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Zeami's Aesthetics of the No and Audience Participation

Author(s): Benito Ortolani


Source: Educational Theatre Journal, Vol. 24, No. 2 (May, 1972), pp. 109-117
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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BENITO ORTOLANI

Zeamii's Aesthetics of the No and


Audience Participation

The complex and fascinating aesthetic principles of the Japanese N6 have in


recent years found erudite and penetrating interpretation in the English
language.' However, a man of the theatre cannot but feel that the available
studies reflect primarily philosophical or literary concerns. In reality, considera-
tion of the practical problems the N6 actor had to face daily in his performance
and in his struggle for survival in a competitive environment appear to be of
paramount importance in the original Japanese texts-and therefore also for a
fuller understanding of the origin and meaning of the principles themselves.
The aim of this article is to focus on the connection of the aesthetic concepts with
successful acting and its impact on the audience, rather than on philosophical
and religious implications, the influence or non-influence of Zen, and the relation
to preceding Chinese or Japanese poetics.2
The original Japanese texts of the Secret Tradition (Hiden) of the N6 were
written by Zeami (1363-1443), the outstanding personality in the history of the
N6. He is credited with bringing to completion the N6 art in a form very close
to that of the present. Zeami wrote or adapted the poetical text, composed the
music, and created dance movement for N6 plays which became in the repertory
of the five schools of N6 as classic as Shakespeare's plays on the English stage.
Zeami belonged to a family of professional sarugaku 3 actors. His father Kanami
(1333-1384) was not only a talented actor, famous enough to attract the attention
of the shogun Asikaga Yoshimitsu, but also a great playwright and teacher.
Zeami insists that the precepts he transmits in the Kadensho, the first and most
accessible of his twenty-three theoretical writings, are actually nothing but his
father's teachings.
A first reading of Zeami's theoretical work is sufficient to convince us that
Zeami was preoccupied with success, like most actors who rely on their art for a
Benito Ortolani is Professor of Comparative Literature at Brooklyn College of the City Univer-
sity of New York. He is the author of Das Kabukitheater: Kulturgeschichte der Anfinge (Sophia
University Press, 1964) and a forthcoming History of the Japanese Theatre.
1 Especially worthy of mention are Makoto Ueda, Literary and Art Theories in Japan
(Cleve-
land, Ohio: The Press of Western Reserve University, 1967), pp. 55-7'; Andrew T. Tsubaki, "An
Analysis and Interpretation of Zeami's Concept of Yfigen," Ph.D. dissertation, University of
Illinois, 1967; Junichi Konishi "New Approaches to the Study of the N6 Drama," The Bulletin
of the Tokyo Kyoiku University Literature Department, 27 (1960), 1-31; Sen'ichi Hisamatsu, The
Vocabulary of Japanese Literary Aesthetics (Tokyo: Center for East Asian Cultural Studies,
1963), PP. 33-44-
2 This explains the relatively cursory handling of yigen in this article; yuigen is a concept
rooted in Buddhism and in literary poetics. For a history of the different meanings of yi2gen see
Andrew T. Tsubaki, "Zeami and the Transition of the Concept of Yfgen: A Note on Japanese
Aesthetics," The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 30 (Fall 1971), 55-67.
3A form of theatrical performance out of which the N5 developed. For centuries after Zeami
the N6 was commonly called sarugaku or sarugaku n5.

109 /

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110 / EDUCATIONALTHEATRE JOURNAL

