Fw: TIME FOR REVOLUTION? WILL THE PLAY GO ON?

[dkeith]

I hope Warren doesn't mind, but he has some interesting ideas. What do you
think?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Warren Linds" <r.jennings at sk.sympatico.ca>
To: "dkeith" <dkeith at SILK.NET>
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2002 9:16 AM
Subject: Re: TIME FOR REVOLUTION? WILL THE PLAY GO ON?


> Hi again. I sent information based on your request to a US based theatre
> and social change list (TASC-Association for theatre in higher
> education) I am on. Here are three responses I got from the last few
> days.
>
> A. Two ideas:
>
> 1.  Do a reconstruction of Much Ado with Hero being education and
> Claudio being the state -- apparent marriage that turns to complete
> betrayal.
> Perhaps B & B could be self-indulgent political people involved in all
> this who can't see the forest for the trees -- or something.
>
> 2.  Do a broad Boal Forum theatre with the protagonist being
> Education/Whatever and the oppressor being again the state.  I realize
> the teacher may not know of Boal, but he could contact David Diamond
> (headlines theatre in vancouver), or someone David recommends, for some
> assistance.
> Doug Paterson, University of Nebraska at Omaha
>
> B.I love this teacher's idea of doing a play that really deals with the
> issues they are protesting.
> I would recommend that the students work on their own, in small groups
> and/or all together to create a piece dealing with their responses to
> this dictatorship.
> The format can be collage...
> monologues, performance pieces, short scenes/plays, songs....
> maybe even pulling snatches here and there from existing relevant
> material in plays, songs & poetry.
> And/or...  take the Shakespeare play wherein the ruling
> monarch/antagonist most closely ressembles the politician they are
> critiquing and weave into the show, where relevant, the current
> dictator's actual words & actions, as well as the thoughts and feelings
> of the youth.
>
> Norma Bowles, Los Angelese
>
> C.Last year I put together a piece at the City Uiveristy, of New York in
> relation to the the new contract negotiations called "Hunter College
> 2010, or Giuliani's Nightmare".  It was comic piece (collectively
> written)about the horrific vision of what CUNY wouold be like in ten
> years if it kept going in the same direction and the contract as the
> city wanted it was instituted instead of the teacher's version.  It
> showed the impact on teacher's, students, facilities in a humorous and
> extremely exaggerated way.  (Only one last fragile book left in the
> library, which then falls apart.  The "Adjunct Auction" where bids keep
> going down until the adjunct is only getting
> 50 cents an hour for teaching fifty classes.)The play ended with the
> vision being Mayor Giuliani's nightmare.  When he wakes up from this
> horrific dream he decides immediately to sign the new CUNY teachers'
> contract and we ended with a rousing union song sing-along ("I'm going
> to go down and join the union").  It turned out that a prof from
> Philosophy who is now head of the college senate plays the banjo.  We
> used him to link the scenes.  It had students, (undergrad and grad)and
> faculty (full-time and adjuncts) involved.  The play was done at
> teach-ins and union meetings on campus.  Maybe a similar idea could work
> in this case.
>
> Or maybe you could create your own piece about the situation with the
> students.  Maybe look at some of Boal's work on the Theatre for the
> Oppressed for some Forum Theatre ideas.  Or you could use a protest
> model like the San Francisco Mime Troupe or The Bread and puppet Theatre
> (or look at the Art and Action Website for more ideas).  Or ask the
> students how they want to address the issue through theatre.  What kind
> of story would they like to tell and in what style?  So I'm suggesting,
> create your own theatrical piece that speaks to the issues you are
> confronting right now in a way that you and your students relate to.
> (Maybe the premise of the play is a world in which theatre and all
> related activities (singing, dancing etc) are banned.  Just some
> thoughts.  I think the students could learn a lot and feel like they
> were using theatre in an activist way for something they care about.
> Claudia Orenstein, Hunter College.