Today we met to have a closing discussion about our work here in Puerto Rico. Dr. Taylor referenced the work Dorothy Heathcote when explaining how we might proceed in processing our learning, as the theatre practitioner/facilitator/Joker must negotiate the space between sound/silence, dark/light, and stillness/movement.
We worked in small groups to analyze the work according to seven themes:
1. Jokering/Facilitating 2. Theatre Arts in the Caribbean 3. Group Dynamics 4. Curriculum 5. The Tool Box 6. Applied Theatre and the Social Justice Agenda 7. Forum Theatre
The comments that the group shared critically focused on specific examples from our work on the trip and negotiated the learning that happened as a result. Notable among the comments were:
- The interdisciplinary nature of the the Caribbean theatre artists (teatreros) speaks to the idea that one does not have to excel in one area of the arts, but must instead work to integrate the work from the various fields.
- Empowerment and agency are the key outcomes of forum theatre and the "rehearsal for revolution" that we speak of does not mean that the spect-actor is prepared for a particular situation, but rather they are empowered in a variety of ways from several forum experiences.
- The Joker not only functions as a facilliator, but also as an emcee, questioner, and proacateur. He or she succeeds when they are brave enough to interpret the work.
At the close of our session, we acknowledged our program assistant, Rocio Lopez, who worked diligently along with the Program Director and his assistant, Teresa Fisher, to plan activities, compiled the course book, and help the students acclimate to our experience here in Puerto Rico. Having done the job before on the London program, I know how difficult it can be to juggle the demands of twenty or so adults, and Rocio did a wonderful job of keeping her calm, maintaining organization, and assisting the staff of our program. Thank you Rocio. Thank you, Teresa. And thank you, Dr. Taylor.
FYI - I will leave this blog up as a reference for the participants on the program as well as other teachers and theatre practitioners who may find the activities useful.
Questions, comments, and/or concerns should be addressed to me using the Contact link.
At last, we have arrived at performance day. Julian gave us final pointers to prepare us for presentation and we diligently worked to tighten up our plays for the evening performance.
Julian gave us tips for Jokering which included:
1. The joker must respect the audience and the actors
2. There are no fixed rules as there is no fixed audience.
3. The joker should introduce himself to the audience as he is the emcee. The contact with the audience should begin as soon as they are in their seats.
4. The joker should explain who the group of performers are and what the show is about—problems we face in our lives.
5. The opening should be as short as possible – do not explain the whole forum process as it will put them off.
6. Explain that the play poses questions and we are hoping the audience will provide the answers.
7. Some jokers make games with the audience – not necessary – but helpful to get them up on the stage from the start
8. The games the joker uses must not expose them as individuals—everyone must participate
9. During the performance, the joker must watch the audience to determine who is reacting to the play—these are the allies you will want to engage during the forum.
10. After the play, let the audience talk about what they saw – their conversations will become fodder for their interventions.
11. The joker must ask closed questions: Is this real? Have you experienced this? Do you know someone who has? The majority will be evident—the minority are the ones who have something interesting to offer—follow up with them so as to create a debate.
12. In the forum, if the play is going along and no one in the audience calls STOP, the joker can and then ask the audience if this is how things should be—is this what they want to happen—are there no other options for these characters.
13. The number of interventions is irrelevant. You want the audience to come back for more. If they are very excited, let them be. They’ll return for another performance. If they are no excited, don’t belabor the activity.
14. If the work becomes offensive in some way, the joker must take a stand and stop the audience member from upholding the oppression.
15. If the spect-actor wants to replace the oppressor, let them. Then ask the audience if they believe this new representation is reasonable.
16. In an intervention there will be ups and downs – you want to cut it at a high point so someone else will be encouraged to step in.
17. After, ask the audience if they feel the intervention changed things. Yes? Why? No? Why not? Come and make it better.
18. Beware of the magical answer. Don’t say it’s ridiculous—ask the audience is they think it’s feasible.
19. Who can come on stage? Anyone. If the audience has a problem with what is presented, they will express it.
At the performance, Dr. Rosa Luisa Marquez welcomed the audience and provided a brief history of UPR and her own involvement with Augusto Boal and the Theatre of the Oppressed. Dr. Philip Taylor continued this welcome, describing the collaboration between NYU's Program in Educational Theatre and Augusto Boal and spoke highly of our five years of programming in Puerto Rico, which he expects to continue for some time.
Julian then began his jokering of the event. He told a story about his father and understanding the place he holds in the hearts of many, but this is not the second coming of the holy trinity as his father was not a god. He explained that he believes strongly in the possibilities that the work can have for himself and participants, and established his excitement and gratitude for working both with NYU and UPR.
