Persistencia de la memoria. Documentary (1998): This documentary, created for the 25th anniversary of Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani, is a must-see for anyone interested in the work of this renowned Peruvian theater group. This documentary features interviews with Miguel Rubio (director of the group), other group members, and several renowned archaeologists, critics and theater experts of Peru, including anthropologist Rodrigo Montoya, historian María Rostworowski, director of the Escuela Internacional de Teatro de América Latina y el Caribe (EITALC), Osvaldo Dragún, and Hugo Salazar, a prominent Peruvian theater critic. The documentary also includes footage of performances 'Músicos Ambulantes', 'Encuentro de Zorros', 'Baladas del Bien-Estar', 'Son de los Diablos', 'Contraelviento', 'Adiós Ayacucho', 'Yuyachkani En Concierto', 'No Me Toquen Ese Valse', 'Hasta Cuándo Corazón', 'Retorno' and 'Pasacalle', all works that the group performed within its first twenty-five years of theater work.The documentary discusses the progression of the group, from an ensemble of young students eager to explore theater, to an integral element of Peruvian society responding to the cultural and political issues of Peru. This documentary shows Yuyachkanis relationship to the community and nicely illustrates the history of the plays and the theater group itself. View the video

Miguel Rubio & Teresa Ralli. Keynote address (2000): In this keynote address, celebrated in the context of the first Encuentro of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2000, Yuyachkanis director Miguel Rubio Zapata and performer Teresa Ralli talk about the role of the director in the creative process of the group, as well as about the creative process of Yuyachkanis play Antígona, also showcased at the Encuentro. The artists frame their work in the context of Latin American experimental theater practices and in relation to Yuyachkani's outstanding trajectory.  View the video

Demostración pedagógica de Teresa Ralli (1993): In this pedagogical demonstration, Teresa Ralli, one of the original and remaining members of Peruvian theater ensemble Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani, explains her acting technique to a group of British students. Ms. Ralli discusses the artistic training of her body and her voice as well as her approach to character development. Teresa demonstrates that body training stresses body memory, composition and accumulation. In terms of voicework, Ralli discusses the need to find an 'organic' voice and the importance of vocal interpretation; she also demonstrates the importance of breath in voicework. Ms.Ralli believes actors must give the voice a task, a use of the text, and should take the voice out of its 'normal space.' To demonstrate the leap from ordinary to extra-ordinary uses of voice and text, the artist imitates popular Peruvian chants such as slogans commonly used by street vendors; in this demonstration, Ralli switches languages, from English to Spanish to Quechua (an indigenous language of Peru which is rarely spoken by people from outside indigenous communities, but has been consistently incorporated in Yuyachkani's work, turning into one of the ensemble's distinguishing elements). This pedagogical demonstration also includes object manipulation work, including exercises that explore the weight, balance and center of diverse objects. In order to illustrate her research on the subject, Ralli includes a demonstration of her work with chairs, which is a fundamental part of the Yuyachkani technique in object-work.Finally, the artist shows the audience some aspects of character development, demonstrating diverse stages in the creation of one of her characters, 'El Chusco,' featured in 'Músicos Ambulantes,' a musical spectacle created by Yuyachkani in 1983 and still performed today. Weight, balance, volume, flows of energy and centers of balance, showcased in this demonstration, are central aspects in Yuyachkani's (re)search of what they term an 'actor múltiple' or 'multiple actor,' a performer who explores and embodies the interplay between technique and sensitive/bodily memory. View the video

Grupo Cultural Yuyachkani: Theater work demonstration (2000): In this pedagogical demonstration, presented in the context of the first Encuentro of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2000, Teresa Ralli and Miguel Rubio explain Yuyachkanis acting process. The artists discuss the training of the actors body, as well as voice and character development; body training stresses body memory, composition and accumulation. This pedagogical demonstration also includes aspects of character development, discussing the relationships between everyday body practices and bodies onstage; weight, balance, volume, flows of energy and centers of balance, showcased in this demonstration, are central aspects in Yuyachkanis (re)search of what they term an actor múltiple or multiple actor. The interplay between technique and sensitive/bodily memory is central to the acting and pedagogical work of this Peruvian theater group. View the video

Interview with Teresa Ralli (2000): Interview with Teresa Ralli, founding member of Grupo Cultural Yuyahckani, conducted by Diana Taylor in the context of the first Encuentro of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2000. Ralli discusses the role of women in Yuyachkani in the context of issues of politics and gender in Peru. Topics covered include womens role in society, the difficulty of making a living as professional female theater practitioners, and how the women artists work with Yuyachkani provides them with a space for self-reflection about these roles and also the space to play with/challenge them. For the artist, theater has been a space for personal growth, aesthetic exploration, and social intervention. Teresa talks about the interplay between Yuyachkanis workshops with Peruvian women (dealing with issues of sensibility, bodily awareness, and memory), their theater performances, and their political activism in Peru, both in terms of the internal workings of Yuyachkani and with their audience. She comments on the Encuentro Nacional de Actrices (a conference/event that brought together various Peruvian female performers of Peru), the celebration of the Primer Festival Teatro Mujer (the first major theater festival by women in Peru), the creative and political environment surrounding the creation of Yuyachkanis all-women piece La primera cena (directed by Ralli), and the role Peruvian women play in the creation and performance of her one-woman piece Antígona. View the video

Comment on this page