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October 8th
This day was a really hard day to be a part of because we didn't get any information until after the "game" happened. The topic that Joshua and Kelsey tackled was a hard one. Stereotypes are a tough reality for many of us to cope with on a day to day. The way that people understand each other is funny I think. We all use phrases to streamline our communication about our emotions because we are either afraid, confused, ignorant, or incapable of illustrating with words the electrical impulses in our brains. I think that image work bridges that gap and I would've liked to have seen some image work with this project actually. I felt pretty uncomfortable about the labels that were used and a bit offended by the formatting but that's okay. I'm fairly easily offended. I see a commercial with scantily clad women and I think to myself "Egahd! Those women are being objectified!" but I don't do anything. I wish there were something to be done about objectification of women or stereotypes. I know you could say oh never stop trying, there are things to be done, and yadadada but I feel as though the most important things is to continue talking about those things in an open way. I felt like everyone was trying to teach me a lesson instead of trying to have an open discussion so that was frustrating. I appreciated though the forum for discussion and there are many ways to open the floor to that discussion so I hate to say anything negative but I remember being very torn by the discussion and hoping for it to end to continue on with my current beliefs. Realizing those feelings I believe is one of the first steps to changing the way we think and that is what I am thankful for from this class experience.
week of nov 4- 8
This week was crazy but very fun. I had a fantastic time working with my group on our forum piece. When we began our work on our forum project I expected a lot more anxiety and a lot more research to be involved. Not that those elements weren't present but to a lesser extent than I would have thought. It came more organically from our images and our ambitions for the piece to come across as accessible to our audience. We also as a group decided to make a break from the ITT formatting that we are all so familiar with and love so much. We thought hey let's make a piece that works with the cops in the head idea and runs away with it. We found ourselves constrained by the formatting of realistic settings. That is not to say that the thoughts we have and the restrictions we place on ourselves are not "real world" situations. I think they are equally as realistic as a classroom setting but harder to talk about and convey because we all experience our internal thought process differently. I think one element that is consistent between how we experience our inner dialogue is that we often conjure images of influential people in our lives to fill the roles of our own self criticism. Whether our thoughts are learned criticisms from a mentor, self critical thoughts taking the form of those close to us , or indoctrinated feelings of guilt from media sources, churches, government , or any other influential organization that we may encounter many people report a symphony of voices in their heads. We wanted to speak to the ego in our piece, that voice in the head that in influenced by all the others the one that is closest to the self. We did this to hopefully illicit identification with the spectactor in a way that would provoke a desire to speak out against the voices being presented. We also wanted to come at the issue in a way that wouldn't be too heavy. When talking about sexual health it is very important to be aware of the audience and possible triggers so staying light and humorous was one of our goals as well. We move on next week to our final performance in class and interventions so I hope everything goes well! Fingers crossed and lines learned. :)
reading assignment one
The first chapter of Babbage's Augusto Boal was an intriguing historical read. I agree that the context for the creation of Theatre of the Oppressed. That a kind of theater came out of the extreme oppressive situation that Augusto Boal lived through out the 60's and 70's. The most important parts of this chapter along with the historical context is the pedogogy that came about from the books Boal wrote and his practice with his most influential mentors Paulo Freire and Jose Renato. These men are important in Boals story and therefore the development of TO specifically in the development of Forum theater from the ideas he practiced with Renato in the arena theater. The influence of Freire came in the form of theoretical adjustments. Freire believed in trusting learners and audiences as competent. So then the performance would not "teach" the right or wrong way to manipulate some reaction but it would invite them to participate and take ownership in the process. Boal had the "arsenal" of the theater of the oppressed at this point and moved on to explore concepts of "cops in the head" which was interested in invisible oppressions. These ideas intrigue me and I wonder what it would be like to apply these concepts to oppressions of rural Missouri. I have often thought of the many applications of Theater and after having read about the nature of TO I would love