Josephine Riley is a British writer, translator, theatre actor, and schoolteacher. Dr. Riley has written and translated several books about
theatre arts
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
, especially
Chinese theatre
Theatre of China has a long and complex history. Traditional Chinese theatre, generally in the form of Chinese opera, is musical theatre, musical in nature. Chinese theatre can trace its origin back a few millennia to ancient China, but the Chine ...
. She currently teaches film and drama at
Munich International School
Munich International School (MIS) is a private coeducational international school located in Starnberg, south of Munich, Germany. MIS teaches students from EC (Early Child - years 4-5) to grade 12. Students travel from an area around Munich to a ...
in Germany.
Riley reads, writes, and speaks
Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
, and is better known for having in the early 1980s widely traveled in China and learned to act in the
Chinese theatre
Theatre of China has a long and complex history. Traditional Chinese theatre, generally in the form of Chinese opera, is musical theatre, musical in nature. Chinese theatre can trace its origin back a few millennia to ancient China, but the Chine ...
[ as one of the first foreign students at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing,][ eventually writing ''Chinese Theatre and the Actor in Performance'' (1997, ]Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
), a reference book that "gives an 'inside' view of Chinese theatre and the actor in performance for the first time ..from her personal observations of, and dialogue with, Chinese actors and her first-hand experiences of the theatre world of China in general, none of which was possible before 1980."[Publisher description for the book]
archived at the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, catdir.loc.gov. She also made the first English translation of ''The Other Shore
''The Other Shore'' (; untoned ''Bi An''; previously translated ''The Other Side'') is a play by the Chinese writer Gao Xingjian. It was first published into English in 1997 and translated again in 1999.
The intended premiere of ''The Other Sho ...
'' by Nobel Laureate in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
playwright Gao Xingjian
Gao Xingjian (高行健 in Chinese - born January 4, 1940) is a Chinese émigré and later French naturalized novelist, playwright, critic, painter, photographer, film director, and translator who in 2000 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature " ...
.
Biography
Life
Jo Riley graduated from the University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
.[ISTA 2008.] After working for a number of small touring companies, she went to Asia to explore a different kind of theatre. In the early 1980s, after learning Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
, she was one of the first foreign students at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing,[ where she learned to act in the ]Chinese theatre
Theatre of China has a long and complex history. Traditional Chinese theatre, generally in the form of Chinese opera, is musical theatre, musical in nature. Chinese theatre can trace its origin back a few millennia to ancient China, but the Chine ...
(''example pictured at right'').[
She has since then helped teach and direct traditional Chinese theatre in Salzburg, Mainz, and Bayreuth.][ She's also been at intercultural workshops with Cardiff Laboratory Theatre and Pan Projects at Goldsmiths College, London.][ In addition, she has written articles and books on Chinese theatre, especially ''Chinese Theatre and the Actor in Performance'' (1997, see Works section), and has edited or translated several plays or books on European and ]intercultural theatre Intercultural theater, also known as cross-cultural theatre, may transcend time, while mixing and matching cultures or subcultures. Mixing and matching is the unavoidable process in the making of inner connections and the presentations of intercultu ...
.
She currently teaches film at Munich International School
Munich International School (MIS) is a private coeducational international school located in Starnberg, south of Munich, Germany. MIS teaches students from EC (Early Child - years 4-5) to grade 12. Students travel from an area around Munich to a ...
[ in Germany.
]
Works
In 1997, Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
published Riley's ''Chinese Theatre and the Actor in Performance'', a book often cited on the topic of Chinese theatre
Theatre of China has a long and complex history. Traditional Chinese theatre, generally in the form of Chinese opera, is musical theatre, musical in nature. Chinese theatre can trace its origin back a few millennia to ancient China, but the Chine ...
. It covers not only ''jingju'' (Beijing opera
Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...
or Peking opera, ''example pictured at right'') but also Chinese puppet theatre and shadow play
Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. The cut-ou ...
, as well as Chinese exorcism and ancient animation rites at the tomb, to explore how the Chinese create presence on a stage.[ In a 1999 review for the '']Asian Theatre Journal
The ''Asian Theatre Journal'' is an academic journal dedicated to the performing arts of Asia, focusing upon both traditional and modern theatrical forms. It contains descriptive and analytical articles, original plays and play translations, as wel ...
'', China specialist Prof. Colin Mackerras
Colin Patrick Mackerras (; born 26 August 1939 Sydney, Australia) is an Australian sinologist, Emeritus Professor at Griffith University, and specialist in Chinese culture. He has published on Chinese drama, national minorities of China, Aus ...
(author of ''The Cambridge Handbook of Contemporary China'', brother of Malcolm Mackerras
Malcolm Hugh Mackerras AO (born 26 August 1939) is an Australian psephologist and commentator and lecturer on Australian and American politics.
Education and works
Malcolm Mackerras was born at Turramurra in Sydney in August 1939. He is a brot ...
) noted how the book "looks at the skills of the Chinese actor from the insider's point of view – not that of the Westerner or the student of China."[Mackerras 1999.] Indeed:
Riley also made, under the title ''The Other Side'' (1997), the first English translation of the controversial play ''The Other Shore
''The Other Shore'' (; untoned ''Bi An''; previously translated ''The Other Side'') is a play by the Chinese writer Gao Xingjian. It was first published into English in 1997 and translated again in 1999.
The intended premiere of ''The Other Sho ...
'' (1986) by Nobel Laureate in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
playwright Gao Xingjian
Gao Xingjian (高行健 in Chinese - born January 4, 1940) is a Chinese émigré and later French naturalized novelist, playwright, critic, painter, photographer, film director, and translator who in 2000 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature " ...
.
