ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the application of the rasatrialogue, an improvisatory technique, informs the feminist deconstruction of male text in nangiar kuthu, the female performance form of kutiyattam. The enactment of the rasatrialogue makes Poothana a well-defined character with deep emotional conflicts. As an acting technique, the rasatrialogue allows the performer to show three different emotions – usually, love, sadness and anger – consecutively to demonstrate the inner conflicts of the character. Rasatrialogue, as an acting technique, is masculine, which is found in the traditional kutiyattam performance enacted by male performers. The dialectical relationship between the text and performance has been a perennial point of debate in theatre and performance studies. In the course of making an argument on gender and performativity, Judith Butler questions the fixed notions of gender identity, arguing that the gender "reality" is created through social performances.
