Update
This week I work shopped my idea of using the survey responses as stimuli, to develop the Boal exercise Rhythm with chairs ( as mentioned in my previous blog). Using the survey responses created some interesting images on what it constitutes to be an adult and what responsibilities adults have,in connection with a letter to a past self the writers created.This gave movement to the scene but currently a new way of transitioning needs to be researched to enable the actors to change more fluidly when going into the spoken role and between creating the images. I will research this to allow us to explore and experiment with movements in order to develop our pieces aesthetic,whilst ensuring the movements relate to Shoes to fill and adulthood so that the scene retains clarity for audience members.The Theatre of the Opresssed allows actors ‘to stretch the limits of their imaginations,[and] demechanize habitual behaviors’ (Anon.,2015) meaning adults and children would be depicted in non habitual ways and thought of more thoroughly.
The writers are now working from some of the survey responses to edit and develop the scene, using the perspectives gained from the survey.The letter talks of what shoes the future self thinks the past self should fill. To develop this further I shall suggest to the director the idea of having shoes placed by the chair for the actor reading the letter to wear, to symbolise that they are the same person. This shall be referenced multiple times in our piece as the idea for this has been brought up when related to other scenes by actors and the director.
Legal ages
Using the research I found on minimum legal ages a game show like scene has begun to be devised and research anomalies have been passed to writers to use for creating questions and answers for the game show. By incorporating the audience in this scene there is another sense of using Boal here to enable the audience to ‘better understand ourselves, our communities and our world’ (Anon,2015)as the audience will share knowledge on minimum legal ages in multiple countries.This will show what these different countries constitute as adult or ages of responsibility thus giving them a greater understanding of the world if they participate in the performance, as the Theatre of the Oppressed aims to do. Our piece will not specifically be a Theatre of the Oppressed piece however – though there shall be other moments of audience participation- but will reflect and echo some of Boal’s techniques as suggested to enable imaginative thinking when devising scenes.
Rachael.
Works Cited
Anon. (2015) What is Theatre of the Oppressed? Theatre of the Oppressed: A rehearsal for revolution New York. Available from http://theforumproject.org/whatisto/ [Accessed 14 March 2015]