|
Shunya, a Houston-based non-profit theatre troupe, is dedicated to providing
a voice to the South Asian American experience through the visual and
performing arts.
What is Shunya?
Shunya literally means “zero, nothing, or emptiness”
in Sanskrit. The name comes from the Buddhist concept of “nothing”
as the ultimate goal of realization. The Buddhist shunya, the Hindu brahman,
and the Jain atman are all closely linked. In India, theatre traditions
have always been intertwined with spiritual pursuits. Further, the name
also alludes to Peter Brook’s (whose production of the Hindu epic
the Mahabharata won him both acclaim and controversy) concept of “the
empty space”. The theatre is shunya or “empty” until
we come together as artists and patrons to bring it to life with our collective
imagination. When you start with nothing, anything is possible.
|