East Coast Artists : YokastaS.

Video documentation of East Coast Artists' performance 'YokastaS', presented as a part of the 4th Encuentro of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, celebrated in July of 2003 in New York City, United States under the title 'Spectacles of Religiosities'. 'YokastaS', a play written by Saviana Stanescu and Richard Schechner and directed by Schechner explores the central figure of Yokasta--Oedipus's Queen-Mother-Wife by presenting theatergoers with four Yokastas, each representing distinct parts of her life and different approaches to her experiences. Audiences see Yokasta as a pre-teen, a young woman, a happily married woman, and an older woman who intelligently recollects all aspects of her life. Post-performance discussion led by Luis Peirano. East Coast Artists is a professional theater company performing new plays and classics in new interpretations. ECA also conducts training workshops. Founded in 1991 by Richard Schechner, ECA has produced 'Faust/gastronome', 'Amerika' (after Kafka), Chekhov's 'Three Sisters', and 'YokastaS'. ECA emphasizes a long developmental workshop and rehearsal process, open rehearsals, and continuous revision throughout the life of a production. Richard Schechner is University Professor and Professor of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. He is artistic director of East Coast Artists and editor of 'TDR: A Journal of Performance Studies'. His books include 'Environmental Theater', 'Between Theater and Anthropology', 'The End of Humanism', 'Performance Theory', 'Performative Circumstances', 'The Future of Ritual', and 'Performance Studies: An Introduction'. His books have been translated into Chinese, German, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Hungarian, Dutch, and Serbo-Croatian. He founded and directed The Performance Group with which he directed 'Dionysus in 69', 'Tooth of Crime', 'Mother Courage and Her Children', 'Oedipus', and many other works. He continues to direct plays, conduct performance workshops, and lectures in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and the Americas. He is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards including a Guggenheim, Fulbright, NEH, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Performance Studies International. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics