*Created by Jake Witlen (SIAI participant in '09)

What is your Mythology?
How does it encounter the reality of the world?
How do you reconcile these two by way of your art?

These are the questions that propeled and shaped this three-week intensive. In July of 2009, Theater Mitu brought together a group of international participants, American teaching artists and Indian masters to rigorously explore this vast discussion. This short film documents our time spent there and the experiences we had.

In the West, the artist's personal mythology is often overlooked in an attempt to focus on technique, achievement and success. But the question remains, what propels the artist? What is his/her belief system? What stories have formed who they are and what work they create? We believe the answers to these questions can only be discovered when the artist is asked to forget everything they think they know and in so doing, explore themselves outside of a context that is familiar; artistically, philosophically, aesthetically and geographically. It is this belief that began the conversation with South India's Visthar Center for Social Justice and Peace, an institution committed to this type of international dialogue.

The program asked participants to place themselves at the center of this conversation. The intensive rigorously engaged the participants in this dialogue at every level possible.

Physically: by way of classes and training with Indian masters in diverse classical Indian arts as well as advanced classes in Theater Mitu's training methodology of Whole Theater.

Philosophically: by way of challenging dialogues with some of the most important Hindu and Buddhist thinkers and philosophers in India.

Socially: as students were asked to engage with and participate actively with the incredibly dynamic Indian community of teachers, artists and activists that comprise Visthar as well as allowing themselves to be challenged by their fellow participants.

Culturally: as they interface with India, one of the most diverse and impressive cultural landscapes in the world.

Artistically: by way of various performance, creation and explorative opportunities the program offers.

The list could go on and on as the journey, though dynamically programmed, was ultimately formed around the participants as they explored who they are as individuals, as citizens of the world and as artists driven by a personal mythology that is powerful, clear and unignorable.