Skip to main content

What A Riot Brayson Williams

“The Joker System provided a perfect aesthetic vehicle to tell not only the story of Rodney King and the ensuing uprising, but a larger, ever changing and ever-the-same, storyo of violence, racism, and resistance in the US. Creating UPSET! In the mode of the Joker System provided a means to incorporate the teens curiosity, dismay, outrage, confusion, fear, and inspiration in relation to the subject matter of the play within the play.”
Here's a bit of extra background on the joker system:
“The Joker System laid the theoretical foundation for the Theatre of the Oppressed, the umbrella term Boal employed for all his subsequent theoretical developments. Even in the Forum Theatre, his most popular theatrical format, the lineaments of the Joker system are apparent.
The Joker System began in 1965, when the Arena Theatre performed Arena Narrates Zumbí.
The word “Joker” had, in Boal’s mind, the same significance as the “Joker” playing card, a card which has more mobility than any of the other cards in the deck and does not necessarily connote the idea of playing jokes. The joker plays different roles within varying contexts and combinations, including director, referee, facilitator, and workshop leader. The system also facilitates the creation of a character, which can play various roles: actor, character, chorus, and protagonist, all in the same performance.”


I am struck by how much, after reading these two articles, you see this joker character in much of modern theatrical works. My first thought is the breaking of the fourth wall used in modern movies. This medium is used to create a metaphysical look into the character's mind. Or even in any of Shakespeare's soliloquies when the actor uses the audience as their scene partner (this one is a bit of a stretch I admit but it is very early signs of this joker character.) I found her process to be very interesting and this article to be insightful in allowing me to understand more fully what this process would look like. I a interested in how many of the students took this process, considering the topic of discussion could be argued to be too “adult” for youngsters. How did the parents react to this?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jeremy Griffith - The Roof is on Fire

1. CONTEXT: What were the circumstances that framed the meaning and process of this project? There are many minority teens in low-income, low-opportunity areas who have unheard voices. Their self-esteem isn't cultivated and all of their portrayal in the media is negative. 2. CONTENT: What was the issue, need, idea or opportunity addressed by this project? Teen voices were unheard, opinions of them were based on negative media stereotypes, and many of them had very poor self-esteem. 3: FORM: What is the medium that was used to address or embody the content? Immersive theatre in the form of car-conversations that audience members could eavesdrop on. 4. STAKEHOLDERS: Which are the groups or individuals that were invested in the project? The teenagers were very invested because of their desire to free their voices. The adults who helped were invested because they wanted to help these kids start to change the narrative. And the d...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mind Map

Post a Comment
Read more

What a Riot - Bri Pattillo

   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...
Post a Comment
Read more