ISTA's SCENE magazine - Theatre in the world - December 20…

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SCENE Global learning through theatre

Wayang Kulit

Matchanu

Theatre in the world IN THIS ISSUE

Theatre for freedom

Jumping into cold waters

Being transported beyond the familiar

Scene Staff Editor - Helen Abbott Design - Keriann O'Rourke Assistant Design - Anna Norriss Proofreader - Janet Schorer Proofreader - Emily Jane Grant Advertising - Tom Scott

ISTA Lakeside Offices The Old Cattle Market Coronation Park Helston, Cornwall TR13 0SR United Kingdom office@ista.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTIONS Digital copies of Scene are available through the ISTA Shop.

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Global learning through theatre

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CONTENTS 6

EDITOR’S NOTE

FEATURES

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CASE STUDY - MATCHANU: A BAROQUE SIAMESE DANCE THEATRE PERFORMANCE How two disciplines came together to create a new form of art and theatre

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ACADEMIC/THEORETICAL - WHO IS’T CAN SAY ‘‘I AM AT THE WORST”?’

SHAKESPEARE UNBARD IN PRISONS Dr Rowan Mackenzie discusses her work and the impact of the arts in the criminal justice system

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THE ILLUMINATED TEXT EXAMINING SHAKESPEARE THROUGH INTERACTIVE, CROSS-MEDIA PRACTICE

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INTERVIEW WITH FENELLA KELLY Discovering the beauty, intricacies and challenges of Kathakali

68 YOUNG VOICES

JUMPING INTO COLD WATERS

By IB DP theatre student Victoria Giardini

LESSON PLANS AND UNITS OF WORK

ARTISTS AND COMPANIES

42 SPOTLIGHT - ILLYA SUMANTO

Teaching emotional literacy through Wayang Kulit. Illya Sumanto discusses her work with students and shadow play

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FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL SUZUKI METHOD AND VIEWPOINTS

FOR HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE FOR FREEDOM

4 week unit exploring physical theatre and how it creates emotional artistry in students

Exploring the deconstruction of boundaries through an Oshiwambo clapping rhythm

Sean Curran introduces us to the work of Theatre du Pif, a group of multidisciplinary performance artists

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PATHWAYS - 5 MINUTES WITH MADELINE LEARY Madeline Leary answers our 5 questions in 5 minutes

ISTA RELATED

7 ISTA NEWS 9 THE ISTA APPROACH - BEING

TRANSPORTED BEYOND THE FAMILIAR ISTA's Executive Director discusses ‘theatre in the world’

Global learning through theatre

15 COLLABORATIONS/PARTNER PROFILE THE SCHOOL OF TRADITIONAL ARTS A look at ISTA’s partnership with the Kerala Kathakali Centre in India

81 FAQS

DECEMBER 2022 | SCENE

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PROFILES - THEATRE DU PIF

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Global learning through theatre

WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO The International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) specialises in global learning through theatre.

We are a UK based charity, founded in 1978, providing transformative learning experiences for educators and young people worldwide. We create communities of learning, working closely with over 240 member schools around the world and we are the International Baccalaureate’s exclusive global provider of teacher training for Diploma Theatre.

We believe in the unique power of theatre and the arts to connect, develop, transform and empower people to become active members and change makers in their own communities and the world.

Click any of the links below for more information.

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Editor’s Note This issue of Scene has been such a joy to curate.

There are so many world theatre traditions that we could feature and so many incredible artists, theatre companies and educators giving them a platform and introducing them to audiences and new generations of learners. But, there are only so many pages we have here! Rest assured though, this topic will be part of our canon going forward so each year we will dedicate an issue to celebrate these diverse practices.

In this issue, we have articles discussing Kathakali, Shakespeare, Wayang Kulit, Boal, Karagöz and Hacivat and much more. There are middle and high school units of work leading us through the blurring of boundaries between creators, performers and audiences and emotional artistry in students through the examination of Suzuki Method and Viewpoints. You will also be introduced to the theatre company Theatre du Pif and Baroque Siamese dance theatre performance, Matchanu.

We are thrilled to be able to feature the work of Dr Rowan Mackenzie and her use of Shakespeare in prisons to offer those serving a custodial sentence a voice and a place within a creative community to examine and develop their identity.

Special thanks to student Victoria Giardini from the International School of Geneva for her reflections and celebration of her experience at our recent annual TaPS (Theatre and Performance Symposium) event in London.

Featuring the young voice in each issue is so important to us - it’s wonderful to get a glimpse into the student perspective.

Helen Abbott Editor

I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I have.

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IB Diploma Programme Theatre Student Handbook Available early 2023

ISTA NEWS

Written by experts to give students comprehensive coverage of the IB theatre guide, the Diploma Programme Theatre Student Handbook is a clear, practical and imaginative toolkit filled with practical activities and top tips for assessment. Providing students with everything they need for their IB theatre journey and reflecting a constructivist approach to teaching and learning, this title is intended to both supplement course delivery from a subject-specialist teacher and to help steer those students who are working independently.

ISTA is proud to be working in cooperation with the International Baccalaureate to publish the first textbook for IB DP Theatre students.

Each chapter contains practical activities to stimulate inquiry-based exploration and is suitable for both individual solo exploration and collaborative group exercises. Each section deliberately highlights links to the IB’s Learner Profile attributes as well as reinforcing the responsibilities of the internationallyminded young theatre-maker in making ethical and sustainable choices in their theatre work.

With space provided throughout for the student’s own written reflections, illustrations and the journaling of their developing ideas and processes, this new handbook offers a valuable record of their ongoing learning.

ISBN 979-8-9869645-0-8 SCENE

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ISTA sites of learning

ISTA NEWS

ISTA's global sites of learning are carefully selected sites where key social, historical and cultural moments that have changed the world have occurred. ISTA events at these sites offer young people and educators the opportunity to explore the stories of the site and that particular moment in history through theatre.

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum New York, USA

ISTA is proud to be collaborating with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum on a festival taking place in April 2023.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum is the principal institution concerned with exploring 9/11, documenting its impact and examining its continuing significance.

Honouring those who were killed in the 2001 and 1993 attacks is at the heart of their mission.

Located at the World Trade Center in New York City, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum tells the story of 9/11 through media, narratives and a collection of monumental and authentic artefacts; presenting visitors with personal stories of loss, recovery and hope.

STANDING TALL This festival will explore how we can use the stories to strengthen our resolve to inspire an end to hatred, ignorance and intolerance.

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Terezín Memorial Terezín, Czech Republic 2 events on site in 2022-2023

This site of learning has been a long-standing collaboration between ISTA and the Terezín Memorial. This year ISTA is hosting two events for upper middle school through high school-aged learners. The MS/HS festival will be guest directed by Highly Sprung.

The Memorial's mission is to preserve the memory of the victims of racial and political persecution during the years of Nazi occupation to develop museum research and educational activities as well as to care for the places associated with the suffering and death of tens of thousands of victims of the reign of violence.

All participants take part in three tours of Terezín: the small fortress tour, the former ghetto tour and the museum tour.

THE CHILDREN’S TREE At these festivals we will explore the nature of activism and education and the role young people play in making sure the world learns from and does not forget the things that matter.

THE ISTA APPROACH

BEING TRANSPORTED BEYOND THE FAMILIAR

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THE ISTA APPROACH

Theatre in the world, one of ISTA’s four strands of work, engages young people not only with different types of theatre practices from around the world but also with different cultures. This interaction with unfamiliar cultures is a key part of the experience and is a key element of developing the global learner. Education for global citizenship has become a significant movement in international education. Focussing ‘on attitudes, values and participation’ rather than the more traditional educational emphasis on the acquisition of knowledge and demonstrable skills, it is built around a pedagogy that emphasises ‘active learning, cooperation, critical understanding of global issues, community participation and development of a sense of justice and equity’ (Roberts 2009). Central to its curriculum is the belief that empathy and responsible citizenship are qualities that can be taught and acquired.

Theatre provides us with an opportunity to engage with culture through the body as well as learn about it in a more theoretical way. Encountering unfamiliar theatre practices through the body develops our understanding and makes something that we consider to be ‘other’ accessible and familiar. This engagement with different practices is provided by our ISTA artists.

Theatre provides us with an opportunity to engage with culture through the body as well as learn about it in a more theoretical way.

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THE ISTA APPROACH

This area of ISTA’s work is a celebration of the diversity not only of theatre in the world but also of the artists we work with.

Learning through the immersive experience In her analysis of immersive theatre and adapting Calleja’s (2011) ideas regarding game theory, Machon (2013)1 identifies three useful definitions of immersive practice related to the theatre experience which may also prove useful in explaining how we at ISTA design our learning experiences: Immersion as absorption where the participant is interested in and engrossed in the experience both imaginatively and physically.

Immersion as transportation where the audience-participant is transported through the imagination, through the physical environment and through the scenographic transformation of the environment to a different world.

together absorption and transportation through our Ensemble Method. Though the ISTA experience has much in common with these areas, one major difference is that the transportation is not only imaginative, activated by the stories we explore at festivals, but also actual; the student is literally transported to different geographic locations, settings, and sites so that these worlds are experienced physically as well as imaginatively. Location, the site where the experience takes place, is therefore a significant feature of experiential learning and immersive theatre at our festivals.

Total immersion – this combines both of the above and allows the participant to inhabit the created world and ‘live’ the experience imaginatively, cognitively and emotionally.

The first of these guides our workshops, Artist in Residencies and projects. Total immersion is the guiding principle of our festivals, bringing

REFERENCES Machon, J. 2013. Immersive Theatres. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

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THE ISTA APPROACH

Cultural literacy The cultural experience which takes place at a festival might be an excursion to a particular site of cultural interest selected by the festival host or someone from the community (speakers, performances, artworks) bringing a cultural perspective to the school. At the ISTA sites of learning such as the Terezín memorial or the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, the site itself provides the cultural experience. This absorption in and transportation to unfamiliar cultural spaces and locations becomes a key part of the immersion and the global learning experience. It develops what ISTA refers to as cultural literacy; the ability to engage with and understand unfamiliar cultures. Cultural literacy is considered by ISTA as a significant contributor to international mindedness and provides young people with “the ability to “read”, learn from and engage appropriately and confidently with a culture and country”.

Theatre in the world Through our experiences, working with specialist artists who are experts in theatre practices from around the world and through immersion at our festival events, participants are not just transported beyond their familiar settings but also beyond themselves. Theatre in the world enhances the experience of theatre as ‘encounter’ with the unfamiliar but it also functions as an interruption. It interrupts a student’s usual experience of learning. It allows participants to step out of their typical modes of engagement and educational settings to encounter themselves and their learning afresh from different perspectives and contexts. The duality of change in both context and engagement allows for new insights and for the development of new strategies for engaging with theatre in the world.

Away from the familiar, they are given the opportunity to try out ways of being in the world that would otherwise, amongst a context where they are known, be impossible.

The transportation is not only imaginative, activated by the stories we explore at festivals, but also actual…

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THE ISTA APPROACH

Theatre in the World continued

Sorrell, Roberts and Henley (2014) in their study of cultural education, The virtuous circle: why creativity and cultural education count, assert that cultural experiences often provided by agencies external to the school, contribute not only to the development of the artistic and social self but also can ‘be a major contributor to helping a young person to develop a sense of their own identity.’

They relate this to the raising of self-fulfilling aspirations:

‘creative and cultural education unlocks expectation, it unlocks heightened expectation for young people of themselves. Even more powerfully, it unlocks the expectations placed by teachers, parents and carers in young people. And those heightened expectations are self-fulfilling.’

Being transported beyond self in order to encounter self anew, therefore, is a key feature of the design of ISTA experiences which are, by their nature, interruptive. By exposing them to the unfamiliar they transport learners out of their environments and out of themselves and then bring them back to themselves with new insights and ways of being. In this respect, theatre in the world and the ISTA festivals can be considered our unique modes of transportation. ◾

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COLLABORATIONS / PARTNER PROFILE

THE SCHOOL OF TRADITIONAL ARTS ISTA is proud to be partnering with the Kerala Kathakali Centre in India to offer young people and teachers the unique

Kerala Kathakali Centre Fort Cochin, Kerala www.ista.co.uk

opportunity to engage with Indian dance theatre in its cultural setting.

Kathakali Dance theatre from Kerala in Southern India, which literally means ‘acting out a story’ (in Malayalam Katha kali means story-play) is a rich fusion of mime, vigorous dance patterns, acting, singing, powerful instrumental accompaniment and unique expression of emotions. It is performed by actors in highly stylised and colourful costumes, mask-like make-up, and wooden crowns embellished with peacock feathers, jewels, and gold leaf (Venu, 2000).

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PARTNER PROFILE

Like other traditional dance forms in India, the themes of the performances are taken from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana. Balakrishnan describes Kathakali as ‘dance, theatre, pantomime and miracle – all rolled into one, yet managing to keep its identity as a complete whole’ (Balakrishnan, 2004: p12).

The Kerala Kathakali Center at Fort Kochi, established in 1994, is a school of ancient arts promoting and preserving the culture and heritage of India. It’s an organisation for performing Kathakali and other Indian classical arts. The centre was established in 1994, as a result of a vision by the late director G. K. Pannuraj and his partner B. J. John and was built in response to popular demand for quality Kathakali performances.

The centre hosts students from all over India and is a major training facility for Kathakali artists from across the country.

This centre also runs an annual Kathakali festival and conducts workshops for youth to learn about Kathakali dance. In addition to performances, the centre also hosts a Kathakali language program to teach children about Kathakali art and culture through an interactive display.

This centre has made a significant contribution to promoting cultural heritage among the people of Kerala through its efforts with various stakeholders including government agencies, educational institutions, cultural and social organisations, private corporations and individuals. The centre has performed more than 500 shows over the years and trained more than 100 artists under its mentorship program.

Images: Sourced from Kerala Kathakali Centre in India - Nov 2022

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PARTNER PROFILE

It's a sanctuary for ancient art and culture in India.

The centre is located near Fort Kochi Beach, in the heart of Kochi city. In 2010, a new institution was built near Fort Kochi Santa Cruz Basilica church. With initial support from the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) of the state government and a National Mission for Sustainable Tourism (NMST), the centre expanded its activities in 2012.

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It's a sanctuary for ancient art and culture in India. This theatre was remodelled in 2010 using temple and church architecture from ancient times. Its beauty, excellent acoustics and talented performers make for an unforgettable experience. It also runs workshops in Kathakali makeup, yoga, meditation and reflexology.

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PARTNER PROFILE

ISTA is working in collaboration with the Kerala Kathakali Center, Manager Sucheendran and ISTA artist and Kathakali specialist Fenella Kelly to organise a student and teacher event for 2023/2024. This will give learners the opportunity to engage in a series of workshops that will immerse them in the dance drama forms of Kerala as well as give them the chance to see authentic Kathakali productions and engage with the local culture and community. Running parallel to this, a teacher workshop will engage teachers with ways to introduce theatre in the world traditions and practices to their students, culminating in the creation of a Kathakali unit of work that will be suitable for middle school, high school and IB DP theatre students. ◾

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This centre has made a significant contribution to promoting cultural heritage among the people of Kerala. www.ista.co.uk

CASE STUDY

Bangkok, Thailand

MATCHANU A BAROQUE SIAMESE DANCE THEATRE PERFORMANCE

BY BENJAMIN TARDIF

Benjamin Tardif takes us through the creation of Matchanu and how two disciplines came together to create a new form of art and theatre.

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CASE STUDY

About inspiration Sallynee Amawat and Benjamin Tardif met for the first time in 2020. After an evening of discussion, sharing and laughter, the 2 artists realised how similar their paths were.

Their creative chemistry and the shared desire to create a work that would combine their disciplines was the starting point of this artistic adventure. As the research and development of this collaborative project began, their main inspiration stemmed from their shared cross-cultural identities: one being of Thai origin and a musician specialising in western classical music while the other being of Quebecois origin and a Thai classical dancer.

Above: Photo from t Montreal venue (Théâtre Paradoxe), taken by Nasuna Stuart-Ulin.

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While their lives are in many ways opposite, their life experiences, sociocultural references and vision of classical arts in a contemporary society echo each other. The type of French Baroque dance music featured in 'Matchanu' flourished during the same historical period as Thai classical masked dance, the khon. This piece is therefore inspired by the fantastical idea of a historical meeting of artists from these two disciplines and how music and dance can inspire each other to create something new and inclusive.

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CASE STUDY

About khon Khon, a type of masked dance theatre, originated in the courts of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya over six hundred years ago. This highly stylised dance is still considered the most refined art form in Thailand with graceful movements, symbolic gestures, beautiful masks and costumes accompanied by traditional music with sung text. In 2018, UNESCO listed khon as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, recognising the historical cultural value of this dance.

The Ramakien or the Thai inspired version of the Hindu epic Ramayana, is the exclusive subject of khon. Known as the 'Glory of Rama,' multiple versions of this epic story exist throughout Southeast Asia, specific to each culture and

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country. The story depicts the eternal struggle between good and evil, embodied by the divine prince Phra Ram who leads an army of monkey warriors against the demon King Tosakhan and his army of demonic giants.

Among other prominent characters is Hanuman, one of the most well known and beloved characters of the Ramakien. The loyal white monkey servant of Phra Ram, in addition to possessing magical powers, is also cunning and mischievous. Hanuman plays a key role in defeating the army of giants and helping the prince find his beloved, kidnapped by Tosakhan. The Ramakien is one of the oldest existing forms of Thai literature and has had a lasting influence in performing and visual arts, architecture and modern literature.

Their creative chemistry and the shared desire to create a work that would combine their disciplines was the starting point of this artistic adventure.

Below: Photo from the Bangkok venue (Bunditpatanasilpa Institute), taken by Sibtit Karawa.

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CASE STUDY

WE FOUND IT IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS CERTAIN ASPECTS THAT REPRESENT OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF LIFE IN DIFFERENT SOCIETIES. Photo: From the Bangkok venue (Bunditpatanasilpa Institute), taken by Sibtit Karawa.

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CASE STUDY

At first glance new audience members may find it difficult to understand the highly stylised movements of khon.

Under the watchful eye of dance masters the traditions and performance practice

WITH THESE NEW INITIATIVES A NEW GENERATION OF DANCERS IS EMERGING WITH FRESH AND CREATIVE APPROACHES TO PERFORMANCE AND INTERPRETATION… of khon are passed on to new generations of dancers through years of meticulous training. However, like many other classical arts, interest in khon by younger audiences and dancers is waning. In order to revive interest in this art form and make it more accessible to newer generations and international audiences, some groups of artists have endeavoured to explore innovative approaches and adapt khon performances to facilitate their understanding.

With these new initiatives a new generation of dancers is emerging with fresh and creative approaches to performance and interpretation, as well as a renewed interest in khon and its traditions, that will ensure the future of this invaluable art form.

Above: Photo from the Bangkok venue (Bunditpatanasilpa Institute) taken by Sibtit Karawa.

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CASE STUDY

About music While at first glance Thai dance and Baroque music may seem like an improbable pairing, the 2 disciplines share historical as well as artistic connections. In the late 17th century, a series of diplomatic missions occurred between Siam and France in which music played a prominent role. Royalty and diplomats from Siam were treated to performances of opera, in particular that of Jean-Baptiste Lully. In 1686 the composer was invited to dine with the Siamese delegation to France and in turn they were personally welcomed by Lully at several of his performances, including Acis et Galatée, Armide and even his fateful performance of Te Deum.

While the Siamese ambassadors were compelled by the grace and gallantry of French music and arts, the French court was equally captivated by the pageantry and traditions of the Siamese ambassadors.

Not surprising, given that music and dance played a prominent role in the royal court of both kingdoms. While this mutual fascination was likely due in part to a sincere appreciation or curiosity, it is important to note as well that Europe’s 'exoticsim' of Eastern lands was in large part due to the push for colonial expansion during the 17th century. However, while France had its eyes on establishing a French protectorate in Siam and made several attempts to introduce Christianity within the kingdom , ultimately they were unsuccessful at both.

The many documented accounts of cultural and musical exchanges between the French and Siamese are the departure point for 24

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the musical setting of 'Matchanu.' While these historical accounts often vary in their accuracy or true understanding of the respective art forms, the inspiration behind the musical scoring of 'Matchanu' is a sort of revisionist history or historical fantasy in which two cultures come together to create a truly hybrid work.

The musical selections are predominantly influenced by French dance forms, a natural accompaniment to dance and a surprising compliment to khon choreography.

However, the actual composers themselves tie in to our underlying themes, a sort of dream team of musicians who perhaps would have been up to the task of composing an original score. All of these composers were regarded as innovative and some were even controversial (Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes made its shocking debut

Above: Photo from the Bangkok venue (Bunditpatanasilpa Institute), taken by Sibtit Karawa.

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CASE STUDY

in 1735 and to this day remains controversial for many reasons). Some composers were also dancers themselves (Lully, Leclair). Some were immigrants (Lully, Braun). Some were consummate travellers who were fascinated by other cultures (Telemann) and some were so extraordinarily adroit at composing with a mixture of styles that even the most conservative of listeners cannot help but be moved (Bach).

About Matchanu This multidisciplinary project stages three main narrative layers drawing their inspiration from (1) the paths and life experiences of the two co creators, (2)

the epic of the Ramakien and more specifically from the character of Matchanu and finally (3) contemporary Thai and Canadian societies. Therefore, from one scene to another we see an interesting mix between references, concepts and symbolism coming from these various narratives which allows to reveal different interpretations according to each person's perspective. This more 'contemporary' approach using the classic codes of khon and baroque music provide more freedom for these ancient art forms in order to reveal a message and ideas that remain most relevant today. We decided to name this performance Matchanu because this half monkey half fish secondary character represents our own personal dualities very well.

Above: Photo from the Bangkok venue (Bunditpatanasilpa Institute), taken by Sibtit Karawa.

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CASE STUDY

Thus we imagined the character’s backstory because few details are given to us in the original story. And since his adventures echo the life paths of the creators, we could find parallels between the different narrative layers.

Finally, we found it important to address certain aspects that represent our personal experiences of life in different societies whether Thai, Canadian or other by referring to elements drawn from both the past and the present. We wanted our show to reach people from all walks of life regardless of their knowledge or experience of the cultures previously mentioned because, after all, our message is about human nature. For example, in the Ramakien there is no mention of Matchanu's mother’s pregnancy experience or the range of emotions she felt, just as

Above: Photo of Sallynee Amawat

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there are no details of the upbringing of Matchanu while he was growing up with his foster ogre family, without having known his biological father. So we imagined certain scenes based on an analysis of the characters in the Thai mythology, while juxtaposing certain elements that are more personal to us and therefore making it more up-to-date. So although the dance respects the aesthetics of khon the topic is decidedly contemporary, thus allowing us to ‘modernise’ khon. We have also avoided the use of narration or sung lyrics in order to emphasise on the talent of the performers both in dance and music to convey the emotion and the message. In short, Matchanu is a baroque khon performance at the crossroads between tradition and modernity, between east and west, between past and present. ◾

Above: Photo of Benjamin Tardif

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THE TREE OF THE THEATRE OF THE OPPRESSED

BY ADRIAN JACKSON

UNITED KINGDOM

Recently I had the pleasure of leading a workshop in London for ISTA. This blog which will shortly appear on the website of our new organisation STOP, the School of Theatre of the Oppressed, London. Please check out the website and sign up to hear about upcoming Theatre of the Oppressed training: www.stoplondon.co.uk I think Augusto started drawing his beloved tree sometime in the early 2000s and regularly redrew it in workshops for the rest of the decade.

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BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

The objective of the whole tree is to bring forth fruits, seeds and flowers: this is our desired goal, in order that the Theatre of the Oppressed may seek not only to understand reality, but to transform it to our liking.

We, the oppressed.

Augusto Boal, Aesthetics of the Oppressed

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BEYOND THE CLASSROOM He had a couple of drawings that he liked to do as part of his courses – I always enjoyed his cartoon of a face showing conscious, preconscious and subconscious – or the boiling pressure cooker used to illustrate the trilogy of personne, pesonnage and personalité, all possible outcomes, heated by theatre. The tree is of course a much more mythical and elemental representation than either of these.

The scientist in Augusto (his first degree was in chemistry) liked to schematize things and perhaps it was also important to demonstrate that all aspects of Theatre of the Oppressedincluding the Rainbow of Desires which attracted some criticism at first from the left as a bourgeois indulgence – are linked and part of a single system. He was after all a man who had experimented with so many forms and applications of theatre in a long theatre making life – perhaps the tree also was a way for him himself to make sense of all these experiments and adventures.

As a drawing it speaks for itself and most aspects require little clarification. The firmness of the grounding in politics and economy could be seen as a reminder to dilettantes, to people who only used TO games and workshops to play or to dabble, without any real intention to change the world; or worse, those from the corporate sector he so disliked who abrogated his techniques and turned them to other ends.

The multiplication in the soil pointed to the imperative to pass on the work and how much that in turn feeds one's own work.

Solidarity he reminds us is also a critical element of participation in TO, solidarity with all the oppressed who may turn to these tools. Solidarity as he reminded us, severely quoting Che Guevara, means running the

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same risks – something few of us can live up to all the time.

Perhaps the tree was also a way for him himself to make sense of all these experiments and adventures.

The Image and sound in the soil remind us of the importance of the core elements of the TO vocabulary, common to all the branches above. Image reappears in the trunk, such is its centrality to the work, along with the equally vital Games. Games are after all the trick to entice all into the world of theatre making, the playful tool through which so much understanding can be arrived at, through which so much work can be achieved on the creation of community and common purpose. And also in the trunk is Forum Theatre, a form which goes across the others, particularly Rainbow, using replacement of characters as a way of walking in others’ shoes, to rehearse change and test ideas.

Forum is of course the best known of Boal’s inventions and perhaps the most used after Image Theatre. The form of Forum allows it to be used with great simplicity or great sophistication – it will work either way.

Legislative Theatre has come more and more into its own, inviting as it does the participation of the powerful as well as the oppressed in the creation of solutions.

Perhaps its invention was also a recognition of some of the limitations of Forum Theatre,

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BEYOND THE CLASSROOM which in its purer forms restricts its participation to those most directly affected by the oppression, the oppressed. But perversely it risks delegating the change process to the powerful – in the same way Forum Theatre risks giving the less powerful the sole responsibility to bring about change.

Both potential errors are easily enough avoided by dint of careful application. But the connecting of the Legislative Theatre branch makes clear that this technique is best applied as part of a larger process of change and theatre making.

The Rainbow of Desires deals with internalised oppression. Of course it is very connected with the more openly political sides of TO since it recognises that the forces that torment us internally or restrict our fields of action, ideas and limitations in our heads – these things do not come from nowhere; they are the outgrowths or ingrowths of political systems and brainwashing which have led us to be who we think we are.

Some branches are now less practised.

Invisible Theatre, essentially the creation of theatre in real life contexts without being revealed as such – can sometimes bring with it the risk of being exploitative or manipulative or even at odds with the open audience inclusion so important to Forum Theatre. But it is great fun to do and very powerful in the right hands and at the right

moment. Newspaper Theatre is also less seen these days but is arguably more important than ever, especially if it tackles all forms of media representation. The adoption of other means of reporting news, other modes of delivery is revealing and often hysterically funny. In our age of polar opposites, of media ownership and fake news, the more we get to see that the medium is the message and the truth is often subjective, the better.

And then of course Direct Action. Since stepping down from leading a very respectable organisation, a charity which theoretically was not to participate in political actions, I have had both more freedom and more time to do things. A bit like Tony Benn who said when he left parliament he would have more time to do politics. One of these projects has involved one of STOP’s cofounders, Lil Woods and her mother Sarah, the musician Boff Whalley and others in the creation of Artists in Exile, which has been working in a very concrete and down to earth way to help Ukrainian and other artists escape that conflict and find refuge and support here.

I have been reminded how much this kind of direct action feeds back into my theatre making both in content and practice. Looking at Boal’s tree we see how TO can be a holistic experience, how faith in changing the world can harness the power of all these branches and this solid trunk. It's good to be reminded. ◾

FURTHER INFORMATION STOP, the School of Theatre of the Oppressed, London www.Stoplondon.co.uk Adrian Jackson Theatre (coming soon) www.Adrianjacksontheatre.com 30

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A C A D E M I C

T H E O R E T I C A L

‘WHO IS’T CAN SAY ‘‘I AM AT THE WORST”?’

Shakespeare UnBard in prisons

BY DR ROWAN MACKENZIE England, United Kingdom

of British culture – imbued with a rich cultural capital stretching back centuries which can be both a source of pride and an elitist cause of exclusion of those with lesser formal education or perceived appreciation of the arts. However, Shakespeare UnBard inverts this cultural and

instead

creates

productions of his work. Shakespeare Unbard operates in multiple English prisons; in two of

Shakespeare is usually seen to be the epitome

capital

and work collaboratively to produce full length

heterotopic

opportunities through the use of Shakespeare with incarcerated people, allowing participants to explore communication through what Jennings described as ‘dramatic distancing’ 2

which I have founded permanent theatre companies: The Gallowfield Players began in 2018 and Emergency Shakespeare in 2019.

Each company has a unique character formed from the combination of actors involved rather than a formulaic approach to creating a prison theatre company. Both companies have staged several productions despite the restrictions of the pandemic, appropriating Shakespeare to enable them to communicate with their peers, prison staff, families and invited guests in often unexpected ways.

Image: Emergency Shakespeare’s Othello programme, Drawn by Brody (2021)

ACADEMIC / THEORETICAL

The community created by the company enables those involved to develop their identity not as prisoners but as people with futures that they can shape and influence.

Foucault coined the term ‘heterotopia’ to describe cultural spaces which are dislocated from expectation to form counter sites ‘outside of all places, even though it may be possible to indicate their location within reality’. 3 Tompkins developed this notion in relation to theatre in her 2014 monograph, where she describes her concept that the heterotopia is created through juxtaposing the constructed space of the theatre set and the abstracted space of the playworld

Shakespeare, my research within prisons evidences the ways in which Shakespeare can be used as a powerful tool to enable those incarcerated to challenge their perceptions of themselves and for those watching performances to realise that they are so much more than the labels applied by society.

As Michael (an actor in The Gallowfield Players) describes:

‘Upon crossing the threshold of prison we instantly become less, we are stripped of our clothes, our dignity and even our humanity. Our lives prior to incarceration instantly rendered worthless. All our 5 experience, our knowledge debased.’

4

to challenge perceptions. I have built on this in the context of theatre with marginalised communities to consider how performances of Shakespeare can have a heterotopic effect regarding the supposed limitations of the participants.

Substituting the abstracted space with the abstracted concept of appropriated

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Image: Shakespeare UnBard logo, designed by Michael (an actor in The Gallowfield Players) (2020)

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ACADEMIC / THEORETICAL

For many serving a custodial sentence the imprisonment has a catastrophic effect on their sense of self identity as well as their ability to make any sort of decision. Warr states that ‘the deprivation of autonomy is potentially the most destructive of the pains of imprisonment as it confers a direct assault 6 on one’s sense of self and erodes any positive notion of the self.’ It is these dehumanising effects of imprisonment which Shakespeare UnBard aims to address through the formation of collaborative theatre companies where each participant has an equal share and an equal voice. This equality is crucial to enabling those involved to develop a sense of positive autonomy (acknowledging that it will be limited by the constraints of the prison environment but allowing them to take ownership of some elements of their existence through the theatre company and to begin to build an identity of which they can be proud).

Those involved feel that they have an ownership of the theatre company and of the work produced – being involved in every decision from the choice of the play to editorial decisions, casting, scenery, costumes, props and music. There is no hierarchy within the ensemble and each individual is encouraged to express their opinion and to consider those of their peers with respect and supportiveness. Each stage of the rehearsal cycle involves the participants as they select the roles each

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For many serving a custodial sentence the imprisonment has a catastrophic effect on their sense of self identity… will play, adapt the text to enable it to speak to their own experiences and create scenery, soundscapes and costumes to encapsulate the stage play world into which the audience will be invited. Working in the prison environment poses additional challenges to those usually faced during rehearsals – regime changes can be unexpected, immediate and disruptive, props and costumes require security clearance and there are a myriad of other factors to consider within custodial settings.

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ACADEMIC / THEORETICAL Yet, despite these challenges, the actors in both The Gallowfield Players and

To develop a sense of belonging in one of the most isolating institutional settings

Emergency Shakespeare create productions which are described as ‘superb’, ‘pure joy’,

imaginable is a significant achievement and yet these men do just that; creating a

‘so moving’ and ‘fantastic’. 7 One invited guest described Emergency Shakespeare’s The Tempest as:

pseudo family network which offers them emotional sustenance during their sentence.

‘A huge sense of achievement, belonging, a chance to create and work as a team, a sense of pride and being more than just a prisoner, it gives them something to aim for, it brings joy, the benefits are endless.

But also to the audience – giving prisoners, staff members, families a chance to share in the performance, being in a theatre in a prison.’ 8

The community created by the company enables those involved to develop their identity not as prisoners but as people with futures that they can shape and influence.

Those who have continued familial contact are able to share a Family Day, during which they have lunch before the performance and then the opportunity to spend additional informal time with their family afterwards

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Image: Emergency Shakespeare perform The Tempest, 2022.

Photo credit George Vuckovic

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ACADEMIC / THEORETICAL

Image: The Gallowfield Players The Merchant programme, drawn by Richard (2020)

Rob (an actor in The Gallowfield Players,) described the family performance of The Merchant as:

‘Something I could do to make them proud of me. This isn’t something we ever really have the opportunity for in here, we can achieve things and tell family/loved ones about it but I can’t think of anything else I have been able to share, something special like that, with them. Today was such a powerfully positive experience.’ 9 The families also often express their delight at being able to share in such a special event where their loved one is seen not as a prisoner but as an actor and they are able to meet their fellow actors (which is not possible during a standard prison visit). The

effort put into the productions cannot be underestimated, with men spending several hours a day working on their lines amongst other elements. But for the period of time when they are performing, they are able to transcend the literal and metaphorical imprisonment they endure. Instead they become, for a period of time, actors engaging their audience, freed from constraints and able to showcase their talents as well as give space to their humanity. Theatre asks us to suspend our disbelief, put aside our assumptions and engage with what is played out before us; when theatre is performed by those incarcerated for serious violent offences it asks the audience to ‘look beyond the labels, see behind the stigma and see something 10 more’. ◾

REFERENCES 1. Shakespeare, William (ed. R.A. Foakes) King Lear (London: Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare, 1997) 4.1.27 2. Sue Jennings, Dramatherapy: Theory and Practice Volume 2 (London: Routledge, 1992) 17 3. Michel Foucault, ‘Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias’, trans. by Jay Miskowiec (1984) 4. Joanne Tompkins, Theatre’s Heterotopias: Performance and the Cultural Politics of Space (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) 5. Michael, ‘Experiencing Freedom within the High Security Estate’ (unpublished, 2019) 6. Jason Warr, ‘The prisoner: Inside and Out’, in Jewkes, Yvonne, Jamie Bennett and Ben Crewe (eds.) Handbook on Prisons: Second Edition (London: Routledge, 2016) 586-604, 593 7. Emergency Shakespeare, Feedback from The Tempest (unpublished, 2022) 8. Emergency Shakespeare, Feedback from The Tempest (unpublished, 2022) 9. Rob, ‘Rehearsal diary for The Merchant’ (unpublished, 2020) 10. Keith, ‘Thank you speech given after Julius Caesar’ (unpublished, 2019)

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Interview

FENELLA KELLY Kathakali performer, artist, drama teacher, theatre principal examiner, educational consultant and respected teacher trainer Fenella Kelly joins Scene editor Helen Abbott to discuss her extensive work in Kathakali.