living.' It is no exaggeration to suggest that almost everything in Zeami's


theoretical works can legitimately be interpreted as dictated by the ultimate con-
sideration of success with an audience. The long training and the complete
dedication to the art, the mastering of monomane (imitation), the blossoming of
the hana (flower), even the supreme, almost mystical degrees of yfigen-every-
thing is essentially, if not exclusively, seen as a means to success, to victory in a
theatrical contest, to the favor of the powerful and consequent economic security.
However, success for Zeami and his immediate successors was not just the way
to fame and wealth, as it is today in both Japan and the West. In the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries in Japan to be a professional actor meant to be a despised
outcast, more or less as were the professional actors in imperial Rome and in the
Chinese empire. The favor of the powerful was as important in Japan as it was
for the mime Theodora in the Byzantine empire. The once despised mime
married the emperor Justinian I; the outcast Zeami at about twelve years of age,
became the intimate favorite of the most powerful man in Japan, the shogun
Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), sharing his food and his bed. This privileged situation
at court, however, was precarious. Zeami was aware that his survival in the
jungle of court intrigues depended largely on his artistic excellence, and on his
ability to continue drawing the aristocratic public to his performances.
His friend Yoshimitsu was the closest thing Japan ever had to a grand patron
of the arts during the Italian Renaissance. A successful poet himself, he had as a
teacher in the art of poetry a member of the impoverished, but still prestigious
imperial nobility, who brought to the court of the generalissimo the sophisticated
poetics and literary standards which had constituted for centuries the main occu-
pation and entertainment of the imperial court. One example of Zeami's intelli-
gence is his choice of the term yiigen. The term yigen was "in" as one of the
standards of literary poetics, with a long history behind it. To capitalize on its
then modern fascination, and apply it to the N6-to a performance instead of a
poem, or better, to the performance and the poetic text of the N6-was a sign of
Zeami's flexible creativity and of his sense of how to insert his despised theatrical
art into the realm of fashionable court talk about poetry.

The concepts of monomane, hana, and yfigen answer one goal: how to achieve
lasting success with the audience. The success is achieved at the very high price
of life-long training and dedication.

Monomane. Zeamis ideas about monomane can be summarized in terms of the


principles of imitation, truthfulness, identification, essentialization, and limita-
tion or choice.
(1) The principle of imitation. "The real meaning of monomane is, generally
speaking, to imitate anything realistically," and, as Zeami adds, "this allows for
so many kinds of monomane we cannot write of each of them here." " The actor
must study his object of imitation with greatest care. In the case of imitation of

4 The passages are too numerous to quote. A convincing example is the third chapter of the
Kadensho, trans. C. Sakurai et. al. (Kyoto: Sumiya-Shinobe Publishing Institute, 1968), pp. 36-53.
5 Ibid.,
p. 25.

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111 / ZEAMI'S AESTHETICS OF THE NO AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

persons to whom he can hardly have access, such as court ladies, "he must seek
advice, as he has not had an opportunity to observe their behaviour." 6 Zeami
insists on accuracy of realistic imitation, on hard study to achieve it, on humility
in asking the expert when you do not know, and also on asking for criticism after
the performance. The principle of imitation is corroborated by

(2) the principle of truthfulness. Every falsehood in imitation weakens the per-
formance. In the Kaky6 (the Mirror of the Flower) Zeami warns: "In all acts of
imitation, if there is a false element, the performance will become rough or
weak."' It is therefore a great mistake to be intent on trying to create an emo-
tional impact upon the spectators by forcing the true nature of the imitated
object. This mistake can be made because the actor "thinks that a quality like
elegance or forcefulness exists independently of the object. Actually, it lies
within the object itself." s Thus the quality of elegance is the consequence of a
truthful imitation of an elegant object, not the result of an effort directed to the
quality of elegance itself. This concept leads easily and naturally to
(3) the principle of identification, which is a deepening of the very idea of mono-
mane. Zeami speaks of identifying with the character, of growing into the object.
In a real sense identification means that the actor should no longer be aware of
imitating an exterior object because the object is no longer "exterior" to him.
At this point of supreme identification there is no more imitation. "In the art
of imitation there is a realm called 'nonimitation.' When the actor pursues the art
to its ultimate and truly grows into the object, he will not be aware of his act
of imitation."P

(4) The principle of essentialization. For Zeami, the way to the ultimate form of
imitation, that is, identification, is the knowledge of what he calls in Japanese
the hon-i, variously translated as "true intent," "interior essence," or "inmost
nature." This hon-i contains what I call the principle of essentialization. It
means that the actor should find, learn, and imitate the inmost essence of the
character or object with which he wants to identify, that which makes the char-
acter or the object what he or it is. An imitation that fails to catch the hon-i is an
imitation from the outside, "it looks similar, but does not look right." Moreover,
the inmost essence of any object is not the whole object; the process presupposes
abstraction from individual, non-essential details. The N6 actor does not seek
naturalistic re-creation of one individual person or object in its entirety. He
seeks, rather, an identification with the interior, essential traits of a universalized
character or type, such as the old man, the warrior, the beautiful court lady, the
monk.

