Just reading plays and discussing how they are performed, as is so often done in western theatre classes, will not do. Asian theatre requires experiencing, preferably first hand. We are fortunate in this country that so many troupes of Asian performers have come to our shores in recent years. Yet, for many around the United States, the only way to experience Asian theatre is through books, films, and videotapes. Now we have before us an extraordinary new way to present and access Asian theatre material.
Multimedia computers promise to put vast quantities of material at the fingertips of our students.
The storehouses of many years of private collections may potentially be available on CD-ROM and Internet. For me the advent of the new technology is of special significance. Since 1964 I have been going to India rather frequently on research tours. During this period, I have made numerous films, video tapes, taken thousands of 35mm slides, collected many hundreds of hours of audio tape and collected books and original manuscripts on many aspects of Indian theatre. Much of the collection focuses on the Kutiyattam, the Sanskrit theatre of Kerala State, South India.