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« U.S. Community-Based Theater | Main | Performance and Social Change »
Cultural, Ethnic and Gender Issues in Dramatic Literature. Topic: Community-based Theatre
Dr. Ann Elizabeth Armstrong Miami University, Oxford Ohio (Spring 2003) Course description: This course will expose you to the critical issues and creative methods that currently make up the field of community-based theatre. In this class, we will focus on three specific methods for creating community-based performance: 1.) Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, 2.) Story telling, oral history, and documentary drama, 3.) Street theatre. Each of these methods will be employed in relationship to the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood community in Cincinnati and the history of Freedom Summer 1964 at Western College, Oxford, OH. By studying community-based art making, we will inevitably challenge many ideas that we hold about "community," "art," and "theatre." In many ways, we will think as interdisciplinary artists, embodying the perspectives of psychology, sociology, political science, education, and cultural studies as well as those of visual artists, actors, playwrights, and musicians. As we translate theories into our own practical projects, we will encounter several difficult questions such as: How do you define "community"? What is the relationship between art and ideology? How can theatre stimulate political and social change? What is the role of the artist in relationship to the community? How can marginalized groups use theatre to form a collective voice? How can performance serve to raise our consciousness? How can art empower communities and individuals, providing the tools of agency? Can theatre provide unique opportunities for expression in a world of mass media? Course Objectives: This course will expose you to the critical issues and creative methods that currently make up the field of community-based theatre. Community-based theatre is defined in many ways:
In this class, we will focus on three specific methods for creating community-based performance: 1.) Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed, 2.) Story telling, oral history, and documentary drama, 3.) Street theatre. Each of these methods will be employed in relationship to the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood community in Cincinnati and the history of Freedom Summer 1964 at Western College, Oxford, OH. By studying community-based art making, we will inevitably challenge many ideas that we hold about “community,” “art,” and “theatre.” In many ways, we will think as interdisciplinary artists, embodying the perspectives of psychology, sociology, political science, education, and cultural studies as well as those of visual artists, actors, playwrights, and musicians. As we translate theories into our own practical projects, we will encounter several difficult questions such as: How do you define “community”? What is the relationship between art and ideology? How can theatre stimulate political and social change? What is the role of the artist in relationship to the community? How can marginalized groups use theatre to form a collective voice? How can performance serve to raise our consciousness? How can art empower communities and individuals, providing the tools of agency? Can theatre provide unique opportunities for expression in a world of mass media? Textbooks: Boal, Augusto. Games for Actors and Non-Actors, 2nd edition Optional texts: Cohen-Cruz, Jan, ed. Radical Street Performance Course Grading: WTLJournal - 25% - 150 points Grade scale breakdown: 1000-940= A, 939-895 = A-, 894-865= B+, 864-835= B, 834-795=B-, 794-765=C+, 764-735=C, 734-695=C-, below 694= D, etc. C= this grade signifies competent work that meets minimum requirements. Course Assignments: Writing to Learn Journal 25%: You will create a journal in a three ring binder with tab dividers for several sections. Section #1: Your Writing to Learn Journal, Section #2: Your Group Project Research, Section #3: Artistic Ideas for Group Project, Section #4: Your class notes. Writing to Learn is an important part of this course and one that promises each participant a fuller measure of success and fulfillment in the course. In lieu of a mid-term and a final exam, this journal will allow you to digest the material and make connections between your own experiences and the readings. Your journal will be collected approximately 3 times throughout the semester. You should always be prepared to turn in your journal. Please see more specifics about this assignment on the accompanying handout. Class Participation 15%: Your participation is a very important in class. In addition to coming to class prepared with comments and questions on the readings, you will be expected to make short presentations, bring in newspaper clippings, do web research, and/or lead the class in games or exercises. Your energy, enthusiasm, willingness to collaborate, and your sense of community will be important factors in participating in the class. Presentation 10%: This will be a short 10-15 minute presentation that you and a partner provide on a community-based theatre artist or company. You may choose from the following: The Living Stage Company, Rhodessa Jones, Bill T. Jones, Bread and Puppet theatre, Robbie McCauley, Roadside