This unit examines some of the ways in which theatre has been used in different times and places in order to explore, comment on and/or protest against social, political or environmental injustices in different times and places.
Issue Based Drama
https://sites.google.com/site/jncreativeconflict/home/jnwork/issue-based-theatre-and-dramahttp://www.chunkyonion.com/en/services/educational-theatre/issues-based-theatre/ Applied Theatre http://dictionary.tdf.org/applied-theatre/http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/music/edtheatre/programs/appliedtheatre Protest Theatre http://blogs.elon.edu/sasa/2010/01/10/the-role-of-theater-apartheid-post-apartheid/ http://www.pahnation.com/what-is-protest-theatre/ Theatre of the Oppressed http://www.mandalaforchange.com/applied-theatre/theatre-of-the-oppressed/ https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/jul/24/artsfeatures Forum Theatre http://dramaresource.com/forum-theatre http://beautifultrouble.org/tactic/forum-theater/ Epic Theatre http://www.thedramateacher.com/epic-theatre-conventions/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zwmvd2p/revision Political Theatre http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/genres/political-theatre-iid-2514 http://brooklynrail.org/2008/09/theater/the-power-of-political-theater Living Newspapers https://global.britannica.com/art/Living-Newspaper https://artforsocialchangetoolkit.wordpress.com/history/livingnewspapers/ https://actorstheatre.org/make-plays/living-newspaper/ Educational Theatre/Theatre in Education http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zsbjn39/revision http://www.beyondthedoor.co.uk/centrestage/tie2.htm Invisible Theatre http://beautifultrouble.org/tactic/invisible-theater/ https://sites.google.com/site/boaltpjctsd13/invisible-theatre Participatory Theatre http://ala-ct.ie/about-theatre-for-change/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph7_nJP5MQs&t=6s The theatre is a weapon, and it is the people who should wield it. (Boal, 122)Theatre of the Oppressed
Theatre of the Oppressed engages people in discovery, critical reflection and dialogue and the process of liberation! Through Theatre of the Oppressed we can better understand ourselves, our communities and our world.' (The Forum Project). There are many, many elements to TO and in this unit we will be exploring only three; Game Playing, Image Theatre and Forum Theatre. Yet these will provide you with more than enough understanding and skills to create your own piece of thought provoking and challenging performance work. We will begin by playing some of Boal's games, then create a piece of Image Theatre before moving onto a piece of Forum Theatre. Game Playing - Boal believed that everybody should have the opportunity to get involved with theatre, including those with no acting training or experience. Games are used to help participants feel confident, to help stretch their imagination, warm up physically and mentally and to help build relationships and a community feeling. Image Theatre - In Image Theatre issues of oppression are explored through still images which show emotions, ideas, concepts, events and/or issues. These might be 'sculpted' by an individual or created as a group. These still images then provide a starting point for discussion that explores possible solutions and actions. The still images can also be dynamised (brought to life.) Forum Theatre - Forum Theatre is one of the most famous elements of TO. A short scene is presented which shows a issue of oppression. This is called the anti-model. The 'joker' then facilitates a discussion with the audience, who can suggest ways in which the oppression could be addressed. The anti-model is shown again and this time the audience can stop the play and take over one of the roles; becoming what Boal called a spect-actor. Spect-actors can replace the protagonist (oppressed) or bystander but not the antagonist (oppressor). The joker must steer the audience away from 'magic solutions' (for example the antagonist suddenly becomes nice). Forum Theatre has proved a brilliant way of breaking the barrier between actors and audience, and has helped many people get involved in finding solutions to problems relevant to them. Here are some useful sources if you want to find out more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/drama/exploring/explorative_strategiesrev7.shtml http://theforumproject.org/whatisto/forumtheatre/ http://cardboardcitizens.org.uk/theatre-oppressed |
Statement of Inquiry: We can question, explore and challenge oppression and social injustice in a variety of ways.
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