Helen: This issue is all about theatre practices and traditions from around the world. You are a qualified performer of Kathakali. What drew you to this practice?

Fenella: Initially, I started researching Kathakali with an IB student back in Brazil. I was looking for a theatre form that she would enjoy and the reason I picked it is because she was a dancer. When we started researching it I had to help her a lot with the research at the time, because it was before we had the internet. So there were a lot of faxes going back and forth! It got to the end of research and she said to me: ‘We should go, shouldn't we? We should go and try it!’ And so that was when I was inspired to try - we’d done so much research in terms of the movement and the history. I was drawn to the music, the dance, the acting, the makeup and the costume all in equal measure and I www.ista.co.uk

Coventry, United Kingdom was just fascinated by the combination. I wanted to find out more about how you would go about learning it.

Helen: The learning style is very different from European practices and requires a different level of cultural understanding. How do you access that and learn to appreciate the art form as an outsider?

Fenella: Personally, I think you have to go to India and learn from a Kathakali artist. I think it's the only way to do it. Or learn from somebody like myself who's gone through years of training in that field, because the learning style is very much master to SCENE

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apprentice. So you will copy and repeat, again and again, until the teacher says you can move on to the next step. And it takes 8 years to learn categorically. You just have to be very, very patient because you're building the muscles, you're building the coordination, you're basically changing the way your brain works and your body functions, to be able to do the art form. One big part of your training is being massaged by your teacher - it's literally manipulating the body. So it's very different from western teaching.

There are no immediate rewards, it takes time and you need to be patient. It's a process.

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I was drawn to the music, the dance, the acting, the makeup and the costume all in equal measure and I was just fascinated by the combination.

Helen: You've taught Kathakali to students and adults around the world.

What response do you generally get?

Fenella: There are a couple of really interesting responses that always happen.

One is they're surprised how physically demanding it is. Secondly, they cannot understand why their hands won't do what they want them to do straight away.

There's always this moment, that sort of epiphany when I do the Mudras - we try changing the hands from one to the other and they think ‘why won't my hands do that’! So very early on they appreciate the intricacies of it and that it is a physically and mentally demanding practice. And it takes time to learn. Ultimately I'd say they enjoy it though. They think it's great fun doing the facial expressions! They enjoy the challenge of learning the footwork, the strength in the Kalaripayattu training and they take great pleasure in being able to do words using the Mudras and facial expressions together. So I'd say 99% of the time, I have found that people have gone away thinking ‘this is really interesting and I've enjoyed it and I have an appreciation for this dance theatre tradition’. www.ista.co.uk

INTERVIEW

Helen: Why is the study of a theatre practice from another country or culture of value to students?

Fenella: I think it's hugely valuable in the sense that it enables you to see things from a completely different perspective. You discover things you never thought you would ever be researching or doing and it opens doors into other parts of the world and the other ways that people communicate. For example, I never knew until I started studying Kathakali that you could speak through your hands, through your feet and through the movement of your body, and then combine all of these to reach and move an audience. The whole nature of the makeup is another area I was not expecting to learn about and the fact that it was and still is, made from natural materials from Kerala. I would never have known about these things. So by embracing something new and unknown, it really helps anybody who's learning about theatre to see the world in a different way and have a newfound appreciation of art, what art can do and what performance means.

The learning style is very much master to apprentice.

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INTERVIEW

Helen: There's a fine line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation.

How does a non-Indian performer study and perform Kathakali while walking this sometimes very thin line?

Fenella: I'll give you a little anecdote.

When I first went to India this was the question I was wrestling with. I was thinking: ‘How is a teacher going to accept me? I'm not Hindu. I'm not Indian. I haven't read the Ramayana. I haven't read the Mahabharata. Are they going to accept me to learn this theatre tradition?’ The first question my teacher Mr Keshevan asked me was: ‘Why?. And so I explained that I was drawn to the physical side of it - I'd been a dancer, I was a musician, I was an actor - and I wanted to delve into the theatre tradition. And he said, ‘But are you interested in the culture?’ And I said, ‘Well, of course’. I think that you have to be accepted by your teacher in that kind of context, if you can show that you're going to be invested. The other thing that swung it for me was that I told him that I wanted Kathakali to be understood and appreciated by people outside of India. ‘I'm not doing this for me’, I said. ‘I'm doing it so that I can be the mouthpiece, in a way, to share what Kathakali is.’

While I was studying, the role of my teacher was to teach me the physical side of how to do it. I then invested huge amounts of time every day, researching Kathakali more widely so I could try and understand the stories. I wanted to understand why we've got the seed in the

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INTERVIEW

✅

You're basically changing the way your brain works and your body functions, to be able to do the art form. www.ista.co.uk

eye, why the makeup is like that. Because if you're going to immerse yourself in a culture, you've got to embrace it 100%.

I also went in without any judgement. I was thinking: ‘Okay, let's find out why.

Great. Now I can dive in.’ He could see that I was serious, that I wasn't just doing it as a cultural tourist. I was doing it because I really wanted to understand what the tradition was all about and it didn't matter to him that I wasn't Hindu. The important thing was that I was a fellow artist. I had an appreciation for the tradition, I respected him and I respected the art form. ◾

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SPOTLIGHT

ILLYA SUMANTO

Teaching emotional literacy through Wayang Kulit 42

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Chiang Mai, Thailand

‘Shadow is like a friend.’

Som, 8 years old It is fun to imagine how the earliest humans entertained themselves with shadow play as they discovered fire.

Perhaps this form of ancient entertainment later evolved when people started drying and perforating the skin of animals that they had eaten to make puppets. www.ista.co.uk

SPOTLIGHT In Southeast Asia, the shadow puppet theatre known as Wayang Kulit was initially performed not only to entertain but to bridge the physical and the spirit worlds in order to heal, ward off misfortune, seek guidance and invoke solutions to problems faced by the community. The word wayang derives from an old Javanese term for the exposure to the soul inspiration, wayo.

Kulit means skin.

The dalang or puppeteer, played an important role not just in the shadow theatre but in his community at large.

He served as a shaman, priest, playwright and entertainer all at once!

Sometimes he would play with the puppets alone without an audience and get into an inner pilgrimage through the shadows to answer questions he had for himself.

‘One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making the darkness conscious.’

Having used shadow puppetry for seven years now and watching young people going through the process of producing a Wayang Kulit show has shown me that this expressive medium can help students feel safe to open up to drama, themselves and their classroom community. When a physical tool is used, they are likely to feel braver to express their truth, as the puppets create detachment from ‘the self’ and performing behind a screen mitigates the anxiety of exposing themselves in front of an audience.

I recently moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to work in a green and value based institution, Panyaden International School, where my efforts to teach emotional literacy through wayang are supported more than they ever have been in a school environment.

Panyaden has a mindfulness director who regularly emphasises ‘EQ before IQ’.

Carl Jung My journey of teaching Wayang Kulit as a tool to teach emotional literacy in drama is rooted in how many of my previous students refused to participate in drama activities, presumably as an act of self protection.

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SPOTLIGHT

When a physical tool is used, they are likely to feel braver to express their truth.

Working closely with homeroom teachers and the school counsellor, my current project entails using Wayang Kulit or nang talung in Thai, as a self reflective practice to help students unpack the shadow of their self esteem.

The big question my primary school students were instructed to reflect on at the beginning of this school year was: 'What stops you from being confident?’

Interestingly, most of them said it was the fear and shame of being laughed at for making mistakes.

To cultivate self expression, healthy self esteem and courage, a platform to practise vulnerability and empathy must be facilitated. Based on my experience, the most valuable outcome that Wayang

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Kulit can bring to a student’s life is togive them the opportunity to normalise emotional dialogue no matter how shy, reluctant and non verbal a student is.

Everyone has a story about fear, insecurity and shame that becomes the precursor of their behaviours and lack of self esteem. My hack to getting students to connect and open up is instigating these stories through the puppet making process. After a talking circle, the children in my class are invited to sketch an imagined physical form of the feelings they share and turn them into shadow puppets. If fear and shame could have a body, what would they look like?

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SPOTLIGHT For the character development of each puppet of feeling, I adapt Stanislavsky’s seven questions into the following:

Who am I? (i.e. I am the Puppet of Shame) What happened to me?

Where was I? What time was it?

What do I want to feel instead?

Why do I want to feel that way?

How can I achieve that?

This self reflective practice, coupled with the ambience created by the light, darkness and shadow of the puppets naturally encourages spontaneous play between my students. No script is needed, although some students need to be ‘hot-seated’ behind the screen alone to get comfortable to start. And the trick to making the puppet come alive is by focusing only on its shadow.

Taking wisdom from the dalangs, I always encourage my students to take their time to play by themselves and verbally interact with their puppets.

Through observing the students’ free play, I have learned that Wayang Kulit permits them to project their problems onto the puppets they create. It allows them to work out their issues and freely express their emotional frustration.

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When students have their eyes on the shadow on the screen, emotional catharsis begins to flow as the images projected by the light symbolically embody their inner conflicts and self belief. Typically, some children will use words like 'killing', 'dying' and ‘destroy’ in their free play. Instead of stopping and telling them these words are not

The word wayang derives from an old Javanese term for the exposure to the soul inspiration, wayo.

Kulit means skin.

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SPOTLIGHT school-friendly, my approach is to look further by asking students about the feeling behind the action of the shadow.

Having students recognize and express their inner conflicts whether through a talking circle, reflective writing or spontaneous play, has helped me better understand and more deeply connect with my students. Stories shared when students finally perform in front of their classmates also allow them to realise everyone has the same set of feelings and needs, which can enrich empathy within the classroom community.

Behavioural changes can thus be facilitated through the feeling of accomplishment and increased self esteem from completing the long

process of collectively shadow puppet show.

creating

a

Although shadow is innate to being human, most of us refuse to recognize its existence. As Carl Jung suggests: 'Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.' We often demonise our shadows or the 'negative' qualities in us that are shaped by our life experiences. Failing to embrace our shadows can hold us back from being the version of ourselves that we want to be.

Let’s teach our kids to make shadows their friends. ◾

To cultivate self expression, healthy self esteem and courage, a platform to practise vulnerability and empathy must be facilitated.

REFERENCES Bujang, R. H. (2007). Fungsi komunikasi dan estetika dalam persembahan teater tradisional wayang kulit. Jurnal Pengajian Melayu/Journal of Malay Studies (JOMAS), 18(1), 135-156.

Jacobi, J. (Ed.). (2014). CG Jung: Psychological Reflections: A new anthology of his writings 1905-1961. Routledge.

Taweethong, N. (2014). The History of Nang Talung: ‘Shadow play’ from Asia to Southern Thailand.

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PROFILES

THEATRE DU PIF Hong Kong

This article introduces us to the work of Theatre du Pif. A group of multidisciplinary performance artists brought together with the purpose of ‘creating original work that connects, touches and inspires’.

BY SEAN CURRAN www.ista.co.uk

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From the first day Bonni and I started Theatre du Pif, we were very sure that the work that we do had to be about the community. Whether it was in Edinburgh where the company began or thirty years later in our base on the island of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong, we have not stopped connecting with communities where we live and work.

