Theatre for a change?

Heather says: Paris is in shock. Paris is rioting. A “state-of-emergency” has been declared. The BBC says French authorities can “…control media, film and theatre performances” to combat the riots. Why?

-http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4419770.stm

Dear Theatre for a Change students,

I haven't heard from many of you regarding meeting about your essays, so assume you are all on track. However, if you would like to speak to me in person, I will be in Roastars from 9-11am Tuesday 8 November. Otherwise, please do email me with any questions.

Best wishes,

Louise

If any of you are interesting in pursuing Verbatim Theatre as an essay topic, here is a useful resource:

Derek Paget coined the phrase in his article called (and you would think I might have spotted this) "What is Verbatim Theatre?", published in NTQ Vol III, No 12, Nov 1987.

THEATRE FOR A CHANGE
Essay questions


1. Discuss two of the following concepts and show how they have been important to theatre projects that seek to bring about social change: action; aesthetics; memory; participation; place; play; subjectivity; testimony; witness.

2. Write two separate first person accounts of a performance-based development project studied on this course. You may choose to write from the perspective of a participant, an audience member, a facilitator, a funder, a non-participant. Your accounts should reveal the contradictions and questions that the project raised and encountered.

3(a). Describe the criteria that practitioners have identified as being important to the creation of effective social development theatre projects.
3(b). Assess the factors that you identify as limiting the potential effectiveness of their work

4. Describe the way in which two theatre projects have responded to a particular crisis or problem and analyse the effectiveness of their intervention.

5. Theatre for a change?

6. ‘The past is present in places in a variety of ways’ [Doreen Massey]. Discuss this statement in respect of two performance-based development projects studied on this course.


The total word count of this assignment is 2,000 words, to be submitted in Week 8, at the beginning of class on Thursday 17 November 2005.


Select bibliography:

Adams, D. and Goldberg, A. Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development. New York, The Rockefeller Foundation, 2001

Adams, D. and Goldberg, A., Community, Culture and Globalisation. New York, The Rockefeller Foundation, 2002

Adams, D. and Goldberg, A. Culture, Creativity and Globalisation New York: The Rockefeller Foundation, 2003

Auslander, Philip, From Acting to Performance. London & New York: Routledge 1997

Babble, Frances, ed., Working without Boal: Digressions and Developments in the Theatre of the Oppressed: special issue of Contemporary Theatre Review, Vol.3 Part 1: Harwood Academic Publishers, International Publishers Distributor (Switzerland, Singapore, Japan), 1995

Barker, Howard, Arguments for a theatre. London: Calder, 1989

Benjamin. Walter, Understanding Brecht. London: Verso, 1983

Bernadi, C., Dragone, M. and Schinina, G. (eds) War Theatres and Actions for Peace: Community-Based Dramaturgy and the Conflict Scene / Teatri de Guerra e azioni di Pace: la Dramaturgia Communitaria e la Scena del Conflitto Milan, EuresisEdizioni

Blau, Herbert, To all appearances: ideology and performance. London: Routledge, 1992

Boal, Augusto, Theatre of the Oppressed. London: Pluto, 1979

Boal, Augusto, Games for Actors and Non-actors. London & New York, Routledge 1992

Boeren, Ad and Kees Escamp, (eds.), The Empowerment of Culture: Development Communication and Popular Media. The Hague: Centre for the Study of Education in Developing Countries, CESO Paperback No. 17, 1992

Brecht, Bertolt, Theatre Poems and Songs. London: Methuen, 1978

Brecht, Bertolt, Brecht on Theatre: Development of an Aesthetic, ed. John Willett. London: Methuen 1978

British Council, the, The Arts and Development. London: British Council Publications, 1995

Carlson, Marvin, Performance: a critical introduction. London & New Yor: Routledge 1996

Carlson, Marvin, Places of Performance: the Semiotics of Theatre Architecture. Ithaca: Cornell University Press 1989

Cohen Cruz, Jan. Playing Boal. London & New York. Routledge, 1994

Cohen-Cruz, Jan (ed) Radical Street Performance: An international Anthology. London: Routledge, 1991

Delgado, M and Svich, C. Theatre in Crisis? Performance Manifestos for a New Century. Manchester: MUP 2002

Diamond, Elin, ed., Performance and Cultural Politics. London & New York: Routledge, 1996

Dokter, D. (ed) Arts Therapies, refugees and migrants: reaching across border. London: Jessica Kingsley

Epskamp, Kees P., Theatre in search of social change: the relative significance of different theatrical approaches. The Hague: Centre for the Study of Education in Developing Countries [CESO Paperback no.7.] 1989

Epskamp, Kees P., Learning by performing arts: from indigenous to endogenous cultural development. The Hague: Centre for the Study of Education in Developing Countries [CESO Paperback no.16.] 1992

