated to participate, to see what would happen. Would they avoid getting burned once more? They have done it so many times, but that makes no difference. Every time it is something new. This is what I feel is from the theatre. This is what I call ecstasy: this moment of ambiguity, which makes the person creative. It is a term hidden in a very old Cult, the cult of Dionysus. It was also used, along with other notions, by a very modern theatre, Jersy Grotowski’s. I would be very happy if I could define a ‘know-how’ of ecstasy so to make it transferable to all sorts of theatre, but since it has as many forms as many people that exist on this planet, this is almost impossible. So I have to limit the scope of my research, in the hope that each of us can, afterwards, sense it, although not necessarily define it, wherever it flourishes.

Therefore, I regard ecstasy as the Greek form of liminality, practised in the Dionysiac Cult. Arnold van Genep describes liminality as the second of a three-stage process, which one can observe in the rites of passage (1908:65-115). During the intervening liminal period, the characteristics of the ritual subject are ambiguous since the condition and the person who is the subject in this, elude or slip through the network of classifications that normally locate states and positions in cultural space. According to Victor Turner ‘liminal entities are neither here nor there; they are betwixt and between the positions assigned and arrayed by law, custom, convention, and ceremony….liminality is frequently likened to death, to being in the womb, to invisibility, to darkness, to bisexuality, to the wilderness’ (1969:95). Ecstasy is perceived as the threshold in between oppositions. It is considered to be a state where life itself is phased out of the limits dualism sets. The aim of the Dionysus’ cult, as E,R. Dodds stresses, was ecstasy, which again could mean anything from ‘taking you out of your self to profound alteration of personality (1951:77)’. In etymological terms, ecstasy derives from the Greek word ek-stasis [‘out’ + ’place’]. Put into personal terms, a person who is subject to ecstasy is taken out of ‘what he’s been placed in’ either by himself or the social context in which he grew up, as defined by conventions, customs, social rules and regulations, habits and even principles. By being taken out of the context, one is invited to speculate and criticise. Ecstasy is the will to abandon comfort in pursuit of self-knowledge. Dionysiac ecstasy borders between consciousness and unconsciousness, sanity and madness, exalted purity and abandonment, strength and weakness. Turner stresses the productive role of this liminal phase:

Prophets and artists tend to be liminal and marginal people, "edgemen", who strive with a passionate sincerity to rid them selves of the cliches associated with status incumbency and role-playing and to enter into vital relations with other men in fact or imagination. In their productions we may catch glimpses of that unused evolutionary potential in mankind which has not yet been externalized and fixed in structure (1969:128).

Similarly, one purpose of ecstasy is to allow the individual to lose his/her sense of reality, but only momentarily. It occurs in a limited time and space and under given rules and techniques. It could be expressed as a spontaneous and eruptive feeling, but the individual never loses awareness of him/herself. S/He always ‘comes back’ to be a vital and creative member of his society. It is not an outsider activity. Ecstasy is a state in which liberation along with growth and maturity is allowed. Richard Schechner describes this as ‘not myself’ yet ‘not not myself’ (1985:4). In theatrical terms the former is the blueprinted role whereas the latter the realized role. In ritual terms the former is the neophyte in an ecstatic ritual, whereas the latter is an experienced participant. Both the participant in Dionysiac rites and actors have the opportunity to re-evaluate the standards and redefine him/herself so that each of his/her expressions is genuine. Grotowski calls his actors to come into ecstasy, to knock down their barriers so to allow the impulses to be expressed (1968:15-26). Flazsen, according to Kumiega, describes in a poetic way Grotowski’s productions aim:

Grotowski’s productions aim to bring back the utopia of those elementary experiences provoked by collective ritual, in which the community dreamed ecstatically of its own essence, of its place in a total, undifferentiated reality, where Beauty did not differ from Truth, emotion from intellect, spirit from body, joy from pain; where the individual seemed to feel a connection with the Whole of being. (Flazsen in Kumiega 1985:156)

I maintain that Grotowski’s work was based on the way ecstasy functions in the Dionysiac Cult.