Theatre Company, Community Performance, Inc., The Albany Park Theatre Project, Corner Stone Theatre Company, Los Angeles Poverty Department, Liz Lerman, Theatre for Development (and/or an international community-based theatre artist). Please provide me with your top three preferences by no later than January 16th. Group Project 20%: There will be four creative community projects, and you will be on one team with approximately 5 other classmates. In addition to working with each other collaboratively, you will also work with various students in Architecture classes who are working in similar areas (ARC 427/527, ARC 302/402, ARC 702). In each project, you will engage in research that will lead to conceiving/writing/planning a community-based performance project. Projects may use multiple methods of creating community art. Please see the project handout for further information. The projects are: 1.) Theatre of the Oppressed workshops with an existing group , 2.) Story circles with members of the Over-the-Rhine people’s movement, 3.) Archival research and oral history surrounding Freedom Summer 1964, 4.) Radical street theatre related to the history of OTR and the Cincinnati Boycott. Each project will have different objectives, but all of them will involve your participation in scheduled community activities outside of class time. This means that we will have to keep open lines of communication regarding scheduling, transportation, and other logistical issues. Several “work days” are built into the syllabus to accommodate this work. You should plan to have a weekly meeting with your group members beginning at the end of January. Final Paper 30%: Your final paper will be a reflection upon the work of the final group project. For this paper, you will borrow a concept or argument from articles we have read in class. Then, you will apply the concept(s) to the work of your own project. This essay will assist you in synthesizing the theory and practice of creating community-based art, and it will allow you to gain some perspective on the problems, successes, and dilemmas of the work of the semester. Undergraduates will write a 5-7 page paper utilizing at least 3 sources. Graduate students will write a 10-15 page paper using no fewer than 5 sources. Your WTL journal will play a key role in helping you focus and formulate this assignment. A handout on the assignment will follow at mid-semester. Your paper is due April 22nd. You will read some of your class mates papers for a Seminar discussion that will be held during the final exam period on Friday, May 2 9:45 am. Policies: Attendance: Your attendance in the class and your attendance in your group meetings/activities are critical. Any absence beyond 2 will lower your grade by a full letter grade unless there are exceptional circumstances. Please keep me informed if you are experiencing emergency circumstances (i.e. extreme illness, death in the family, etc.). If you are absent for a presentation or a group project event, you risk failing that assignment. Diversity Statement: In keeping with the “University Statement Asserting Respect for Human Diversity,” I offer the following as a foundation on which our work in this course will be built. As a group of diverse individuals with various backgrounds including those influenced by ethnicity, race, age, gender, physical abilities, religious and political beliefs, national origins, and sexual orientations, we will strive to learn from each other in an atmosphere of positive engagement and mutual respect. Bigotry, including racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, religious intolerance, and other forms of invidious prejudice will not go unchallenged. Incompletes: Except in extenuating circumstances, incompletes will not be granted in this course. Failures to complete assigned work or attendance problems do not constitute grounds for an incomplete. See the Miami University Student Handbook for these regulations. Academic Honesty: All work used in this class must be your own. Guidelines for academic honesty will be strictly enforced. See the Miami University Student Handbook, sections 501-503. Disability: If you have a disability of any kind that will affect your ability to work successfully in this course, please see me within the first two weeks of class. Your self-disclosure will enable me to make accommodations that will allow all students to participate fully and equitably. Proposed Course Schedule: Please note that the course schedule is subject to significant changes. Because we will be co-ordinating our work with community groups, this means our course meeting schedule and our group project meetings may change on a weekly basis. I will make every effort to notify you of schedule changes one week in advance. As you work on your group projects, please keep this consideration for your fellow group members. Week #1: Introduction
Week #2: Theatre of the Oppressed
Week #3: Theatre of the Oppressed
Week #4: Defining Communities
Week #5: Connecting to Place
Week #6 Story Circles
Week #7 Oral History
Week #8 Authenticity, Authority, and Ethics
Week #9: Ethics and Facilitation
Week #10: Spring Break Week #11: Technique and Art
Week #12: Community Building with Theatre
Week #13
Week #14
Week #15 Evaluation and Efficacy
Week #16 The Big Picture
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