Materials from On The Edge | ASSITEJ International

Next Generation Testimonies

Become a Friend of ASSITEJ and support the Next Generation of Theatre Makers

It is our great pleasure to introduce you to the 2017 Next Generation cohort who will be brought together for…
Materials from On The Edge, ON THE EDGE, Papers and Panels

Round And Round The Gardens:

Can the RHS engage children with relevant environmental issues through immersive, promenade theatre? Tom Drayton | University of East London…
Materials from On The Edge, ON THE EDGE, Papers and Panels

Drama as a way to train critical thinking

Abstract: Mexico is going through a period of political and social crisis. However, the atmosphere of repression, censorship and…
Materials from On The Edge, Next Generation Testimonies, ON THE EDGE

Next Generation at ON THE EDGE 2016 Birmingham Daily Musings

ON THE EDGE 2016, Birmingham was just my second time at an ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering but it felt like coming…
Materials from On The Edge, Next Generation Testimonies, ON THE EDGE

Next Generation Program, Birgmingham 2016 On the Edge

I had the opportunity to attend the Next Generation Program and I can say that my experience was more than…
Materials from On The Edge, Next Generation Testimonies, ON THE EDGE

A Testimony

On The Edge ASSITEJ Next Generation Residency They say (I’ve no idea who ‘they’ are) that “a change is as…
IIAN, Materials from On The Edge, Next Generation Testimonies, ON THE EDGE

International Inclusive Arts Network

First of all IIAN would like to thank the organisers of On The Edge for putting on a great inclusive…

A Testimony

8 September 2016 20 h 32 min

By: Louis Valente

No responses

On The Edge ASSITEJ Next Generation Residency They say (I’ve no idea who ‘they’ are) that “a change is as... Read more →

On The Edge ASSITEJ Next Generation Residency

They say (I’ve no idea who ‘they’ are) that “a change is as good as a holiday” and after nine days in Birmingham I can honestly say that I’ve never been more delighted to be exhausted. Exhausted but enthused, tired but thankful and the Next Generation programme as part of On The Edge Festival/ASSITEJ International Gathering is the change I needed and am grateful for.

I almost didn’t apply. Open to “young and emerging artists interested in the practice of theatre for young audiences and international collaboration” I had written myself off (I’m 33? in an Irish accent) but I read further. I wanted a shot at stepping in to the worlds hinted at in the bullet points of the call out. Rarely are such opportunities available to people who perhaps have already ’emerged’ in one way but, like me, found a new area of arts practice and passion and were as ripe for the learning as anyone else. I won’t lie, I was also looking forward to the many shows on offer as part of the programme. All of them. Being handed an envelope of tickets bearing the promise of multiple show days carefully scheduled around workshops with my next gen friends and colleagues with a fair few symposium sessions squeezed in for good measure felt like such a treat. For someone who jokes about spending much of her time facilitating other people’s creativity, I was ready to play and it’s just as well, as we dove straight in from day one.

We came from all over. Almost. Some of our cohort-to-be were denied visas and less than a week after the Brexit vote, this resonated more than it might have a week previously. I experienced many moments during the week when I realized that the stakes are high, for some more than others and that those of us lucky enough to be working in a country where we can do, say and go as we please have a responsibility to find ways to support and encourage those who aren’t.

Next Gen gave me the opportunity to absorb so much, to listen and learn as well as lead. I’ve returned to Dublin and I’m looking at my work through fresh filters. Not just my own practice, but also the practice of the artists and people I support, collaborate and work with. It’s only been a couple of weeks but already, I’m asking better questions. I’ve come home wanting more, which is always a good sign. Yes, I’ve come home with the offer of a couch or a spare bed in so many places I’ve yet to visit, but whether I make it to all of those couches or whether my fellow NGers make their way to mine matters not. I’ve come home with a network I feel I belong to and not in a “networking” (shudder) sense. There were so many opportunities to engage with the gathering and the festival as a whole that I feel like I’ve come to know an entire international cohort of people connected by their creativity and their desire to encourage, encounter and collaborate. Those connections don’t just happen. Like any show, that connection has to be designed, crafted, and curated. That this little festival with a big heart can bring people with different practices and experiences together – and not just on paper or in the bar after a show, but meaningfully sharing ideas, opinions and space is remarkable.

