Devising Civic Theatre: Performance & Dialogue

Posted by on June 18, 2007

2007 Sojourn Theatre One Week Summer Institutes
for adults working in Theatre, Education & Community settings

in Portland, Oregon (July 2-7) &
in The Catskills, New York (July 30 – August 4) at North American Cultural Laboratory

Workshop Leader: Michael Rohd

Devising Civic Theatre: Performance & Dialogue
Now in it’s 8th summer, this 5 & a half day workshop/training offers participants from around the nation an opportunity to explore the techniques & strategies Sojourn Theatre artistic director Michael Rohd uses in collaborative work with groups in a variety of settings to:

* devise performance material
* build community
* examine the potential of site-specific activity
* investigate social & political issues through arts-based dialogue

Rohd has been exploring the intersection of theatre and democracy for years with Sojourn Theatre and through his projects with collaborators and universities around the nation. ?Civic theatre'(a term he has begun using to describe his own work) aims to bring an adventurous theatricality to a focused interrogation of contemporary issues by offering spaces for civic engagement throughout the process of developing new performance- it’s a porous series of events combining research, participatory activity, and studio (artist-focused) sessions that allow, invite and demand community members and community expertise into the dramaturgy before and after production in a variety of ways. This institute offers sequences of physical activity, solo to group work, and devising strategies that investigate the relationship between story, idea, perspective and fact.

Influences reflected during the week include Ping Chong, Pina Bausch, Cornerstone Theater, Augusto Boal, ensemble theater practice, Dwight Conquergood, Lynn Blom, Dorothy Heathcote, Living Stage & Paolo Freire.

http://www.sojourntheatre.org/comm_adults.asp