"...the amygdala may play a leading role in establishing what consciousness researchers call "salience" - choosing which stimuli we prioritize and therefore of what we are conscious. This Oz-behind-the-curtain has LeDoux convinced that the amygdala and its subcortical allies, rather than our consciousness, define who we are. "Consciousness may get all the focus," LeDoux notes, "but consciousness is a small part of what a brain does, and it's a slave to everything that works beneath it.""(Mastery of Emotions: Joseph E. LeDoux discovered how fear arises. Now he is showing that the biology of emotions is what gives life meaning, by David Dobbs, Scientific America: Mind, vol 17, #1.)
In my reading of Voodoo, for Jacqui Carroll's Voodoo Macbeth, the lwa is said to "ride its horse" or "mount" their servants to use their bodies as instruments of self expression. The ego identity of the servant is released, called "the big good angel." They then feel a sensation of utter emptiness bringing with it symptoms of fainting, trembling and/or convulsions, it is after this that the communal spirit or lwa enters the "head" of their servant to express themselves in their traditional forms and characteristics at the gathering held in their honour. (pg 110-111, Voodoo: Truth and Fantasy) These rituals affirm social ties and community as well as linking life to the spiritual world. I took the photo of Michael Scott (affectionately known within Frank Theatre as Scotty), during some improvisations in last Thursday's rehearsal at the studio. Here you can see Scotty's Selfer (life size mannequin of himself) piggy-backed on top of himself, perfectly representing this state of the "two souls" contained in man: our ego identities and our consciousness(?), our unconsciousness and our consciousness (?), the self we project and the self that we are (?), the self we think we project and the self that is projected(?)....an interesting area indeed.
The Selfers, made by both myself and John Nobbs, are intended to work within the area of salience; as a mirror by which aspects of the self and constructions of the self can be made visible within the constructs of theatre space/time. Their inclusion into the workings of the theatre both within a play in progress, in productions and within the general ensemble of actors is a significant new direction and represents a dimensional shift towards an integrated learning vehicle inclusive of the unconscious workings of the mind.
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