Acknowledgments . . ix
Prologue . . xi
Introduction: the field of poppies . . xvii

1 The empty ritual . . 1
Word bridges . . 1 
Where do I come from? . . 4 
A plurality of dramaturgies . . 8 

FIRST INTERMEZZO: The children of silence . . 15

2 Organic dramaturgy as a level of organisation . . 23
The actor's dramaturgy . . 23 
The ritual of Disorder . . 35 
Sonorous dramaturgy . . 40 
Dramaturgy of the space . . 45 
Prepare for life and arms . . 50 
The moment of truth . . 53 

SECOND INTERMEZZO: What the actors say and the director's reflections . . 59

3 Narrative dramaturgy as a level of organisation . . 83
Creative thought . . 83 
From glance to vision . . 88 
Who made me what I am? . . 94 
Knots . . 98 
Simultaneity: narrating according to the laws of space . . 101 
Exu: swimming in a lasting presence . . 106 
The origin of the Odin Road . . 108 
Not text, but narrative context . . 113 
Centre of the book . . 122
Working for the text and working with the text . . 123 
Kaosmos . . 130 
Chained to an oar . . 146 

THIRD INTERMEZZO: Twenty years later . . 149

4 Evocative dramaturgy as a level of organisation . . 169
The Trans-Siberian . . 169 
The torrid zone of memory . . 173 
Winds that burn . . 177
The spectator's dramaturgy . . 183  
The elusive order . . 187 
Shadows like roots . . 190 

FOURTH INTERMEZZO: What a notebook says . . 191

5 Theatre-in-liberty . . 201
Burning the house . . 202 
A dramaturgy of dramaturgies . . 204 
Letter from the director to his friend and adviser Nando Taviani . . 207 
Incursions and irruptions . . 210 

Epilogue . . 212
Envoi . . 213
Notes . . 217