Our Verbatim Theatre production The Will to Build was a key example of producing theatre for the city and the community. This production explored 5 key elements related to our city: space, pace, functionality, spirituality and identity. It also examined the past, present and future of Hong Kong’s relentless cycle of construction and destruction and the effects on the bodies, hearts and minds of the city’s inhabitants. For more than a year we interviewed people who were intimately involved in and affected by our city’s will to build: construction workers, architects, urban planners, academics, farmers, politicians and cage dwellers.* I recall visiting an elderly man, Joe, who lived in a subdivided flat in Mong Kok, an area that has the highest density of population per square foot in the whole world. Joe’s home measured no more than 50 square feet but in that cramped, dark space we experienced a sense of calm and peace while the cacophony of sounds from the busy streets raged outside. In the corner of Joe’s room was a Chinese altar common in traditional homes and on it sat the Buddha, a small jade presence that seemed to lighten the whole space.

In the hour we interviewed Joe, we saw a side of Hong Kong we had never seen before. Our city, a bastion of free market and capitalistic enterprises and yet hidden from sight, Joe and others lived in conditions that most people would find hard to *Cage dwellers are low-income individuals in Hong Kong who live in spaces that are in the size of a large cage.

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THEATRE DU PIF

imagine. When we asked Joe how he could live in such cramped conditions, he laughed and said that he loved his home and would not want to move anywhere else. It was the couple next door, newly arrived from mainland China and living in a similar sized flat with their 2 young children that he felt sorry for.

Sir David Ackers-Jones, British diplomat and Chief Executive of Hong Kong during the city’s colonial era told me how he had stood and wept as he watched the destruction ball of steel smash into the handsome facade of the original Hong Kong Club building.

The resulting performance from all those interviews was a provocative piece of Verbatim Theatre that stimulated debate in the city about the value of Hong Kong’s architectural heritage. Later on we took it from the theatre into secondary schools and universities in Hong Kong to share it with students, many of whom were shocked and amazed to discover there was another ‘history’ or past that had not been taught in schools. www.ista.co.uk

While we have been based in Hong Kong, connecting with new audiences and artists globally continues to be an essential part of our work. Theatre du Pif has travelled annually before the pandemic put it to a halt.

We have toured our productions to Beijing, Berlin, Bogota, Malaysia, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Vancouver and the UK. We enjoy observing and participating with new audiences and it is always interesting for us to see how people in different cities approach our work.

In 2003 we began preparations for a new production inspired by the novel Siddhartha

by Herman Hesse and the songs and poetry of Leonard Cohen. Early on we made the decision that Cohen’s songs would be performed live as a way of interspersing the story of Siddhartha and his journey and that to do this we would need the singer’s permission. We wrote to Cohen more in hope than in expectancy and I still recall the joy we felt when we received his reply. Hesse’s novel had been a great source of inspiration to the SCENE

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Canadian poet and singer and he was happy to give us his permission to use his songs.

Dance Me to the End of Love has toured to several continents over the years and we had hoped that one day Cohen would see the show; unfortunately with his passing in 2016 this wasn’t going to happen. Within a space of a few months we toured the production to Bogotá and then to Berlin.

Very few of our Colombian audience had heard of Leonard Cohen and their interest and joy in the production was being taken into the world of Siddhartha.

In Bogotá we witnessed the love that the Colombian people have for great literature. Many of our audience approached us to talk about how we had taken a piece of work from the page and transported it to the stage and how exciting they had found that experience.

WE WERE VERY SURE THAT THE WORK THAT WE DO HAD TO BE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY.

I recall our opening night in Berlin where the first 3 rows were filled with an older audience who we presumed had come to view this production because of one of the great classics of German literary works while in the rows behind them were the younger Cohen fans who sang along as I sang the

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title song while circling the stage on my bike as Siddhartha’s journey unfolded.

We have been inviting artists to give workshops to local theatre practitioners and students and also to direct some of our productions. These collaborations are crucial to us as they foster global connections and allow us to bring the very best of artists worldwide to Hong Kong to engage with performers and students alike. Over the years we have collaborated with a diverse range of artists including renowned directors and theatre makers Adrian Noble, Tim Crouch, Mikel Murfi and Liam Hurley, the great Korean stage designer Lee Yun Soo as well as the legendary voice teacher Richard Armstrong.

Mikel Murfi is a friend and a link back to my formative years in theatre. Both of us were students at the Jacques Lecoq Theatre School in Paris. In 2015 I invited Mikel to Hong Kong to direct a production of Waiting for Godot.

Mikel’s comedic and deeply moving production of Godot introduced Beckett to a whole new audience in Hong Kong. The production had sold out months in advance and I recall waiting in the wings to enter as Estragon to begin the show, the noise in the auditorium sounded more like the beginning of a pop concert than a theatre production.

The lights dimmed and I walked out slowly into the blackout and sat on my mound of dirt. The anticipation in the silence that filled the auditorium was unforgettable. Slowly the light went up and our young audience watched a tramp desperately trying with great difficulty to remove one of his boots. A few giggles and laughs in the audience; they had entered the world of Beckett. We were about to begin our journey together. www.ista.co.uk

Covid affected our theatre work like it did everyone. Despite the challenge, we have run three international online workshops during the past year for which we invited directors and teachers from around the world to collaborate with seasoned theatre practitioners and young actors and directors.

Liam Hurley’s (Liam is the dramaturge in our production The Will to Build) online course, Writing for the Theatre explored the key principles of dramatic writing as well as different modes of collaboration, dramaturgy and enquiry into the roles of text to the works of diverse Scottish and Asian writers.

As the course developed the participants were coached in crafting the most effective written forms as a vehicle for their own original content and developing authentic voices in their writings for the stage.

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With Covid restrictions slowly opening up in Hong Kong we are looking forward to the coming year with great enthusiasm.

For more than a year we interviewed people who were intimately involved in and affected by our city’s will to build.

Adrian Noble, renowned theatre and opera director will collaborate with us on an intensive workshop programme that will focus on rehearsal methodology and working with actors. We collaborated with Adrian on a production of Hedda Gabler in 2014 and in this new venture he will lead a group of local actors and 2 young directors into the world of Sophocles and Chekhov over two weekends.

look forward to inviting them and others into the world of Theatre du Pif in the coming year.

ABOUT THEATRE DU PIF Theatre du Pif was formed in Scotland in 1992 by Bonni Chan and Sean Curran and for 3 years, they conducted daily classes, taught professional and community groups and devised productions that toured around the UK and Europe.

In 1995, Theatre du Pif relocated to Hong Kong and became known for its cross-cultural heritage and bilingual productions performing in Cantonese, English or both. Often using a workshop and devising process as well as collaborations with dramaturges and artists

We have a newly devised production in collaboration with writer and dramaturge Irene Tsang and a large group of actors, dancers and musicians. This new piece is based on Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ novel Love in the Time of Cholera and who knows, perhaps we could visit our friends and audiences in Bogotá again to share our production that is based on their greatest writer’s fantastical novel. And in the summer of 2023 we will stage a Cantonese version of Chekhov’s Three Sisters.

During our workshops and performance of The Making of Claire for the TaPS workshop in September 2022 we made strong connections with more young people in Hong Kong and we 52

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THE LIGHTS DIMMED AND I WALKED OUT SLOWLY INTO THE BLACKOUT AND SAT ON MY MOUND OF DIRT. from other disciplines, the company orchestrates movement, text and visual images to create new productions acclaimed for their power and their poetry.

The company has staged plays by a variety of world dramatists including Jean Anouilh, Samuel Beckett, David Harrower, Henrik Ibsen, Sarah Kane, Federico Garcia Lorca, Harold Pinter, Yasmina Reza and Cao Yu. They have collaborated with a number of international theatre directors and artists including Robert Draffin (Australia), Mikel Murfi (Ireland), Adrian Noble (UK), Yang Jun-gung (Korea), Jovanni Sy (Canada) and more.

Taking theatre into the community has been a key element of the company’s work and they facilitated a series of community theatre projects including three devised productions with a group of housewives from Hong Kong and Diversity (2002) commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council to celebrate cultural diversity in Scotland. The company also takes its work abroad, touring its productions upon www.ista.co.uk

invitation to Beijing, Berlin, Bogota, Malaysia, Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai, Macau, Vancouver and the UK. In 2010, Theatre du Pif was invited to stage its critically acclaimed production The Will to Build at the Shanghai World Expo where it was the opening programme of the Hong Kong cultural week.

Theatre du Pif has been financially supported by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. ◾

"Theatre du Pif operates at the cutting edge of modern theatre."

South China Morning Post "The most Innovative and cross-culturally aware theatre company in Hong Kong."

Time Out Hong Kong "Theatre du Pif is one of Hong Kong’s most innovative performing arts companies."

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PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL THEATRE

Hong Kong

SUZUKI METHOD AND VIEWPOINTS

BY BRANDI BURTTS

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PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL THEATRE

An approach to physical theatre and how it creates emotional artistry in students Above: “Knowledge Session: The Griot Tradition.” I Am Hip-Hop Magazine, 28th Jan. 2016 .

Firstly, I need to make it clear that I am in no way an expert here. I have gathered some trainings or approaches over my years as an artist and educator and combined them all into what I think is the best approach in the MS classroom.

Being someone who has trained in both Suzuki Method and Viewpoints I know how valuable they are as trainings and they both greatly impacted my life. Not only do I believe these trainings have made me a better artist, they have also made me a better person.

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I think it’s crucial to understand that while we can try and practise or introduce some idea of these trainings, we are teaching variations.

Having met Tadashi Suzuki in Shanghai once, he was very clear that what was taught all over the world was NOT always his method but practices that are picked up in small fragments by other artists and I am one of them. So while I was trained in these techniques, I am teaching my own interpretation, as we all are.

It gets them out of their comfort zone and makes them feel empowered to explore.

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PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL THEATRE

WEEK 1 - SUZUKI METHOD EXPLORATIONS DAY 1 - 2 HOURS

STOMPING INTRO Students practise balancing on the right foot and left foot separately.

Finding balance and a centre of gravity is important here. In order for students to be able to transition into creating a ‘stomp’.

Transition into students stomping from side to side keeping in mind the separation from top to bottom half of the body. It’s important to continue to make sure students are not bouncing but showing their ability to ground themselves.

Once students have learned how to control their bodies and adjust accordingly they can try stomping. When students first try this I stop and start quite a few times. For me it’s more important that they find perfection and control than it is that they rush through the exercise.

End the class with stomping in orderly fashion around the perimeter of the room. Adjust students as they will pull their shoulders down or tighten and tense their arms.

DAY 2 - 2 HOURS

SHAKUCHACI INTRO Shakuhachi - finding the inner story. I feel there is no way to really explain what this is because it’s more something that is 'felt' when the person explores the exercise. Therefore I open with a discussion about this and explain the 'how'. But I let the students find meaning through the exercise.

Students stomp followed by Shakuhachi. I ask the students prior to stomping to take a moment to reflect on their force and resistance. For example, the force is the thing telling you that 'you can' and the resistance is the thing you need to fight through, the thing telling you 'you can’t'. I feel this is the best way to get them to connect to the 'inner' story.

As a class we reflect on this process in the theatre journal and spend a while discussing the two practices and how they affected each student individually.

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PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL THEATRE

WEEK 2 - VIEWPOINTS INTRO DAY 1

INTRODUCTION TO EACH VIEWPOINT Short introduction to each viewpoint and if they align with time or space.

After each viewpoint is introduced we have a short circle exchange where we discuss what they felt while exploring before continuing.

The Grid - getting students to space out around the floor and find the pattern for themselves.

Tempo- have students explore different tempo’s while on the grid.