Here are two samples of the plays we created and some sample interventions. The first depicts oppression that exists in educational institutions regarding the necessity for new teachers to follow prescribed curricula even if they feel another approach would work better for their students:
Intervention #1
Intervention #2
Intervention #3
The following also depicts institutional oppression in the educational system, but specifically focuses on homophobia:
Interventions #4 and 5 (there had been 3 previous interventions, but I did not capture them):
Our day was to begin with a screening of a documentary chronicling Antonio Martorell's artist residency at the Fogue Museum at Harvard wherein he paid tribute to the classic practicing of copying the masters in order to learn to be an artist. To do so, he drew copies of the artwork, but (to add his own flair) he also integrated images of the security and janitorial staff so that his completed works reflected not just copies of these works, but rather holistically painted a picture of the museum as it is.
During the lunch break, Nelson (Rosa Luisa's assistant) escorted the PhD cohort on a cake hunt so we could celebrate the three birthdays that have been celebrated on our trip. The presentation of the cake involved singing in three languages (we have gone multicultural!) and smiles all around.
After our cake hunt, we were treated to Jeanne Dosse’s documentary on Janna Sanskriti, the Theatre of the Oppressed group from West Bengali India, 20,000 members strong. The documentary followed the development and presentation of a Forum Theatre play about domestic violence. This work was filmed in 2004 and was followed up with a shorter piece documenting Augusto Boal’s visit to Calcutta in 2006, participating in a march to unite the varying groups that constitute Janna Sanskriti – a march estimated to have included between 10 and 12,000 people. Both works highlighted the fact that the function of the facilitator and actors in working in theatre of the oppressed is to express solidarity with the participants as we are all oppressed—it is not a charitable endeavor.
Our fourth day of work with Julian Boal involved yet another series of warm up exercises, but was followed with specific rehearsal techniques that both strengthen the performance of the plays we have been rehearsing, and also prepare the actors for the multiple possibilities that may emerge when the spect-actors step into our plays.
Warm Up Activities:
1. The participants were arranged in groups of three with hands clasped to create a triangle. A group of “hunters” were kept out of these triads so that they might approach a group, identify one person who they were hunting, and then their objective was to try to tag their victim. The members of the triad worked together to keep the hunter away from the victim in any way they could.
2. Cat and Mouse: The group was broken up into pairs where one person stood in front of the other (both facing the same direction). Two people were “it”, but one was the cat and he or she was chasing the other who was the mouse. The only way a mouse could save itself, was to become a third person in one of the pairs coming up from behind and bumping the front person out. The cat then became the mouse that the person who was bumped from their position was the new cat (which they would signify with a loud hiss and scary claws they made with their hands and nails (think “Thriller”). If the cat catches the mouse, they switch roles.
Forum Theatre Rehearsal Techniques:
1. Stop and Think – As the play is going on, the facilitator calls out, “Stop” and each actor begins to recite a monologue of their character’s thoughts at that moment. The facilitator chooses when to resume the action and continues this stop and start throughout the piece. This allows the actors to work out their motivation so that when a spect-actor steps into their play, every actor is sure of what their roles are.
2. Hanover’s Variation – Very much like hot-seating. The spectators think of questions for the protagonist and raise their hands when they have one. When a lot of questions are apparent, the facilitator stops the action and the spectators take turns asking their questions. Like the previous activity, this helps the actors prepare for the improvisation that will come when a spect-actor steps into the play.
3. Analytical Rehearsal of Emotions – To develop subtext, the actors perform the play and the spectators give specific emotions which the actors must physically and verbally integrate into their character. This is not for amusement, but rather to heighten the emotional delivery of the actors.
4. Analytical Rehearsal of Style – Like the previous technique, the actors perform the scene, but this time the spectators call out a film genre (western, musical, romance, etc) which the actors must integrate into their delivery style. Also not for amusement (though it’s very funny), this is to get at strengthening characterization.
5. Roshomon – like the film by Akira Kurosowa, we have one story told from four different perspectives. Here, the protagonist sculpts the bodies of the other actors into images of how he or she feels about them. Are they allies? Are they enemies? Etc. Then, the antagonist does the same. Here, the idea is to clarify how the characters should interact with one another based on the perceptions they have of each other. If the view of the antagonist and protagonist is too similar, it shows there is not enough conflict in the play.
6. Animals – The spectators chose animals for each of the actors to incorporate into their physical and verbal performance of their character. The animals should be chosen based on some aspect of the desired representation.
7. Long Beach Telegram – the actors perform the play, but all dialogue is limited to one word responses. As the plays are usually improvised, this should help clarify and limit unnecessary dialogue.
8. I Don’t Believe You – As the play is performed, the facilitator or the spectators can call out, “I don’t believe you” to any actor in order to push the actor to find a more realistic way to deliver their words.
9. Keep Talking – As the play is performed, the facilitator or the spectators can call out, “Keep talking,” which will require that actor to continue speaking beyond their rehearsed dialogue in order to develop their arguments, which may help when a spect-actor steps into the play.
Activities to Prepare for Spect-Actors
1. Wrist Connection – The group is divided into pairs and each pair must face each other and connect their bodies at their wrists. The connection between the arms must not be broken whilst each tries to tap the other’s face (obviously the opposite intention is to prevent them from touching your face). The arms must be fully relaxed and no force should be exerted in your efforts. This serves as a metaphor for how we must treat the spect-actor. They are part of the scene and though they are working to change it, we must resist.without aggression.
