What is Ritual?

Reading Response Prompts

One way to think about ritual is to think about performance, even highly theatrical performance, inside everyday life. Another way to think about it is as time marked out in distinction to everyday life, such as a church service. Some highly defined rituals may have more "theatrical" elements than others." 

Chose from among, or combine in some way, the prompts below:

1. Write about a ritual you participate in or have participated in regularly at some point. What is it about the activity that makes it "ritual." How and why did it have meaning to you as ritual? that is, what were the performance-based properties of the activity that carried meaning, and how? Some words to think about in the context of writing this might be repetition; posture; collectivity; interior attitude/exterior attitude; sounds; lights; temporality; speed or slowness; etc etc etc. 

2. Are there "rituals" in "theatre"? What are they? Also, is there a ritual or ritual-like behavior involved when going to the theatre?  If we were to think about theatre as a secular ritual what would we think? Would that change our thinking about what we do when we engage?

3. What about other social rituals? Are protest movements, like Black Lives Matter or like White Supremacist organizations, in part concerned with rituals of everyday life? Relatedly, how do ritual movements, patterns, engagements create solidarity among a group (whatever their cause)?

3. Make a brief video that can be uploaded to canvas, or linked in some way, of you taking part in a ritual behavior. If you want to do this with a group, feel free. 

4. Look at the pictures below. Could all of them be considered ritual, or having ritual components? If some yes and some no, craft a short response that says why you make the determination you make.  (PS there is no right answer. )