Note: This column by Maria Padhila, which originally published April 21, 2012, felt like a good fit for this weekend, when the Venus-Neptune conjunction in Pisces is heightening both artistic play and creation, as well as sexual play, loving connection and the manifestation of our visions. Maria will be back with a fresh column next weekend. — Amanda
By Maria Padhila
Theater started out as magic ritual. In the right hands, with the right practitioners, it still is (Hi, Amanda and Fe!).
The San Diego Tantra Theater Troupe is all about the magic. It’s right there in its mission: “combines ritual and performance to transmute sexual guilt, shame and fear into art, healing and liberation. We celebrate that every aspect of life’s drama is sacred.”
With shows like “Sacred Slut” and “Shaman Story,” they may sound just too woo-woo. But believe me, they are also all about the fun. Check out some of the videos on their website — smart, funny, and not above poking fun at themselves. If you can’t deal with laughing at spiritual struggles (or at sex), this probably won’t work for you; but if you can see both the beauty and the humor in the human condition, you’ll get it. As well as doing performance in San Diego, the group also travels to conferences and festivals and leads workshops.
I got to participate in a workshop led by the theater founder Kamala Devi at the Poly Living conference put on by Loving More earlier this year. The technique of doing improv based on relationship stories from participants resulted in many memorable moments, some very touching (in both senses). One of my favorites was seeing Devi’s acting partner working through the story of a man in a relationship with two women, standing with his arms outstretched and singing “I’m the V, I’m the V,” like an outtake from a very special episode of “Schoolhouse Rock.”