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Mohammed Elmasry: Week 8 - What a Riot!

I was a little confused...so is What a Riot! a piece of its own talking about Upset!?

I suppose I will first talk about the theatrical mechanisms that were interesting about this reading. The Joker system first and foremost is classic Boal. This allows the reader/audience to be directly engaged and involved with the discussion at hand, in this case it is systematic racism in the United States. I personally, love this kind of theater. Oddly enough I have noticed that my training at CalArts strays away from these kinds of mechanisms. Even for something like showcase, I was told to not break any walls or address the audience in any way, as it would put pressure on them and "take them out of the performance". Does this mechanism put too much of a strain on the audience? Taking them out of the theater and putting them in real "Danger?" As the Joker says on page 7 "Is it here? Or is it gone? That is for you decide!"

I think that no director, no matter how skilled, should ever speak for audiences unknown to them. People are different and so are their reactions. This reading was very enlightening, I always like to reflect upon my own life with my readings and I have realized that Theater of the Oppressed itself is oppressed within our own society here at Calarts. We only are allowed to speak of certain things and whether we want to admit or not, someone is always censored or not able to fully express their art because it is "politically" dangerous or "incorrect".

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