I’ve come home with an expanded circle, a list of people I can text or email with a daft idea or a spectacularly silly question, a response to a show or a call out for a partner in crime to see or try something new. I’ve come home and I’m more at ease with being home again because I’ve found new ways to step up and out in what I’m doing. I’m thinking about access and inclusion. I’ve a sign name. I’ve seen what a team of brilliant, bright (yellow) volunteers can do in terms of welcoming people not just to a festival, but to an entire city. I’m thinking about gender and why it is that everyone is happy that projects like GendersaurusRex and Aunty Ben exist but many of them are glad not to be doing the work themselves. I’m challenged by that and I hope that makes me better not just by being more aware, but by being more active. I’ve snapshots in my head from shows I loved or strongly disliked and I’m excited that at 33?, there are still new ways to see a lightbulb, thirteen teenagers and a bodybuilder or a feather on stage that can weave stories through even the most jaded audience member’s mind.

At a time when news headlines might tell us otherwise, a gathering ‘on the edge’ of people trying to create and change from the heart or in the margins matters. We’re not just invited to make connections and develop cultural leadership for the next generation, we’re called upon to do just that and to expand the ways our work can impact upon the audiences we serve or have yet to serve. Now matters. Next matters.

Categories: Materials from On The Edge, Next Generation Testimonies, ON THE EDGE

Tags: On The Edge
Next Generation Program, Birgmingham 2016 On the Edge

8 September 2016 20 h 31 min

By: Louis Valente

No responses

I had the opportunity to attend the Next Generation Program and I can say that my experience was more than... Read more →

I had the opportunity to attend the Next Generation Program and I can say that my experience was more than rewarding. I found a very open and friendly community in ASSITEJ which gave us a great opportunity to gather with all sorts of people and all sorts of experiences in theatre for young audiences.

The Next Generation Program

                I think that the diversity of the assistants to this program was ideal because it gave me the opportunity to understand more about the process of other areas that might not be of my expertise. I will highly encourage the organizers of this program to keep and increase the diversity of people who attend it, I repeat that the gathering with producers, dancers, investigators and general performers definitely increased my view on how theatre can be made and it sparks the curiosity in me to do multi-discipline work (since I have developed mainly as an actress and teacher) and in the future I would love to attend again and share this experience with scenographers, costume designers, etc. who can also share a more practical point of view on the topic.

                I found what other participants shared quite interesting and I would definitely suggest keeping that as a part of the dynamic of the group since it gives us an opportunity to go deeper into what we do and create bonds of collaboration. I would suggest that aside of sharing and the meetings, there could also be a workshop everyday on a certain topic or work on developing a text. For example, a small text can be performed, a certain topic to experiment on a practical basis, etc. However, I do understand that this year the organizers decided to gives us a more “free schedule” in order to leave some room for plays, workshops and symposiums.

                In my experience I found the inclusion of symposiums very interesting since it gave me a chance to understand more about these topics and now I view inclusion not as an option but rather as a “must” that every work should relate to in one way or the other. I suggest keeping these topics on the table as you are already doing because without a doubt it opens a whole new perspective of artistic creation and mostly of responsibility.

                I may say that the variety of works from all around the world that we saw was very interesting and each was unique in some way, from the acting to the stories each showed me that the definition of TYA is very wide and it includes and encourages diversity. Some of the creators of those plays offered workshops and symposiums and I think that the possibility to be able to discuss and to know more about the creation process for the plays should be encouraged since it is another great way to pick on the brain of those people that delivered such amazing works and to find some inspiration.

                Finally what I mainly take with me of this whole experience is to be able to expand my idea of what TYA is and how we as creators can approach it.

                In general I think that NG Program was very well organized, accurate and in my personal experience it helped me open my perspective and definitions. It is quite interesting to see how other countries in other circumstances create and it helps me to understand my own position on this topic better. I look forward to keep growing with this network and to keep sharing my experiences with you. And to use some British words… NG Program was just lovely!

