Arts and Community Engagement 2018

Upset! Gave freedom for the youth to be able to gain insight into historical figures that the may not have known too much about. As well as created a dialog that highlighted on the youths view of the past and their understanding of it. “Aesthetic Eclecticism” was introduced in the Joker system, which allowed for   pastiche of ideas to be presented and dissected. Encouraging audience participation is a clear way of starting a coherent conversation where all sides are valued and it is not one side telling the other how it is. Showing the process is fundamental in showing how one COMES to understand, not through statements but more and more questions that we might not have the answers to yet, but this is the beauty of the process. The aim in this was to keep the dialogue going and keep discovering. The students were asked to explore identities and cultures that were different from their own and see what they find. This is particularly interesting when we are asked to play th...

Methodlogy, Reflections, Wonderings: I liked her methodology, I've always appreciated the inclusitivioty of theatre of the Oppressed; due to its direct to audience contact methodology of the play- ensuring most people embrace and understand and have a stronger take away of the theaters message. This is what she did, she had the students get involved and chose real life figures they were inspired by, and re-enacted real life scenes that happened to those figures. The scenes were intersected with audience interactions and opinions on how to change the scene intersecting the play to reflect the audiences preferences for how the situation could or opinion on how the scene is played out. I think it's a fantastic approach for the students to block in a play through this method, as it reveals how they feel about certain events and evidently the social/ racial scene they are faced with- but how things were back then and potentially how they could bring about change in the futu...

Thoughts on approach and questions/concerns -“Creating UPSET! in the mode of the Joker System provided the means to incorporate the teens curiosity, dismay, outrage, confusion, fear and inspiration in relation to the subject matter of the play within the play” (page 6). I love that she wants to do more than create a play about racism, violence and the resistance in the US. She wants to address the youth’s curiosity by involving youth in the conversation. -This is an amazing way to bring about arts education! The students fuel the educators writing on historical events as they bring upon questions. This isnt your typical, ‘teacher lectures students and students listen’ approach. The students ask questions in a dialogue with the teacher as the teacher writes a play based on historical events and the youth’s input. -The students were encouraged to ask their families about their experiences with the Rodney King riots which is a great way to understand different perspectives and b...

"Were community and human relations prioritized over professional training? Yes" (18). This was one of the most profound things that I took of this piece. I really appreciate that although there was end goal that they were striving for, it was more about the process of making the play. It was more important for the teens in the community to be making the decisions and learning about the histories of minorities than it was just for them to put on a show. This to me is really what it means to do community based work. As for how the playwright actually formatted the show, I have mixed feelings. The Joker System and how it is structured in the selections given really seems like it would take away from the reality that the events of the show are about. I feel like if an audience is forced to make the decision on whether or not an event was real, they will tend to choose that it is a work of fiction, especially when it is unfavorable. In this matter, it really takes away from w...

What a Riot — The way students were involved in the project in order to learn about the Rodney King riots and historical complexities served them to expand and dig deeper into conversations that can be educated within their communities and private circles like their families. — It was great to read about Schutzman including the rehearsal process into the project and how she prioritized the importance of the student’s learning process — I believe it was important to have the participants dive into roles opposite to those related to what the world believes to be their stereotypes. This way with the “Joker” approach they get a chance to experience that which comes from the opposite side. — However, I am concerned about the controversial result(s) the students might have with playing the oppressors and allowing this kind of behavior to manifest, even if it is in a safe space. — I wonder how different the project would have been if Schultzman had given the opportunity ...

They approached the work by having assistance from their youth participants, who would learn about important historical events.  This project in a way, related to one of our past researches, with the cars on the parking roof. It showed the power that the youth could have on the public and how much of a contribution they can really be. I like her approach with the incorporation of the “Joker” and how it has an effect on the piece.  The joker can interject at any moment and bring to light a conversational topic within the moment.  I think this can be a real helping hand during a piece, especially if you want to describe the other side of the scene or another perspective on the moment. I wonder how this art has influenced the youth daily habits and outlook with their new found knowledge.

I think this text is really brilliant. I love the constant breaking of the fourth wall and the way that the audience gets to be fully informed about what this play is. It's almost like a combination news article and greek play. I particularly enjoy the use of the chorus and I think it's a great way to make sure that all of the kids could feel like they had a voice. I think the way that Schultzman went about connecting with the kids in finding people from history that interested them, was a really smart way to create a dialogue about something that they could feel passionate about. I do wonder if there' s a way to take this same technique where you explain things to the audience, but to give a little bit less away of the process. I really enjoyed that aspect while reading it and I enjoyed that the joker had such free reign, but I wonder if the effect would be the same or better with some small changes to preserve the imaginary world of the play. For example, can everyone sta...

I think the use of the Joker system is very interesting structure to begin working with, because the students get a look at their own history by exploring that of others. They are allowed to explore bodies that they do not inhabit, and play the oppressor or the racist and feel what it is to be on the other side. Although the Joker system allows people to play different roles and express different sides of a problem, I don't think that it necessarily means that the actors get to put their own words into the story. I think this is a very important distinction. The students in Upset! did get to express and use their own words, but I'm not sure they were used directly in the context that they might have meant them. Could it be possible that their words were put into different contexts than originally said, or that the situations in the play might have changed using their words? But again, this is not the structure of the Joker system, or how CAP usually does things. I think perha...

   I like the Theater of the Oppressed methodology of the Joker. It sort of reminded me of El Pachuco in “Zoot Suit”, like this narrator commenting on all the action. I thought the Joker methodology was a good way to introduce a Theater of the Oppressed tactic into the piece. A lot of the Theater of the Oppressed options that we read about last week have an element of questioning within in them, but I think the Joker was a good one to use with young people. It was nice and cool that she was able to include the students’ actual questions into the play.     I did think her approach was rather problematic. She highlighted the problem herself and posed the question, “To whom and to what is the author beholden when writing a play for a specified population that has been invited to contribute to the playwriting process?” My problem was her answer, when she said that the students didn’t understand all of the references or language in the play. I don’t...

In Mady Schutzman’s, " What a Riot! ," there are examples of Augusto Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed techniques.   She introduces Boal’s concept of newspaper theater to L.A. youth in developing Upset!   In Upset! two historical figures are introduced, and students have an opportunity to learn about Rodney King “the unfortunate African-American man brutally beaten by four white LAPD officers in 1991” and “Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old African-American girl who in Montgomery, Alabama, 1955, refused to give up her seat to a white passenger nine months before Rosa Parks did the same.”   Schutzman also practices the Joker System play where she uses the character of Chorus to give youth an opportunity to express their “different ideas and feelings about an historical character or event.”   Boal uses simultaneous dramaturgy to allow the spectator to take action and become the actor by telling the story as they see it.   In Upset! there is a scene where I think best...

Reflections/Findings: The concept of The Joker System and its components made it more clear to me how Theater of the Oppressed could be used to create a work of theater that has structure and characters beyond a set of exercises that hold a potential multitude of characters and representations for one scenario. The Joker System, already present in Theater of the Oppressed provides a clearer structure for performance rather than something experiential. I do agree that there is some element of the students’ voices that are lost when a professional playwright is charged with collecting their words and rearranging them in a manifested structure. However, given time constraints and keeping in mind that this was likely many of the students first experience of devised theater, I understand the necessity of the involvement of a playwright and that playwright’s voice and experience being included. I wonder if given more time and more opportunity for the students to explore the research a...