Tantra Theater Presents:

In this unlikely scene, San Diego Tantra Theater players: Akasha Rose, Kamala Devi, Michael, and Shawn Roop dramatize a sexual awakening story volunteered by unsuspecting audience member. There were approx. 150 people in attendance at this year's gathering for sacred sexuality professionals. It was the 10th annual conference for ISTA: International School of Temple Arts and Master Mantak Chia was the Keynote speaker.

Tantra Theater offered all new material for main stage entertainment on Saturday Night before the evening Play party. Shawn Roop starts off with an orginal piece which explores the question: "What do you tell people when they ask you what do you do?" Michael McClure AKA Eco-Elf, does a Hilarius reenactment of a popular tantra spoof by Comedy Inc.

Kamala Devi offers a dramatic interpretation of literature, a poem entitled "Thunder, Perfect Mind" from the Nag Hammid Library. 380 BC. And then we did Improv. Comedy based on a day in the life of Baba Dez Nichols.

After the scripted performance art, we did interactive performance art with the audience.

Tantra Theater performs at Tantra-Palooza 10-10-10:

One of the unexpected highlights of Tantra-Palooza is that Tantra Theater spontaneously performed in the BUFF!

The show started off fully clothed with scripted pieces. Shawn Roop played the Emcee and performed his personal narrative about how he overcame Jealousy at a 3 day love-in! This Beautiful outdoor stage provided a healing atmosphere for our sex-positive message. (The running joke is that it looks like we're performing at Summer Stock.)

Goddess Brande Faris opened the show with her sultry voice and original song, "Hello & Welcome to Tantra." Rita Mooney did her Monogamy monologue. Michael kept us laughing with his Eco-Elf comedy routine about vegetarianism and Keith Davis and Viraja PreMa closed the show with their Tantric Journey Rap.

Then we opened the stage to improvise personal narratives from the audience. And that's when Bodhi challenged Shawn with a story about when he was at a hedonistic nudist retreat. Rita and Kamala Devi are playing Canadian tantra teachers at club hedonism...

Michael and Shawn are gay lovers while Kamala Devi is being the temptress...

And of course every one's favorite Naked Oracle..."Oh, Great Oracle tell me why I can't concentrate when people around me are taking off their clothes..."

As usual, we close with an interactive Q & A from the Cast...The director's low light was concern for the safety of her performers as they were performing on a precarious stage, only slightly safer than performing on a picnic table above a pit of snakes. The highlight was having such a fun, open minded audience and performing in the context of a deep four day retreat.

For Hot Streaming video clips go to: http://www.tantratheater.tv/

The End.

P.S. Photos by Julie Kondor.

July 2010: The Self Love Show & Book Release Party Review

At the beginning of every show, the cast gathers in sacred circle to call in muses and dedicate the show to a higher power. This month we called in the self. It's a pretty standard practice to call on ones "higher self" and intend to align with our divine expression...we've all done this before. The challenge is to embrace the small self. To honor and trust that whatever we say or do is in fact perfect and though we may be able to do better in the future, we are always doing the best we can in the moment.

     This is the spirit with which we began the SELF LOVE SHOW on July 17th, 2010. With over 108 people in the house, we set a new record for Audience attendance.
     Here Kamala Devi introduced the cast of Tantra Theater: From Left to Right: Michael McClure, Keith Davis, Wayne Acciacca, Rae NewWoman, Viraja PreMa, Brande Feris, Akasha Rose, Rita Mooney, Keith Davis and our recently published author, Shawn Roop.

     We began by interviewing and spoofing the new Author of "Pathways to Love: 28 days to Self Love."
     In this photo you see that we gave away 28 books to the first people who bought tickets for the show. Kamala also interviewed Shawn's beautiful roommates Tracey and Beth, asking them what it was like to live with Shawn while he was writing the book.

This evening was also unique because it was an initiation for six new Tantra Theater players to do public performance alongside our professional troupe. Here is a picture of Kamala Introducing the newbies:

We then called on audience members to select a series of improvisational theater games. And we asked for tantric suggestions and had to work themes like: Virgins, videography, Kama Sutra, Editor, Zimbabwe.