Next Generation Program,

Birgmingham 2016 On the Edge Name:

Georgina Saggiante Montero

Country: Mexico

Categories: Materials from On The Edge, Next Generation Testimonies, ON THE EDGE

Tags: On The Edge
Next Generation at ON THE EDGE 2016 Birmingham Daily Musings

8 September 2016 20 h 29 min

By: Louis Valente

No responses

ON THE EDGE 2016, Birmingham was just my second time at an ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering but it felt like coming... Read more →

ON THE EDGE 2016, Birmingham was just my second time at an ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering but it felt like coming home. I was looking forward to meet people I met in Berlin last year and many more I hadn’t met yet, including the Next Generation participants. I was missing the Berlin NG group so bad but at the same time looking forward to the new group and an exciting week ahead with Aamir Nawaz (Pakistan), Bhavik Parmar (England), Catherine Boot (England), Derem Ciray (Turkey), Elidh MacAskill (Scotland), Emma Jayne Park (Scotland), Gina Saggiante (Mexico), Heidi Schoenenberger (USA/Ireland), Katy Weir (England), Kirsty Roberts (England), Leonie Bruckner (Austria), Luciana Candido de Lima (Brazil), Niamh NiChonchubhair (Ireland), Philip Morris (England), Sacha Copland (New Zealand), Sachiyo Yorifuji (Japan), Sarah Hope Morrissey (Ireland), Samantha Porciello (Northern Ireland), Stacey Sampson (England), Thong Pei Qin (Singapore) and Yusrah Bardien (South Africa). And us! Nina Weber (Germany) and I, from the 2015 group of Next Generation participants.

2nd July, 2016

The first day and I was already on the edge of time, I was running late. Having a smaller group this time meant we get to know each other and each other’s work well (at last I hoped so). And so it was! We were scheduled to share or present the work we do to the rest of the group over two days. The first day turned out to be pretty intense with some physical work and some brain picking about whether we’re really different, or say, more evolved than each other? The circus session by Catherine rid me of a lot of inhibitions about myself. Especially about doing circus acts and climbing on people’s shoulders! The evening ended with a wonderfully planned and executed opening ceremony.

Photo of the day: Steve Ball, Executive Producer of ON THE EDGE announcing the names of

countries OTE had delegates from, with no borders between them.

3rd July, 2016

The sharing and presentations continued the next day with more work with the body, brain and heart. Looked like Natalie (our coordinator at OTE) scheduled all dance and movement based artistes on the same day. The plays for the day were extraordinarily simple! “Brush” (South Korea) was a simplistic live art and clown show – no forced clowning, innocent and a non-gender specific casting. The clowning seemed to come naturally to them. The main ‘attraction’ of the play was the live painting that the performers made for the backdrop, topped with live music from different small instruments and an accordion. “The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean” (Scotland) made me wonder how we can do so much with simple things. Open an old scrapbook and you have so many stories to tell (you must try this at home)! Nina arrived tonight. I was SO restless to see her! And when I did, our neighbours at the hostel were wondering why we were screaming so much.

Photo of the day: Kelly Fielder (USA) and Sally at mac Birmingham. Sally sells beautifully

hand painted pieces of wood. Kelly and I had an awkward bus ride to the mac that morning, waiting for the other to start a conversation.

4th July, 2016

And more mesmerizing plays! Again, what simple things and thoughts can do! “Boing!” (England) was a b-boying based devised piece about the anxiety children have the night before Christmas. I became a child during the performance! Later that evening, the “Boing!” team had a sharing of their process for limited number of participants. They shared some exercises they did while exploring the idea and taught us some basic moves. The exercises were so relatable and familiar yet so specific to “Boing!”, I can’t really put my thoughts about it in words. “Nosferatu” (France) lit up my afternoon in the black box, quite literally. Light bulbs told the Dracula story, with two brilliant human storytellers. Funny, cute, amusing, well-timed and yes, spooky too. That evening I finally saw the face behind a flood of emails about an NG alumni event – Ben Fletcher-Watson and also what the event was all about. The Next Generation alumni inspired us by sharing projects that they collaborated on or are work in progress. Proving that borders can’t stop us from making theatre! On the “Uniquely England” night at the festival club, when NG 2016 started dancing to the jazz music playing, Kenjiro Otani (Japan) passed on his wise words to me, “the NG always hits the dance floor first, as I did.”