2. Yes…but… - The group works in pairs, where one chooses the relationship (ex. You are my chauffer and you’ve been taking my car out a night). The partner responds, Yes, but (ex. I needed to get medicine), and the conversation continues, where on is the oppressor/aggressor and the other must continually accept their response and offer a reason for their stated actions/behaviors. This prepares for the spect-actor because the actors must accept the situation as the intervener presents it, and try to complicate matters without being dismissive. The goal is to provide opportunities, which is not easy.
Amusing Anecdote:
Augusto was working with a group of miners in Peru and there was no electricity in the own and he wondered if they only performed plays during the day due to the lack of electricity for lighting. A member of the community explained that they did perform at night and they had the miners wear their hard-hats with lights on top of them and that was their light source—and it was a great one too, because if the play was boring, the miners would look away and they would lose the light.
This morning we were the invited guest of former Governor Sila M. Calderon at her foundation headquarters, El Centro Para Puerto Rico. We were given a tour of the facility and she lectured us about the mission of the organization. There are four principle aims: to reduce poverty an inequality, to empower women, urban revitalization, and ethics & social responsibility. The center focuses on facilitating workshops to integrate social programs in the community and they are hoping to foster a relationship with NYU.
Julian Boal - Forum Theatre, Day Three
We began our performance workshop with a variety of warm up activities which elevate the energy and connectedness of the group as well as foster trust and strengthen relationships. Today's activities included:
1. Crossing the Circle - Everyone stands in a large circle and each participant takes the hand of one partner so the entire group is in pairs. The odd-person out stands in the center and looks for an opportunity to get out of the middle. This will happen because the other members of the group must make eye conact with someone across the circle and when agreed (silently), they will run to switch places with one another. The group is in pairs so it will be obvious which space is available (both partners cannot leave at the same time).
2. Pass the Clap - Still in a large circle, you pass a clap to someone across from you, who claps to show they have received the clap and then passes the clap off to someone else across from them. After this is mastered, several other sound and movement combinations are added (you have to see them to understand, but I will call them a swoosh, a soccer ball, and a belly throw). All four were going at one time, and it was wild, confusing, often incorrect but we were willing to adjust, and a lot of fun.
3. 2x3xBradford - Everyone stands facing a partner and they count to three, going back and forth - 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3. When this is mastered, the first person replaces the number one with a sound and movement combination and the counting resumes, though one has been permanently replaced. Combination-2-3-Combination-2-3-Combination-2-3 etc. When this is mastered, the second person replaces number two with another sound and movement combination and the counting resumes - combination #1 - combination#2 - 3 - combination #1 - combination#2 - 3 - combination #1 - combination#2 - 3. When this is mastered, the first person replaces the number three with a third sound and movement combination and the counting resumes, but all numbers are now replaces with three distinct sound and movement combination.
4. We Sing-You Act - the group was divided into two groups and each had to select a song that they would sing. One volunteer acted as conductor stopping the singing when the lyrics of the song indicated something visual. At the moment they stopped, the members of the other group had to each create an image of the last word or phrase that was sung. The facilitator then clapped to indicate that they should bring their image to life. One group chose the theme song to "The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire" and the other chose "Baby Got Back" (I couldn't make this up if I tried).
Julian then indicated that we should return to our forum theatre groups and devise the scripts for our plays. If you click the image above, a larger version of the picture will appear and you will see the diagram that he provided to indicate the structure of a forum theatre play.
1. The protagonist (oppressed) and the antagonist (oppressor) must be clearly identified and it is helpful if both have allies, though they are not necessary.
2. The scene development begins with the identification of what the protagonist wants. Julian said his father used to say that we work with oppressed characters, not depressed ones--they have to want something.
3. In the peripedia (twist), the oppressor exerts his or her power and stops the oppressed from achieving his or her goal, which leads to the Chinese Crisis (danger and possibilities) where the oppressed has options available to them, but for some reason (oppression, cop in the head, etc) they do not act in a beneficial way.
4. The protagonist is defeated.
In the forum, the spectators (spect-actors) would then volunteer to come into the drama at these moments of Chinese Crisis in order to change the outcome for the protagonist by offering a series of possibilities which may have a positive ending.
The process of devising was agony for some and pleasant for others--either way, our work will continue tomorrow.
