Applied Theatre Practitioners and the Dynamics of Conversion
By implication, the task of dialoguing with the people or explaining the consequence of taking critical action suggests the presence of a third party beside the oppressed and oppressor. The third party in the Applied Theatre context is any of the middle-class practitioners who must have been “sold” to the cause of the oppressed. For the liberation to be complete, the conversion of the agent must be correspondingly holistic. By implication, we interpret Freire’s position to mean that the agent have to be “transformed” to an “insider” through inner conviction for him to function effectively.
James Thompson (2008) departs from Freire’s position of comradeship with the oppressed by averring
…show more content…
However, considering the other arms of Applied Theatre, then his position becomes problematic as genuine commitment cannot be guaranteed based on the “outsider-status” of the facilitator. Thompson’s position therefore paints an opportunistic or paternalistic picture of facilitators. The image of Thompson’s “outsider” is that of a sympathetic stranger who is himself helpless when the chips are down. The implication of this is that Thompson does not believe in the holistic concept of conversion of development agents, especially Applied Theatre practitioners as proposed by …show more content…
Titubi, a member of the bourgeois class, in a seemingly rash manner, tries to infiltrate the ranks of “Agbekoya” guerrilla fighters who confront the state and its police. She ends up getting genuinely converted to the cause of the Agbekoyas after living among them for months and partaking in the suffering and violence unleashed on them by the oppressors. Titubi’s daring act is the closest example of the conversion that Freire has so much discussed, albeit initially ill-intentioned and domiciled within a conventional (Brechtian)
Kershaw, Baz. The Politics of Performance. Radical Theatre as Cultural Intervention. New York: Routledge, 1992.
The authors discuss the impact of access, power, and equity. Their data was collected in Mississauga territory. They wish to make their readers aware of the issue in the Canadian Theatre Review. The authors are campaigning for action, “A number of the commentaries consider the need for marginalized people to be the contributors, performers, and creators of their own representations on stage. Equity in theatre is not simply an acknowledgment of oppression; it is a rectification of misrepresentation.” (Burton and Newman
...pressing of emotions, identifying with other systems of thought. Theatrical arts have managed to transcend ethical issues, racial differences, and many other facets of discourse in society. If theatre is indeed an engine for social change it should not be held from the people who need it the most. Those who are incarcerated. Programs across the nation have already started to see success in the prisons they operate in, so to think about the effect that theatre in prison would have on a nationwide scale is indeed a beautiful thought. If theatre programs in prison would be funded by the states or nationally, potentially the idea of professional prison playhouses could become a reality, and the world would be introduced into a new era of art that is truly a beautiful thing to behold. Shakespeare writes in Hamlet, “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.”
States believe that by understanding and harnessing the power of performance, we can create more inclusive, equitable, and just societies. His perspective on theater and performance is influenced by his interdisciplinary background and his experiences as a scholar and practitioner. As a professor of theater and performance studies, States has extensively researched and written about the intersections between performance, culture, and society. His work is informed by his engagement with diverse academic disciplines and his belief in the transformative potential of theater and performance as vehicles for social and political critique. By summarizing both The Normal Heart and “The World On Stage”, while providing historical context, we can apply them to one another to understand the importance of putting the AIDS epidemic on the world stage for all to see.
Introduction: Augusto Boal and his theories encompassed in Theatre of the Oppressed were used during a six week program to understand the applicabilities of the techniques for practical performance work. The text material written by Alison Croggan titled 'Monologs for an Apocalypse' was used. Aim: The aim of the program was to examine which aspects of image and forum theatre could be used during rehearsal and in performance to analyse which of the two is more useful.
The American Theater and Drama of the twentieth century Although the United States is one of the modern world countries which was born in the last decades, its history is considered to be rich and colorful. The United States have experienced several historical events from colonial periods to the present days which made the American society experience many changes between ups and downs; Especially in the twentieth century. The first half of the twentieth century have witnessed many changes at economic, social, political, and cultural levels which affected the American society characteristics. The American theater was born through those circumstances and conditions in which the world was living under the great influence of the industrial revolution.
