Embracing the Cultural Gap

One thing that my students and I will bring to Malawi to attempt to make the trip a more balanced practice exchange rather than just a bit of 'voluntourism' is our interactive play, incorporating forum & verbatim theatre techniques, that the students have been researching [and in the new term will begin devising] based on interviews with their family and friends on the subject of 'Gender Equality & Safer Sex in the UK.'

We hope to tour to three Teacher Training Colleges around Lilongwe with this show to present a UK view on gender equality & safer sex. Through the interactive performances in Malawi, we hope explore the cultural differences & similarities between the attitudes of young people from both countries.

The structure of the interactive performance will be to present the play, then facilitate touch tag interventions [similar to forum theatre] and then break into small groups for a hot-seating of the characters from the play where the audience & characters can ask any question of each other. From these three distinct parts of the performance, we hope to unearth any similarities and differences in approaches to safer sex & gender equality between the two cultures.

Questions that we want to ask through the interactive performance: How much behaviour will be recognized as similar by the Malawian audience of the performance? What can be learned from presenting a show based on attitudes within the United Kingdom to a Malawian audience? Can we articulate and embrace any cultural gaps that might appear rather than politely shying away from them?


We also want to explore two potential outcomes with this performance:

One, to see what might happen if you apply one set of cultural & gender expectations to another one. Our thesis is that a 'Cultural Gap' will emerge. If that is the case, then it will be our duty to embrace this gap rather than cover it up and run away from it. We want to face it head on and see what happens – what drama can be created out of these interactions?

The second, to see if an 'ideal' culture be created based on taking the best of the Malawian culture and the best from the British culture. In our time & space in the moment of performance, can we explore what positive behaviours are ‘missing’ from each culture and then create one that take from both to create something ideal?


We go to Malawi knowing full well that we don't have any of the ‘answers’ and we are not going to 'teach' anyone anything. All we can do is bring ourselves fully open to the possibility of change within our selves & others based on our interactions. We know that the United Kingdom certainly isn't an exemplary country when it comes to gender equality and safer sex [just note the rising rate of HIV & teenage birth rates in this country and the call for & response of the 'Slut Walks' that occurred earlier this year as three glaring examples of what we still have not gotten 'right']. But our hope is that by bringing together two very different cultures and exploring issues that are often not publicly explored, we hope to create an understanding between the two and also positively change our own behaviour through this process.

Finalizing the Trip

We have now finalized our dates in Malawi. We will there from the end of April to mid May 2012. We are once again staying at the excellent Mabuya Camp backpackers and flying Ethiopian Airlines.

There will be 11 students and myself going to Malawi. The plan is to participate in workshops with Theatre for a Change, perform our verbatim / forum play, make a variety of visits throughout Lilongwe and deliver drama workshops to schools and communities.

I am looking forward to starting this term at St. Mary's as we will formally begin the Theatre for Development module. We will have a variety of visiting lecturers this term including experts on HIV, Alistair Milne [SMUC's head technician] to deliver a workshop in health & safety and Patrick Young, the director of Theatre for a Change.

Verbatim & Forum Theatre performance - research

Today, the production team for the show that the students will take to Malawi met for the first time. Sophie Scott [Assistant Director], Emma Schumacher[assistant producer], Ella Farley & Jade Nairne[script writers] met with Matthew Hahn, the director and lecturer on the Theatre for Development module.

The students have gathered interviews from Positive East [an HIV charity in East London] on the topic of 'Safer Sex' and 'Gender Equality.' The students are also gathering stories from their friends and families and their own lives on these topics.

From these interviews, the team will devise several forum pieces integrating the verbatim work into the plays. They will present the play around Malawi as part of a tour to the Teacher Training Colleges around Lilongwe. They will also gather stories whilst on their workplacement in Malawi to form a play that will be performed upon return to London in late May.

We discussed how the play will be put together and how they will have an impact on the audiences. One very important aspect of the students trip is to 'bring something' to the audiences in Malawi - to make it a true skills exchange rather than them taking and not giving. They are excited to present this work to a Malawian audience to show the similarities and differences in approaching the topics of 'Safer Sex' and 'Gender Equality.'