Teatro Julia de Burgos - Our Theatre Space at UPR:
Physical Theatre Workshop with Javier Cardona
Javier worked with us on a series activities designed to make us more aware of the potential that we have within our physical form, separate from our intellectual capacity. He believes that early in our educational experiences we are led to believe that our intellect is our only learning medium when in fact we can learn through out bodies as well. In order to help actors and workshop groups to reconnect to their bodies, Javier starts with simple activities that mirror the first movements of toddlers. Before we began those movements, we connected to our breathing and heartbeat to initiate the mind-body connection. First, lay flat on the floor facing up concentrating only on our breath. Javier roamed the space adjusting the body alignment of some participants to help them relax. Thereafter, he asked us to slowly roll to the right and come to the fetal position. From there we rolled to face down, and followed it to a left facing fetal position, then back to neutral (facing up). This progression was slow, our eyes were closed, and the only talking was side coaching from Javier (reminding us to breath, concentrate on our heartbeat, and focus on the muscle groups necessary to move us from one position to the next).
Next, we walked in the space at varying speeds. After a while Javier added a series of additional moments (slowly rolling the upper bod down until you are flopped over like a rag doll, rolling back up and coming on the balls of your feet with your arms in the air, a grapevine [or Chris Vine :-)], a hop, a skip, and a sideways back-roll from a kneeling position) which were added individually to the space walk so we had ample opportunity to get the movements into our bodies. Thereafter, we were encouraged to walk in the space and integrate these movements as we saw fit.
The following activity involved a series of jumps (glorified hops may be more appropriate) which some found quite challenging, but we persevered nonetheless. We jumped in place four times, turned 180 degrees and jumped four more times, turned back 180 degrees and jumped four times, and then made one last jump 360 degrees around. Needless to say some were more graceful than others, but everyone was able to do this. After a number of opportunities to practice in one position, we then traveled through the space in parallel lines (now this would have made a great video, but there was no one outside the activity available to film).
Our practical activity involved a chair. Javier asked us individually to approach a chair in the center of the space, deliver our text which was "Yo me siento" (I sit or I feel), and make some physical connection with the chair (sitting, standing, laying--whatever you wanted). After everyone had the opportunity to show one connection, we were sent to work with our individual chair to plan a five image series of physical connections. When we were finished, Javier worked with each of us individually to offer some suggestions for improvement (mostly to make the transitions more fluid) and then he asked us to add a text to our movements. My text was, "I need to relax because I feel overwhelmed. I compose myself and let go. I reach for more but find there is less." We shared some of the combinations with a soundtrack of ocean waves and coqui (little Puerto Rican tree frogs that serenade us nightly) and then headed out for a lunch break.
Julian Boal - Forum Theatre Part One
Our work with Julian Boal began with a conversation about oppression, namely the dominant forms of oppression that appear in modern culture, which Julian identified as patriarchy, capitalism, and racism. Forum theatre is a theatre play that presents a clear scene of oppression and the audience is invited to replay the oppressive moments in the work and take the place of the oppressed and act out ways in which that character can overcome the oppressive situation. It used to be that the audience were not allowed to replace the oppressor, but Julian found that this could reveal certain truths about the audience which the other members of the community would hold them to (as if they were to say that the dramatized oppressor was not realistic).
Relative to my ongoing preoccupation with language disconnections between facilitator and participants, Julian indicated that some in the group will understand enough to get you through it and they will then talk with each other to clarify what you have said--and creating this dialogue is the whole point of the activity.
In our practical work, we again walked in the space at varying speeds which Julian described on a scale of 0 - 10, with 0 being a frozen position, 5 being a normal walking pace, and 10 being a run. In a variation, he instituted some language reversals to engage our concentration: if he said walk, we stopped; if he said stop, we walked; if he said name, we hopped; if he said hop, we said our names; if he said hands, we grabbed our knees; if he said knees, we put our hands up in the air.
We continued to walk, but the second series of activities asked us to create a still image (anything we wanted) whenever Julian clapped his hands. We created about five of these and he asked us to decide on our favorite which we then recreated and added a sound and then an interior monologue to accompany our image. We then found a partner and took turns sharing bits of the monologue (complete nonsense) and then morphed into a more realistic conversation (though the improvisation began from these awkward and usual images). We then took on a selected pose and worked with a new partner to create a new improvisation.
With yet another partner, one worked as a sculptor, and the other the clay as we created physical images of oppressed people. The sculptors then reviewed the work the others had done and then chose someone else's image to become an oppressor. We then improvised a scene with this new partner from these positions of oppressed and oppressor. When complete, Julian asked us to think of a word describing how we felt in that scene and then sent us walking in the space and asked us to share that word with everyone we encountered as we moved about the room. Once we had shared with almost everyone in the group, Julian divided the large group into two and asked each group to construct a physical image of one of the words we heard (our group chose "gross").
Yesterday, Julian asked us to help develop a new approach to a game we did involving placing names or titles on people's backs and having to identify who we were based on the way others responded to us. In the final part of the activity, Julian had us get in a line with the people with the most power in society at one end, and those with little or no power at the other end. He didn't like this linear construction and wanted advice on how to change this. We worked in two groups to figure this out, and I don't think either of us came up with a concrete answer (in fact, I couldn't really articulate what the other group came up with), but my group suggested putting the person (or people) with the most power in the center and creating a web using Colombian Hypnosis (See Boal's Games for Actors and Non-Actors). For instance, the legislator would control the superintendent who would control the principal would control the teacher who would control the student. These were not all titles used in the activity, but they could be and they illustrate a chain of control/power that exists in society (obviously there are many more).