(5) The principle of limitation (or choice). The preoccupation with audience
approval becomes evident again at the end of the explanation of monomane. Any-
thing that could break the spell of beauty in the performance and avert the
favor of the sophisticated powerful is to be avoided. This explains the limita-
6 Ibid., p. 26.
7 Ueda, p. 56.
s Ibid., p. 27.
9 Ibid.

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112/ EDUCATIONAL
THEATREJOURNAL

tions imposed upon monomane, which sometimes seem to contradict the affirma-
tions about the principle of identification. Zeami approves the imitation of "the
poetic figure of a woodcutter, a grass mower, a charcoal burner, or a saltwater
drawer, but not the people of meaner occupation than those. These unsightly
appearances should not be shown to gentlemen and ladies of the nobility. They
would be too lowly to be of delight to the noble audience. You should fully
understand this. Imitation should be carried out to a greater or lesser extent,
depending upon what it is that you are imitating." 10 Horror and vulgarity, too,
would be at variance with the elegant taste of the public of the court. Therefore,
in the N6, horror is tamed (as in the case of demons) and vulgarity is banned.
This principle also explains the beautiful, unrealistically neat costumes for such
roles as those of pilgrims supposedly at the end of a long, fatiguing journey, or of
humble gardeners at work. For Zeami there is no doubt that the principle of
imitation must be subordinated to theatrical success.
Monomane summarizes the basic process of transformation of the actor into
his role on a stage. The audience has an important influence in determining
qualities and limitations of the relationship of the actor to his role, but remains
exterior to the very concept of monomane. In hana (flower) on the contrary the
relationship between actor and public is directly involved.
Hana. For Zeami the flower is the concept which is most crucial to an under-
standing of the relationship between the actor and his audience. Konishi calls
the flower "the key term and conception in Zeami's theory," and defines it as
follows: "In Zeami's sense the Flower is an effect resulting from an excellent
performance. When the audience is caught up in the actor's performance, we
can say that there is Flower. Thus, the Flower is everything for the actor, because
if he has failed to create it his audience will sooner or later desert him." 11
The achievement of the flower is the supreme goal of the N6. It is a purely
theatrical value, based on a successful interaction between the actor and the
audience. It is no wonder that many studies on the theories of the NO almost
ignore the flower. They are literary or philosophical essays, mainly concerned with
yiigen, a concept derived from literary criticism and, remotely, from Buddhism.
The flower, on the other hand, has little to do with literature and everything to
do with the creation of communication between actor and audience.
Hana conveys, in one word, the idea of successful audience participation. The
flower blossoms when the audience is taking an active part in the performance of
the N6, when it is in a very real sense performing the N6 with the actor. It refers
to the miracle of communication achieved when actors and spectators unite in
a spiritual community experiencing together the celebration of the N6. Obviously,
this does not mean a physical singing or dancing together; the audience is, at the
height of participation, sitting or squatting motionless. The effectiveness of the
performance brings the spectators together with the actors in recollection, mutual
receptiveness, and response in the unique communication of beauty. This achieve-
ment is the flower.

10oIbid.,
p. 59.
11 Konishi, p. 24.

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113 / ZEAMI'S AESTHETICS OF THE NO AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

The concept defies precise definition. It is used with different nuances of mean-
ing in different contexts. It is possible and useful, however, to look at the range of
meanings.
Zeami writes about two basic types of flower. The temporary flower (jibun no
hana) results from the natural beauty and fascination of youth. This type of
splendor depends less on ability and hard training, than on the passing spell of
physical, sensual attraction, of young charm. Many movie and television stars
have the temporary flower which can sometimes lead the young actor to victory
over a more experienced, older performer who has lost his flower. However,
Zeami makes quite clear that the temporary flower is not the "true flower" and
that it cannot be counted on for continued success; the temporary flower dies a
natural death, as soon as youth disappears.
The true flower (makoto no hana) results only from long years of rigorous
training. The true flower blossoms from the mastering of technique and is
clearly superior to the temporary flower of a young actor. The life-long process
of learning the way of the N6 is geared to acquire this supreme skill, which makes
the great master and assures constant success with the audience. This concern
with solidity and stability in success inspired the first chapter of the Kadensho,
which describes the phases of training of a N6 actor starting from childhood;
several passages scattered in the rest of the treatises; and without doubt the
highest secrets of the art, reserved only for oral transmission from father to one
chosen son (isshi kuden).
These concepts of the flower are a wise and more or less interesting way of
analysing and naming rather well-known facts-that there is a successful spell
in beautiful youth, that the consummate master is more fascinating than a young
charming star. Yet what creates the flower?
For Zeami there are two conditions requisite to the flower's appearance. The
first is the capacity, in the actor, of bewitching the audience, moving it deeply
fascinating it (omoshiroki). The second is the capacity of surprising the audience
with novelty, with something unique, unexpected, original and fresh (mezura-
shiki). The great actor is in some measure unpredictable, surprisingly new and
fresh-he has the newness and freshness of creating as if it were for the first time.

