In this performance lecture presented at the 9th Conference of the International Platform for Performer Training (IPPT), Raffaele Rufo and Flavia Gallo present a theoretical and practical dialogue between ecosomatic and dramaturgical practices. Working on the Greek myth of Persephone, we explore the thresholds between the dancing body and the dance of words to reveal the wounds of separation from the nonhuman and the inability to grieve for anthropogenic ecological disasters. Drawing on the relational and decolonising tensions in Peter Brook’s philosophy, we propose that theatre can be approached as an immersive ecology of non-anthropocentric spaces and training practices. This ecology integrates the sacredness of trees, rocks, sand, and other earthly forces through processes of crossing, assembling, and remembering our neurobiological heritage.

Visit full event webpage: https://www.raffaelerufo.com/improv-performance/ecosomatic-persephone-performance-lecture-ippt2023