Our last activity involved identifying the areas of oppression that we wanted to create our Forum Theatre plays about. We elected school oppression, female oppression, homosexual/gender identity oppression, and police oppression. Each group was sent out for an hour to create an aesthetic opening for their piece which would cleverly introduce the topic, focusing on sound (not particularly words, though they could be used), song, and movement. The work was incredibly well received and we each critiqued what we saw and offered suggestions for improvement. We will continue this work tomorrow and begin to construct the narrative for our work.
(I know, I know - you want video - but you'll just have to wait!)
Today was our first day on the UPR campus, working in Dr. Rosa Luisa Marquez' theatre space with Julian Boal, joker and Theare of the Oppressed practitioner from France.
Julian began by giving a brief history of his involvement with the Theatre of the Oppressed movement, first becoming active after a trip to West begal, India, observing the work of Jana Sanskriti--20,000 peasants utilizing forum theatre to enlighten their people ten years ago. Since then, he traveled extensively with his father (Augusto Boal), working in a variety of contexts all over the world. He spoke of the start of the theatre of the oppressed movement, following an event where theatre actors enticed oppressed people in Brazil to be willing to "spill their blood to free the land," a step the actors themselves were not willing to do, which forced them to rethink their approach to working in theatre. The theatre of the oppressed handed over the theatrical means of production to the population, presenting a situation and asking the audience to consider how they might resolve it. This theatrical experience became a rehearsal for revolution, though Julian prefers to call it a rehearsal for change or transformation as revolution is often hard to come by.
Day Eight
Our activities with Julian were as follows:
1. Names X 3 – The group stands in a large circle with one person in the middle. The “it” person must say someone in the group’s name three times fast. If they succeed, they take the place of that person in the circle and the named becomes “it.” If the named person interrupts them by saying their name before they’ve completed the third time, the “it” person must go on to someone else.
2. Paced Names – The group walks around the space. The facilitator calls out a direction (1 name, 1 second; 2 names, 2 seconds; 3 names, 3 seconds – etc – up to the number of total participants—for our group, 26 names, 26 seconds) and the participants have to scurry about to say their name to as many people as directed and in the time allotted.
3. Passeo, Cabbanna, or Tempestado – as we did with Rosa Luisa in Cayey, the group works in triads where two clasp hands together and make a roof as the cabbana and one person crouches down in the space as the passeo (the person who lives in the house). If the “it” person calls “passeo,” all the passeos have to run to another cabbanna and the “it” person must try to get in one and become a passeo. If they fail, they are it again. If the “it” person calls “cabbanna,” all the cabbanna’s must separate an make new connections over an available passeo (unless the it person gets there first and someone else becomes “it”). Tempestado requires everyone to switch places/roles.
4. Complete the Image – similar to what we did with Rosa in Cayey, but a traditional twist. The group is divided into partners and they shake hands and freeze. Thereafter, they take turns disconnecting form their partner and reconnect in a new way (frozen image) that will suggest something new to a spectator. This new connection may be literal or not – as the participants see fit. As soon as your partner connects with you, you disconnect and form something new.
5. Image Theatre Demonstration--Create a Mode of Transportation – The group was divided into three groups and given approximately ten minutes to make a physical representation using only their bodies and verbal sounds to create a mode of transportation. Our groups chose Titanic, a tricycle, and a helicopter. For presentation, the group shows a frozen image to the audience which they must interpret (as anything – the topic is inconsequential) by taking guesses as to what else the image could be. The group then chooses one of these suggestions and animates it (carrying the queen, sado-masochism in a tree house – whatever it is). When the participants are clear about this alternative performance, the group performs their original idea (Titanic, tricycle, or helicopter—as we chose—but it’s up to the group to decide what they want to do.
6. Identifying Identity through Social Interaction—Each participant is given a name (either a real person or a societal title – Obama, God [I strongly suggest you not use this :-) ], Teacher, Student, criminal, Brad Pitt, etc) and they name is taped to their back so they do not know who they are. The participants walk through the space and it is their job to respond to the people as they encounter them in some physical way to show them who they are. This is a silent activity, but clever cues can help them—for instance, you can act like a paparazzi with Brad Pitt or come up with someway to pantomime his rainbow of children that he has with Angelina Jolie). When the participants begin to guess who they are based on how people are acting toward them, they should start acting like the person they believe they are. When everyone believes they have discovered who they are, they arrange themselves in a line so that the people with the most power are at one end, and those who have the least power are at the other. There are no right or wrong answers—particularly as no one is entirely sure of what their identity really is. When everyone is in line, the identities are revealed and adjustments are made to the line as the participants see fit, working toward a more ideal society.
7. Pass the Sound and Movement Combination – Everyone stands in a circle and closes their eyes. One person is in the middle and they make a sound and movement combination. The participants in the circle must then try to replicate that sound and movement, even though they haven’t seen it. Then, they open their eyes and do it a second time to see how the others have interpreted it. Then the person in the middle shows them what it actually was.