Timing, in order to surprise the audience, becomes an essential element in


creating the flower. The actor must find the right moment to catch the public
off-guard-sometimes it need be only a little movement, an almost invisible ges-
ture that makes the flower blossom.
A flower needs a seed to blossom. Zeami speaks in different contexts of the seed
of the flower. In the Kadensho he seems to consider the mastering of technique
(waza) as the seed of the flower: "The flower is the mind, the seed is technique." 12
In other contexts it is clear that he considers yiigen as the seed of the flower. This
is no wonder; because the flower is the supreme aim, the rest is only a means, a
way to it, and among this "rest" yfgen is of extraordinary importance.
12 Kadensho, p. 52. Read the whole question 9 of chapter 3 for one of the clearest statements
of the central importance of hana.

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114 / EDUCATIONALTHEATRE JOURNAL

The concept of mind or intuition (kokoro) comes into the picture at this time
as a decisive factor for the blossoming of the true flower. This intuition is an
imponderable interior power of discernment which makes possible the choice
of the right play and the right style of acting for a particular audience. Zeami
gives the example of the difference between audiences at court and in little
villages in the mountains. Intuition will tell the actor the right moment to start
singing, whether to create a lively or a calm atmosphere according to the time of
the day, whether to insist on delicate elegance, or simply to sit down in contem-
plation. Intuition is the interior eye which ultimately decides timing and the
use of the different devices every good actor has at his command, according to
the given circumstances of place, public, hour of the day, atmosphere, and in terms
of the rhythm of the fundamental dramatic structure of the jo-ha-kyii, introduc-
tion, development, and climax.
In conclusion, the true flower is the result of perfect technique, plus the per-
sonal talent and fascinating depth of the actor, plus surprise in the audience
because of the novelty and freshness of the acting, plus the intuition of an actor
who knows the right timing and the secret of deciding on the spot, according to
the feelings of the audience, plus yftgen. The variety of components and possible
combinations explains the multiplicity of flowers. The considerations which
follow, of yuigen in relation to the different types and degrees of the true flower,
should be a further help in understanding this multiplicity. They also try to
approach the inexplicable, the supreme achievement of sublimity (mushin) in
the communication of the N6 art to an enraptured audience.

Yftgen. One of the most fascinating and deepest concepts in the aesthetics of the
N6 is centered in an understanding of yfigen, a word whose etymology extends
its remotest roots into the Buddhist terminology of the later Han period in China
(22-22o A.D.). Originally yfigen referred to "the hidden meaning behind the sur-
face" of the sutras. In the tenth century in Japan, probably for the first time, it
was used in poetic criticism with the meaning of "profound." Zeami speaks of
yfigen in relation to both the literary text and the acting of the N6. Ueda writes,
"If the term yfgen is etymologically analyzed, it will be found that yui means
deep, dim, or difficult to see, and that gen, originally describing the dark, pro-
found, tranquil color of the universe, refers to the Taoist concept of truth. Zeami's
idea of yfigen seems to combine its conventional meaning of elegant beauty with
its original meaning of profound, mysterious truth of the universe. Zeami per-
ceived mysterious beauty in cosmic truth: beauty was the color of truth, so to
speak." 13
At the elegant imperial court of the Heian period (794-1188) yfigen became
an equivalent for "grace" or "elegance." During his lifetime Zeami progressively
deepened its meaning to include the hidden beauty of the inmost essence, the
mysterious power of interior, essential beauty, and the touch of cosmic truth.
With age and the blows of destiny (the loss of his patron Yoshimitsu, the death of
his beloved son Motomasa, his eventual exile in Sado) that cosmic truth meant for
13 Ueda, pp. 6o-6i. Ueda's analysis seems to open possibilities of fascinating comparison be-
tween Zeami's yifgen and the Thomistic analysis of pulchrum as splendor veri.