to run a workshop with people who have little to no exposure to traditional theatrical formating. The realism found in TO would appeal to publics that are influenced by a more conservative living situation. I have found that for example my family who all live in a small town react very strongly to reality television shows that speak to their own personal everyday lives. They are much less interested in theatrical productions or absurdism both of which put them at ill ease. On the other hand if a workshop were conducted and asked a part of that community to express their own conflicts and injusticies it may be much more influential than a documentary or some political speech that they might be exposed to. My favorite element of TO and the practice and application of it is the dynamic and fluid nature. It seems that because Boal had a "magpie like" nature of collecing different ideas and games as well as the openness to make changes to accomodate multiple and varying stages and situations is beautiful. It makes me want to participate. To bring my own unique experiences to the world of TO, and that is what strikes me as the most important. The fact that it is so darn inviting. If you want to make any kind of change in the world I really believe you must first achieve that element of attractiveness to the outside viewer. The first two chapters in "Games for Actors and Non-actors" are very informative. Chapter one gives a fleshed out example of a TO production piece as well as Boal's first hand experiences with creation of Theater of the Oppressed. I find these very valuable because as we start to practice theater of the oppressed it is necessary to have examples to draw from. Not just a script or a movie but writings from the creator of the frameworks. I have such an American fear of being wrong that I really appreciate the writings that Boal has published. They help me to rationalize the feelings I have about TO and help me to extrapolate on the in class activities and to imagine my own scenarios. The second chapter in Games was quite touching for me. I have a profound interest in the connection of conciousness and body. I love yoga and the practice of physical awareness that leads to freedom of movement and physical expression. Boals explanation of exorcises that he did with his performance troupe ilicits a sense of desire in me to work with a group of actors in a troupe and work closely with them outside of a classroom setting. I love our class and the dynamic is wonderful but I will miss it when it is over. I question how I will continue this work outside of a classroom setting. How do you find like minded actors outside of a collegiate setting. I guess continued involvement in theater productions will lead me to like minded people, at least I hope it will. My favorite quote from chapter two had to do with the impetus to change the world Boal said quite eloquently " we must know why a person is moved, what is the nature of this emotion, what its causes are - not limit ourselves simply to the how. We want to experience phenomena, but above all we want to know the laws which govern these phenomena. And that is the role of art - not only to show how the world is, but also why it is thus and how it can be transformed. I hope no one can be satisfied with the world as it is - we have to change it." This resonates will me to the deepest level and I hope to find more people who feel the same way and make some change in the world with art. The observations Boal makes about the "will", "counterwill" and the "dominant will"seem to align with the Stanislavskian system of acting. I loved studying stanislavski and the real emotions created with those sessions are extremely rewarding for me as an actor. In that sense I can see how the system devised by Boal can have such an impact with the actors. When people are allowed the freedom to feel what emotions they need to feel great revelations can come from it.
Thursday 9/12
Today was an extension of the work we did on Tuesday. I like Image theater but it seems to be a medium with which everyone wants to use words to communicate about. I would love to just come into a work shop and not be allowed to speak communicating solely with images. It may be something that I personally just need more of a warm up for it to be meaningful instead of confusing and uncomfortable. Another important lesson from today was the idea of agency for everyone. Barbara told us that we all have agency and the ability to move when ever we want to change the image as long as we replace ourselves within the image. This allowed for each of us to simultaneously see the image as well as participate in it without necessity for a cell phone or photo. I think that was very powerful for me and almost gave me a distaste for the documentation with the cell phone. "This wont make any sense out of context" I thought.
Barbara said to us in a part of discussion today that it can be frustrating when people to not agree with the things we assign importance to. I identify fully with those words, because I often feel a need to defend my ideas and thoughts as though they were under fire. Perhaps if I took a moment to realize that my feelings of frustration do not necessarily require a defense but need to be felt and recognized to allow for growth within myself, I might be a bit better off.