Over the years, the essence of theatre has not only been to entertain, but to also allow the build up of a culture in a quickly growing uncultured generation. Regardless of the existence of so many other forms of entertainment, theatre has always established a commanding niche in most people’s hearts, and is undoubtedly the most realistic form of entertainment (Bruce 12). The acting bit of theatre performances makes things real and in their immediate contexts, allowing the audience to draw conclusions based on what they see. In a majority of cases, also, the play’s setting is such that there is description of definite subjects without which the play cannot make meaning. The above research takes into account A Number by Caryl Churchill. A great deal of issues and aspects can be learnt from the above play with diverse moral lessons, as well. It has long been proved that expression via acting is more direct than when the audience accesses literature in other means. This direct approach gives a broader meaning to a variety of issues in the play, which were not understood, say in videos. Additionally, the play A Number is full of theatrical ideologies with clear depiction and expression of every event. Theatricality and empowerment set this play different from other plays because of clarity in events’ sequence. The author also strives to express the idea of cloning in society as one main means of families’ downfall. This further comes with what literature calls the ‘fate of tragic heroes’, an indication of what is at stake when a person does things out of the ordinary to please him or herself.
Theatre serves to reflect society. From Shakespeare to Sophocles, a playwright’s work illustrates the different mechanics within a culture or time period or society. Theatre offers viewers the experience of taking a step back and looking in on themselves. In this way, theatre is a mirror for the world and the way it functions.
In this paper, I will be focusing briefly on my knowledge and understanding of the concept of Applied theatre and one of its theatre form, which is Theatre in Education. The term Applied Theatre is a broad range of dramatic activity carried out by a crowd of diverse bodies and groups.
Management theory and practice are both highly interrelated and relevant to the practice of running a small arts organisation. As Byrnes (2014, p.94) notes, ‘At the center of any theory is the potential it can provide to help predict an outcome given a specific set of circumstances’. Furthermore, DeVereux (2009b) expresses theory’s ability to interrogate and improve upon practice. Undoubtedly, small arts organisations face unique challenges and lack a substantial body of distinct theory (Chang, 2010). Focusing on the relationship between theory and practice in Unfolding Theatre’s multifaceted fundraising efforts, theory proves capable of predicting outcomes and improving practice, despite lacking specialisation.
“Theatre makes us think about power and the way our society works and it does this with a clear purpose, to make a change.”
Theatre will always survive in our changing society. It provides us with a mirror of the society within which we live, and where conflicts we experience are acted out on stage before us. It provides us with characters with which we identify with. The audience observes the emotions and actions as they happen and share the experience with the characters in real time.
“Playwrights don’t give answers, they ask questions. We need to find new questions, which may help us answer the old ones or make them unimportant, and this means new subjects and new form” (Caryl Churchill 1960). The beauty of theatre is that it has very little limitation. One can let their mind explore and experience theatre in more than one perspective. UBC Theatre’s production of Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information is a fascinating example of how each audience member’s experience during the production can be viewed extremely differently.
Before I started Introduction to Theatre class, I had been only to a couple of plays in my life. Just in this semester I’ve been to about ten plays and have learned so much about the art of theatre. The information I retained from class will help out a lot in the future, but the most important part of this class was the shadowing experience of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. With being able to get an inside look at this play during rehearsal and then going to see the performance was an incredible experience. By going to the rehearsal and then seeing the show, I was able to learn and understand more on how the theatre works. From there, I could understand the long process the actors and directors have to go through before the opening show happens.
My experience watching a live theatre performance on stage was a fascinating one, most especially since it was my first time. I attended a staged performance of “The History Boys” in a small theatre called “The Little Theatre of Alexandria” at 8:00 pm on Wednesday June 8, 2016 in Alexandria, Virginia. The overall production of the play was a resounding experience for me particularly the performance of the actors and the design of the scene made the play seem real.