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115 / ZEAMI'S AESTHETICS OF THE NO AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

Zeami a deep realization of human fate. Ultimately, therefore y~gen came to


mean the reflection of the truthful essence of humanity, a sad beauty. When
this yifgen occurs, the beauty of the N6 aproaches the heights of Greek tragedy.
Zeami finds a greater yfigen when his heroes and heroines-mostly belonging to
the nobility, and noble in the Aristotelian meaning of above average-become
the representatives of humanity, suffering from causes beyond human control,
for which, like Oedipus, they have no personal responsibility. "Yiigen is the
beauty of seeing such an ideal person go through an intense suffering as a result
of being human." 14

The progression in depth does not stop at the level of human and cosmic sad-
ness. Beyond the painful impermanence of the illusory world of the senses the
Buddhist Zeami acknowledges mysterious permanence-the world of enlighten-
ment (satori). Beyond flimsy illusion, Reality. A direct, inexplicable communica-
tion of this supreme good is experienced through the "sublimity" of the performer.
The movement from elegant beauty to the depth of human sorrow, and be-
yond, is also reflected in the styles of singing, which are tuned to these gentle
differences in N6 plays, and which reach a peak in the "sublime" style. The
inexplicable experience occurs of overcoming impermanence and "touching"
permanence-the death of death, the immense awesome tranquillity that goes
beyond death. This type of singing, the result of consummate artistry, "can be
attained only after the singer learns the ultimate of all other singing, transcends
both the good and evil of music, and arrives to the kind of singing that is like
others and yet is not." 15 At this point yfsgen, hana and mushin appear united in
an experience that defies any logical explanation. The same experience is the key
to an understanding of the highest levels of N6 acting-the only ones securing
lasting success-as described in the Ku-i (Nine Ranks).16
Ku-i. In the Ku-i Zeami describes the achievements of the actor in nine ranks, or
stages, or styles, of theatrical effect. The three lowest ranks lack yfigen, while the
six superior styles all contain some degree of yftgen. However, only the three
highest touch sublimity and only the highest among them is immersed in, and
made both transparent and indescribable by, sublimity.
No yfigen and no flower is to be found in the styles of Crudity and Inexactness,
Strength and Crudity, Strength and Delicacy (1, 2, and 3). The introductory stage
to yigen is the style of Shallowness and Loveliness (4), a point of departure for
any beginner. The style of Versatility and Exactness (5) finds the artist already
in possession of the art of imitation (monomane), knowing the inmost nature of
the things to imitate. Zeami quotes a Zen saying, "The hearts of mountains,
clouds, seas, and the moon are all told." The Flower of Truth (6) is "a first step
towards the acquirement of the flowers of the art." Here the flower appears for
the first time, but is still somehow superficial, like the natural beauty of a setting
14Ibid., p. 61.
15Ibid., p. 63-.
16 For a translation of the Ku-i see Sources of Japanese Tradition, compiled by Ryusaku
Tsunoda, Wm. Theodore de Bary and Donald Keene (New York: Columbia University Press,
1958), pp. 292-296.

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116 / EDUCATIONALTHEATRE JOURNAL

sun or of cherry blossoms. The word "natural" is used here to indicate the realm
outside the sublime, while "supernatural" will indicate the indescribable realm
of the sublime.)