8. Focus the Sound and Movement Combination of images to male and female stereotypes and ideals – This followed the same directions as the previous activity except that the two circles were formed – one inside the other with the women segregated from the men. The men took turns in the middle making stereotypical sounds and movements that women are known to do and then vice versa. The women had to recreated the stereotypes the men provided and vice versa.
9. Building Improvisation from Sound and Movement Combinations of images of male and female stereotypes and ideals – After the previous activity, every individual came up with their own combination showing a stereotype of gender (men, then women, then a male ideal, and a female ideal) [it was ok if they referenced something from the previous activity]. Everyone took their pose of a stereotypical male and then the group divided into subgroups with other images similar to their own. Each subgroup showed their images individually and the spectators suggested titles for the images. The individual then chose one of these titles and added it to their image (they made the pose and stated the title). The subgroups showed their female sterotypes and received a title for them from the spectators. Now each individual had two stereotypes and two titles. The facilitator then asked the individuals to present their stereotype using the title from the opposite gender.
You’re confused – no? My female image looked like I was cradling a baby and my title was “Why won’t my baby stop crying?” My male image was a guy with his weight shifted to one leg, leaning slightly back and grabbing his crotch, with the title, “This is my power.” When I switched the titles, the guy holding his crotch and asking “Why won’t my baby stop crying” was interesting, but holding the baby and stating “This is my power” was UNBELIEVABLY BRILLIANT.
Of this work, Julian pointed out that there cannot be clear cut outcomes from a given activity. Overall, we do this work to engage with the participants. In some way this might help everyone to be a stronger member of the community and participate more fully, but the work has different meaning to each individual.
Oppression is mediated by culture, laws, etc. It is not on a person-to-person level, but on a systemic level. As such, it is never about the boss, but about capitalism. It is not about a racist person, but about colonialism and history. Even if you don’t experience oppression, that does not mean it does not exist and does not mean that we shouldn’t maintain solidarity with those that do. We are all workers. We may pay rent. We may be minorities. We may have some aspect of ourselves that we do not control which sets us apart from the mainstream. In some way, we are all oppressed. In this way, we do not work in theatre of the oppressed to help others—we do it to help ourselves—and encourage others to do the same.
Interesting quotes from a variety of sources:
“Maybe Bush is oppressed, but I don’t care.”
“The master is enslaved by the mastership.”
“The only way a policeman or a boss can help to fight the oppression they participate in as part of an oppressive collective is to quit their job.”
Saturday was our first and only free day on the trip, and as such, a third of the group opted to take a day trip to el Yunque, the Puerto Rican rain forest.
El Yunque is situated about 40 minutes East of San Juan, so we rented a minivan and headed East. The drive was interesting as Movement teacher Jabvier Cardona acted as tour guide, navigating us through the narrow and winding roads along the north-east coast of the island. Once we arrived at the entrance to the park, it was another 40 minute drive up a steep, narrow, winding road to the entrance to our hike. En route, we stopped at the Coco Falls to admire a cascade of crystal water falling over a large sheet of black rock.
The hike to La Roca del Yunque (The Rock of El Yunque) was a one hour climb uphill, which proved to be tremendously arduous, but e collectively persevered and supported each other the entire way. Once at the top, we were treated to an incredible view of the entire northeaster corner of Puerto Rico, from San Juan to Fajardo, and Culebra, Vieques, and St. Thomas were viewable in the distance.
The flora combined enormous ferns, coconut, palm, and bamboo, along with other unidentifiable greenery. Most amusing was the Muerte y Vida (Death and Life), a small fern-like plant with animated leaves that close when you touch the plant (seemingly for protection from insects and other predators that would eat its precious leaves). This video shows the subtle action of this little miracle:
On the way back to San Juan, we made two additional stops: the first at a gorgeous beach on the north coast and the second at a small road-side fry stand, that served sweet plantains stuffed with meat, yucca stuffed with meat, green plantains stuffed with meat—all then deep fried—a heart attach waiting to happen, but so delicious, it seemed like an even trade off :-)
In the evening, my roommate and I took a walk across the lagoon bridge to Condado Beach, and while crossing the bridge we watched a fully-clothed man jump into the lagoon (probably 15 feet below) and swim to shore (because the water appeared inviting is one theory). We stopped at a small Mexican restaurant for a bite to eat and headed back to the hotel for much needed rest after an eventful day.