Epskamp, Kees P., On Printed Matter and Beyond: Media, Orality and Literacy. The Hague: Centre for the Study of Education in Developing Countries [CESO Paperback no.23.] 1995

Kershaw, Baz, The Politics of Performance: Radical Theatre as Cultural Intervention. London & New York: Routledge 1992

Kershaw, Baz, The Radical in Performance: between Brecht and Baudrillard, London & New York: Routledge 1999

Lefebvre, Henri, trans. Nicholson-Smith, Donald, The Production of Space. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991

Phelan, Peggy, Unmarked: The Politics of Performance. London & New York: Routledge, 1993

Phelan, Peggy & Lane, Jill, eds. The Ends of Performance. New York & London: New York University Press, 1998

Pile, Steve & Thrift, Nigel, Mapping the Subject: Geographies of Cultural Transformation. London: Routledge, 1995

Read, Alan, Theatre and Everyday Life. London: Routledge, 1993

Reinelt, Janelle, and Joseph Roach, eds. Critical Theory and Performance. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992

Schechner, Richard, Performance Theory. London: Routledge, 1988

Taylor. Applied Theatre: Creating Transformative Encounters in the Community London: Greenwood Press, 2003

Thompson, James Applied Theatre: Bewilderment And Beyond London: Peter Lang, 2003

Hey everyone, i just wanted to let you know that i saw a play called 'Bashment' last night, i will quote the programme, "JJ loves everything about black culture, only trouble is he is white and gay. He knows all the lyrics to his beloved dance-hall reggae are homophobic, but surely the music itself is innocent? When he takes his bohemiean boyfriend, Orlando to a dj-ing competition in a black club, Orlando gets beaten up..... A brave play.... Provocative and very timely"

It might not be to everyones taste as you know i am easily pleased, i did have a few problems with it but overall i think it has been one of the most thought provoking plays i have seen for a while. The opnly problem is that, tonight and saturday are the last performances but if you can go tickets are only 4 pounds, it's on at the Stratford Theater Royal and the ticket office is 08001831188.
See you next week Emma

Hi everyone

I am emailing to give you guys a weblink which is http://www.cardboardcitizens.org.uk

This is an organisation in london which works with homeless people to create theatre, music, and performing arts, got the info from a homeless man I met on monday who had worked with them!

E7Arts - Making Art Work in the Community

E7Arts is a membership organisation open to anyone living or working in the London Borough of Newham and its surrounding areas, over the age of 18. Professional artists of all art forms, those with a social interest in the arts, or community members who are keen to see more art happening in their area. E7Arts aims to encourage the arts to flourish by developing a forum for artists, a creative network, facilities, premises, resources and ongoing arts programmes within Newham.

http://www.e7arts.org/

Sonja Linden, the artistic director of Ice and Fire TC and the writer of Crocodile Seeking Refuge has confirmed that she is coming in to talk with us about the performance from 10-11 this coming Thursday 20 October.

We will defer the readings about 'The ontology of performance' - Phelan, Schneider and Kershaw - until the following week, Thursday 27 October. To prepare for the seminar, there are three tasks:

1. Please consider the following questions about the performance, and make notes. We will be sharing and debating these thoughts in class.

- What was the promise of this performance and how does it relate to Theatre for a Change?
- What representational strategies did it employ? Consider the way in which language was used, the scenography, the relationship between actor and character.
- What sort of relationship was created between the performance and us as audience members? How was this achieved?
- How might the venue of performance have impacted on the reception of the performance?

2. Please visit the Ice and Fire website and familiarise yourselves with the company - please pay particular attention to the background information about Crocodile Seeking Refuge.
http://www.iceandfire.co.uk/

3. Please think of a question to ask Sonja about the performance. This might relate to the process by which it came together, why Ice and Fire use theatre to address the issues of asylum and exile, her role as writer, or perhaps something you were curious about when watching the show.

If you have any questions about this, please email me. See you next week!

Regarding Crocodile Seeking Refuge, Wikipedia (of which I am a huge fan) has an article on Sudan and one about the Darfur conflict. These may come in useful.

Also, I am very fond of Harper's Magazine, and here are a few of the articles they've put on their website. (Some of their best are not online, unfortunately.) (I'm not claiming that Harper's usually offers a neutral point of view in its articles. Actually, I'm openly claiming the exact opposite.)

Somehow related to what we're doing, in that they explain the state of mind of a military invasion:

• AWOL in America, the invading American army, from a few deserters' point of view.
• Baghdad Year Zero, a fascinating article by Naomi Klein, the author of No Logo, about possible early plans for what the Bush administration might have though to do after a successful invasion.