Career opportunities with a Drama St. Mary's Applied Theatre degree

A degree in Drama and Applied Theatre will equip you with a range of transferable skills. As well as the wealth of opportunities within the theatre profession, students may wish to pursue a career within teaching, event management and promotion, diplomacy, politics, international development, youth work, arts therapy, workshop facilitation, social care, the health service or the criminal justice system.

“The Applied Theatre course has introduced me to possibilities beyond the traditional theatre environment. You get stuck into practical work with a full on training programme supporting placements in a range of different community settings. We have worked in historic buildings, created work for schools, designed transformative projects with community artists and are just about to set off to Malawi where we’re working with our partner company Theatre for a Change.”
Kadeem Dunning. Drama


We have just graduated our first students from the new programme which started in 2008, so it is too early to see what sort of job opportunities in the long run is available for graduates.

But there has already been great success for the graduates of the Applied Theatre programme:

We have former students who are acting in a tour with The Comedy School,
Students who are leading drama workshops for disabled children,
Students who are acting in Camden Fringe festival and other festivals around London, One student who is working at the Ugly Models Agency,
Another student who has acted in a film based on the verbatim play, 'Turning Poison into Medicine' This film, about living with HIV in the UK, is due to be picked up by MTV for their Staying Alive campaign as well as be marketed to various student film festivals.
And we have students who are working as teacher aides and applying for their PGCE next year.

This brief example of potential jobs that might be available to our graduates is certainly wide and encompasses much more than working 'within a theatre.'

We look for students who are driven, who have experience beyond their school and who lean forward with excitement when talking about theatre's potential for change. We teach transferable skills - written & oral communication skills, self motivation, leadership, citizenship, working within a group [teamwork], marketing, problem solving, liaising with outside agencies, and confidence in one's ability.

Topics for Discussion in Preparation for African Exchange:

Each student will produce a 20 minute presentation the following topics:

Human Rights: Children’s rights / Women’s Rights (UK & Africa)

Gender Equality / Balance in the UK. What are women’s experiences of equality & balance in the UK? (Including, amongst other topics, Safer Sex negotiation). This must involve primary research into your & your friends’ knowledge & experiences in the subject matter as well as secondary research.

TfaC’s target audiences, exercises, games & songs

The important political and sociological issues arising from ‘Westerners’ working in Africa

Drama in health education (history, UK, Africa, interactive theatre, radio programmes, etc...)

Behaviour Change

Bottom-up policy making & Top-down policy making – pros & cons of each

The effectiveness of specific development programmes in Africa (Does aid work?)

Overview on the country of Malawi (including language lesson in Chichewa)

Leadership & Social Change – what do _we_ (SMUC students & staff) need to ‘bring to the table’ to make our time with TfaC a true ‘exchange’ of practice rather than ‘Developmental Tourism’?

HIV / Aids (history including myths / spread / etc...)

HIV / Aids (prevention (ABC’s) / treatment / cure? – including testing)

HIV / Aids (societal effects – including women’s rights / gay rights / etc...)

HIV / Aids (UK v. Malawi)

