I think it's really great that part of the Peru project was to teach people to be literate not only in Spanish, but also in their native tongue and in the arts. I love the idea of the arts as language. I have always thought of music as a language, but not necessarily photography.
Theater is different because it's the body that is being used, and I think in these instances, it's essential that the body is used so that people can help understand their realities through their own eyes and experiences. Knowing the body and the body's reactions then becomes essential to the work.
I always thought people in communities had some type of theater or at least storytelling, or at least some familiarity with it, so it was eye opening to read that some people in low income areas are very wary of theater, or anything that might come from a place in which they are unfamiliar.
Theater of the Oppressed is the rehearsal process, not the finished product, and this is essential to understanding how it works. It will never be finished, there will never be one presented final project, because chances are that the problems and communities will continue to shift constantly. In a way, I wonder if Theatre of the Oppressed could almost be called something else? Maybe not even just theatre? It seems like it is something almost greater and more important. Why does it have that name?
Two types of theater resonated with me the most:
For invisible theater, when is the point that you reveal yourselves? If the authorities get involved, say
the police, do you continue to do your work if that is the trajectory, or do you stop? I am very interested in invisible theater, because it is something we don't see very often here in the US, I think. I also wonder who this is for? Is it for the actors or for the spectators or both, or can it change depending on the situation?
Another type that resonated with me was Breaking of oppression. My father is a psychotherapist, and he does a type of work called constellation work, which reminds me of this very much. The person who is having a problem will stand in the center and arrange other people around her/him so that they can see everyone and have them sort of act out the situation, to figure out a way to deal with it better. This seems like an extremely powerful and useful tool, because if people ever get in a situation that they don't want to be in again, they can actually have the experience of acting it out, so when it happens again, they won't just have an idea of how to respond, but will actually be able to do so convincingly, because they have done it before.
Theater is different because it's the body that is being used, and I think in these instances, it's essential that the body is used so that people can help understand their realities through their own eyes and experiences. Knowing the body and the body's reactions then becomes essential to the work.
I always thought people in communities had some type of theater or at least storytelling, or at least some familiarity with it, so it was eye opening to read that some people in low income areas are very wary of theater, or anything that might come from a place in which they are unfamiliar.
Theater of the Oppressed is the rehearsal process, not the finished product, and this is essential to understanding how it works. It will never be finished, there will never be one presented final project, because chances are that the problems and communities will continue to shift constantly. In a way, I wonder if Theatre of the Oppressed could almost be called something else? Maybe not even just theatre? It seems like it is something almost greater and more important. Why does it have that name?
Two types of theater resonated with me the most:
For invisible theater, when is the point that you reveal yourselves? If the authorities get involved, say
the police, do you continue to do your work if that is the trajectory, or do you stop? I am very interested in invisible theater, because it is something we don't see very often here in the US, I think. I also wonder who this is for? Is it for the actors or for the spectators or both, or can it change depending on the situation?
Another type that resonated with me was Breaking of oppression. My father is a psychotherapist, and he does a type of work called constellation work, which reminds me of this very much. The person who is having a problem will stand in the center and arrange other people around her/him so that they can see everyone and have them sort of act out the situation, to figure out a way to deal with it better. This seems like an extremely powerful and useful tool, because if people ever get in a situation that they don't want to be in again, they can actually have the experience of acting it out, so when it happens again, they won't just have an idea of how to respond, but will actually be able to do so convincingly, because they have done it before.
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