Natural beauty is not the ultimate in the N6. The flower is already there, cer-
tainly; the audience is caught already by the spell of that superficial beauty and
loves it, but it is still only a shallow enjoyment. It still belongs to the world of
impermanence, of illusion. When Zeami approaches in the following ranks the
quiet, deep, subdued beauty of sublimity his descriptions become Zen-like, reveal-
ing and concealing at the same time, hinting more than explaining, expecting
an enlightened understanding from the reader, who, like the public during the
performance, is supposed to "fill in." The Flower of Stillness (7) is deeper than the
dazzling beauty of the Flower of Truth. It is explained with the quiet image of
snow in a silver vessel. Silver is a symbol for yigen, for pure whiteness is the sum
of all colors, yet cancels all colors. Maybe the silver vessel is meant to offer a first
glimpse of sublimity in the colorless snow, in the purity of this element which
silences sound. I am tempted to interpret the colors as symbols of the human
sensory illusion, that of impermanence, and the soundless whiteness as a first
breakthrough of the sublime Permanence. The style of the Flower of Supreme
Profundity (8) preserves the image of snow-this time probably itself standing
for yifgen. (Multiple and interchangeable symbolism is not impossible in Eastern
theoretical writings.) The scale is here immensely more impressive. Thousands
of mountains are covered with snow, "why is it that a solitary mountain towers
unwhitened among them?" There are different explanations of this black moun-
tain peak among pure white ones. It is possible that for Zeami the black peak
stood for an unexpected lack of yfigen in an otherwise flawless performance. The
calm of the previous flower would be enriched through the addition of a new
element of surprise. The non-yzigen proceeding from the great master becomes
an ornament to his art when suggested by "intuition." However, Ueda's explana-
tion is probably deeper: "There is an irrational element in that beautiful picture:
a black peak towering among snow covered mountains. The other world has
now begun to invade the world of ordinary senses. Natural beauty is not enough;
there must be the beauty of the supernatural, a strange kind of beauty percepti-
ble to only those supreme artists who are endowed with extraordinary sensitivity.
A N6 actor able to perform the Style of Profound Flower leads his spectators to
a state of trance, in which they can appreciate the beauty of the strange and
wondrous." 17

The style of the Mysterious Flower, or the Flower of the Miraculous (9), is
thoroughly immersed in "the beauty of the strange and wondrous." The style of
the Mysterious Flower is, according to Zeami, beyond description. A Zen epigram
illustrates it: "In Silla the sun shines brightly at midnight." The apparent
contradiction of the sun shining in the heart of the night in Korea is, of course,
not supposed to be explicable, at least not through logical concepts. There is
presumably a contradiction only for the non-enlightened person who is limited
in his intuition to space and time, that is, to the ordinary senses. The enlightened

17 Ueda, pp. 66-67.

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117 / ZEAMI'S AESTHETICS OF THE NO AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

would know that the apparent paradox is true for the interior eye which tran-
scends such limitations. Or the interior eye would recognize the paradox to be as
senseless-or as meaningful-as any logical affirmation based on the uncertain
fragility of the human illusion.
The transcendental world of Truth beyond the senses, the world of Reality,
the world of inexplicable Unity where all apparent contradiction dissolves into
one Truth, in a word, the world of Permanence, is visualized and made present
through the Mysterious Flower, leaving the audience with the certainty of hav-
ing touched the amazing austerity of the last indescribable Reality. The primi-
tive function of medium seems here to be restored to the actor, but at a higher
level. His mediation is not, as in the case of the shaman of primitive Japan,
between the living and the dead-in this respect the appearance of ghosts in
several N6 plays is only a coincidence of contents. The actor becomes a medium
between the temporal individual in the audience and the eternal, universal
permanence.
At the end, as a result of something like Aristotle's catharsis, the theatre becomes
a very special, beautiful, almost frightening means of our growing into Truth, a
revelation of deeper realities which for the most part remain hidden to a super-
ficial experience of the senses. The higher the theatrical experience, the deeper
the penetration into the sphere of the sublime, then the greater the intuition, the
insight, the spiritual grasp of the hidden Truth, within the awe that only the
approach to, and the touch of, the mysterious last Reality can give.
The lesson for us seems simple and serious. There is no ready made, easy
formula for lasting success through audience participation in this great experience
-at least not in the N6. Real, deep, lasting audience participation results only
from an actor's life-commitment to his art. Only the very talented achieves this
kind of participation after an extremely long, total dedication to relentless train-
ing. The actor's genius is only partly a result of birth, the main part has to be
painfully formed through a never-ceasing process of purification and liberation
from the domination of the technique in the freedom of creation, after the tech-
nique has been perfectly assimilated. The highest, constant public participation,
is created only by the great artist who becomes the mediator of a unique direct
experience of Essence, Beauty, and Truth in a variety of flowers continuously
blossoming in his creative performance.

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