Theatre and Performance Studies Commons^™

The Chuanyue (Traversing) Of Western Cultural Industry Theories In China, Hui Li, Naihai Zhai

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

This paper discusses the reception and transformation of western theories of Culture Industry in China during the Reform Era (1978-present). It proposes the term 穿越 (chuanyue, traverse), rather than communication or traveling theory, in order to probe into the complexity of the interaction, modification and transformation of western theories of Culture Industry and creative industries in China. The paper focuses on 1) issues of time lag or disjunction, in that it took more than half a century for the critique of Culture Industry to enter China; 2) divergent interpretations of Culture Industry with a strong critical edge of …

Cinematic Representation Of Ethnic Minorities In Prc And Postcolonialism, Xinyu Lu

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

This paper explores the notions of “Sinophone” and “Chinese-language cinema” under the rubrics of postcolonialism in Chinese film studies both in China and elsewhere around the world. The paper argues that these postcolonial-inspired notions misconstrue Chinese national identity building as imperialist/colonialist endeavours, and dichotomize Han and Chinese ethnic minorities. The paper offers its counterargument by examining cinematic practices of people’s cinema, minority nationality films and native-language films in the PRC.

“Western Marxism” In Mao’S China, Jun Zeng, Yichen Wang

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

China’s reception of “Western Marxism” is a critical part of the global history of Marxism. This paper examines three aspects of the reception of Western Marxism in literary and art criticism during the early years of Mao’s China (1949-65): the Western Marxist critique of surrealism, debates over Marx’s Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, and Sartrean existentialism and Western Marxism. The impacts of Western Marxist literary thought upon Chinese literary studies during the early years of the PRC are discussed, along with the extensive influx of Western Marxism that began in the reform era of post-Mao China (1978- ) …

Taking Student Artists And Audiences To The West Side: Exploring The Value Of Creative Adaptation In An Arts Context Through A Case Study Of “West Side Story”, Rebecca G. Bateson-Brown

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project focuses on the practical application and conceptual acceptance of deliberate creative adaptation within the purview of the performing arts and arts education. More specifically, it centers this conversation around stagings of the iconic musical West Side Story, as my role as a choreographer and arts educator is used to further explore, examine, and emphasize these topics through the documentation of my production planning process, choreographic creation, and ultimate execution of performance material for a local high school production of the show. As such, this project builds with greater specificity off of my previous investigations of “adaptation” as …

Lemonade Stand: An Original Theatre For Young Audiences Play For Neurodiverse Children, Kate Tayler

Honors Projects

Lemonade Stand is an original play a Theatre For Young Audiences-style play written with accessibility in mind for neurodiverse children, especially with ADHD and autism.

Late Postmodernism, Nicholas Brown

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Sedimented Forms: Coming Back To Autonomy, Marina Vishmidt

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

The Minimal Politics Of Autonomy, Myka Tucker-Abramson

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Immanuel Kant’S Manifesto For Dad Rock, Christian Thorne

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Genre’S Autonomy, Autonomy’S Genre, Tim Lanzendörfer

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Admiring Autonomy, Fabio Akcelrud Durão

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

When ‘Interplay Is The Content Of The Work’—A Response To Nicholas Brown’S Autonomy, Elise Archias

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Aesthetics Today, Fredric Jameson

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

No abstract provided.

Demechanizing Whiteness: Lessons From Theatre Of The Oppressed, Elizabeth J. Simpson

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

The Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) provides small group techniques to strategize and “rehearse” for collaborative liberation using popular education forms of systems analysis, bolstered by practices that counter implicit biases and habituated behaviors. This essay draws on interviews with jokers at CTO-Rio to advocate the need for continual engagement of demechanizing practices both within TO and in the lives of practitioners in order to demechanize the tenets of white supremacy that we are born into, despite our essential loving nature, with particular focus on counteracting a the habit of exploiting Black suffering for creative capital.

Don't Poke The Bear - A Project Report, Nicole Kontolefa, Grace Cannon

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

In 2018, four applied theatre practioners created a forum theatre play and workshop for a small Wyoming community. They wanted to engage participants in a dialogue about inclusion, racism and homophobia, in particular how it manifests in a state known as the "Equality State."

