Taking Action: Teaching Participatory Community-based Theater – Sonja Kuftinec

Sonja Kuftinec

Sonja Kuftinec taught "Community Based Theater" at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities in Fall 2000, which she describes below.

Sonja Kuftinec: Community-Based Theater introduces students to the history, theory and practice of community-based theater. This contemporary grassroots movement begins with the belief that theater must directly engage its audience community, working with local participants to embody the community's history, interests and concerns. Critical analysis reflects on this practice and its social impact. We look at how the production process enables community and the ways that individuals negotiate their belonging to groups.

Teaching in the class models this theory of engagement and reflection. Students intern at local theaters, learning practical tactics of community-based performance, while using the classroom to critically reflect on their practice.

Theories of social formation help us to understand how "community" evolves.

Readings about the Workers Theater Movement, Free Southern Theater, El Teatro Campesino and Cornerstone Theater provided historical examples of community-based theater's impact. Students develop presentations on their work, write short journal entries and complete assignments and a final report.

Q: How does one get a community-based theater course included in the curriculum?

Kuftinec: I have taught versions of this class in various formats at Stanford University, California State University Los Angeles and the University of Minnesota. At Stanford, I asked to teach the course as a graduate student, with no compensation. I announced the course to Cherrie Morraga's Chicano/a Theater class the previous quarter, and advertised in a number of theater and activist locations on campus. Cal State had a Performance and Social Change course as part of its curriculum. I simply modified the Stanford course to fit the new setting. At University of Minnesota, I asked to teach a topics course on Performance and Social Change and Community-based Theater. The course has remained popular with advanced undergraduate and graduate students in theater, and I have continued to teach it yearly. The department has recently invited me to make the course a more permanent part of the curriculum.

Q: How does one structure a community-based theater course?

Kuftinec: I'm sure there are as many ways to structure such a course as there are definitions of "community-based theater." The course I most recently taught at the University of Minnesota met once a week over 15 semester weeks for three hours, with about 12-15 graduate and undergraduate students. As indicated in the course description, I structure the class as a combination of theory, practice and history. Students work as interns in local organizations and develop performance pieces as class assignments. I also include readings on history and theory, which the students discuss in small groups, on-line or via performance projects. Class time is often divided among large group discussions, presentations, guest visits and workshops.

Q: What are the goals of such a class?

Kuftinec: To my mind, the most essential goal of such a class is to introduce students to the notion of theater as a medium for social engagement and activism. I also introduce the students to aspects of critical pedagogy and collaborative and experiential learning.

Q: What materials and activities are appropriate for inclusion?

See syllabus and assignments.

What concerns do you have about the above or anything else related to the topic?

Kuftinec: That students have an opportunity to speak about their experience!

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Original CAN/API publication: September 2001