Shape - have students explore how their body moves in shapes, trying to create different shapes as they continue to play with tempo.

Gesture- I ask students to choose one gesture each here and only explore that gesture for the duration of class. Again this is in addition to what came before.

Repetition - I ask students to choose only a few things they will repeat. I find that if students are just allowed to explore freely they get quite overwhelmed by this point. So having less to consider allows for more honesty in the exploration.

Architecture - This is the last viewpoint we look at on the first day. By considering all things prior I ask the students to let themselves be informed by the world around them and to become a part of their surroundings.

I leave around 15 minutes at the end of this class to discuss. Where Suzuki exercises are structured these activities allow for a lot more freedom to explore. Sometimes students feel nervous and are still considering 'what they look like' so to break this idea down together at the end of class is really helpful.

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PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL THEATRE

WEEK 2 - VIEWPOINTS INTRO DAY 2

VIEWPOINTS We start this day by discussing kinesthetic response, spatial relationship, duration and topography.

Rather than introducing them individually, I find these viewpoints find themselves in the work so can be explored together and then discussed. Specifically for a MS class where time is limited and we are only touching the surface of these trainings.

In this class I like to split into 2 groups so each group gets a chance to observe as well as create. These activities were actually something I was able to explore during an ISTA workshop and they stuck with me.

Students work on the grid to music exploring all the viewpoints of the day prior and considering the ones discussed at the beginning of class. I give each group about 3 minutes to work.

After the first group we discuss where they saw individual viewpoints taking place and where they worked together.

We discuss what stories came up from the choreography being created.

This is repeated during the first part of the class.

Second part of the class- class still split but students paired and partnered. While one group performs, their partner watches and memorises the work. Then the second group goes, repeats the first groups’ thirty second choreography and then adds on an additional thirty seconds. This repeats until there is 2 minutes of performance.

I record both groups and we watch back. They discuss if the stories were the same and if not why.

This activity works great at getting students ready to explore and devise on their own with both methodologies.

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WEEK 3 COMBINING SUZUKI & VIEWPOINTS

PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL THEATRE

Finding their personal source First I ask the students to start with an exploration exercise laying on the floor and releasing the tension in their bodies. Asking them to set intentions for their work.

I encourage them to focus on truth, on sharing a bit of themselves through their process and allowing authentic emotion to shape their pieces.

This week is all for devising using the methods they explored prior. While I lead them in the relaxation exercise followed by stomping and shakuhachi they create on their own after this.

Because the first 2 weeks are very teacher-led, this time allows the students to dive a little deeper into what the practice means for them, if anything and how they can bring more of themselves to creating physical composition using both.

It’s really interesting to watch students explore the work from here because they always find new ways to surprise you.

'Not only do I believe these trainings have made me a better artist, they have also made me a better person.' www.ista.co.uk

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WEEK 4 PRESENTATION Students present what they have created and get feedback from peers.

I also ask students to describe where their inspiration came from and how they considered both trainings in their process.

This is also a great opportunity for students to question their peers’ process and get insight into their work.

When all presentations are completed we have a final discussion where everyone shares their experiences and reflects on how these trainings might have impacted them as theatre students.

APPROACH TO PHYSICAL THEATRE For me these classes are just meant for the students to dip their toes into a different world. It gets them out of their comfort zone and makes them feel empowered to explore.

Again, I am just teaching things as they have been taught to me by a bunch of amazing people over the course of my life.

And while we can’t share everything we know with our students, we can get them started so they can find their own path and honestly, they shock me with their resilience and imagination every single time. ◾

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PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE

THEATRE FOR FREEDOM Blurring boundaries between creators, performers and audience through an Oshiwambo clapping rhythm.

BY KATE MATZOPOULOS

Windhoek, Namibia African theatre whose roots exist in rituals, storytelling, dances and mask work has taken on a number of variations and interpretations across the continent.

Particularly interesting to me is how theatre in Africa is understood to be embedded in everyday life and in important events such as birth, marriage, initiation rites and death. This is intriguing because as these moments are group activities, often boundaries between performers, audience and creators are blurred and in some cases don’t exist at all.

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PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE

I have witnessed the uniting power of performing in this way during the Otjomuise Live Arts Festival in Windhoek, Namibia.

The play, Streetlight, which explored the realities of people, especially children who live on the streets in Windhoek, was performed directly under a streetlight on one of the busiest streets of Namibia’s capital city.

During this performance, actor Angelina Akawa was generous enough to allow space for real people who live in the streets to enter into the performance space and take the performance into another direction.

Prior to the entry of the street people into the performance and into the space, there was some nervous energy from security guards and other non street-living audience members who tried to talk the street people out of what was initially understood to be an intrusion into the performance space.

It required a deep sense of understanding between actor and audience to communicate this through performance, in the middle of the show, in order for this development of the production to happen without causing violence or offence.

Angelina was able to do this without explicitly stating it - she was open and rooted enough in the story to just allow it to happen. By doing this, the audience therefore became creators of the show. Together with Angelina they

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changed the entire production (for the better) in the moment and further opened the space allowing other non street people audience members to enter the performance space and dance together in the end. The dancing continued well after the performance had ended. This synergy could never have happened with strictly demarcated boundaries between actors, audience and creators.

In wanting to share the idea of travelling between the different roles we play as actors, audience and creators in theatre, I devised and experimented with this concept of freedom from imposed roles using an Oshiwambo clapping rhythm. I did this together with my high school students.

The Owambo people are the largest cultural group found in Namibia, meaning that many people across the country have been exposed to and are aware of the clapping rhythm and have seen it used in traditional dancing performances. I chose to work through the concept of ‘blurring boundaries’ with my students because I wanted my students to realise the power of using our everyday experiences as a vehicle to move past the mundane and into a creative space.

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PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE

CROSSING BOUNDARIES OF PERFORMER, AUDIENCE AND CREATOR USING RHYTHM INTRODUCTION TO RHYTHM

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GUESS THE RHYTHM GAME One student goes outside (student A). The students inside choose a rhythm leader, the rhythm leader creates a clapping rhythm which everyone follows.

Once the rhythm is established, the student from outside comes inside. All students are standing in a circle and clapping in unison to the rhythm created by the rhythm leader.

The rhythm leader attempts at changing the rhythm in a way that student A does not notice who the rhythm leader is.

The rest of the group have to move into the new rhythm seamlessly. Student A has 3 attempts at guessing who the rhythm leader is.

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CLAPPING AN OSHIWAMBO RHYTHM Once everyone has gotten into the flow of creating rhythms synergistically, the teacher introduces and claps out and familiarises everyone with clapping an Oshiwambo rhythm - 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, 5.

This rhythm is explored with clapping individually and stomping individually.

Students pair up and devise a clapping formation using this rhythm with their partner.

REFLECTION What was it like to clap alone?

What was it like to clap together?

What did you imagine when clapping and being surrounded by this rhythm?

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This synergy could never have happened with strictly demarcated boundaries between actors, audience and creators. www.ista.co.uk

PRACTICAL IDEAS FOR HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE

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LISTEN TO THE RYTHM Have students sit quietly, the teacher plays a recording of the rhythm and have each group perform one at a time.

CLAP THE RHYTHM IN UNISON Next have students balance the space and clap the rhythm in unison. Explain that while everyone is clapping the rhythm, if any person feels guided to perform their previously rehearsed imagining, all they need to do is to start it, others are free to join in this performance if they feel moved to.

Anyone is free to join in with another group's performance if they want to. If at any moment students feel that they no longer want to clap or perform, they may stop. The moment should reach its natural end once everyone is done creatingperforming-viewing.

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REFLECTION What are the differences between performing in a controlled space and time and performing whenever you feel moved to?

What is the difference to performing with live clapping and recorded clapping?

How is performing to a quiet audience different from performing together with your audience?

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What does it feel like to be a co-creator in someone else’s performance?

DISCUSSIONS Through teacher led discussions on student reflections, the concept of blurring boundaries between performer, audience and creator as is practised in African Theatre is introduced.

I have witnessed the uniting power of performing in this way during the Otjomuise Live Arts Festival in Windhoek, Namibia. www.ista.co.uk

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REFLECTIONS

Points my students and I spoke about revolved around some of their reflections:

Performing in a controlled environment feels safe and easy to do, but as soon as something wrong happens, it feels uncertain. Performing when you feel moved feels scary but also freeing and exciting.’

Tapiwanashe Murwira ‘A quiet audience would watch what you’ve constructed and what you are performing, making the flow go smoothly because you and your partner(s) know what to do with each other. An interactive audience allows you to improvise and unleash your inner creativity. It could make the play a lot more fun for everyone.’

Ndahafa Muadinohamba

‘Recorded clapping is both easier and harder. It doesn’t change, the tempo is even and it is easy to follow.

Live clapping is harder to keep up, you need to follow the beat and concentrate on it, but the tempo and rhythm can change according to your performance.’

Leo Jackson-Read

‘I think being a co-creator in someone else’s space is a great feeling because you have the chance to come up with new ideas with others and you can make a wonderful performance together.’

Jisele Du Preez

When working this way with my students, I was initially concerned about exploring the deconstruction of boundaries in a classroom setting where space and time is controlled by the four walls of the classroom and the scheduled time of the class. I let this go because in teaching moving beyond control towards freedom, I need to also let go of trying to control by creating a ‘perfect’ space. ◾

The seeds of freeing borders have been planted, and wherever they go is where they are meant to be.

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YOUNG VOICES

Geneva, Switzerland

JUMPING INTO COLD WATERS

by Victoria Giardini

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YOUNG VOICES Theatre is defined as ‘a collaborative form of performing art’. It is used to represent the human experience and to express a variety of sentiments across the creative boundaries of storytelling. Theatre makers are alive. Anyone who may be reading this is alive, making them members of the 'world' as we know it. The 'world' is ambiguous. It doesn’t have a concrete meaning. It’s a construct! We’re already part of our own worlds, automatically.

Literally, our world, the planet Earth, countries, towns, schools, groups of friends, theatre classes…

But what makes a world? A world, simply, is a measurable group of things or people who are connected by common interests or particular jobs. We individually define our own worlds. A world is a space in which the people inside of it are free to express, act and do.

Theatre makers who work collaboratively to produce art, come together and have their worlds collide to form diverse, dynamic ideas. These ideas are fresh and exciting because of their differing perspectives. It is important to understand the significance of opening ourselves up to work outside of our own worlds with respect, dignity and understanding. How can we as theatre makers use the structures of our 'worlds' to our advantage - and disadvantage - to create powerful art?

First we must answer this fundamental question:

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What does it mean to be a theatre maker?

As students, what can we do to learn and bring change to a constantly connected world? Now these questions aren’t easy to answer. Creating within a world where everything is connected isn’t easy.

Exploring new traditions is like jumping into cold waters; it’s new and scary but can be exhilarating. Stepping over that boundary for the first time can make you feel out of control but learning about the unfamiliar is just as satisfying. And there are many ways to help yourself cross that boundary.

The internet can be used as an incredible tool. There is a countless amount of knowledge stored there for theatre makers to use as inspiration, for sparking inquiry, research and development. With the internet a new generation of theatre can emerge by working globally with performers, directors, writers and designers from all traditions. Due to this impressive increase in communication, who knows what theatre will look like in the future? As a theatre student, I’ve already been exposed to demonstrations of incredible technological advances in modern theatre and I am excited to see what happens next. For now I recommend learning. Learn about new

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YOUNG VOICES cultures/traditions. If you can, visit workshops and meet people who are interested in teaching you what they know.

It will all contribute to your maturation as an artist.

Recently, at an IB ISTA Taps workshop, I was able to learn from Ada Burke, an actor specialised in the world of Turkish shadow puppetry. I learned about the distinct characteristics of Karagöz and Hacivat and their structures. The characters have a long history going as far back as the Ottoman Empire. This session with Ada was enlightening.