Since we do not censor ourselves in this practice many of our scenes break cultural taboos and speak the unspeakable as you can see in this homoerotic scene between two brothers.

Alexandra from the audience came up to share a story about Self Love so that we could act it out onstage. Nobody in the cast had ever heard the marvelous story of how Alexandra had an unassisted home birth.

Rita then stepped onstage to portray her like a caged cougar pacing a new apartment while the father of the baby slept by the tub. Her Brother then showed up to photograph while neighbors peeped in through missing curtains. Within 5 hours, Michael slipped right out from between Rita's legs and Her higher self showed up for spiritual support. Alexandra said afterwards that it was a very healing experience to watch and she said she never felt so heard!

During the second act, we shared three scripted personal narratives. Rae NeWoman wrote and performed a hilarious original song about a massage therapist who is unsatisfied with the traditional ending of the healing and uses tantra to create lasting satisfaction for herself and her clients.

Viraja PreMa shares a different type of healing session in which she shape shifts into a man and explores the need to have one's seed seen, celebrated and accepted.

Finally the show closes with a sensual Tori Amos inspired song written with tantric lyrics and sung by the stunning priestess Brande Feris.

We hope you'll join us for our next Big show, the last official Tantra Theater Show for the Season: What's Your Story? on Aug. 21st go to http://www.tantratheater.tv/ for details.

June 2010:Tantra Theater Travel Show

Travel Guides: Michael McClure, Rita Mooney, Shawn Roop and Kamala Devi took an open minded audience of about 45 people on a wild wacky adventure during June's Tantra Theater Show.

One of our favorite detours was to visit the oracle where these three heads merged to answer deep spiritual questions from the audience.

In devotion to Michael's Crazy Wisdom, Rita prostrates to the feet of a Nazi Guru...and yes, that is her tongue you see.

One of the audience suggestions for Tantra Cafe was "Boobs" In this scene, Kamala's deadly ta-tas kill AmRita and threaten Shawn and Michael.

Kamala interviews birthday boy Hercules "The Pleasure Coach" about an Alaskan tantric adventure that involved a nude encounter with a grizzley bear.

The tantra theater troupe plays back Herc's adventure...but Shawn decides to show his Grizzley pubic hair instead of going totally bare.

In another tantric adventure Kamala becomes the white mountains and Shawn is a scientist who explores the terrain.

Special Thanks to the cast and crew for making it yet another unforgettable evening! Special thanks to Monique and Nate Darling from Utah for being part of the fun!

Kudos to Adam our handsome CrewMan who works lights and sound!

...And to Goddess Tracey who was an official photographer along side Julie Kondor...Thanks for making the evening so memorable!

May 2010: Tantra Theater Show in Black and White

The following fun photos are from the Tantra Theater show in downtown San Diego on May 15th. Featuring: Shawn Roop, Joy, Michael McClure, Rita Mooney and Me: Kamala Devi (I'm the one holding my etheric lingam.) Every show is completely new and unique but this show was especially unique for two distinct reasons, it was our first strictly improvisational show (we usually mix scripted personal narrative with improv.) and it was a graduation for Joy (who is one of the tantra theater pioneers) All of the players in these photos are visionaries who've been developing their craft for almost two years now.

For this show, we took audience suggestions and personal stories about taboos such as: Stranger Sex, Moon Time, Shamanic Journeying and lingam lore. We then put audience stories onstage and watched it unfold in unlikely and empowering circumstances. For example, here is a picture of Rita and Kamala celebrating their "moon time" by bleeding into mamma Earth.

This new type of drama is transformative for the players, the audience, and collective consciousness. The best part is that everyone is laughing so hard, the personal growth becomes (mostly) painless!

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The Photo below. is from our ONE year anniversary when we launched our monthly improv. event at our new downtown location at the Red Lotus Society and yoga studio: Sarah, Dawn, Adam, Amrita, Shawn Roop, Joy, Eco-elf, Heidi, Janos Kamala Devi and Ember.

April 2009: Our very first monthly Improvisation show at the emerald temple. Our mission was to warm up the audience before Tantra Nova Manto Michael (eco-elf) Joy, FabuLiz, Viraja Prema, Shawn Roop, Ember and Kamala Devi.