theatre of the oppressed

One of my goals while in Montreal has been to expand, explore and develop some of my existing skills and passions. And I’m finding that education and community building are both continual themes in this journey.

So following these themes, I recently participated in a two-day facilitator training workshop on Theatre of the Oppressed techniques.

Using theatre as a transformation tool, Theatre of the Oppressed is a style of community-based education empowering groups to explore social issues, resolve conflict and build community.

Augusto Boal – a Brazilian politician, actor and activist – developed this form of theatre in the 1970s. And one major goal of Theatre of the Oppressed is the transformation of audience members (traditionally passive observers) into ‘spect’-actors where they actively participate in not only creating dialogue and finding solutions to problems but also acting itself.

Boal says that: “Acting can be done anywhere, even in theatres and acting can be done by everyone, even actors.”

I first came across Theatre of the Oppressed last November at the NASCO conference in Michigan State, US where I attended a shorter workshop on the method in relation to power, privilege, space and cooperative living.

Upon arrival back to Montreal, I facilitated a workshop based on what I’d learned at Coop Sur Genereux’s 2009 Skill Share event. Around 15 people participated and we had great fun exploring some of the techniques together.

It would be a gross understatement to say I’m excited about the technique. I’m hooked! It is such a creative way to explore social issued both at the personal and community (local/global) level.

Our instructor – Jessica Bleurer – is also going to send me some material for using these techniques for environmental justice issues as well.

Alongside, a plethora of new warm up and ice-breaker games, over the course of the weekend we explored three different styles of Theatre of the Oppressed: Forum Theatre, Invisible Theatre and Image Theatre. We also looked at street theatre.

Jessica is one of the best facilitators I’ve ever experienced. I feel so lucky to have studied (if briefly) with her. Her insight into group dynamics, ability to modify course material to suit specific groups, ability to facilitate discussion and guide groups to probe into deep analysis was outstanding. I’ve learned so many new things about both myself and facilitation.

Using creative tools such as theatre for social change appeals so much to my psychology. I’m really excited to explore these new tools in my own education and community building practices…

dub poetry, theatre and a major crush on ani difranco

I’ve found it difficult to keep my finger on the pulse of music and theatre gigs in Montreal. There is just so much going on. It’s probably one of the reasons I’ve not managed to leave yet: a constant stream of interesting things to experience.  Mind you, I’m constantly discovering gigs that I missed by just a few days AFTER they’ve taken place. Sooo annoying!

Over the last two months, I’ve managed to squeeze in a decent amount of gigs though. Here’s a brief summary of the highlights:

Jazz Club – Dieze Onze
I finally got around to visiting my local jazz club (literally ten minutes walk from my apartment). It was one of those spontaneous nights between friends. Having no idea who was playing at Dieze Onze, we took our chances and trotted down the road to find out. We were certainly not disappointed! The Eric Hove Trio (with Tom Gossage and Adrian Vedady) was playing.  So our night rolled out into a delicious evening of sangria, local cheese platters, chocolate cake and high quality free jazz…

Dub Theatre
With February being Black History Month, Montreal’s theatres, art galleries and music halls were buzzing with activities celebrating this international event.

La Chapelle Theatre presented the premiere of Toronto-based d’bi.young’s anitAFRIKA! Dub theatre ‘Benu’.  Her performance – combining theatre, dance, multi-media, poetry, and dub – told the story of a 28 year old woman suffering from unexplained headaches after the post delivery of her first child. Exploring themes of motherhood, abandonment and mental health, the performance was rich in socio-political content while powerfully revealing the magic, rhythm and sacredness of storytelling.

D’bi.young describes herself as a biomyth-monodramatist, which is a theatrical solo-performance work that is written and performed by the same person. It employs aspects of the performer’s life experiences to guide the creative process and then weaves poetry, music, myth, monologue and dialogue to tell her story.

I find the power of storytelling so enriching, but even more so when the boundaries between reality and myth are blurred. Or maybe it’s just the blurring that I like! Coz other dichotomies were also interestingly blurred: the post-performance conversation, for example, enabled the storytelling to continue long after the performer had finished placing the audience (intentionally) in the role of storyteller.