Creating Plays Collectively Using Boal’s Image Theatre with Maritza Perez and her Youth Ensemble, Jovenes de Noventa y Ocho
Friday morning we returned to the Teatro Yerbabruja for a workshop with UPR Professor Maritza Perez on creating theatre using Augusto Boal’s Image Theatre techniques. We began with a demonstration by the Jovenes de Noventa y Ocho (Maritza's youth ensemble) of two completed works. The first piece was an extrapolation of the poem “And Then They Came for Me” by Pastor Martin Niemöller where the performers began by using a series of images and short “scenes” which explored how we as a society are taught to participate in murder, oppression, and/or brutality (Freire refers to conscientization as a process by which we learn to be critical of the social structures and behaviors that we participate in—these scenes critically depicted how this can happen) and followed it with a series of statements/actions following a pattern: ---happened, and I didn’t say anything because I (don’t live in a ghetto) (have a job) (am Puerto Rican), and ended with, “And who was there when they came after me? Or after you.”
The second work the youth ensemble performed was titled, “The Legislators” which dramatized a day in the life of the Puerto Rican legislature, who are known to be the highest paid of any of the legislatures in the US. In the work, we saw that they participated in the legislative tasks, stopped to celebrate when they received a pay raise, legislated more, stopped to celebrate again when they received the reimbursement for travel expenses, legislated a last time, and celebrated more, though they were too drunk to continue.
In order to show us how the work had been created, we began a series of activities, led by Ms. Perez. The activities were as follows:
1. Participants walk in the space at leisurely pace, trying to fill the gaps that appear on the floor as people continuously move about. At the facilitator’s direction and in a count of eight, the participants slowly roll their body down toward the floor and continue until they are laying flat on their back. The facilitator hesitates and then counts to eight to bring everyone back to standing and the walking resumes. Thereafter the participants are directed to go back to the floor of their own volition, such that a spectator would not know who initiated the roll down or started to get back up. This was continued several times, varying the speed and height levels of the walk as appropriate/necessary. The facilitator asks participants to add physical warm ups to the walk that are initiated by a volunteer within the group and immediately copied by the others—again, so a spectator would not know who started the movement.
2. The group is divided into three groups (just by call of the facilitator) and each is told to immediately create a physical image of War. The groups is divided a second time and asked to immediately create an image of Global Warming. The facilitator indicates that this image will be the first in a series, so the group instantaneously creates a second, third, fourth and fifth image. The participants are asked to slowly morph from one image to the next, in a final presentation of the series they created. The group is divided a third time into three groups, given the theme of Theatre of the Oppressed and again creates a five image series. This time, between the creation of images four and five, a volunteer is asked to step out of the group, look at the series of images one-four and given the opportunity to adjust his/herself in the image in order to clarify the picture before proceeding to image five (which is spontaneously created by the group as before). The series is then presented like before. The facilitator asked about story and character evident in the presentation before proceeding to a final group division and image series on Homophobia. This time, the facilitator stopped after every image and asked one member from a given group to step out and make physical adjustments to the image to clarify the narrative as they understood it.
Maritza explained that this is the starting point for creating one of her image theatre pieces—the group selects a topic they want to make a play about, then they begin to physicalize the topic, adjusting it as they go from multiple perspectives so they get a large selection of ideas which may or may not be moments that appear in their final piece. Dr. Rosa Luisa Marquez was observing and she explained that Boal has provided us with the tools for Theatre of the Oppressed, but the individual practitioner determines how to use them.
In closing, Maritza broke the group in half and asked us each to construct an image theatre piece that summarized our workshop. Here is video of one of the presentations:
Trust
In the afternoon, we worked with Rosa Luisa Marquez on a series of trust exercises. They unfolded as follows:
1. Breathing – Dr. Marquez uses a breathing warm up that comes from yoga which I can’t describe in words, but the key is to focus the group’s energy and attention, so any breathing activity is a good way to begin.
2. Space Walk – As we’ve done on previous days, we walked around the space to begin our physical work. This activity begins to build energy within the group, vital to get everyone working together.
3. Pessoa, Cabbana, Tempestade – Two group members face each other and clasp their hands together to create a house (cabbana) wherein their bodies are the walls and they arms make the roof. A third person crouches in between them so they are the person (pessoa) in the house. The group creates as many of these three-person combinations as possible and one extra acts as the joker. If the joker calls “pessoa,” everyone who is inside a house must change places (like musical chairs) and the joker tries to take one of these positions too. Whomever is left out becomes the new joker. If the joker calls “cabbana,” everyone who is making a house must change places and form a new house over one of the abandoned people. Whomever is left over becomes the new joker. If the joker calls “tempestade,” (storm) everyone must change places and may fill whichever roll they choose (pessoa or cabanna), and the odd person left out becomes the new joker. This fun game relaxes the participants and focuses their attention on the happenings within the group.
4. Monkey in the Middle (not Boal’s title, but I don’t know the correct title) – Two participants face each other and the third stands between them. The member facing the front of the middle person places both hands on the middle person’s upper chest. The member facing the back of the middle person places both hands on the middle person’s upper back. The other people brace themselves so they can withstand the weight of the middle person and they slowly begin to pass the middle person back and forth like a pendulum. The middle person should keep their feet firmly planted on the ground and act like a stiff board swaying forward and back. The group negotiates silently their trust/comfort level and allows the middle person to go as far as they can.