Learning about this intricate and beautiful historical tradition of theatre served as

special effects, apart from the shadows of the puppets themselves, to create a 'dreamy' or distant appearance to the puppet bodies. There is repeated structure within each show, containing the same entrance figures, same 2 main protagonists and main parts.

The origin of this shadow puppetry is very interesting to learn about, especially for us now that we live in a rapidly changing world of international culture and norms.

This tradition has no definite known origin but historians believe that it can be traced back to Central Asia, Southeast Europe, certain parts of Southeast Asia, Northeast Africa and the Middle East.1 Knowing this makes it clear that even distinctly 'Turkish'

Learning about this intricate and beautiful historical tradition of theatre served as inspiration for me and my classmates when we went off to work on our own. inspiration for me and my classmates when we went off to work on our own. The traditional play aspects were satisfying and grounding for us all, as our 'world' is so quick to move toward technological advancements in modern theatre. It is easy to forget where all of this came from. It was beautiful to see such an effective and culturally accurate Muhavare dialogue between the characters. There is no use of

shadow puppetry in the modern world originated from a culture that was not a part of their 'world'. In fact, it is said that the origin of this theatrical style comes from when the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire brought shadow puppet artists back to Istanbul with him after watching a show in Egypt.2

REFERENCES 1. Burak Sansal, Karagoz and Hacivat, Turkish Shadow Play, 2021, www.allaboutturkey.com/karagoz.html#: 2. Burak Sansal, Karagoz and Hacivat, Turkish Shadow Play, 2021, www.allaboutturkey.com/karagoz.html#:

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YOUNG VOICES

So what did

we learn?

This art is a direct reflection of the powerful effect on human culture through global interconnection. People from various cultural backgrounds created this artform together. Mostly unconsciously, but they were collaborating. That’s what theatre makers are constantly doing (to this day).

So what did we learn? It isn’t always easy to keep an open mind. There are times as a theatre student where I’ve felt lost and confused within my own zone of understanding. It’s difficult to imagine having to put yourself in a place of artistic

expression, using new techniques, even ones you may not be very comfortable with. Take a moment to reflect on your own culture. How does it affect the way you create, interact and process theatre?

The answer is, there is no one 'correct' way to create theatre. The point of it is that it’s an assessment of human experiences and understandings, of what happens in our 'worlds'. Our 'worlds' are what make our theatre what it is. The way we move, breathe, write, speak - they’re all reflections of those worlds we dip in and out of every day. This makes it complicated to pinpoint what makes 'good' theatre. It’s all about the perspective we view it from; originating from the view we have gotten from our individual worlds.

World theatre is about connection.

Culture, language, religion, geographical position, ethnicity- they’re all hugely important when reflecting on where a piece of theatre comes from and who it was made by. Theatre is all about creating connections between the similarities in human experience.

Learning about different life experiences can shape your understanding of theatre and not only open your mind but also your consciousness. Revealing yourself to the unknown can help transform you into a better artist and a better, more empathetic person with a deeper understanding of the intricacy of human differences. ◾ Image: Sourced from The Henry Brothers' Jim Jam Slam

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PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES

THE ILLUMINATED TEXT

Can we shed light on the intricacy of Shakespeare’s craft through interactive, cross-media practice?

In this article, Rob Myles discusses reimagining theatre during the pandemic and how Shakespeare can live in a digital era.

BY ROB MYLES Stratford, Ontario, Canada 72

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For theatremakers, the pandemic has made us question the very fundamentals of our practice. Indeed, I am currently cowriting a book with Valerie Clayman Pye, forthcoming with Routledge in 2023, which begins with the question: ’What makes theatre theatre?’

In March 2020, I was forced to ask this question and The Show Must Go Online (TSMGO) was born. For the next 18 months we reimagined theatre for the pandemic era. This process transformed me from an idiosyncratic Shakespeare actordirector moonlighting in innovation, to an accidental futurist.

It opened my eyes to the potential of digital pathways to disrupt how we think about and interact with Shakespeare. www.ista.co.uk

PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES The Illuminated Text, coming in November to the StratFest@Home new online education platform, Classroom Connect, is my most ambitious foray into the realm of digital, values-led practice since TSMGO. I am excited to offer Scene an insight into what has informed this all-new pilot for an interactive, ‘textploration’ experience.

As a practitioner, I have long had a monomania for the intricacy of Shakespeare’s craft (see: The Shakespeare Deck). Not for intellectual purposes but to open creative opportunities for artists in practice, from all walks of life. The more you seek, the more you find.

As an artist of working class origins, I have firsthand experience of feeling both unequipped to tackle Shakespeare and unwelcome performing it.

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In TSMGO we consistently strove to reduce barriers to participation so anyone could say these words out loud, with meaning and feeling, in the context of a real production. As an artist of working class origins, I have firsthand experience of feeling both unequipped to tackle Shakespeare and unwelcome performing it. Helping others out of that feeling matters a great deal to me. After all, if knowledge is power and Shakespeare is a craftsman, it follows that we must apprentice with his tools to gain a mastery of that same craft.

What once would have been an oral tradition of apprenticeship between actors (among the lowest in society, lest we forget) became siloed in elite drama schools – themselves nested in the most expensive parts of the world to try and live.

Now, on the other side of a largely guideless journey of acquisition through what felt like Borges’ Library of Babel, I’ve asked myself: ‘What if we could invert this?’ Make the most intricate, privileged, detailed knowledge of scansion, rhetoric and speechwriting more widely accessible and available in a curated fashion? What if we took the tools so long coded as ‘above’ people like me and put them in the hands of any who might wish to wield them?

Let’s be honest: we’d still have problems. This language, this practice, Shakespeare itself evokes fear in those who, under the cudgel of the same impression I long received – from the cultural imperialism that accreted

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PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES

around Shakespeare; from the elite manufactured accent of RP that was used by every actor, from any country when speaking it; by the misperception of the work as high art that it’s not for me. What if instead, it was light, fun, playful?

Questions flooded my brain: Can we try to reframe that relationship? Could we bypass our initial, learned resistance to this kind of work? If so, how can we make it feel valuable?

And what kind of ‘valuable’ would motivate people to engage? Well, I thought: ‘We live in a visual age’. We live in a gaming age. We live in an online age. We live in an age that challenges assumptions and has little time for ‘reverence’. So how do we put the focus on what’s great about something in a way that doesn’t feel like an impenetrable mediaeval manuscript?

The name Illuminated Text became a gauntlet thrown down – a reference to that same ancient tradition of conferring value on a text through illustration, newly reconceived. Could we lift the hood and shine a light on Shakespeare’s intricacies so everyone can see them? And could we do it in a digitally disruptive way?

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Images: Proof of Concet Artwork by Alice Mazzilli & Rob Myles, 2022.

Anthony & Cleopatra, Act 2, Scene 2.

As a practitioner, I have long had a monomania for the intricacy of Shakespeare’s craft.

Not for intellectual purposes but to open creative opportunities for artists in practice, from all walks of life.

The more you seek, the more you find. www.ista.co.uk

PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES When thinking about how this experience would be expressed for its audience, I first moved laterally and began my exploration with Islamic calligraphy. Naturally.

Known for stunning beautiful word forms that also double as pieces of art, I have always felt uniquely affected by Islamic calligraphers’ and designers’ work, whether in art or architecture because it scratches the same itch: intricacy. This kind of work shared many useful qualities: handcrafted, visually arresting, time-intensive, evocative and rewarding. The more you seek, the more you find. It was, of course, ultimately too far removed from serving my purpose but who else had been inspired by these same feelings and responses to this incredible work?

Marian Bantjes, a renowned Canadian designer, is known for her incredibly intricate works of art based on word forms – openly influenced by Islamic calligraphy and wider art history, yet stunningly clean and contemporary in execution.

I quickly fell into the rabbit hole of her work. In her essay on frames, she described that frames were initially designed to confer value on what was contained within them – in Venice great and ornately carved frames painted gold put a particular kind of value on the paintings within them. I was fortunate to correspond with Marian about the idea for this project and she gave me my next clue – she specialised in making simple things complex, yet what I www.ista.co.uk

sought to do was make complex things simple. I followed her lead toward datavisualisation and the work of David McCandless. What would be the graphic clues, like the key on an ordnance survey map, that would allow people to quickly orient, read and interpret the designs? This reward mechanism felt crucial: the more you seek, the more you find.

Could we lift the hood and shine a light on Shakespeare’s intricacies so everyone can see them? And could we do it in a digitally disruptive way?

From there it became about the question of what value. In Bantjes’ essay on frames, she describes how the introduction of mass manufacture meant the ornate, now easily replicated, fell out of fashion in favour of the minimalist – taking a back seat to the art itself. How do we communicate value?

What value, to whom? I knew that I wanted this piece to appeal to everyone but especially to those who actively felt this kind of ‘three dimensional literary criticism’ (to borrow Simon Russel Beale’s phrase) was not for them.

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I began to look for calligraphers who, like myself as an accidental futurist, had crossed the planes of their craft into something very different. In my search, I discovered Alice Mazzilli.

Alice is a classical calligrapher and she is a street artist – she has worked with prestige clients like Mont Blanc and with emerging Hip Hop artists. She is currently working on something she calls Jamigraphy - we discovered we both had a desire to visualise rhythm and wordplay. To blend classical and contemporary. To invite others into worlds that may seem opaque. From there we presented the Stratford Festival with a pilot of our ideas – just 6 lines from Antony and Cleopatra, divided into 4 layers: rhythm, rhetoric, sound and imagery. We hosted a pilot workshop with students at their summer school and received very positive feedback and builds from those who took part.

The pilot was commissioned.

Next we looked to education. As a new parent I have been deep diving into Montessori practice and understood that in order to make this feel different, we would need a prepared environment that gave people agency to explore, to be motivated by their own curiosity. This led us to Stornoway.io, an interactive video platform that, though never used for this purpose, could be made to serve our objectives thanks to their dedicated team of experts.

Image: Hamlet 'Look here upon this picture' Artwork by Alice Mazzilli & Rob Myles, 2022.

Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4.

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PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES

Finally, Canadian animator Tamisha Harris would bring the visuals to life and the Stratford Festivals’ Thomas Ryder Payne joined the team to provide sound design. They would enrich the project with auditory and kinaesthetic elements to augment the visual learning experience we were creating.

And so at last, the questions that drove me had been answered in ways I could never have anticipated, through a combination of investigation and imagination and an entirely new team of collaborators drawn together by the unique demands of the project.

Focusing on a single speech from Hamlet and narrated by the incredible Amaka Umeh, The Illuminated Text will be an interactive video experience exploring Shakespeare’s craft in four dimensions:

RHYTHM

RHETORIC

SOUND

IMAGERY

It is brought to life through contemporary street art inspired calligraphy, animation and sound design. Players will be free to explore and discover the magic words hidden within and the powerful concepts they evoke.

Drawing on inspirations from National Treasure to Spider-man: Into The Spider-Verse, making references to DJ Khaled and jokes about superheroes, acknowledging Greek and Roman deities, the role of patriarchy and race, familial feuds and linguistic gymnastics, we don’t stop there. The gauntlet will be thrown down to you, the player, to respond in kind.

Perhaps I should end with an analogy to the cinematic classic Spider-Man 3 (the first one). My firm wish was that by framing Shakespeare in an all new way, new audiences could gain a new appreciation of what is there in the text, what it can do and how they might be able to use it.

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In doing so I hope we can ring the bell on the Venom accreted around Shakespeare and separate it from the real hero underneath – the intricacy of the craft, the tools, which put in new hands, or even simply explored in new ways, can create new classics. ◾

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PATHWAYS

5 MINUTES WITH...

MADELINE LEARY Los Angeles, USA

Madeline Leary is a director, photographer and writer based in Los Angeles who creates colourful, confrontational work that was in no small way influenced by her adolescent experience in theatre programs.