Photo of the day: L to R: Ben Fletcher-Watson, Peter Kus, Chantal McCormick and Melika Ramic answering our questions about their experiences.

5th July, 2016

A day of intense plays starting with “Pim & Theo” (England, Denmark, Norway, Finland) which was about the deaths of Theodor Van Gogh and Pim Fortuyn. It was a lovely experience where the audience was a part of the performance and a limited number of people were allowed for each show. The exhibition along the way from the auditorium door to the performance area took me on a journey through the life and times of Pim & Theo before I met them in their afterlife! “The Broke ‘N’ Beat Collective” (England) was an interesting blend of beat boxing, break dance and puppetry. Boxes told the stories of 4 youngsters with 4 performers beat boxing, mixing sound and using boxes, small objects, a phone camera and puppets to bring their stories to life. The evening show, “The Hamilton Complex” (Belgium), felt a little dragged but was a visual treat with effortless performances by 13 young girls and a bodybuilder. I squeezed in two discussions in the hectic schedule – on contemporary music theatre by pioneers in music theatre from Germany and about New Visions New Voices by the Write Local Play Global network. The music theatre discussion was a very quick one but I met Andrea Gronemeyer who made ‘Boy With A Suitcase’ with Ranga Shankara, Bangalore. We were so excited to see each other even though we met for the first time! Another late night out in the cold with two strangers I met in Berlin last year and when I said I was writing my thoughts everyday one of them wrote this for me:

Today

I learned a lot about something. Everything is different. The difference is what a day makes.

We should appreciate what we get not what we want. Security is a strangers lie.

That’s all.

Steffen Moor (Germany)

Photo of the day: Nina Weber (R) and I still excited to meet each other after a year after a few sleepless nights.

6th July 2016

History repeats itself. I miss a play again. Heidi, Leonie, Derem, Nina and I went to Soho Street because we had a free morning. Relishing some delicious Indian food, we lost track of time. Yet we managed to leave with enough time in hand to make it for the show of “Losha” (Ireland). The image of us running from the bus stop to the Blue Orange Theatre still makes me laugh – Leonie with a small bowl of Motichoor Laddoo in her hand and me with my camera and a big flute! One by one we entered the lobby and realised that the doors had just closed. Now we have a story to tell! After this girls’ day out we had some free time. So “I Think I Can” (Australia) it was! An interactive miniature town, where before entering we take a ‘career test’ to match our personality with a miniature puppet. Heidi, Nina and I matched with a Reality TV Judge who was already in a controversy about her last show and held a competition between a vampire and a zombie bride for a new reality show! How exciting!

2016 being the year of inclusivity, the Next Generation group had a short workshop with Daryl Beeton of the ASSITEJ International Inclusive Arts Network. He shared his concerns about inclusivity and ways of making inclusive theatre. He stressed upon using inclusion as a creative tool. I have a sign name now! Post that Luciana (Brazil) shared the work she does which is also inclined towards inclusive theatre. The evening ended with discussing our opinions, reflections, questions after the first few days of the festival which would lead to an NG network sharing with other delegates on Friday.

Photo of the day: Daryl Beeton and other participants observing the making of an inclusive

playground.