Forum theatre focuses on a protagonist experiencing oppression and how they may break their own bonds. In this report, two of the facilitators and creators reflect on how using forum theatre to follow the actions (or inaction) of a potential ally in a play about the exclusion of a gay woman of color was useful in …

Highlander Center: Hotlines And Cultural Bazaars, Je Naé Taylor

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Since the pandemic’s arrival,Highlander has created specially tailored on-line community-building spaces, programs, and re-granting opportunities for artists working at the intersection of cultural production and social change. This report documents two examples. The first is a “Cultural Workers Hotline” for BIPOC artists to share struggles, needs, and strategies for (a) coping with the impact of the pandemic on their livelihoods and (b) creating change-oriented artistic responses to the pandemic in their communities. Highlander staff have held multiple weekly virtual spaces for all of our programs, and each gathering has employed an artist to be a graphic note taker. Illustrations are …

Joker Exchange Online - Meeting The Risks And Opportunities Of The Covid-19 Crisis, Uri Yitzchak Noy Meir, Anne Larcher

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

In this article, we narrate and analyse patterns of engagement and harvest key learning from the Joker Exchange Online (JEO) events on 11th April and May 2nd. We map the impact of these online events to inform future events as an effective collective response/strategy to global challenges. At the same time, we are Theatre of the Oppressed practitioners who attended/presented in the JEO, and this informs our research and engaged interest in theatre and community work on the margins of theatre, activism, and social change. The article has three parts: the first part look at the “triggers” for the Joker …

Virtual Newspaper Theatre: Zoom As A Theatrical Playing Space, Nabra Nelson

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This article presents findings from a virtual Newspaper Theatre workshop that took place via Zoom on May 5, 2020 through Seattle Rep. Nelson reflects on the way that the constraints of the Zoom format can add meaning to Theatre of the Oppressed performance techniques in the era of quarantine and social distancing due to COVID-19. The article describes elements of the one-minute performances created during the one-and-a-half-hour workshop, and how the virtual sphere interacted with them and even enhanced them in meaningful ways. Nelson also describes “production” elements unique to Zoom, and the nature of the virtual “spect-actor.”

Application Of Applied Theatre Online With Children And Its Effects In The Indian Perspective During Covid Age, Chetna Mehrotra, Sooraj Amin, Roshan Karkera, Viral Champaneri

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Applied Theatre in general and Theatre of the Oppressed in particular have been put into practice for a long time now. Right since when Augusto Boal started Theatre of the Oppressed in the 1960's the tools have been utilized in many oppressive situations. Augusto focused on marginalized societies and their people. He believed that every individual who is not allowed to voice out their opinion, thoughts (political, social), views, and choices can be considered to be oppressed.

Today, in the year 2020 with the current crisis of the breakout of the communicable virus Covid 19 everyone is forced to stay …

Joker's Log 2020: An Odyssey, Julian Pimiento

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Join our passengers as we embark on a voyage of Theatre of the Oppressed discovery during the destabilization of 2020. Experience one Joker’s facilitating choices and how those decisions led to unexpected pedagogical destinations.

The Year In Review, 2019-2020, Rachel Desoto-Jackson, Reg Flowers

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

The work of the Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed organization and its members remains vital. As we reflect on the 2019-2020 organization cycle, we share with you the ways in which the PTO organization has continued to grow amidst these global shifts. We continue to embrace the challenges and opportunities of this moment and continue to support people whose work challenges oppressive systems by promoting critical thinking and social justice through liberatory theatre and popular education.

Theatre Of The Beat’S Restorative Justice Theatre Program: Highlights From The Baseline Evaluation, Karen Nelson, Keely Kavcic, Courtney Primeau, Kimberlee Walker

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This report highlights the findings from the evaluation of Theatre of the Beat’s (TOTB) Restorative Justice Theatre Program, which works with incarcerated persons at the Grand Valley Institution for Women (GVIW), a federal prison in Kitchener, Ontario. The project was conducted by the Research Shop, part of the Community Engaged Scholarship Institute (CESI) at the University of Guelph, in partnership with Theatre of the Beat (TOTB), a not-for-profit theatre company with a process rooted in restorative justice principles and a passion for promoting conversations around social justice.