Articles that are less related to the past class, but still mention things worthy (I think) of "a change". You may disagree.

• We Are Not Immune, about how governments put health issues low on their priorities list.
• Whitewash as Public Service, a reading of the 9/11 report, that replaces appropriate journalistic neutrality with maybe excessive passion. Still a good read.

I know that there is nothing here about the "Theatre for" part of "Theatre for a Change." If anyone knows links to interesting documents in that vein (as Heather did), please share.

See you all on Thursday.

Hi everyone - see the below about Warhol's Empire - further to Emmanuel's comments in our seminar yesterday you can go and see it for yourselves! I certainly will - sounds spectacular.

Louise

WARHOL’S EMPIRE FILM
IN SPECTACULAR SOUTH BANK PREMIÈRE

'I prefer making films to making paintings because it is easier' ANDY WARHOL

Described as his ‘first Superstar’, Andy Warhol’s epic film Empire (1964) will be shown publicly in its entirety for the first time in Britain this October, as part of the Hayward Gallery’s ambitious new exhibition Universal Experience: Art, Life and the Tourist’s Eye.

The full eight hours will be projected onto the exterior riverfront façade of the National Theatre on the four Friday nights in October, beginning at 5pm as the sun begins to set and ending at 1am.

Filmed from 8.06pm to 2.42am on 25-26 July 1964, Warhol’s Empire consists of one stationary shot of the Empire State Building taken from the 44th floor of the Time-Life Building. A picture postcard image transferred to film, it captures an era in which its subject was the tallest building in the world and the first to be floodlit, its flashy appearance dominating the New York skyline.

The film consists of several one-hundred-foot rolls of film, each separated from the next by a flash of light, that show a city as it settles into the night. The distinctive architecture of Denys Lasdun’s National Theatre offers a dramatic setting for the screening, with the many stepped terraces forming a kind of auditorium from which the Empire State Building will appear superimposed on the London skyline.

Clare Carolin, Exhibition Curator for Universal Experience, says: ‘We’re excited to be showing Warhol’s film to a British audience in such a spectacular setting and pleased that so many people will witness these free screenings, even if they don’t necessarily know they are seeing a Warhol film. Empire raises many issues relating to time and space that are also explored in the Universal Experience exhibition, and I hope visitors will come away feeling that they have been part of a unique tourist experience’.

Universal Experience: Art, Life and the Tourist’s Eye, is the Hayward Gallery’s latest exhibition, exploring our experiences of travel and tourism through the eyes of 50 major contemporary artists, including Doug Aitken, Jeff Koons and Tacita Dean. Opening on 6 October 2005, it brings together large-scale installations, sculptures and more intimate photographs, video footage, and films to address issues ranging from spectacle and authenticity to history, souvenirs, and anthropology. It has been organised by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and curated by Francesco Bonami, who also curated the International Art Exhibition at the 2003 Venice Biennale.

These unique screenings of Warhol’s Empire have been made possible by The Elephant Trust.

Screening of Andy Warhol’s Empire on the National Theatre flytower, facing the river

Friday 7 October, 5pm – 1am PREMIÈRE
Friday 14 October, 5pm – 1am
Friday 21 October, 5pm – 1am
Friday 28 October, 5pm – 1am

Opening on 6 October 2005, Universal Experience: Art, Life and the Tourist’s Eye is an ambitious new exhibition at the Hayward Gallery exploring the phenomenon of international visual artists whose work responds to their experience of travelling and living within various cultures. For further information visit www.hayward.org.uk

Dear Theatre for a Change Students,

Thanks for all your contributions in last week's seminar. This is a quick email with some procedural info in advance of this Thursday's seminar.

- After the rush at the end of last week's session, I propose that we finish up 5 mins early from now on to give those who need to dash off time to get to their next class. Please make sure you get to the session on time.

- Having read the course outline you may have spotted that 4 of the readings are missing from your packs - these will be disseminated on Thursday.

- On the list of tasks for this week there is a piece of internet research listed (also posted on the weblog) - this will be deferred to a forthcoming session. If you have made a start, this research will be useful both for context and for the task proper later on.

- A reminder about this Thursday 6 October's 8pm performance of Crocodile Seeking Refuge at the Lyric Hammersmith. Please purchase your tickets individually for this by calling 08700 500511 - they are £6 each (NUS). The Lyric have not been able to hold the group reservation without prior payment in full - make sure you call asap to get your ticket. If you have another commitment, you can book a ticket for any performance this week (the show finishes on Saturday 8). Please let me know what your plans are.

If you have any questions, please email me.

