"Theatre for Development is one of the most dynamic and controversial theatre movements on the global South. Emerging in Southern Africa in the 1970s to address social and economic problems using theatrical techniques, today it is taught in theatre departments across sub-Saharan Africa and employed
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in numerous contexts from health care to agriculture. This book investigates the emergence of TfD from its beginnings to its transformation into a coherent organizational field capable of attracting significant governmental and NGO funding. Drawing on leading African scholars and practitioners the volume examines the complex transnational processes that led to the institutionalization of Theatre for Develoment." (Publisher description)
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"Em março de 2021, o Institute for Media and Creative Industries da Loughborough University London organizou, em parceria com a Ubiqua, um ciclo de debates hamado Paulo Freire Centennial: 7 Talks in Preparation for the Next 100 years. Foi um envolvimento precoce com as celebrações pelo centenár
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io do nascimento de Freire, que seria comemorado em setembro do mesmo ano. O evento teve mais de seis mil inscrições para participação em seus sete diálogos – 2.113 inscrições individuais de 48 países, sendo as primeiras mil nas primeiras seis horas após a abertura das inscrições. Por causa de tantas campanhas de ódio contra Freire, essas demandas foram duplamente verificadas e, para garantir um lugar nos debates, as pessoas inscritas foram convidadas a preencher um formulário e, entre outras perguntas, responder o que buscavam nesse seminário. Muitas resumiram que, naquele momento, “Freire era mais necessário do que nunca”. Filtrando os números, 856 participantes individuais de 42 países se participaram dos sete diálogos, muitos em mais de um deles. A coletânea de textos organizada neste livro tem origem nesses sete debates. Doze palestrantes, de dez países, representando experiências de pesquisa e prática em Comunicação e Mudança Social, discutiram os cinco princípios do chamado ontológico de Freire: diálogo, amor, empatia, esperança e humildade.
A seção 1 deste livro contém as transcrições integrais dessas palestras – a maior parte delas são traduções diretas para o português, pois os palestrantes se dirigiram ao público em seus idiomas originais. A seção 2 é composta por outro grupo de transcrições dos diálogos. Nesse caso, os debates ao vivo entre palestrantes e público, que aconteceram após cada palestra, foram transcritos e organizados em tópicos agregados. Estes estão organizados em torno dos três principais temas que emergiram nos debates: Sociedade em Rede; Mudança social; e Educação. Estes temas, por sua vez, foram organizados internamente em subtópicos. Por fim, a Seção 3 é composta por uma coletânea de textos escritos por jovens acadêmicos e profissionais da comunicação que participaram do ciclo de debates em março de 2021. Eles escrevem desde suas perspectivas locais sobre como aquelas discussões inspiraram ou desafiaram seu trabalho e visões do futuro. No epílogo, oferecemos nossa perspectiva sobre o ano de comemorações pelo centenário de nascimento de Freire – essa reflexão está baseada em nossas participações em vários eventos e na observação de muitos outros. Entre um sentimento de nostalgia e a busca de inspiração para enfrentar os desafios presentes e futuros, observamos exercícios de memória e reinvenção. A partir de nosso envolvimento com essas comemorações, podemos afirmar que a razão que torna a leitura de Freire relevante hoje é que sua obra ainda é capaz de acender o fogo da busca e da luta pelo humano em todos os processos de comunicação." (Introdução, páginas 12-13)
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"Games for Actors and Non-Actors is the classic and bestselling book by the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, Augusto Boal. It sets out the principles and practice of Boal's revolutionary method, showing how theatre can be used to transform and liberate everyone - actors and non-actors alike! Thi
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s new third English edition includes recently uncovered interviews and essays from the 1970s, some of which featured in the earliest Portuguese edition of this book and a new essay by the theatre director Sergio de Carvalho, which looks at Boal's work in the context of Brazilian theatre and politics over the past fifty years. This is a vital handbook for theatre makers and activists of all kinds who want to deepen their understanding of the theory and practice of Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed. It is also an excellent introduction for those new to the system." (Publisher description)
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"The study attempts a periodisation of the evolution of TfD and the development communication process in Africa. The perspective adopted spans within the larger scope of its implications and imperatives, to explore how this noble initiative that was given impetus by both Freire and Boal has develope
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d in the continent over the years. This analysis is, therefore, undertaken from the following tripodal angles: I. The Pre-independence Era, II. The Post-independence Era, and III. The Electronic Culture Era. Conscious effort has been made to highlight the significant way in which patterns in social change within these epochs have particularly shaped the varying evolution trends." (Introduction)
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"Performance Activism: Precursors and Contemporary Pioneers provides a global overview of the growing interface of performance with education, therapy, conflict resolution, civic engagement, community development and social justice activism. It combines an historical study of the processes by which,