With that in mind I will touch briefly on the topic that we created images around today. "Voter ID laws", was actually not my favorite topic. Back to the thought that we find it frustrating when others do not value our same passions, I found it in myself to say okay, "this may be important to them" and that deserves respect because when it comes to be my turn to suggest a topic or lead a game I want everyone to be nice and try to get something out of the situation.
So we create an image, the "real image" and then move somehow into the "ideal image" Neither of which I think are labeled properly. I simply do not like the idea of a "real image" as opposed to what? A "fake image"? What the the hell is a fake image? I think I would prefer a term like true image or attainable image? Might that be useful? How much research has been done in this field pertaining to the terms and the ideas of voice in the words chosen. As a communication major I find myself wanting to relabel terms and ideas , but on the other hand I am intrigued by the choices that other people have made in their endeavors to properly label something so abstract as image theater.
I wonder what Image theater might be like with a def community? Or any other physically disabled participants.
One of our classmates talked about finding the "impetus to move" while creating or being a part of an image. That phrasing really spoke to me because I can relate it easily to life and agency. How do we find that impetus within ourselves? Does it take meditation, tools, support from others? Or maybe it is the same concept as resilience theory where each person has the ability to overcome and cope and learned coping skills allow for someone to survive in an environment seen as socially unacceptable by others in society. Maybe we find that "impetus" within the lessons we've already learned from whatever situation. So theater of the oppressed is more about tapping into the buried coping skills we already have as opposed to building a new set for some situation we perceive as oppressive.
Tuesday 9/3 : Babbage Ch 1
Theater of the oppressed is quickly becoming very close to my heart. The more I read about it the more I want to practice TO. I particularly love the applicability to other disciplines as well as the adaptability. It was mentioned in our reading that Augosto Boal continued adapting his work as he moved in and out of exile and from country to country. I was interested to read about all the different types of theater that have stemmed out of, and led up to TO work. Forum theater was hard to conceptualize from the reading but the children's theater element sounded promising. I work with children so I find that I'm often thinking of ways to adapt games and concepts for a child friendly environment.
I thought that the clarification of the definition of Oppression in class today was positive. I generally enjoy the open communication between everyone in the class. I find myself looking forward to classes and getting as much out of the class as I put into it, which is quite refreshing as an undergrad. Getting to participate actively in class is a great part of this work. While we then take a critical eye to the concepts being communicated as well as the feelings and emotions. I don't know of many other disciplines that are so totally in tune with the human form. Which is another thing that stimulates many many questions for me. I think that we often take for granted our bodies and the fact that even the way we move and hold ourselves is dictated by society. By all means this is not good or bad but definitely true and worth thinking about.
The whip and the carrot.
August 20th, 2013
Day 1 of theater of the oppressed was lovely in the most uncomfortable ways. First and foremost I learned the basic goal of Theater of the Oppressed. That goal being to illustrate oppression and biases using activities and performances that the audience is very often involved in. During class we did a couple of brain and body stimulating exercises. The class was asked to try and draw a circle with one hand and a cross with the other. This was difficult for me for one reason or another my brain seemed to only want to operate one hand and not the other. I wondered what this had to do with theater of the oppressed. Shouldn’t there be a lecture of some sort after this activity explaining the solid theoretical definition of “Oppression”? Cultural expectations swirled through my head as I imagined what might come next. This first class established a safe space and helped me to understand the cultural lens I am operating with. I’m excited to move forward with my study of theater of the oppressed and to explore my areas of interest. Further more I’m happy to be taking a class with a teacher who isn’t going to crack a “whip” at me or hold a proverbial “grade carrot” over my head. This new found freedom to learn via my own motivation to learn is very liberating.
Stimulated Questions
1. How in God’s name is this beautiful art only just come to be in 1986?
2.What aspects of theater of the oppressed reach out to me so strongly?
3. Why hasn't anyonne re-branded this theater practice? "Theater of the Oppressed" is a bit exclusionary of a title, clever, but exclusionary just the same.