For the purpose of methodology, I introduce the idea of the Dionysiac Model (or the circle of ecstasy). It is a spiral process with three main and three secondary stages (SUFFERING – madness – DEATH – Catharsis – RESURRECTION – Transformation) which interact with each other. The Model shows the different phases via which an individual is allowed into ecstasy for the purpose of coming into communion with him/herself and others. The Model was formed by: a) the Dionysiac Myth itself as it has survived in modern literature through the ancient sources (I do not use primary sources for the reason that my knowledge of ancient Greek is inadequate to approach such texts. On the other hand, I avoid using a translation whose accuracy I can not check. Therefore, I used the modern literature by well-known scholars to eliminate inconsistency); b) the practice of the Dionysiac Cult in ancient Greece, Bacchic (1) ceremonies and especially institutions such as the Eleusinian Mysteries; and c) the modern practice of the Dionysiac cult. There is an ecstatic, Greek rite called Anastenaria and it has Dionysiac origins. The data was selected primarily through field-work. There is also a small, yet sufficient body of literature on this ritual.

I will continue presenting the way I composed the Dionysiac Model and will then move on to explain the particular terms of the model and give the specific definition they take in this research.

Firstly, I will examine the Dionysus Myth. There are two versions of the myth. According to the first, Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Persephone, Demeter’s daughter. She, as the goddess of the underworld, together with her mother are the main figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries. In this legend, the Titans, Zeus’ predecessors, tore Dionysus into 7 pieces after his birth. Demeter saved him by joining the pieces together. In the second version he is the son of Zeus and Semely, princess of Thebes. Semely, while she was pregnant and persuaded by the jealous Hera, asked Zeus to appear to her in his real form. So he did; he came to her in all his glory as a thunderbolt. Semely was burnt to death but Zeus sewed the premature baby in his thigh and let it live. Some versions of the myth identify Semely’s virtues with those of Persephone. In addition to this there are other stories about the god as an adult, which indicate again the same pattern. The one who suffers, dies and eventually rises from the dead.

The most useful and indicative example of the practice of the Dionysiac cult is the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Mysteries were initiatory institutions within the ancient Greek religion. They were inaugurated in-between 1580 and 1500 BC and celebrated at Eleusis for nearly 2000 years. Literature attributes the Mysteries to Demeter and Persephone. Yet Persephone was considered to be the female counterpart of Dionysus. Some scholars, such as Eliade, and Kerenyi maintain that the Mysteries expressed the Dionysiac spirit, which is the spirit of endless self – knowledge (Eliade,1978:290-301; Kerenyi,1951:190-256). In the Mysteries, through mental and emotional tasks the human condition, as Eliade claims, was modified (1978). To what extent and how this happened can not be proven but it could scientifically be assumed. The same scholar says that the initiate (mystes) at first wanders into darkness and undergoes all sorts of terrors; then is struck by a marvelous light and discovers pure regions and meadows, hears voices, and sees dances. There he feels bliss and happiness. In the Mysteries the ordeals of the initiate are compared with the experiences of the soul immediately after death. I have to point out that it was a secular institution where everybody, including women, could participate. Also, the participants did not form any kind of ‘church’ so as to develop an eccentric way of viewing life. Thus it is irrational to assume that all these people for so many years were solemnly concerned with life after death! They must have derived a benefit for their present life, which can be assumed by the pattern of the initiation: pursuit in darkness – subjection to all sorts of terrors – enlightenment – bliss. I conclude that the mystes, to use a modern expression, had a kind of break-down so as to re-evaluate themselves. In any case, this was written at the entrance of the temple: "self–knowledge". As such we are not far from the SUFFERING - DEATH – RESURRECTIONModel. Here, though, some secondary terms are introduced: the break-down is a type of madness, and Dionysus is in any case the god who drives people insane. Also, enlightenment and bliss is a way to catharsis, which means ‘cleansing’. Finally the initiate becomes a ‘new’ person. ‘ A birth in death is something that must be termed ‘ mystic’ in the ancient sense since the Mysteries revolved around such birth’, says Kerenyi (1976:108). We discover the same essence in Grotowski’s words: ‘This is not instruction of a pupil but utter opening to another person, in which the phenomenon of "shared of double birth" becomes possible. The actor is reborn – not only as an actor but as a man…’ (1968:25). More specifically, Lisa Wolford, who worked with Grotowski for many years, claims that: ‘In "Art as Vehicle", Grotowski’s aim is far more radical; he (re)appropriates the means and structure of performance to serve an explicitly esoteric goal, establishing a type of performance practice that attempts to reconstitute certain elements associated with Orphic and Eleusinian Mysteries’ (1996:16). Based on this I suggest that theatre might well be a process of initiation.