The relationship between Gender and HIV (UK & Africa)#

Participatory approaches to Development

Safer sex/ Gender Equality Questions to be asked at Interview

Sex education/education
• How are young people educated about sex education, what are your experiences of it and who gives it?
• How are young people educated about gender equality what are your experiences of it and who gives it?
• Do you think it is important to be educated in safer sex? If so why?
• Do you think it is important to be educated in gender equality, if so why?
• What would you wish to see further developed in sex education?
• What would you wish to see further developed in gender equality?
• Do you think that in the UK HIV isn’t made as prevalent as pregnancy and STI’s? What is your opinion on this?
Society and community
• What are you and your friend’s personal preferences towards gender equality?
• What are you and your friend’s personal preferences towards safer sex?
• If women dress provocatively, are they ‘asking for it’?
• What are your cultural attitudes towards women who have a voice and speak out about safer sex?
• What are your cultural attitudes towards women who have a voice and speak out about gender equality?
Contraception
• Whose responsibility is it to carry a condom? Is there more pressure on men or women to do this?
Gender
• Are there still gender stereotypes (i.e. women raise a family, men go to work)?
• What are your views on gender equality in society?
• What is the balance in a relationship/marriage?
Personal
• What is your personal practice around safer sex and what are your views on contraception?
• What would you do/have you done if; in the heat of the moment you didn’t have a condom?
• In regards to gender equality, what factors have influenced your opinion? (cultural, political, personal, social)
• In regards to safer sex, what factors have influenced your opinion? (cultural, political, personal, social)
Follow on questions
• Why do you think these attitudes exist, can they be changed, how and why?
• Do you think performance can change people’s perceptions of contraception, why?

Theatre for Development Verbatim Play - Gender Balance & Safer Sex

The Third Year St. Mary’s University College Applied Theatre students are gathering stories for a play in Malawi in May 2012 as a part of their workplacement with the charity Theatre for a Change.

Verbatim theatre is a form where the words of the people represented on stage are faithfully recorded and structured into a narrative which is presented to an audience in the form of a play.

The students are interviewing men & women and seeking their opinion on gender equality and safer sex. The students are working in partnership with Positiveeast, an East London's HIV charity that offers support for individuals and communities affected by HIV and other UK charities that deal with HIV.

This is a continuation of the relationship that started last year between PositiveEast and Drama St. Mary’s. PositiveEast was thrilled at the outcome of last year’s performance of the play, Turning Poison into Medicine (original title, Living with HIV in the UK). Several of those interviewed were in the audience in February at St. Mary’s and participated in the post-show feedback session. The play was performed outside of a school in Lilongwe, Malawi to a captive audience and was very well received by both Theatre for a Change and their learners. The play was later filmed at Nickelodeon studios in central London to be distributed by MTV as a part of the HIV awareness programme. There are also plans to distribute it in student film festivals.

Applied Theatre students in Lilongwe, Malawi May 2012

Plans are well on the way for the Applied Theatre students to venture to Lilongwe, Malawi in May 2012 for their Theatre for Development module and the culminationhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif of their training on their course at St. Mary's.

This year, we are planning staying longer and participate in more activities. Our main point of contact will still be the work with Theatre for a Change including working in schools, teacher training colleges and in the community with sex workers.

This year, we also plan to tour our show [working title, 'Gender Equality and Safer Sex'] which is based on stories from our students as well as interviews conducted with women from Positive East. We will tour to several teacher training colleges in and around Malawi.

We will be staying in the excellent backpackers, Mabuya Camp, the same place we stayed last year. It was a wonderful place for our students complete with a swimming pool, big screen television and swimming pool. Highly recommended for all visitors to Lilongwe.

Health Poverty Action

Health Poverty Action works to strengthen poor and marginalised people in their struggle for health. They prioritise those missed out by almost everyone else.

Their approach to health is distinctive in two ways:

Firstly, they focus on the most poor and the most marginalised. Secondly, they believe in a comprehensive approach - not just improve health services, but also focus on other factors that impact on health such as water, sanitation and nutrition.

they have built up long-term relationships and trust with many of the poorest and most marginalised communities. They may be on the edge of society because of http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifethnicity or culture, gender, geography, politics, economics – or any combination of these. For these people every day is a fight for life and health, against all the odds.

Poor health and poverty are each a key cause and consequence of the other. By addressing both at the same time HPA can improve one by improving the other.

Health Poverty Action recognizes health as a fundamental human right, not simply a medical challenge. The world’s poorest also have this right – they should be aware of it and able to insist it is recognised. They need a voice, and we help them raise it.

For more information, please visit their website, www.healthpovertyaction.org.

Health Poverty Action visits Drama St. Mary's Applied Theatre Students

On the 6th of October, members of Health Poverty Action (HPA) visited Drama St. Mary's students who will be working in Africa in May 2012 as a part of their Theatre for Development module at St. Mary's.