7th July, 2016

The beginning and end of our work on floor for the sharing. 2 hours, 4 directors, 23 performers. Katy, Gina, Pei Qin and I led the devising of 4 different parts of the performance and Sarah wrote and composed a song with Elidh. Like any ensemble we did have our little arguments but being responsible adults we did move on to make a 15 minute piece. After some hard work we deserved a party, didn’t we? Some of us went for “Katie’s Birthday Party” (Northern Ireland). Yes, it was a party! Katie, the protagonist, played truth and dare with the audience while slowly revealing her life to us. What I was looking forward to most – the ASSITEJ Artistic Encounter, today on freedom of speech and censorship and self- censorship in TYA. I never realised how much we have to filter and edit before we put a show for our young audience! Stories, problems and complaints came from everyone in the group. The play that evening, “Wot? No Fish?” (England) was the story of a Jewish British family told with doodles at the back of wage packets. A very sweet story, I just felt it dragged in between but the actor picked it up when that happened as if reading my mind! Photo of the day: Midnight musings! After the performance of “Brush” the audience was given this outline of a tree and not being sleepy I coloured it.

8th July, 2016

Our morning began with “Reinraumraus” (Austria). More than the performance I was amused by the reaction of the children in the audience. Most of our tickets were for shows for “promoters” so we hardly got to see any children in the audience. But this performance too made me a child and we also got to eat waffles at the end of it! And the Losha adventures continue. We tried to watch it again and it seems we’re collecting memories like Losha. We reach the venue half an hour early this time but we get the news that the performer was so unwell that she couldn’t perform. But thankfully they didn’t cancel the show! Two of the crew members told the story of Losha in third person and showed how she collected and preserved ordinary objects with extraordinary memories. This afternoon’s ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering was on Interdisciplinary practice in TYA. It took me two rounds of group discussion only to understand the term “interdisciplinary”. And no, I’m still not clear with it. May be it’s because I dislike labeling disciplines so labeling anything as interdisciplinary is out of question.

Photo of the day: The 3 Indian delegates at OTE finally get together!

(L to R) Dana Ray (Kolkata), Imran Khan (New Delhi) and Nishna Mehta (Mumbai)

9th July, 2016

By the last day of the festival I was so tired and disoriented, I almost missed the show of “Why do hyaenas have shorter back legs than front legs and why do monkeys have bare bottoms?” (Burkina Faso & France). By the time my brain woke up to process what was going on in the performance I lost track of it again (I don’t even remember how I managed to reach the venue). “A Feast of Bones” (Ireland) is a grim, dark musical – something that Lois Lovett (otherwise a funny Irish man) is known for. Now that we had watched all the plays we were scheduled to, it was time for the Next Generation to choose their favourite play for the award function at the closing. Voting seemed to be an easy way to decide, but that just turned out to be chaotic. We turned to math for our answer! Catherine and Bhavik made a table in which we would write our rating out of 10 and calculate an average. Phew! And the winner was, Nosferatu! Gina and Aamir, from among us presented with the award at the closing ceremony.

Photo of the day: Everyone impatiently waiting for Cat and Bhav to finish making the table so we could fill it in and take a nap!!

The end of ON THE EDGE was just the beginning of a lot of other things! To all who intend to apply for the program in future, go with a clean slate and no expectations. Do not go preoccupied with work back home. Being a part of the Next Generation program is an experience to soak it all in with the people you’re with. It’s a collective. It’s a family. Now I have an extended family across borders!

More articles about the ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering 2016

Next Generation Testimony by Niamh NiChonchubhair – http://www.assitej- international.org/en/2016/07/a-testimony/

Article by Nina Hajiyianni – http://www.assitej-international.org/en/2016/07/assitej- artistic-gathering-for-2016-such-a-success/

More about ‘The Losha Adventures’ by Heidi Schoenenberger –

https://justbehere.wordpress.com/

Categories: Materials from On The Edge, Next Generation Testimonies, ON THE EDGE

Tags: Next Generation Testimonies, On The Edge
Drama as a way to train critical thinking

8 September 2016 20 h 27 min

By: Louis Valente

No responses

Abstract: Mexico is going through a period of political and social crisis. However, the atmosphere of repression, censorship and... Read more →

Abstract:

Mexico is going through a period of political and social crisis. However, the atmosphere of repression, censorship and violence begins with the education of young people, with a culture of body denial, silence, and a lack of self-consciousness.

