Formative course 2017-2018: Theather of the Oppressed (February-October)

The Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) is a method and theatre movement created by the playwright Augusto Boal at the beginning of the 70’s. When it comes to the Theatre of the Oppressed, the spectator observes the representation of existing conflicts and their taking part in the scene transforms reality; the spectator becomes consciously and voluntarily the spectactor.

During this course, Birgit Fritz, Ronald Matthijssen and Sanjoy Ganguly will introduce us to a model based on dramaturgy and art, compressed in the InExActArt masterpiece which shows a dialogue that enables us to create a different sensitivity on what is going on, a recapture of the language, life and surrounding world , and which defines the Theatre of the Oppressed as a reconstruction of stories (individual and collective) of internalised oppression. A theatre of dialogue, not answers, which trusts collective intelligence, which empowers community as the director of its own situation. A Theatre of everyday stories provided that life itself is merely a political issue.

“The meeting as Bella Arte, as an artistic effective and creative work of personal transformation, the group and the setting”, Alex Carrascosa, 2016.

INFORMATION

TRAINERS

Sanjoy and Sima Ganguly are founding members of Jana Sanskriti. India 1985. They are a historic group that uses theatre as a tool for popular education, community mobilisation and direct political action. They represent the most important and longest-running experiment in the world of Theatre of the Oppressed outside Brazil. They have over 30 years of experience. They work on issues such as social injustice, domestic violence, racism, sexism, patriarchy, poverty, corruption, and the caste system. Their work has inspired many Theatre of the Oppressed groups around the world.

Birgit Fritz: theatre activist, drama teacher, researcher and practitioner of Theatre of the Oppressed. Founder of the Theatre of the Oppressed platform in Vienna (Austria). Collaborator at the Jana Sanskriti Theatre of the Oppressed Centre and the Jana Sanskriti International Institute for Research and Resources in Kolkata, India. Facilitator of contextual projects through the Theatre of the Oppressed in Senegal, Kyrgyzstan, India and Germany.

Ronald Matthijssen (La Haya, Holanda. 1961) Professor of Masters and Social Work by the Polytechnic University of Leiderhop (Holland). His first contact with the Theater of the Opressed world goes back to the 80s. In 1999, after a long work journey in the socio-cultural field, he was co-founder of the Theater of the Opressed Formaat company, based in Rotterdam and was active until 2011. Since then, he has focused his work on support new groups, in Holland, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Ukraine. He has carried out Media Theater in Ukraine, Germany, Austria and Turkey. Currently he lives in Austria, is a member of the T.O. of Vienna and member of the Jana Sanskriti International Research and Resources Institute (JSIRRI). He is co-author of the book: ‘The human being as a protagonist’ with Luc Opdebeeck Formaat’s artistic director, and he has published in the online magazine Under Pressure and in the International Web about T.O. Shortly, he will publish ‘The didactic essays about a method of theatrical communication’.

ENROLLMENT:

Gernika Gogoratuz www.gernikagogoratuz.org / info@gernikagogoratuz.org / 946 25 35 58

ORGANIZATION:

Gernika Gogoratuz, Gernika Peace Museum and Harrobia come side by side collaborating in the setting of the project ‘The Artivist Boarding. Artherapy and Artivism’ (European Culture Capital Year. Year of the European Culture Capital, Donostia-San Sebastián Foundation 2016) and they decide to organize a first training course to be held on 2017/2018.

COLABORATION:

JSRRI ”Jana Sanskriti International Resource and Research Institute” (India).

SPONSORS:

Basque Country Department of Victims and Human Rights, Basque Country Culture Deparment, Gernika-Lumo Council and Bilbao Council.