The staff from HPA discussed their work around women's rights, poverty and health. Fatima Mohammed, from Somaliland, discussed her work using drama to improve communication and education within her country.

The students were able to ask HPA questions about their work as well as contribute to a discussion around the use of drama in health care. They discussed the potential for radio to broadcast messages around HIV, female genital mutilation, childbirth and gender equality issues and heard from Fatima that these radio programmes have had great effect in changing the listener's behaviour around these, and other, topics.

Second Year Applied Theatre students welcomed playwright Dennis Kelly

Today, the Second Year Applied Theatre students welcomed playwright Dennis Kelly to their rehearsal for the upcoming 'A-Political Cabaret' at the Dolche Vita. Dennis spent the afternoon with the students discussing playwrighting, focusing on political theatre as well as life as a theatre practitioner.

As this module is the first time many of the students have attempted to write anything for the theatre, they had many questions for him on how to begin and how to know whether or not something is 'good.' He advised that when you have an idea for a play - whether it is a character, theme or scene, then start from there and not to censor yourself while creating. And do get feedback from the work, though whether you take the advice or not is up to you. But if you hear it from enough people, it might be something to consider.

Kelly is an incredibly humble and generous person. The students threw a lot at him but he responded in ways that made sense to the students and gave them a way forward. The students commented that they came away from the discussion much more motivated and secure in their own creativity.

'A-Political Cabaret' is an evening of New Writing Theatre that presents an ambitious programme reflecting the ongoing local, national & global political situation at St. Mary's University College. The performances will include a mixture of play texts, poetry reading, song, forum theatre, verbatim theatre and much more. A-Political Cabaret needs productions that are radical and have a unique take on current events.

Throughout the Autumn & Winter, A-Political Cabaret will be creating regular performances with and for St. Mary's Students and the community. This is an opportunity to showcase new work in a public forum. It serves as Legislative Theatre, where the students not only have an opportunity to present work to their peers, there are also drama lecturers, heads of department and St. Mary's management there to listen to their opinions. This gives the students an unpresendented opportunity to discuss things with people who shape their futures.

The next shows are on 25 November and 16 December at 6pm at the Dolche Vita coffee shop on campus.

Positive East Interviews - October 2011

This is a continuation of the relationship that started last year between PositiveEast and Drama St. Mary’s. We will be working with Positive East exploring the topic of 'Gender Equality & Safer Sex' in the UK.

The students interviewed six participants from Positive East. They were selected due to their stories and their comfort in speaking publicly about them. The students were professional as well as sympathetic to each of the interviewees. Each had positive responses about the interviews once they were finished and commended the students' on their interest and work.

The next stages is to see if these interviews can fit within the verbatim play that the students are creating for their trip to Malawi in May 2012. They will also be interviewing family and friends about their thoughts on 'Gender Equality and Safer Sex' which will also be a part of the play.

We will take the play to Malawi as part of our exchange and tour to teacher training colleges around Lilongwe. The hope is to share practice around verbatim and forum theatre with the teachers and staff from TfaC.

PositiveEast was thrilled at the outcome of last year’s performance of the play, Turning Poison into Medicine (original title, Living with HIV in the UK)in May 2010. Several of those interviewed were in the audience in February at St. Mary’s and participated in the post-show feedback session. The play was performed outside of a school in Lilongwe, Malawi to a captive audience and was very well received by both Theatre for a Change and their learners. The play was later filmed at Nickelodeon studios in central London to be distributed by MTV as a part of the HIV awareness programme. There are also plans to distribute it in student film festivals. The second part of the play, Living with HIV in Malawi, was performed to a packed audience at the Waldegrave Drawing Room at St. Mary’s upon return from Malawi in May 2011. This play was based on interviews conducted with sex workers in Malawi and on the students' experiences in Malawi.

Augusto Boal: Forum Theatre

Based on Frierian principles, Boal’s Forum Theatre is an interactive theatre form that seeks to show a person, the protagonist, trying to deal with oppression but failing because of the resistance of one or more obstacles, the antagonists.

