Public Reading and Community Based Theatre

After spending some time on ensemble building, having the experience of staging our own stories through solo performance, and practicing interviewing and listening to other people's stories, we've moved on to the section of the course on community based arts. And as we begin to talk about how a "community based" rehearsal process is different than what we're used to doing (as well as how using these techniques as we rehearse a play that has already been written differs from devising a play with and for a particular community), we've begun to try to make contact with people outside of our class and ensemble. The idea behind the public reading we had a few weeks ago at the library was this: usually, a company begins a rehearsal process around a table reading the play together. This happens just weeks before the actual production is to be staged. We had this reading much earlier, and invited the public to attend, so that the phase of research and rehearsal will extend for a longer period of time than it normally would.

One of the books we're reading regarding Community Based Arts, entitled A Beginner's Guide to Community Based Arts, is a useful book, written in "comic book" format, that is intended for use by people working with young folks who are creating art with an interest in social change in their communities. The book is helpful in finding goals for what we're doing and giving us ideas as we move ahead.

The authors of that book identify three premises on which community based arts are often based. They are: 1. Creativity is a Muscle, implying that all people are creative and simply need to be given the opportunity and encouragement to exercise and build that muscle. Art is not relegated to a few select folks; 2. Art is Information, which I take to mean that through the process of creating art, new and important knowledge is created. Theatre can be fun, but it's also a valuable way of examining and organizing information about significant problems or issues; and 3. Communities are Cultures, which I take as meaning that every group of people who define themselves as a community has its own way of making meaning through language, art, ritual and stories.

This last one is very significant to us with this project, because rather than going into a particular culture defined by geography, for example, we are trying to expand the boundaries of our own small classroom/rehearsal community and create a sort of culture surrounding our rehearsal process. That is, we are trying to generate community through the shared experience of working on this play, and to do so by having conversations about the characters on which the students are working.

Another really useful part of this book that may help in explaining the process we're using is the acronym the authors use for the process of creating community based work. The acronym is C.R.A.F.T., which stands for Contact, Research, Action, Feedback and Teaching. The important thing to note about this is the focus of most theatre is what these writers call the "action" of putting on a play, and this is most certainly important to us in this case. We have a production to stage March 2-6. But for community based work, the production itself shares equal importance with the other stages of the process, and work on it starts earlier and extends after the actual play happens.

So, right now, we are alternately in the "Contact" and "Research" phases for our production. We are seeking people who might help us as we build the characters for this play; and we are starting to think about and discuss the different ideas in a way that can be somehow productive for everyone involved.

Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say a few words about the reading itself: There weren't a lot of people in attendance who were not in the class, but the handful who came were patient, engaged and thoughtful. There was a lot of insightful feedback about the play and our process. During the reading, we had people from the class read, as well as people from the outside community. And it's important to note that we did not cast according to type of any sort. People just volunteered to read. And more than one person noted how interesting it was, given the topic of the play, to hear women read men's roles, or a non-Indian woman reading an Indian role, etc. And this is how we're working as we continue on ... the students in the class have chosen characters according to interest, they haven't been cast according to type. And they are playing people, sometimes, with whom they have very little in common.

There's a great deal in the play about people defying others' expectations of them, and we hope that this will be emphasized by the casting. It will be an unusual thing for audiences to pick up on, and some people may be bothered by it. But the hope is that through this extended process of research, the actors will learn a great deal through building identities different from their own. And that crossing lines of difference in this way might emphasize one thing that stood out to me hearing this reading. One character, at the end of the play, says "...we all live under the same sun, and we all breathe the same air." In some ways, this is a profoundly humanist play, but in a way that also respects human beings' right to difference from others in their various communities.

Many other things came up during the reading that could begin interesting conversations, and I hope to write more about those as we move ahead with the "Contact" and "Research" phases of this process. But first, I want to continue to ask for people's help in building this community: if you are reading this, please feel free to read the play and add your comments about it and the thoughts it brings up for you (personal connections, problems in your community, ideas for staging, etc.), either here on the blog or on our Facebook page (which you can access by clicking on the link at the top right of the page.

More soon ...