applied theatre by prof john otoole
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APPliED Til E
Dramatic and theatrical performance for specific purposes besides entertainment
usually taking place beyond conventional theatres usually involving interactivity
__ PO 'TIIEATR nD n
Entertainment Education// Edification Celebration// Affirmation Critique// Levelling
CES Of TIIEATRE & RA what the
Positive Comfort
Reassurance Truths
Affirmation Status quo
Celebration Answers Messages
ofte-Interrogative
Discomfort
Disturbance Uncertainties
Alternatives Change Critique
Questions Open ends
I STORY IPPII ITR
Education // edification Children's play, medieval mystery, didactic theatre
Maoist theatre & opera
Celebration// affirmation Greek tragedy, soap opera & sitcom, village fetes
Independence day parades
Critique II levelling Satirical comedy, commedia, protest theatre
carnivals
t h nt yp Meyerhold, Piscator, Brecht drama for social uses
Jacob Moreno psychodrama, socio-drama >> roleplay training
US & Canada - Drama for self-expression Ward et al • creative dramatics, readers' theatre
RJ
UK & Aust, Canada, Sweden: Social drama - DiE Slade, Way, Heathcote & Bolton, process drama
US Fringe 60s-80s Bread & Puppets, San Francisco Mime Troupe
UK Fringe 50s-80s Participatory TiE, Community theatre, Welfare State, Popular theatre (Hunt, McGrath), Interaction (Berman)
Augusto Boal Theatre of the oppressed, Liberation theatre, Invisible theatre
Theatre for Development PETA, Ngugi wa Thiongo/Wamiiri
Theorists Bond, Schechner, Boal, Bolton et al, Mlama, van Erven
.liE TER APPliED TilER
Co-coined simultaneously
1994 (?)
Griffith University, Brisbane: BA in Applied Theatre 1994,
Centre for Applied Theatre Research 1998
University of Manchester: Centre for Applied Theatre Research 1994/5
From 1998 many others
E
eg. Ackroyd (ATR Journal) 2000, Exeter University MA 2003
p TI'IE
Communal // community
Personal // individuals Pedagogical II education & training
Corporate // commercial
0 MDOIQIU applied community need1
Community theatre
,,.
Celebrating, giving community a voice, voicing concerns
Theatre for development (TfD) HIV, sanitation, environment, democracy, gender
Protest theatre Satire, agitprop, demo performance, carnivals
Theatre of the oppressed Giving a voice, empowerment, literacy
Prison theatre Self-esteem, telling valued stories, rehabilitation
Theatre for trauma Children in war zones, post-natural disaster, rebulilding
Dramatised liturgy & rites Organised religious observance, evangelism
Parades & Processions Government parades, demo marches
ontem.,oraru a.,plied lne per1onal need1
Dramatherapy Psychodrama Access theatre Stress workshops Communication workshops Trauma management
ntem.,oraru ap.,lied I corporate aeed1
Promotional theatre
Q~l·
Openings, municipal celebrations, product promotions
Museum theatre & cultural tourism eg Culloden, IWM, St Helena, Dreamworld, Tjapukai
Conference theming meet & greet, opening performances, workshop interventions, mock keynotes, dinner entertainment
Playback theatre Post-conference, bonding seminars
Managerial I employee workshops Stress, communications, teamwork
ontempotaty apnlied theatre p•dago9ical purpo1•1
Role-play training & education Simulations for policy & planning , adult training , army exercises
Dramatic pedagogy Drama and theatre in education, drama across the curriculum
PS
The baggage trap
The over-ambition trap The patronage trap
The ethical trap The backfiring trap
1YOIDiftG TilE BAGGAGE TRIP (Your clients come with preconceptions about drama)
Start where your clients are at Understand & listen to their needs Find forms that they can cope with Find a hook to engage them Prepare meticulously Give them time Give them time Give them time
0 I TilE OYER·IIIBITIOR TRIP (Your own ideals and plans outstrip your understanding and skills)
Understand your art: Have sufficient drama & theatre skills
(performance & production & timing)
Be able to create and manage applied theatre form (playwriting & directing & design & montage)
Understand your context: Be able to understand your clients' needs
(and their context)
Be able to identify the aesthetic potential (of clients & context)
Be able to manage the elements of the context (time/production/logistical management &/or pedagogy)
YO I Din PATROnAGE TRIP (We who have and who know will help you
who neither know nor have and therefore need us)
Knovv whether, when and why you are wanted Listen to your audience Set out to fulfil their needs [not your own] Start where your audience/clients are at Understand their needs Find forms that they can cope with Find a hook to engage them Prepare meticulously Give them time Be open with clients throughout Check with advisory panel or (very) critical friends
AYOI linG 'T,I ETIIICAl TRAP Drama and theatre are morally neutral
and can be used for good or ill
Do no harm Drama's stances mean it can offer order or change (reinforce orthodoxy by answers or undermine it with questions)
However: no risk and pain, no gain!
So consider in advance Is this worth doing (taking risks)? Why? Identify the stakeholders, positive and negative
Who will gain? Who might lose? Do the potential benefits appear to outweigh potential damage?
Do a SWOT analysis or similar: What are the project's strengths? What are Its weaknesses? What are the opportunities? What are the threats?
DinG IE BACKfiRinG TRIP (The project is not doing what it set out to, or is doing something else)
Take measures to avoid the last four traps!
Be able to recognise when it is backfiring
Be flexible, honest and humble
Be ready to pull the plug (but not too ready)
Reflect with your clients & build from the wreckage
"No [applied theatre] is ever a failure" Bolton
"Experience [in applied theatre] is what you get when your clients are looking for something else" Anon.
...
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