Through a merger of performance and visual art, Staging Reflections of the Buddha at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts provided the opposite of what art and theatre are often perceived to be.
The thought, emotion and spiritual connection that art can inspire in its purist sense was restored via the inspiration of traditional Asian spirituality and community theatre imported into the rarest of artistic spaces.
Over the course of several weekends in February and March, the Pulitzer invited a dozen or so new ambassadors to interpret their most recent exhibit, Reflections of Buddha, which has since closed. The audience traveled with the actors from the intimate exhibit in the heart of the Midtown arts district to ancient Asia by way of the faces and voices of the most unlikely tour guides: former prisoners turned community theater artists.
The most compelling component of Staging Reflections of the Buddha posed a production obstacle. Fancy sets, costumes, elaborate lighting and sensory overload were nowhere to be found. But as the troupe of Agnes Wilcox’s Prison Performing Arts followed her lead, the lack of ostentatious stimulation delivered an experience that pierced the heart of the audience.
Staging Reflections of the Buddha complimented the exhibit Reflections of the Buddha, curated by the Pulitzer’s own Francesca Herndon-
Consagra, in a way a gallery talk never could.
Each performer was challenged with the task of performing another actor’s take on the interpretation of the many faces of Buddha showcased in the exhibit. The audience was taken out of its comfort zone with respect to the common stage-to-seat exchange as they traveled with the actors from one piece to the next for the different scenes within the production.
Staging Reflections of the Buddha offered viewers the range of emotions of the actors as they connected with the art – from their first impressions and initial reactions to seeing the art at face value, to their own enlightenment as they learned more about the art and the religion that inspired the exhibit.
They reenacted, re-interpreted and researched to give Buddha in their own words in a way that would respectfully honor the exhibit and the Buddha.
One of the most touching – and spiritual – moments came in the finale. In the last scene entitled “Shotoku,” guests were invited to experience their own “Buddha moment.” They were encouraged to take part in a ritual at the statue paying tribute to Japanese prince and regent known for his devout following of the Buddhist religion. Guests were asked to provide “an offering” that included blessings they hoped to receive.
The question-and-answer session following the performance showed that several members of the ensemble reconnected with themselves thanks to the principles they were exposed to during the process of bringing Buddha to the audience.
Based on the fervor and sheer volume of questions from the audience and the openness to participate in the “Shotoku” final scene, it was obvious the performance had forged a special connection with the Reflections of Buddha. It was something the director had desired from the very beginning.
“We hope that you, too, can look at the art with new eyes,” Agnes Wilcox writes in her director’s notes. “And look through the art at yourself and your life.”