The third source I used for constructing the Dionysiac Model is Anastenaria. It is a Greek ritual in which people dance until in a trance and eventually walk over burning coals. The custom, brought by immigrants from Nothern Thrace in the early twentieth century, takes place in some villages in the north of Greece. It occurs twice a year, in January, when it lasts for three days, and in May when it lasts for four days. It is considered by the participants to be a part of the Greek Orthodox practice but all the scholars who have researched this ritual, with the exception of a few whose conclusions are considered to be of minor importance, maintain that Anastenaria is clearly a survival of Bacchic Cult. This opinion is mainly based on a) the observable similarities between the enactments in Anastenaria and of those in the Dionysiac worship in ancient Greece; b) the geographical factors, which are the same both for Dionysus and the practice of Anastenaria; c) the trance-like state reached by both maenads and the participants in Anastenaria; and d) the same symbolism. Observing their dance one can see that the participants, especially when they are neophytes, are in an agony of suspense, uneasiness and agitation. They let out screams of grief and even when not dancing, are not aware of the presence of others. Eventually they step onto the coals where they curse Evil with the words - ‘May it turn into ashes!’ After the firewalking they seem released and happy, smiling and talkative. The above, with the details I will give later in this article, demonstrate that especially in Anastenaria we can observe the Dionysiac model in all its phases of SUFFERING–Madness–DEATH–Catharsis–RESURRECTION–Transformation.

The ultimate goal for the participants in the Dionysiac ritual is the Communion with the ‘God’. This is more or less the aim of all traditional rituals. The difference in the Dionysiac cult is that ‘God’ could be translated as the primitive instincts and impulses of the persons involved.

I will move on now, on one hand, to explain each term of the Dionysiac Model and at the same time to show the type of events and actions, which are included in each of the stage of the Model. To do this I will present the way each term operates in the Dionysiac Cult and in Grotowski’s acting techniques.

SUFFERING is the first stage of the ecstatic process in which the subject endures a mental, emotional or physical pain or effort. The cause is either undefined or brought about by physical, external circumstances, which exhaust the body, that is, cause the SUFFERING. The goal is for the participant to release emotions of distress, agitation, anger and discomfort in a primitive way. In the Dionysiac Cult the participants performed frenzied dances for the whole night. Dionysus represents all these primitive elements within the human condition, which need to be expressed. Resistance to them could prove to be harmful as they can erupt in inappropriate circumstances. The easiest way for an individual to release them is through an elementary activity such as dance accompanied by vocal sounds or just screaming. In Anastenaria the participants perform a very simple dance based on a cyclical pattern which lasts for many hours before it culminates in the firewalking. There is also another side to this ritual, particularly important for this study. There are references by the participants, quoted by Loring Danforth, that they suffered from depression or they had even had nervous break-downs before starting to participate in this ritual (1979:141-163). Their initiation to this ecstatic dance proved to be a cure for their condition. Also, when they first started dancing it was painful to enter the trace-like state. When I see them dancing it seems as if most of them are trying to rid themselves of something that tortures them from inside. Grotowski seemed to have been fully aware of the fact that for the impulses to be unblocked the exhaustion of the body is necessary. ‘One must begin with movement to burn off the energy, to set fire to the body, a kind of letting-go. It is as if your animal body becomes master of the situation and starts to move - without obsession about what is dangerous or not’ (1996a:262). He also maintains that, ‘When we find the courage to do things that are impossible, we make the discovery that our body does not block us’ (1996b:222). Koniordou (1999), a very famous Greek actress and a teacher of mine, recalls an exercise she did with Flaszen, Grotowski’s own colleague. She told me that he asked them to run in a circle to a fast rhythm for more than half an hour. She said that even if she had been an athlete, under normal circumstances, she couldn’t have done it. What happened there was that the group was coordinated into a common rhythm, which surpassed the individual’s limited possibilities. Despite this, it is common knowledge that Grotowski’s actors were trained for hours on end and were given exceptionally hard exercises to do. Similarly, in the Mysteries, the peregrination in darkness gave considerable agony to the initiates. On a symbolic level, the outer darkness is the inner one, which could be defined as all the primitive and unexpressed elements of the human condition. I am not saying that there is no other way for them to be expressed, so that an individual could a healthy existence with them. I am suggesting, though, that the body, as it has less complicated reactions than the mind, can be a handy vehicle for access to those levels.