Ani DiFranco

Seeing Ani live at Club Soda was without a doubt the highlight of my music experiences over the last two months.

I’ve not actually followed her music production over the last few years, but it seems that motherhood has encouraged her to move away from the angsty drive of her earlier songs and explore a delightful mellowness in her newer stuff.  Discovering her more positive reflections on life during my first live show (!) was a delight because they resonated so deeply with my current life perspective.  (“…If you’re not getting happier as you get older then you’re fucking up” – it’s so true! Maturity can give you a much wiser and positive perspective on life. We relax more. Discover what really matters. And so find happiness in smaller but more meaningful things).

Her dynamic stage presence not only served to enhance the strength and creativity of her lyrics, but also showed off that unique ‘staccato’ plucking guitar style as she performed both new and old songs with vigour and dynamism.

All this said, I’m aware just how biased I must be…

Listening to Ani always sends me reminiscing down a delicious side path of memory lane, her music serving as a ‘sound track’ to a crucial developmental time in my life. Giving a more objective perspective on her gig is therefore impossible, but I really don’t care! Who wouldn’t want warm fuzziness for a night?

Kalmunity Vibe Collective + El Jones
El Jones was another highlight this month. A spoken word artist from Halifax, L Jone’s work is intense and powerful stuff largely due to the content of her work, which spoke very bluntly about the injustice of women of colour, particularly the way they are treated by black men. However, I was mostly inspired by the way she manipulated the rhythm and flows of language weaving words around each other to create a solid strength in her utterings.

Alongside her performance, members of the Kalmunity Vibe Collective performed funk and soul-inspired improvisation.

In/visible Unicorn
A trip to Toronto to visit friends saw us head to In/visible Unicorn, an eclectic mix of performance exploring themes of imagination, bodies, accessibility and representation. Performers included Eli Clare, Onyinyechuwu Udegbe, Jorge Vallejos, Kenji Tokawa, Griffin Epstein, along with video screenings of Big Appetite (formerly fat feme Mafia) and GIMP Bootcamp

It was exciting to be at a performance that was accessible to as many people as possible. It was wheelchair accessible. It provided audio description and sign interpretation and was scent free.

IglooFest

The winter dance party of the year! Igloofest is held downtown in “old montreal” and runs for two whole weeks straight. I was so excited by the prospect of ice-inspired décor and winter dancing that I forgot to do my research on the performing DJs. As a result, I found myself dancing to a kind of techno/house kind of music. Not my cup of tea at all. Dammit! However, with a backdrop of giant colour ‘icecubes’, ice sculptured bars and benches, fire pits and giant beanbags, I was content without my good ole psytrance or drum ‘n bass.

sunday mass

A visit to Montreal just wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Notre Dame Baliscia. And if you’re free on a Sunday morning, I highly recommend popping along to High Mass where you’ll witness a breathtaking performance by the choir and organist. A Sunday morning well spent!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

I found my way to a night of storytelling last week: DeAnne Smith’s monthly storytelling night Tale Spin at Le Cagibi (Mile End). With a slightly different spin to the usual comedy act, four local comedian’s shared personal stories on the night’s topic: hot! hot! hot! And being comedians, the performers told their tales with the kind of flair and humour that only they can conjure.

It was a cozy relaxed evening where audience members lounged on couches sipping hot chai and coffee while comedian’s tattled their tales with style and pizazz…

The concept is a simple yet effective one, highlighting the importance of storytelling as a means for connection, entertainment and art making. The theme this month is Balls. Acts include Dan Bingham and Jess. If you’re up for a funny story or two, I highly recommend strolling along to Le Cagibi (5490 St. Laurent) Thursday 24 Sept at 8:30 p.m.

And speaking of hot: if you’ve never seen DeAnne perform make an effort to get to Theatre Ste. Catherine this Friday night. DeAnne is hosting a comedy/burlesque show featuring comics Melissa Morse and David Pryde (Comedy Now, Just for Laughs), stripper-types L. Diablo, The Fabulous Miss Vigneault, and Dom Castelli and the contortionist extraordinaire, MiMi! Doors open at 8pm. I’m heading there so join me for a beer after!

Oh and check out DeAnne’s blog here.