IN TIBETAN BUDDHISM...

by Laine Parrish

I work as a dramaturg for SU’s production of Everybody. While researching for my position I became intrigued with scene 13, “La Danse Macabre.” I could not find mention of a similar scene in Everyman nor any explanation from the script itself. Remembering the Usher's reference to a Buddhist fable as source material for the play, I dove deeper into its meaning and into the possibility that it is reflective of Buddhist practices or cultural significance and I discovered just that. In Tibet there are dances performed for people not ordained within the monasteries called Cham Dancing. 

In Cham Dances, Monks wear masks that symbolize Dharmapalas ("Protectors of truth"). The roles of these Dharmapalas are to protect cemetery grounds and to remind the viewers of the dance of their own mortality. The skeletons are Chitipati (or Citipati), a male and female Skeleton who dance wildly and blow horns surrounded by a wheel of fire, representing change. This cultural context can inform scene 13's danse macabre, following the scene in which the character of Everybody accepts their death. These dancing Chitipati show that there is going to be a massive change. Might Everybody be able to reincarnate and become a different and hopefully better person?