An education based on arts and especially theater, can help our society to overcome this lack of self- knowledge and gain freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

The following paper is built on the idea that an education based on authentic expression, self-knowledge, physical and emotional freedom is a way of learning and teaching a critical thought that will lead young people to take conscious decisions. I consider that, in Mexico, a general lack of freedom of expression, as well as the government’s repression and censorship, are caused by an education still based on body denial and an outdated value system.

MAN: It is hard to say “no”.

ANA: But…I’ve lost as much by always saying “yes”… MAN: Was your aunt spiritual, idealistic, Catholic? ANA: Yes.

MAN: Then she made you lose your body and a part of your soul. There are those who lose the opposite: they have stomach, gym, sports. We humans are considered physical beings, matter, etcetera, but no sexual, of course, or emotional. Other parents, such as mine, knew that being a man or a woman is a matter of sexuality as it gives you appetites, duality, intricate thought, inspiration, spirit… ¡But my stomach! So is everyone else: They are surgeons, butchers, always amputating limbs, mental planes, gestures…

ANA: Everyone else? Who are they?

MAN: Aunts, governments, bosses, theories. Some of them do it because they’re a bunch of idiots, some for interest

ANA: Interest?

MAN: It’s easier to control half humans. Stage direction: (The lions wake up roaring.)

(Carballido, The Day They Let the Lions Loose, 265-266.)

The Day They Let the Lions Loose is a play wrote by Emilio Carballido in 1959. It is the story of Ana, a fifty year old woman who never dared to disobey anyone nor to question anything, until one day, while strolling through the Chapultepec Park, she gets trapped among a pride of zoo lions that escaped from their cages. This experience, as well as her conversations with Man, will lead her to make her own decisions and to speak up against her aunt for the first time in her life.

Dedicated to Rosario Castellanos, a Mexican feminist writer of the fifties, this play advocates for those women and men who dared going beyond themselves and social parameters, for those who consider the world as a place of struggle and forge their own paths.

The lions represent the possibility of self-consciousness and individual freedom: “The day will come”, Ana says while the police is chasing her as a lion’s accomplice, “in which everyone of you will be in cages, while we lions will be loosened, roaring all over the streets” (íbid., 270.).

When I asked my high school drama students, what did the lion’s freedom stood for, I found that some of them were not only incapable of understanding the play, but those who were, would not dare to say it out loud. “What does the lion’s freedom signify, what do they symbolize?” I kept asking, “Who are the lions?” I insisted, until one of my students ventured an answer, “Us?” she asked, “I mean, we’re supposed to be the lions, we’re supposed to be able to loosen ourselves and our wishes so we can be happy”.

My students don’t know it yet, but I hope that someday they’ll discover how to loosen and set free those lions that roar caged in their eyes and bodies every time they don’t dare, out of fear to be mistaken or to disobey, to express what they really think and feel.

Now I ask myself if my students’ fear to express themselves and their incapability to read and interpret symbols is a reflection of a social dynamic, a social fear, of a society that has been taught over the years to keep silent and, in consequence, forced to forget, to stop fighting, to obey.

The bodies of our children, youth and adults grow and develop subjected by an educational, political and moral system that teaches censorship and obedience, silence and inhibition, which reduces us to shame, humiliation and above all, to doubt and ignorance.

In his essay “The origins of Mexican morality”, Vidales Delgado comments that:

Historically we have no responsibility for the actions of those who lived before us and for the values that guided them, we have no responsibility for the present structures, nor for the belief and value systems we inherited, but we are responsible to accept them or reject them critically, just as we have responsibility for our actions and their consequences. Education can contribute to settle or transform those beliefs and values as our ethicality is built with

elements of the past and the present moment. (Vidales Delgado, “The origins of Mexican morality”.).

I consider that our responsibility as artists is to identify and analyze social problems so we can discuss them in our artistic work and propose new alternatives. My commitment with art and theater is a commitment with education, and that is why I am interested in integrating drama in pedagogical processes. Mexican society claims a comprehensive education which integrates empirical learning processes, a self-awareness and self- consciousness acquisition, an oral education, and social skills.