5. Four people use only their clasped hands with index fingers pointing out to raise a fifth person from a chair (one person with extended index fingers supporting each knee, and the one is each armpit). Each time they do it twice, adding a brief concentration exercise involving stacking hands above the seated participant’s head before making the second attempt which proved to be more fluid and ‘easy’ each time.
6. The participants worked in two large groups to raise a group member up in the air using only their hands to evenly distribute the weights. The raised person could then be turned in any variety of ways (including vertical with their heads toward the ground) and the group adjusted as necessary to ensure that the person was continually supported.
In closing, Dr. Marquez pointed out (which Michael Rohd does as well in his text Hope Is Vital) that the purpose of doing Theatre of the Oppressed work is that you teach the activities to a population who will then go on and continue the work after you have finished working with them. The games and activities bond a community, and the hope is that they will get something from it if they continue with it.
**Much of Rosa Luisa Marquez’ interpretations of Boal’s work (and her own) are collected in her book Brincos y Saltos, which is also the title of the class she teaches at UPR (Dramatic Actvities).
After our overnight field trip, we were lucky to have the morning free to recuperate from our journeys; unfortunately, it was pouring rain so it did not allow us to take advantage of resort living. Instead, many of us slept late and met up in the early afternoon to have our first public transport experience south to the Rio Piedras section of San Juan.
Today we had a lecture on mask making and public performance by Deborah Hunt, and incredible artist and theatre maker in her own right. We previously saw Deborah’s work on Monday afternoon, but today we had the unique opportunity to view a slide show of many of her works over the last twenty years here in Puerto Rico. Here is a selection:
Thereafter, Deborah demonstrated the power of the masked performance as she took volunteers to try on the masks and see where it led them. This brief demonstration showed the power of yet another non-verbal narrative form that allowed the participant to free themselves from self-consciousness (work that Ms. Hunt thought works particularly well with adolescent children, abused women, and other marginalized or troubled groups because of the anonymity and protection they feel behind the mask) and often had very positive outcomes, particularly if they participated in the making of the masks—an activity which she strongly feels is also therapeutic in many ways.
After the demonstrations we each had the opportunity to select a mask and then worked in small groups to create our own presentations based upon the idea of giving a gift. Here are two examples:
We traveled back toward the hotel and stopped in at a random restaurant on Ponce de Leon Ave for dinner and here's what that looked like (try not to be jealous):
Bright and early we departed the UPR Cayey campus for our trip to Juana Diaz for the celebration of Three Kings Day, where a uniquely large and festive parade and craft fair is held annually (for over a hundred years). Community, school and religious groups dress in costumes reminiscent of nativity scenes (shepherds mostly; few kings) and parade down the central avenue before arriving at the high altar constructed outside the main cathedral where an outdoor Catholic mass is held following the procession. In the main plaza, a craft fair is held, selling various wood, leather, art, and jewelry crafts. As this holiday is a tremendous celebration in the Puerto Rican culture, it was fitting that we were able to see the grand pageantry that this little town had to offer.
Antonio Martorell’s Studio in Ponce
Antonio is a world-renowned artist, yet chooses to describe himself as a communicator principally because he believes that the idea of “the artist” is too lofty and his favorite compliment is to be told that he speaks directly to the people, bringing ideas, concepts, and culture normally deemed too high class down to the masses, explaining it in language that is accessible by the common folk.
Martorell’s work has not existed without controversy, having been investigated by the FBI at some point and having his home destroyed as they attempted to uncover some evidence that was not to be founded, but such is the life of the liberal artist in Latin America. These works here depict his reaction to the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. The helicopter painting above was painted on an old carpet from his New York apartment, as though from the floors of the “attacked”, we can see the reflection of the innocents who would be harmed as a result. The other images were from a series painted on mattresses, one indicating a woman looking out the widow, perhaps in awe of what happens around her; the other raises her dress revealing her sex—the only weapon she possesses. Susan (one of our program participants) was lucky enough to be sketched by the artist. Martorell said it was not enough to see the work that he produced—we must see the process of artistic creation to understand the fluidity with which one must work. The drawing was not just a reflection of what he saw seated before him, but also what emerged from the combination or charcoal, paper, and his artistic vision.
Much of today’s work was emblematic of the potential for artistic expression that exists as a regular part of the culture. As we move toward creating our forum theatre presentation next week, today’s experiences seem to provide a depiction of the raw material that we can rely on—that is, culture not only as an artistic influence, but also part of the material we can draw upon when creating our own presentation.
At the close of our session, we acknowledged our program assistant, Rocio Lopez, who worked diligently along with the Program Director and his assistant, Teresa Fisher, to plan activities, compiled the course book, and help the students acclimate to our experience here in Puerto Rico. Having done the job before on the London program, I know how difficult it can be to juggle the demands of twenty or so adults, and Rocio did a wonderful job of keeping her calm, maintaining organization, and assisting the staff of our program. Thank you Rocio. Thank you, Teresa. And thank you, Dr. Taylor.
