PREVIEW: Training with "Theatre for Living" (July 10 - 23, 2023)

Dear Friends,

This summer, I'm excited to be traveling to Vancouver, British Columbia, where I'll be training with David Diamond and an international gathering of artists, activists, and educators in "Theatre for Living." The two weeks of training will focus on theatre as an instrument for group exploration, dialogue, conflict transformation, community-building, and social change. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll keep a diary here of my experience with the work. I hope you'll have the opportunity to read my posts and perhaps offer your own comments and questions along the way.

Here's how David describes the work:

Theatre for Living (TfL) has evolved from Brazilian Director Augusto Boal's "Theatre of the Oppressed". Since 1989 TfL has slowly moved away from the binary language and model of "oppressor/oppressed" and now approaches community-based cultural work from a systems-based perspective that acknowledges a community (and all life on the planet) is a complexly integrated, living organism. At this time when polarization is deepening around the world, how do we build bridges of understanding and true collaboration - not walls?

And here's a preview of our training agenda (as described on the TfL website):

The initial level of training will focus on Group Building, Image Theatre, and Rainbow of Desire (a technique that investigates conflicting internal voices). We will also prepare short plays for a non-public interactive Forum Theatre event. Level Two focuses primarily on interactive, Forum Theatre and Joking (Facilitating). Participants will facilitate games, explore Cops in the Head (a technique that investigates internal voices that give us unhealthy advice), Image Theatre animations and Joke Forum Theatre with feedback. There is also an introduction to the structure of "Your Wildest Dream" – a community visioning exercise

Having previously trained with Augusto Boal on several occasions, and having developed my own approach, which I call "The Theatre of Empowerment," I am looking forward to renewing and expanding my commitment to community-based theatre over the next couple of weeks.

Our first day of training is July 10. See you back here in a few days!

~ Jonathan