ARTS/Acting out: Inanna sidebar, The Paper, 92?

Acting Out

Women's Theatre Company's current production, The Descent of Inanna, under the direction of Pauline Pfandler, attempts a contemporary rendition of the Inanna myth, and her entry into the underworld, is about following the “the origins of the patriarchy, the rape, and the exile of the feminine,” according to consultant/actor Pam Fisher. “And this myth, which takes place in the transition period, also gives us clues as to how to transition into a balanced culture.”

The impetus for the storyline came from a series of archetypal dreams, Fisher, one of the actors in the play, had about ten years ago. In a recent interview, she stated, “I found out a year later, when I was telling a therapist about it, that it corresponded closely to the Inanna myth.” She then had more dreams replete with scenes presented on stage. Six months later, when Fisher came to Pfander with the idea to stage Inanna, Pfander said, “I don't do dreams and myths. . . I do theater.” She personally relates to the dark side, Ereshkigal. As she went through her own descent, she said Inanna "grabbed her by the tits."

"I came to this play layer by layer. As a theater artist, I found the poem an excellent tool to stage, it lends itself well to theater.” Said Pfander, “Here is the archetypal path. We're not dying along the way. When we're stripped of our powers, we're stripped of what is not necessary. It's an important story for women.”

Pfander said the development of the script has undergone many metamorphoses. “We went through a lot of changes about the script, combining original text with modern dialog,” said Fisher. After various experiments, Pfander decided to stick to the Wolkstein text. She describes the theater piece as groundbreaking work, fusing visual slides, with movement and modern opera. “The ensemble has 12 wonderful voices.” It continues to mutate and evolve, much to the consternation of the cast. Pfandler says it's a collaboration piece. Joan Marler is one of the choreographers, and SSU archeology undergraduate Karin Dunwoody is working on the ethnography on the Inanna theater production Dunwoody compares the story to the Elusian Mysteries of Greece.

The future of our planet depends on women joining together to become a wave of transformation and change. . . “We are a light-addicted culture. We shun the dark side, we're in denial of the shadow, the dark, feminine rage. Now we are faced with our shadow side—the toxicity of the earth, opression, dysfunctional families, an addicted culture. . . Pfandler said, “What is needed is a paradigm shift, we have to move away from the cartesian philosophy.”

I had 6/92 down as the date, no tear sheet.