My interest in using drama in basic education comes from which I consider one of the biggest deficiencies of Mexican education: Our academic programs do not include, or reduce to a minimum, oral activities, conversation dynamics, social and emotional learning. Most kids spend from four to eight hours sitting down, still and silent, just listening and copying down what the teacher says. Although our educational system is supposed to be secular, it is morally based on a body denial in both a physical and a symbolic dimension. It is also an authoritarian system which censorships critical thinking and ignores students’ emotional states. Traditionally, in Mexico values, social and oral skills where taught by family and religion, but since both social institutions have been disjointed, the development of these skills are taken for granted and only a few are aware of the problem, while this deficiency increasingly translates into “harmful” social and personal behaviors.

With the lack of verbal skills comes a lack of physical and intellectual skills not only to perform nonverbal language and gesturing, but also to read and interpret it. Most children do not know what they are feeling, how to name their feelings or how to act them out. Feeling, speaking or moving freely equals to being a bad kid, while not feeling, not speaking, and not moving equals to being a good kid. So our children learn obedience while they develop a lack of self-confidence and self-consciousness, the inhibition to speak, to say “no” or to express themselves through their bodies.

As we all know, voice is a physical expression. Our intention in speech comes from physical, emotional and intellectual movements, not only from our rational capacities. Sometimes it seems that only artists are allowed to express themselves by using their bodies and their emotions as a whole, but let´s face it, those artists or anyone in mexican society who take the risk of expressing their doubts, those who take the risk of questioning, those who become real performers as they act out with their bodies and their voices that which should not be said or done, are not welcome, they either stay marginal or they disappear. And the ones who surround them, inspired by fear, decide to stay quiet, to stay still, to speak only when they are asked to, and to say only what is allowed to. So, as Carballido says, were are still being educated and we live as “half humans”, as it is easier to control us. In Mexico, fear, just like voice or silence, is also a physical matter. Our streets, our public transport, our malls, our parks, our schools, our theaters, our museums, our

homes…Public spaces as well as private spaces are becoming more violent for one reason or another, and yet we do not take action against it because we would not dare to, because of fear, because we will not dare to say “no”.

By several techniques that involve releasing vocal, physical and emotional tensions produced both by personal life experiences and social constructs, I find in drama a possibility to achieve a full self-expression, a critical thinking and a conscious decision making.

Drama is considered to promote communication skills, teamwork, dialogue, negotiation, socialization, etcetera; it stimulates the imagination and creativity; it develops a better understanding of human behavior and empathy with situations that might seem distant.

Creative dramatics encourages students to use their bodies and language to name the world and to create worlds all together, in relation to one another and to the reality in which they live. Also, through the re-creation of the word, its situations and characters, students are able to observe themselves and each other, to question their own behaviors and to re- elaborate their thinking, their beliefs, feelings, and language by the spontaneous and creative elaboration of symbols and metaphors. Either by spontaneous playing or by acting out specific situations they can reproduce, release and observe their own emotions. Through drama, theater allows us to objectify our behavior; by letting us observe ourselves, it tests us, it questions us, and allows us to see in perspective our thoughts, feelings and actions. It allows the development of a critical thinking and allows us to make better and more conscious decisions; it encourages us to use our bodies and our voices, it encourages and inspires us to say “no”, to stand for, to speak up.

The real challenge in a country like Mexico is to put these into practice, is finding the way of bringing drama into education as a primary need, and not only as a secondary treatment in cases of diagnosed problematic social behaviors. Maybe only then, we could as well put into practice the so called ‘dialogue’ that Mexican politicians constantly suggest in order to solving our problems.

Berta María Soní Solchaga

Categories: Materials from On The Edge, ON THE EDGE, Papers and Panels

Tags: Materials from On The Edge, On The Edge

Become a Friend of ASSITEJ and support the Next Generation of Theatre Makers

Round And Round The Gardens:

Drama as a way to train critical thinking

Next Generation at ON THE EDGE 2016 Birmingham Daily Musings

Next Generation Program, Birgmingham 2016 On the Edge

A Testimony

International Inclusive Arts Network