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over the course of the 20th Century, performance has been loosened from the institutional constraints of the theatre with a mosaic-like overview of the diverse work/play of contemporary performance activists around the world." (Publisher description)
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"Many Voices, Many Worlds: Critical Perspectives on Community Media in India is a critical reflection on governance and policymaking, development, disability, knowledge and other social markers in the context of community media. Bringing together different modes of community media—such as video, r
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adio, theatre, information and communication technologies (ICTs) and new media—into a productive conversation with each other, the book focuses on how communities through their communicative practices, negotiate the politics of caste, class, gender, and access to funding and technology." (Publisher description)
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"Politisches Theater spiegelt gesellschaftliche Phänomene und diskutiert sie zugleich. Mit den Möglichkeiten der darstellenden, bildenden und aktivistischen Kunst vermittelt es zwischen Partizipation und Problematisierung, Selbstvergewisserung und Abgrenzung. Florian Malzacher, international verne
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tzter Kurator, Autor und Dramaturg, beleuchtet Inhalte und Formen des Politischen Theaters anhand dieser mentalen Widerhaken: Wer wird wie repräsentiert? Wer legt welches Verständnis von Identität zugrunde? Wer bedient sich welcher Partizipationsformen, und mit welcher Reichweite geschieht das? Wie verbinden sich im Politischen Theater Kunst und Aktivismus? Welche Bezüge zwischen dem Politischen Theater - als Pro-Vokation im Wortsinn - und den großen Themen der Gegenwart bestehen, auch in globaler Perspektive? Malzacher bietet einen ebenso spannenden wie inspirierenden Blick hinter die Kulissen und auf die Bühnen des Politischen Theaters und arbeitet die Chancen, den Stellenwert und die Bruchzonen dieser Kunstform heraus." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"The concept of development communication is a clear pointer to the interrelationship between communication and development and the fact that the process of communication can be effectively applied to achieve development purposes. In development communication, the major aim of communication is to br
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ing about the process of development. Theatre as a communicative art is a highly dynamic and powerful conscientisation medium, and as such, integral to communication, as it is to development, establishing its importance and unique role as an invaluable development communication instrument. Anchoring on the truism of the above statement, and reinforced by the participatory development communication model, the paper refocuses the Esuk Ewang and Ibaka Communities of Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria's Environmental Theatre for Development Project, to highlight the true nature of theatre in the context of development as well as the interrelationship between communication and development." (Abstract)
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"This book analyses the partnership between applied theatre and sexual health communication in a theatre-making project in Nyanga, a township in South Africa. By examining the bridges and schisms between the two fields as they come together in the project, an alternative way of approaching sexual he
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alth communication is advocated. This alternative considers what it is that applied theatre does, and could become, in this context. Moments of value which lie around the margins of the practice emerge as opportunities that can be overlooked. These somewhat ephemeral, intangible moments, which appear on the edges, are described as 'apertures of possibility' and occur when one takes a step back and realises something unnoticed in the moment. This book offers an invitation to pause and notice the seemingly insignificant moments that often occurs tangentially to the practice. The book also calls for more outcry about sexual health and sexual violence, arguing for theatre-making as a route to multitudes of voices, nuanced understandings, and diverse spaces in which discussions of sexuality and sexual health are shared, felt, and experienced." (Publisher description)
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"This dynamic book offers a comprehensive companion to the theory and practice of Theatre of the Oppressed. Developed by Brazilian director and theorist Augusto Boal, these theatrical forms invite people to mobilize their knowledge and rehearse struggles against oppression. Featuring a diverse array
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of voices (many of them as yet unheard in the academic world), the book hosts dialogues on the following questions, among others: Why and how did Theatre of the Oppressed develop? What are the differences between the seventies (when Theatre of the Oppressed began) and today? How has Theatre of the Oppressed been shaped by local and global shifts of the last forty-plus years? Why has Theatre of the Oppressed spread or "multiplied" across so many geographic, national, and cultural borders? How has Theatre of the Oppressed been shaped by globalization, "development," and neoliberalism? What are the stakes, challenges, and possibilities of Theatre of the Oppressed today? How can Theatre of the Oppressed balance practical analysis of what is with ambitious insistence on what could be? - How can Theatre of the Oppressed hope, but concretely? Broad in scope yet rich in detail, The Routledge Companion to Theatre of the Oppressed contains practical and critical content relevant to artists, activists, teachers, students, and researchers." (Publisher description)