Tell us about yourself

What kind of work do you do?

My name is Madeline Leary, I'm a director and photographer. I had the privilege of growing up overseas between Mexico and Shanghai and I now live in LA. I attended school in New York to study filmmaking and East Asian studies.

As I said, I'm a director and a photographer I shoot music videos, fashion, editorial stuff, commercials and various other similar projects. I shoot mostly on film and I like to think my work feels vivid and theatrical.

It's so clear when people aren't listening to each other in any kind of creative piece. www.ista.co.uk

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PATHWAYS

What role did ISTA play in your journey?

I think that it taught me a lot of fundamentals. It taught me, as a director, how to work with actors and how to connect with people. I remember doing lots of exercises, we'd walk around a really big space and you would all stop at the exact same time or all breathe at the same time, it made you feel really connected to a group of 180 plus people - that was really mind blowing. It's so clear when people aren't listening to each other in any kind of creative piece. I think that is something I learned through ISTA. I think it's a really good way to teach young artists, young creators, how to collaborate, how to listen and how to develop those vital future skills like networking. It was a really exciting fundamental period of creative challenge and growth for me. Every time I attended an ISTA festival it was unique and incredible and I always came away from it feeling inspired and like I had a whole new eclectic network of people in my life that I could lean on creatively.

It's just a really awesome programme.

What advice do you have for young people today?

I think my advice is use whatever tools you have at your disposal and make work from whatever inspires you. Sometimes the best thing to do is delete social media and just think about what excites you, what you want to see in the world, what you think your style is, what's an idea that keeps you up at night… and then just make it and don't worry about it having to be perfect, just get it out there. The process of making something is often more valuable than the actual finished

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product. I have worked on several projects where I didn't love the end product but I learned so much from the experience that I would never have done it differently. Process and progress go hand in hand.

What is the value of arts experiences in the world of work and life?

I think that creativity is one of the most powerful assets we have. You could work in the tech sector, for example, and think of a new way to do an old thing. Your ideas become your currency. So I think arts experiences are incredibly valuable. It's always exciting to see a really good creative idea and I think the world will always respect good ideas. ◾

My advice is to use whatever tools you have at your disposal and make work from whatever inspires you.

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FAQs IB DP TRAINING

FAQs

Are ISTA IB DP training experiences official in the eyes of the IB? Yes absolutely! Our IB DP Theatre and IB DP Film workshops constitute formal IB training. All teachers who have successfully completed the workshop are provided with an IB/ISTA certificate to endorse the appropriate level of training.

I thought ISTA was only for theatre teachers?

IISTA has collaborated with the IB in the development of this official Category 3 workshop for DP film. The upcoming practical film workshop constitutes formal IB training. Certification for successful completion of a workshop can be used for IB evaluation purposes.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS About IB DP Training for Theatre and Film Since 2006 ISTA has been the global provider for DP Theatre workshops in all regions – delivering Category 1, 2 and 3 DP Theatre workshops. And in 2016 we expanded it to also include IB DP Film.

Our workshops are open to ALL teachers of IB DP Theatre and Film and are NOT exclusive to ISTA members. www.ista.co.uk

Who are ISTA’s workshop leaders?

ISTA works with approved and IB trained workshop leaders (WLs) and in accordance with IB guidelines.

All our WLs are either: experienced and highly skilled IB DP Theatre/Film educators; or IB DP Theatre/Film examiners; or have been involved in IB DP Theatre/Film curriculum development.

IB DP Theatre/Film examiners. workshop leaders who have been involved in IB DP Theatre/Film curriculum development.

They are experienced in teaching methodologies, IB pedagogy and in the field of teacher training.

When will the next IB DP Theatre training events take place?

June 2023 will be the next suite of face-to-face IB Theatre training events. They will be for Cat 1, 2 and 3. There may be some other virtual ones taking place in the spring of 2023 as well.

The best way to stay up to date on new ISTA event announcements is to join our mailing list.

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FAQs

IB DP Theatre specific FAQs

What Category of IB DP Theatre training should I take?

If you aren’t sure about which Category is right for you take a look at this handy guide to help find your best fit.

Category 1 is recommended for...

Category 2 is recommended for...

DP theatre teachers new to the DP at established IB World Schools, teachers new to DP theatre and theatre teachers from interested or candidate schools preparing for authorization.

Diploma Programme (DP) Theatre teachers who have prepared students for at least one DP exam session in Theatre.

Or if your situation is similar to any of the following...

I am new to the faculty of a longstanding IB World School and have not taught the IB DP theatre programme previously.

I am aware of the IB philosophy and programme structure but am not experienced in teaching or administrating the IB. I am familiar with the IB subject guide (including assessment procedures, moderation) and would like some guidelines on teaching and learning to build greater confidence before teaching a course I have inherited a course and would like to review the subject content before teaching it to suit my own style and expertise.

Who can take a Cat 2 workshop?

You have attended a Category 1 Theatre workshop previously.

OR You have been teaching the DP Theatre course for more than one year.

Category 3 is recommended for...

Choose Category 3 to go more deeply into areas you enjoy and to deepen your understanding and mastery of a particular area or subject such as: Collaboratively creating original theatre Theatre traditions and practices: Teaching and learning through the body The Production Proposal: A focus on IA (Internal Assessment) These workshops are for you if your situation is similar to any of the following...

I have been teaching the DP Theatre course for years and am very comfortable delivering the core components, designing the course and working with the assessment criteria.

I do not currently need any PD on delivering the course itself.

I would love an “injection” of new ideas to make me a stronger Theatre educator and better practitioner.

IB DP Film specific FAQs Learn more about the upcoming IB DP Film Category 3 Collaborative Film Production training

Click here to download the IB DP Film fact sheet

CONTRIBUTORS

BRANDI BURTTS I am a theatre teacher going into my tenth year in education.

Having spent eight years living in Shanghai and now my third in Hong Kong, I have been blessed with amazing opportunities and colleagues to learn and grown from. I am constantly learning alongside my students and love the journey we share in creating and exploring theatre in the classroom. I find that no matter what I teach them, they always teach and inspire me more. I love exploring the deeper struggles of human existence and presenting visceral reactions using physical theatre.

SEAN CURRAN Sean studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and with Jacques Lecoq in Paris. He is the founder and Co-Artistic Director of Theatre du Pif and he has devised and performed in most of the companies productions.

Sean is also a certified Feldenkrais Practitioner and he has facilitated many Theatre and Feldenkrais workshops for performers and performing arts organisations in Asia, Europe, Canada and South America.

In collaboration with the West Kowloon Cultural District, Sean curated The Foundations of Performance - A series of workshops and conversations designed to bring together artists from different fields to exchange experience and inspiration.

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CONTRIBUTORS

VICTORIA GIARDINI My name is Victoria Giardini. I’m 17, and currently, I live in Switzerland. Originally, I’m Italian, but I’ve lived in 4 countries.

Being a creative person has always been a part of my identity, and I have found frequent joy in both performing and creating.

I’ve always loved to write, draw, act, and dance! I’ve been in many shows, including musicals and plays. Recently, my focus has switched from visual art to theatre, and adapting my artistic mind throughout my IB journey has been incredibly inspiring. I’m excited to see where this theatre journey takes me in the future!

ADRIAN JACKSON Adrian Jackson is ex- Artistic Director of Cardboard Citizens, a theatre company working particularly with homeless and exhomeless people., he founded in 1991.

He has directed some 30 productions for that company, including three co-productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Pericles, Timon of Athens, and Visible. Most recently he directed a new musical The Ruff Tuff Cream Puff Estate Agency, by Sarah Woods (and Heathcote Williams) for Coventry Belgrade Theatre as part of the City of Culture 20-21. He translated five books by Augusto Boal, with whom he collaborated many times, and has he taught the Theatre of the Oppressed in 20 countries across 4 continents. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Jackson_(theatre_director)

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CONTRIBUTORS

FENELLA KELLY Fenella Kelly is a master Drama teacher, theatre principal examiner, educational consultant, dancer, musician and respected teacher trainer of Drama and Theatre (MYP, GCSE, A Level and IB Diploma) with over 30 years of experience in International Schools.

She started out as a primary teacher, but the majority of her experience has been with MS/HS and DP students. She is an experienced director, devisor, choreographer, dance/theatre company member and events coordinator. She performs and teaches Kathakali dance theatre, which she has been studying since 2004. She has extensive experience of contemporary & Latin dances and plays the flute and saxophone.

MADELINE LEARY Madeline is an LA-based Director and Photographer. Shooting predominantly on film, her creative work tells theatrical stories across commercial, music video and editorial projects. She had the privilege of growing up between Prague, Mexico and Shanghai and is extremely grateful for the world view this has given her.

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CONTRIBUTORS

DR ROWAN MACKENZIE Dr Rowan Mackenzie is both practitioner and academic, working with specialised communities. Her PhD used spatial theory as a framework to examine work with incarcerated people, people with mental health issues, learning disabilities and experience of homelessness.

She is founder and Artistic Director of Shakespeare UnBard which facilitates collaborative theatre companies in a number of UK prisons and Co-Chair of the Shakespeare Beyond Borders Alliance.

She is the recipient of many national and international awards for her work including the prestigious Butler Trust. Her monograph Creating Space for Shakespeare will be published by Bloomsbury Arden in March 2023.

KATE MATZOPOULOS I am from Namibia and very happy to be back here for the past six years after living in Germany and the UK. I currently teach Drama in Windhoek, at Windhoek International School.

I am interested in creating new frameworks and structures from which to learn, create and perform and seek to embed this work in Indigenous Knowledge. I have applied this approach to creating theatre for the National Theatre of Namibia and have explored these techniques in my classes and school productions too. For the past year and a half, I have been learning from the Ju/’hoansi San in Village Nhoma and am very excited to see where this learning will take me.

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CONTRIBUTORS

ROB MYLES Robert Myles is a multi-award-winning actor-writer-director working in stage and screen. Creator of The Shakespeare Deck, The Show Must Go Online; directed Shakespeare’s complete First Folio plays in 2020; played 30+ roles in professional Shakespeare productions; Creative Lead on innovation projects inc. for Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Diageo. Committed to using design thinking, values-led practice and formal innovation to produce novel combinations of theatre practice and performance.

Working class origins. Winner, OneOff Award for The Show Must Go Online, OnComm for Richard III, OnComm for Shakespeare’s Star Wars from OffWestEnd; Nominated, Digital Project of The Year at The Stage Awards.

Website: www.robmyles.co.uk/theshowmustgoonline

ILLYA SUMANTO Illya has produced theatre, spoken word, and Wayang Kulit shows with young people in Asia, Africa and Europe. An author of one academic book and two graphic novels, she is the founder of Empathy For Youth Academy, a virtual school that teaches emotional literacy and empathy through therapeutic arts.

She is currently teaching performing arts in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

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CONTRIBUTORS

BENJAMIN TARDIF Originally from Canada, Benjamin Tardif has been in Bangkok, Thailand since 2012 to pursue his training in khon while completing a Master of Arts in classical Thai dance at Bunditpatanasilpa Institute. He was assigned the monkey role, notably Hanuman, which he learned with the national artist, Prasit Pinkaew.

Also, he is a member of the khon dance troupe of the Royal Sala Chalermkrung Theater, gives khon workshops and performances in many countries. Since 2015, he also participated in various contemporary dance projects with Pichet Klunchun Dance Cie, 18Monkeys Dance Theater, Compagnie Kham and Fanglao Dance Cie. In 2019, he started working on his own creations where he is interested in bridging the West and the East through dance and music through symbols, mythology and narratives, reflecting on his inner dualities, questions of identities, transformation and survival.

If you are interested in writing an article for Scene please contact our Editor, Helen helen@ista.co.uk

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