See you on Thursday,

Louise

Heather Pennington
2.10.05

About Peter Sellars

Looking ahead in the readings, I see we’ve got one by Peter Sellars. No, not Peter Sellers, of Pink Panther fame, but Peter Sellars, born in 1957, a Harvard graduate, who became director of the American National Theatre at the age of 26, is currently a professor at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and came to speak at my home University, the University of Southern California (USC) last year.
His attitude is viewed as radical within the theatre: he creates dynamic works by completely re-visioning classics or making his shows forums for discussion, combining politics and art. He said he cares not if people like his work, only if it changes things.
He had some very interesting things to say about theatre when he spoke to us: a bunch of young actors gathered in a small room to hear this amazing and accomplished director speak. He entered with a quiet calm and presence, which facilitated his hour long talk. I transcribed some of his speech:

His theme: There is an [American] space of openness in theatre, which enables change.

Sellars started by saying, “Each generation has its own theatre. Within this, the question is, ‘what can you say?’ Do not wait. You see the world clearly now. The present is the space.” In the case of theatre, he said, the present is the space to create in and the space to create for, not the future nor the past. The present has the ability to affect change.

“Theatre has the ability to create the world we want to live in, and allows us to live in it. We can define struggle and pleasure on stage to incite change. But, we must also make change beautiful, irresistible, shocking, and amazing in order to touch people.” If change is not made interesting, if, since it is being presented as theatre, it will not hold the attention of the audience, nor will it look appealing enough to gather a following.

“The artist has responsibility for doing things well, which is missing in other spheres.” Here Sellars hinted at the state of American politics, but I won’t go into that.

“As artists, we must see what isn’t there yet and put it there. Being an artist is pure activism – what is missing in the picture is what you are here to put there, so enjoy life, even the struggles and pain. Search for that zone of pain, for it is there that learning occurs, when we are not comfortable, when we must define ourselves.”

“The open place is a space of not knowing, a space of learning. You must bring people to this space of not knowing, this open space.” Bringing people into the open space of not knowing, activism begins, for change is also not knowing. Change is heading in a direction unknown from a place known.

Sellars speculated on where we are, and the way that theatre can and is influencing the structure of feelings of this era. Ha said, “It is spectacular where we are now. There is no going back. Women are the theme of the 21st century, and the change has started. The reversal has started. Reversal is integral to re-visioning, and we have started the change to women. Theatre is creating the world we want.” Sellars earlier directed actress Fiona Shaw of Harry Potter fame in the title role of Richard III, the first major production with a woman as the lead. He touched on the issue of the changing opinion of women, but also of the changing opinion of theatre as an instrument of change, not only a mirror of change already instigated.

“The only thing that matters is courage,” he said. “It can’t be bought or sold. Just stand on stage.” The artist must have the courage to be the one fighting for and giving agency to the audience.

Artists must also hold themselves to a standard. “Live the life you want to live. Never compromise.”

Sellars pointed out that the co-dependence of self. “The self is everyone” he commented. This interdependent sense of self is the reason, Sellars said, that everything is made of everything it is not, and the reason that we should give those opposing us the very best, the most beautiful things that we have. He was not talking in material terms, of course, but in terms of strength and vision.

He finished on a note to us actors. “Look into people’s hearts,” he told us.


*Read an transcription of a speech about Austrailia, America, and working class theatre.
In this talk, he comments on the Los Angeles Poverty Department, a theatre company taking the initials of the fameous LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. “The Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD) was founded seventeen years ago in acknowledgement of the inherently social process of theater. The organization has historically used theater with other means of public education, organizing, partnering and activism to call attention to the plight of the poor.” (http://www.nathancummings.org/AG_details_2003/000616.html)
Sellars says, “There's one important theatre company called 'Los Angeles Poverty Department' - LAPD and it's a theatre of and by homeless people on skid row in Los Angeles. Those of you who have visited skid row in Los Angeles know it's not a very pretty sight, mostly only visited because you got lost downtown where every two blocks turns into a fresh nightmare.”

*Read about this company, look out this more detailed report about one of their shows:

In our seminar on Thursday 29 September, we discussed the following research task.

Please spend no more than an hour surfing the three sites you have been allocated (20 mins per site, all links listed below).

Questions you might want to consider are:

- What sort of organisation does this website represent?
- Do you find it easy to navigate?
- Who do you think the website is intended for?
- How easy is it to find information about the arts and theatre?
- How are the arts and theatre represented on the site - what kind of events are highlighted, and what kind of language and visuals are used to describe them?

Happy searching!

_____________________________

Arts Council England http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/

GLA http://www.london.gov.uk/

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_control/documents/homepage/odpm_home_page.hcsp

London Borough of Tower Hamlets http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/

Neighbourhood Renewal http://www.neighbourhood.gov.uk/

UNESCO http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=15006&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

NESTA http://www.nesta.org.uk/

British Council http://www.britishcouncil.org/

Wellcome Trust http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/