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"Community engagement programs offer the opportunity for community members to reflect on the development avenues and potentials in their local communities which have not been fully tapped and utilised. Behavioral change and local level conscientisation geared towards community development is a share
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d responsibility. This shared responsibility is achieved when community members engage with each other on a common platform to find solutions to their challenges. Active participation process enables people to raise their own issues with outsiders and encourages them to take responsibility for their own development. This paper examines the use of the Theatre for Development (TfD) methodology as a community engagement tool. Theatre for Development presents a flexible process of collating and using data about community development project for live performances. The paper further discusses how the TfD approach has been utilised for youth mobilization against unemployment in a rural community." (Abstract)
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"This article presents insights on a participatory theatre initiative implemented in Kenya, with the aim of understanding the changes that were initiated towards the re-establishment of peace between communities. The project was carried out in the aftermath of the post-election violence that took pl
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ace in the country between 2007 and 2008. Amani People’s Theatre organised a number of theatre-based activities adopting a participatory approach, which ensured the involvement of community members from different tribes. Participants used the plays to re-enact the events, experienced during the conflict and the issues that still affected their communities as a result of those events, and worked together on finding solutions. The article begins with a literature review on Theatre for Development and its progress towards a more participatory approach. This is followed by an introduction of the project and the context in which it took place. The study design and Theory of Change developed for the analysis are then presented, opening the path to a discussion of the findings generated through that framework. Lastly, final reflections bring to light a number of issues that must be considered when working with participatory theatre in peace interventions." (Abstract)
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"What are the stakes of cultural production in a time of war? How is artistic expression prone to manipulation by the state and international humanitarian organizations? In the charged political terrain of post-genocide Rwanda, post-civil war Uganda, and recent violence in the Democratic Republic of
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Congo, Laura Edmondson explores performance through the lens of empire. Instead of celebrating theatre productions as expression of cultural agency and resilience, Edmondson traces their humanitarian imperatives to a place where global narratives of violence take precedence over local traditions and audiences. Working at the intersection of performance and trauma, Edmondson reveals how artists and cultural workers manipulate narratives in the shadow of empire and how empire, in turn, infiltrates creative capacities." (Publisher description)
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"La Comisión de Verdad y Reconciliación no solo documentó la violencia política de las décadas del ochenta y noventa, sino que también le dio a los peruanos una oportunidad única para examinar las causas y la naturaleza de esa violencia. En El arte después de un pasado fracturado peruano, ac
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adémicos y artistas desarrollan el trabajo de la Comisión, argumentando a favor de ampliar la definición del testimonio para incluir diversas formas de producción artística como evidencia documental. Su enfoque innovador en la representación ofrece perspectivas nuevas y convincentes sobre cómo los peruanos experimentaron esos años y cómo han intentado adaptarse a los recuerdos y legados de la violencia. Los análisis abarcan el arte, la memoria y la verdad que resuenan en toda América Latina tras las “guerras sucias” del último medio siglo. Explorando diversas obras de arte, incluidos monumentos conmemorativos, dibujos, teatro, películas, canciones, retablos y ficción, así como una aclamada novela gráfica, los colaboradores muestran que el arte, no limitado por la verdad literal, puede generar nuevas oportunidades para la comprensión empática y solidaria." (Casa editorial)
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"This thesis explores how and why global Theatre for Development (TfD) partnerships fail to enable greater equity and interconnectedness between Northern and Southern actors. Building global partnerships is at the core of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, Northern developm
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ent actors dominate these relationships. To establish why this is the case, the thesis brings together literature on global development, postcolonialism and TfD to demonstrate the current limitations on establishing equitable partnerships. The thesis draws on primary data collected through semi-structured interviews with UK and Kenyan TfD actors, autoethnographic reflections on TfD practice and participant observation.
