Theater for Social Change Project - Assignment Example

Lecturer: Theater for Social Change Project and Paper Summary of the theater for social change activity When the theater for change activity was developed, the group been formed decided on the props and costumes that could be easily accessed and all the performers were responsible for their own materials and were required to aid in providing the general requirements. All the phases of preparation required a certain level of teamwork, for example, the idea for the activity required brainstorming through a negative selection method in order to settle at a final decision. The performance spaces were also collectively chosen with the main criteria of choosing particular spaces being the number of people who would form the audience and the useful props that might be valuable to the overall activity. All the performance settings were designed and performed as a group. The areas that were chosen for the activity were public spaces with had as little obstacles as possible so that the audience would easily interact with the activity. The time and date for the performances to take place were decided with consideration to personal conditions of all the people taking part. There were six performances present at different places and each activity took an average of ten minutes. Even though the performance was public, the member of the group did not make plans for it to be recorded. Nevertheless, the spectators who watched the performances were allowed to record the events as they unfolded. In each place where the performance took place, about twenty to thirty people who were mainly passersby, pedestrians or people at the park would form an ideal audience. The main challenge that was encountered during the performances was the disorder of the spectators since the performances were in a public area. Since the activity was supposed to be interactive, there were instances when the spectators were supposed to come up with some form of intervention. The performances started when all the performers were positioned in the performing spaces and they had to make sure that the theatrical barrier between them and the audience did not exist, otherwise the performances would not elicit the reactions that were intended. Since the performers of the activities that were carried out were not real actors, the entire performance did not dwell on any mistakes and the performers avoided calling each other by name as much as possible so that when the performance was over, people could separate the theater character from the real person. The theater for social change activities were supposed to demonstrated domestic violence, depicted the conflict between the characters, and ended with a confrontation that presented the main conflict. The intervention space was created using this crisis so that some of the spectators could intervene and get a better understanding of the issues that was being symbolized by the performances. The aim of this theater for change activities was to get an intervention from the public as well as develop a situation that will get them talking about the issue that was being represented by the invisible theater. Summary of the conducted activity The theater for social change activity that was carried out involved staging a disagreement between a couple that quickly escalated into a fight where the male partner manhandled the woman. There were two main performers for this activity while the rest of the performers were supposed to act as normal pedestrians on the street, passengers waiting for a bus at the bus stop or people relaxing in the park. These performances were staged on a corner of the street, at the bus stop and in the park so that the reactions of different people could be observed. The different settings were supposed to offer variations to the performances in terms of the urgency of the audience and its effect on their reactions. The performances were supposed to begin at random when all the performers had taken their positions and when there was a considerable number of spectators to witness the activity. The performance at the bus stop took place in the morning when most of the people were waiting for the bus on their way to work and other places like school. The other performers took their positions waiting for an appropriate number of spectators. At this point, the couple staged a small argument that involved the male partner talking abusively at his partner. The activity was planned in such a way that when any of the spectators intervened initially, the male partner would yell at his partner more violently and begin to push her around as if to start a physical fight. In the event that no member of the audience intervened, one member of the performance team was supposed to intervene in order to encourage the other spectators to intervene. The preparations for the performance were the same at the park and in the street whereby the couple took their positions and waited for the rest of the performance to get into place before they could start their act. They also had to wait up to the moment when the number of spectator around them was adequate before beginning the activity. However, this was specifically complicated in the street scenario as most of the people in this setting were constantly moving. With this in mind, the activity was performed where people had to cross a road since they have to stop before crossing. The performance on the street could be carried out at any time of the day since people are always on the street, but the performance at the park had to be carried out in the early afternoon when people were relaxing after having their lunch. In all the cases, the couple was supposed to start an argument that would turn violent if any member of the audience tried to intervene. The rest of the performers were also supposed to be ready to intervene if the spectators did not. They were also supposed to help by explaining that it was a social experiment in the event that members of the audience roughed up the male partner. Analysis of success of the activity In all the cases, the spectators did not respond to the activities that were going on around them immediately as they watched and listened to get a better understanding of what was transpiring. At the bus stop, most of the people pretended not to hear what was going on and looked in the opposite direction in the initial stages of the confrontation. There was no form of intervention as most of them appeared preoccupied with getting into the bus. When none of the people intervened at the bus stop, one of the other performers intervened so that the confrontation could escalate and become more violent in order to observe whether the audience would react. Only two women reacted at this point stating that they would call the police if the man continued to fight with his partner. Not of them moved near the point of confrontation, and when the bus arrived, one of them did not hesitate to get into the bus with the rest of the spectators. It is at this point that the one who was left was informed that the whole occurrence was a performance to observe the reactions of members of the public. The performance in the street had outcomes that were similar to the one seen at the bus stop, as most of the people crossed the road to the other side when it was clear without addressing the confrontation. Only on woman intervened and threatened to make a phone call to law enforcement if the confrontation continued. Despite her intervention and the escalation of the confrontation to become more violent, none of the other people who formed the audience at this place joined her in trying to stop the confrontation. The most extraordinary reaction by the public was observed in the park when the skirmish involving the partners began. It did not take long for some of the spectators to become angered by the events that were taking place even before the confrontation had escalated to become violent. The two main performers did not even get a chance to make their confrontation more violent as the male partner had already been separated from his partner. Some different people had already signaled some police officers who were on one side of the park and it had to take the intervention of the other performers to convince the police officers that it was merely a social experiment. Nevertheless, many people at the park who pretended to busy with other activities and did not pay attention to the events that were unfolding. This experiment demonstrated that people are likely to ignore situations where there are confrontations involving people they are not familiar with. Even when they intervene, they are likely to do so only by calling the police as most of them do not want to get physically involved in stopping the confrontation. There is also the possibility that people who find themselves being spectators or witnesses of confrontations between people they are not familiar with would rather avoid intervening as they do might not really understand the origin of the confrontations or disagreements. This is particularly worrying as confrontations of various forms have a propensity of turning violent within a very short time. Once confrontations become violent, anything is possible as it can end up in severe injuries or even death as well as damage to property. At the bus stop, it was not possible to interview some of the people who witnessed the confrontation between the two performers as most of them got into the bus and left except the woman who was left behind and intervened. It was the same case in the street as most of the people who saw the confrontation develop quickly crossed to the other side of the street. However, it was a different case at the park as there were enough people to be interviewed after the performances were complete. Most of the people who were consulted indicated that even though they felt they had an obligation to intervene when the confrontations started and consequently became violent, they did not have the courage to do so, or the hoped that someone else would intervene first. There were also cases where people thought it was not their business and considered not interfering as the best way of dealing with the situation. The few people who intervened further stated that if it was the man, who was on the receiving end, then they would not have intervened, rather, they would have stepped aside to watch how it would transpire. In subsequent social experiments, it will be important to create a performance that will involve the female partner being more violent than the male partner so that the reactions of the public can also be observed based on this adjustment. Read More