Bibliography
As editor
Edited or co-edited publications include:
* 1990: ''The Dramatic Touch of Difference: Theatre, Own and Foreign'', by various
*: Collected essays edited by Erika Fischer-Lichte
Erika may refer to:
Arts and Entertainment
* Hayasaka Erika (''Megatokyo)''
* Erika (''Friends'')
* Erika (''Pokémon'')
* Erika (''Underworld'')
* Erika Itsumi ''(Girls und Panzer)''
* ''Erika'' (film), a 1971 Italian thriller film
* "E ...
( in German), Jo Riley, & Michael Gissenwehrer, Forum Modernes Theater, vol. 2, Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 1990, , , , GBOOK In the mid-2000s, Everex began selling several brands of green computers. These computers are targeted at users that only need access to web applications, versus Microsoft Windows-based applications (however, the company does sell Windows Vista-ins ...
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287 p., illustrations, paperback – Co-credit was to "Josephine Riley".
* 1997: ''The Show and the Gaze of Theatre: A European Perspective'', by Erika Fischer-Lichte
Erika may refer to:
Arts and Entertainment
* Hayasaka Erika (''Megatokyo)''
* Erika (''Friends'')
* Erika (''Pokémon'')
* Erika (''Underworld'')
* Erika Itsumi ''(Girls und Panzer)''
* ''Erika'' (film), a 1971 Italian thriller film
* "E ...
( in German)
*: Collected essays (1986–1995) edited (and some translated from the German into English) by Jo Riley, Studies in Theatre History and Culture, Iowa City: University of Iowa Press The University of Iowa Press is a university press that is part of the University of Iowa.
Established in 1969, thUniversity of Iowa Pressis an academic publisher of poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. The UI Press is the only universit ...
, November 1997, , , , GBOOK In the mid-2000s, Everex began selling several brands of green computers. These computers are targeted at users that only need access to web applications, versus Microsoft Windows-based applications (however, the company does sell Windows Vista-ins ...
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426 (x, 412) p., illustrations, paperback. (Hardback: February 1998, )
As author
Publications include:
* 1997: ''Chinese Theatre and the Actor in Performance''
*: Cambridge studies in modern theatre, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
, June 1997, , , , GBOOK In the mid-2000s, Everex began selling several brands of green computers. These computers are targeted at users that only need access to web applications, versus Microsoft Windows-based applications (however, the company does sell Windows Vista-ins ...
br>OIAiYaIfFagC
360 (xii, 348) p., illustrations, hardback. (Paperback: December 2006, , .)
As translator
Translations include:
* 1997: '' The Other Side: A Contemporary Drama Without Acts'', by Gao Xingjian
Gao Xingjian (高行健 in Chinese - born January 4, 1940) is a Chinese émigré and later French naturalized novelist, playwright, critic, painter, photographer, film director, and translator who in 2000 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature " ...
*: Translated from the Chinese ''Bi An'' (1986; ) into English by Jo Riley, in Martha P. Y. Cheung & Jane C. C. Lai (eds.), ''An Oxford Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Drama'', p. 149–184, Hong Kong & New York: Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, September 1997, , , , GBOOK In the mid-2000s, Everex began selling several brands of green computers. These computers are targeted at users that only need access to web applications, versus Microsoft Windows-based applications (however, the company does sell Windows Vista-ins ...
br>XUFkAAAAMAAJ
900 (xxvi, 873) p., hardback – Part of an anthology of 15 plays. This play was later retranslated by someone else as ''The Other Shore
''The Other Shore'' (; untoned ''Bi An''; previously translated ''The Other Side'') is a play by the Chinese writer Gao Xingjian. It was first published into English in 1997 and translated again in 1999.
The intended premiere of ''The Other Sho ...
'' for a different collection of plays.
* 2001: ''History of European Drama and Theatre'', by Erika Fischer-Lichte
Erika may refer to:
Arts and Entertainment
* Hayasaka Erika (''Megatokyo)''
* Erika (''Friends'')
* Erika (''Pokémon'')
* Erika (''Underworld'')
* Erika Itsumi ''(Girls und Panzer)''
* ''Erika'' (film), a 1971 Italian thriller film
* "E ...
( in German)
*: Translated from the German ''Geschichte des Dramas'' (1990) into English by Jo Riley, London, UK & New York: Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
, December 2001, , , , GBOOK In the mid-2000s, Everex began selling several brands of green computers. These computers are targeted at users that only need access to web applications, versus Microsoft Windows-based applications (however, the company does sell Windows Vista-ins ...
br>5JWfX8mjX8AC
432 (x, 396) p., hardback. (Paperback: May 2004, , .)
References
Notes
Sources
Main sources used for this article:
* ISTA (2008)
"Teacher Information Pack for the London 1 TAPS" (Theatre Arts Programmes Symposium)
(Word document
Microsoft Word is a word processor, word processing software developed by Microsoft. It was first released on October 25, 1983, under the name ''Multi-Tool Word'' for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other pla ...
), International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA), 2008 – Contains a self-bio.
* Mackerras, Colin (1999). "Chinese Theatre and the Actor in Performance. By Jo Riley" (book review), ''Asian Theatre Journal
The ''Asian Theatre Journal'' is an academic journal dedicated to the performing arts of Asia, focusing upon both traditional and modern theatrical forms. It contains descriptive and analytical articles, original plays and play translations, as wel ...
'', University of Hawaii Press
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
, , vol. 16, no. 1 (Spring 1999), , p. 127–129
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Jo
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
British stage actresses
British theatre critics
20th-century British women writers
Chinese–English translators
German–English translators
British book editors
British women editors
British schoolteachers
Drama teachers
Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Central Academy of Drama alumni
Women theatre critics
20th-century British translators