Abbreviating Boal At The Louisiana Old State Capitol Museum: Using Image Theatre, Bonny Mcdonald, Joshua Hamzehee, Naomi P. Bennett, Montana Smith

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This article describes the execution of and reflections of a Theatre of the Oppressed workshop offered in 2017 to middle and high school groups visiting the Louisiana Old State Capitol Museum on half-day field trips. The workshops accompanied The Power of Children: Making a Difference exhibit, which features the stories and struggles of Ruby Bridges, Ryan White, and Anne Frank. Despite initial plans for an hour-long session, the workshop designed to connect youth participant experiences to the stories of the children featured in the exhibit was cut to only fifteen minutes. Our group of four facilitators discusses ways we modified …

Rehearsing For Transformation: Theatre Of The Oppressed, Pedagogy And Human Rights, Amir Al-Azraki

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

The report showcases a series of TO training workshops and projects in several contexts and settings. The aim of the report is to show how TO techniques and forms could contribute to the transformation of the learning environment and the social justice issues relevant to diverse communities across cultures (North America, Latin America, Middle East). It highlights and facilitates critical discourse and interchange through working with various participants (students, faculty, refugees, women, artists, prison staff etc.) and tackling significant issues such as trauma, violence, oppression, discrimination, gender inequality and homophobia. The report shows how TO could be used as a …

Forum Theatre On Post-Election Violence In Kenya, Mecca Burns, Caleb Seda, Bonface N. Beti

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

In August 2017, a Forum Theatre workshop focusing on the Prevention of Crime and Post-Election Violence, took place at Kerith Brook Secondary School, Nairobi, Kenya.

Domino, An Experience Of Theatre Of The Oppressed, Hamze Aleepayam

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

In this moving report the author recounts a series of TO workshops with immigrant mothers in Tehran as the women try to cope with arranged marriages, poverty, sexism, and child-rearing issues. The problems are passed from one generation to the next, but the intervention of TO creates change.

Citizenship On Stage: A Project Of The Popular Theatre School In Rio De Janeiro, Etp Staff

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Cidadania em Cena (Citizenship on Stage) was born of an initiative to create permanent Theater of the Oppressed workshops in popular pre-university school units in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Conducted by pairs of monitors formed by the School of Popular Theater, the goal of the year-long project was to create groups that use the theater as an instrument for reflection and intervention in their own reality.

Begin To Play: The Case For Play In Community Engagement In Higher Education, Naomi B. Roswell

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Although little is written about the role of play in community engagement in higher education, professors and administrators intuitively grasp its value in building trust and democratizing spaces, but use games thinly. This paper acknowledges the challenges of developing effective community engagement partnerships and demonstrates how and why games based in Theater of the Oppressed deepen and enhance initiatives to dissolve town / gown divisions and enable collaborative knowledge generation. Through an analysis of literature reviews and interviews, this paper makes a case for deliberately incorporating games from Theater of the Oppressed (TO) - to advance community engagement initiatives by …

A Continued Theatre Of The Oppressed, Tania S. Cañas Dr

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Abstract: A Continued Theatre of the Oppressed

There have been calls within the Theatre of the Oppressed community for a development of a poetics of the oppressor, a form of Theatre of the Oppressor; as an extension and reimagining of Theatre of the Oppressed (Chinyowa 2014, Harrison &Weinblatt 2011) Such calls centre on three main points: a less binary framing of oppressor-oppressed, developing allyship from the oppressor who is in a resourced position to make material structural changes, and finally as a call towards an increased dialogue through inclusion. Theatre of the Oppressed has a close relationship with social change, …

Global To Movement(S) And Its Discontents, Joschka Köck

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

In this article, I deal with the following questions: What qualifies it as a movement? What are its goals, potentials and resources as well as difficulties and contradictions? Why do we need a TO movement at all? I first give an auto-ethnographic account of how I experience moving in the global TO movement. My frustrations, expectations, ambitions become visible as well as the need to let go all the pressures connected to TO as a global movement. Then I deal with the organizational structure of the global TO movement using Resource Mobilization Theory (RMT), and I focus on failures of …