The study focuses on three key issues that shape partnerships: funding, knowledge and expertise and temporal and spatial dimensions. First, funding for projects is primarily provided by Northern development actors, framing the terms of partnerships and dictating their form, extent and limits. Second, the knowledge and expertise employed in shaping TfD projects is often seen as lying disproportionately with Northern partners, who are thought to bring ‘global’ perspectives to such work. Conversely, partners in the South are seen as possessing ‘local’ knowledge which is deployed primarily to help facilitate and legitimate the interventions of external practitioners. Third, spatial and temporal aspects further impact on partnerships: UK actors are perceived as more mobile and dynamic than their Southern partners, with access to international networks. Southern partners are routinely represented as embedded, statically, in their immediate local contexts. Furthermore, short-term timescales prevent TfD actors from providing the commitment that building more equitable, interconnected partnerships requires.
A key finding is that both Northern and Southern actors create and reinforce these ongoing problems in partnerships. However, they are also able to resist and challenge the unequal terms of their relationships. The thesis demonstrates how networks are emerging with the potential for developing more equitable relationships. It reveals the agency of Southern actors to adapt externally funded projects to meet with their own motivations and contexts. The study concludes by suggesting that future TfD partnerships must recognise and facilitate the participative agency of all involved." (Abstract)
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"Popular theatre occupies a special space in Matabeleland because it is situated in the everyday lives of ordinary people, and is able to articulate their experiences and to create spaces for them to ‘speak to power’. In the wake of the Gukurahundi massacres and perceived marginalization of Mata
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beleland in the 1980s, theatre groups used their plays to probe issues that were shunned by mainstream media. We argue that theatre has been used as part of radical citizen media in a context in which mainstream public spheres are restricted. We also demonstrate that theatre groups in Matabeleland have shifted between ‘Matabeleland particularism’ and addressing broader, ‘national’ concerns, reflecting historical context. However, theatre is not always used to express views that support the downtrodden against the establishment. In the Matabeleland case and also Zimbabwe as a whole, theatre has also been employed by the state and other pro-establishment groups for ideological mobilization." (Abstract)
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"Seit März 2007 organisieren lokale und internationale Aktivist*innen in verschiedenen Teilen Afghanistans beinah täglich Aktivitäten mit den unterschiedlichen Techniken des Theaters der Unterdrückten (TdU) des Brasilianers Augusto Boal (1931-2009) sowie anderen emanzipatorischen Theatermethoden
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. In diesen rund zehn Jahren kontinuierlicher Anwendung hat sich das sogenannte „Applied Theatre“ als zentral für die systematische Arbeit mit dem Thema Straflosigkeit bzw. Aufarbeitung von mittlerweile knapp 40 Jahren des ununterbrochenen gewalttätigen Konflikts erwiesen. Hauptzielgruppe der verschiedenen Theateraktivitäten sind die direkten Angehörigen der nach Schätzungen etwa drei Millionen Menschen, die in den unterschiedlichen Konfliktperioden ums Leben gekommen sind. Einige wenige waren bereits zuvor in offiziell registrierten Opfer- oder Witwenverbänden organisiert, während die meisten mit ihrer Trauer allein blieben und isoliert um das bloße Überleben kämpften." (Seite 52)
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