It was originally developed to give a voice to the poor and dispossessed in Brazil, where Boal was a theatre-maker in the early 1970s. The oppressions these people were facing were frequently located in material or coercive forces such as poverty, the threat of police or military violence, or the unscrupulous behaviour of feudal landowners. Because of his advocacy work for human rights through Forum Theatre, Boal was kidnapped from the street, tortured, and eventually exiled by the Brazilian military regime. Boal’s model is extremely effective as a method of giving oppressed people a voice, and has been used successfully in a wide variety of contexts.

A Forum Theatre performance model consists of two distinct halves mediated by the figure of a ‘Joker’. During the first half of the performance, the audience watches a short play in which a protagonist encounters an obstacle which he is unable to overcome. The subject-matter will usually be something of immediate importance to the audience, often based on a shared life experience. After this performance, there is a brief discussion amongst the audience, and then the intervention part of the performance begins. The play is restarted from the beginning and runs as before. This time, however, whenever a Spect-Actor feels a protagonist might usefully have tried a different strategy, he can stop the action, take the protagonist‘s place, and try out his idea. In this way, the Spect-Actors play a vital role; they are the ones who suggest and test the answers and solutions to the real-life problems that are being re-enacted on the stage. The other characters in the piece react to the interventions realistically, as they feel their characters would react on a bad day; they do not make it easy for new tactics to succeed. (Even failed strategies succeed in the sense that they reveal the mechanics of an oppressive situation, and through this process oppressed communities are often able to reach a collective consciousness which in turn can lead to organisation and action against the oppressor.)

However, if an idea works, the actors will not prevent the intervening Spect-Actor from achieving a resolution. During a session, many different audience members will try out ideas for solutions, entering into a form of theatrical debate in which possibilities can be freely rehearsed in a safe communal space. As Low states that in the fight against HIV, ‘it is vital to consider the wellbeing of the individual, providing a space in which they can speak, share and discuss their dilemmas and where they can be heard’ (Low 2010: 113) By taking ownership of the performance in this way, the Spect-Actors often experience a sense of individual empowerment, as well as a deep solidarity with one another.

Paulo Freire: Theatre for Development

Forum Theatre methodology, originally developed by Augusto Boal in his seminal work, 'Theatre of the Oppressed,' drew on ideas laid down by Paolo Freire‘s revolutionary work 'Pedagogy of the Oppressed,' the key principle of which is to treat the learner as a co-creator of knowledge, rather than a vessel waiting to be filled with knowledge from a so-called expert, authority or pedagogue. (Freire 1972: 45) Freire wanted to break the ‘vertical’ patterns of education and replace it with one in which ‘the teacher is no longer merely the one who teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in their turn while being taught also teach.’ (Freire 1972: 53) He goes on to say, ‘ In order for this struggle to have meaning, the oppressed must not, in seeking to regain their humanity, become in turn oppressors of the oppressors, but rather restorers of the humanity of both.’ (Freire 1972: 21) In other words, a balance must be achieved between the protagonists in the situation in order to ‘liberate themselves and their oppressors’. (Freire 1972: 21)

Aid initiatives in Malawi need to be responsive to the country’s particular cultural character and history. They need to use innovative, participative and sustainable education and development techniques, which are adaptable and culturally sensitive. As Tim Prentki notes in his article, ‘Save the Children? – Change the World’ (Prentki 2003), a ‘paradigm shift’ has taken place in the methods of delivery of Theatre for Development. He says that TfD has ‘move(d) beyond the message-based propaganda tool’ and the communication of ‘messages from the centre’ that re-enforced colonial attitudes to Development that ‘highlights participation as the key to the successful implementation of projects’ (Prentki 2003: 40). Prentki continues, ‘Picking up on the notions of active learning, development agencies perceived that people were learning better by doing than they had been by listening’ (Prentki 2003:40).

Participation can develop ways of changing behaviour in order to improve situations. As Freire says, the participants do ‘know things’ about their own situation and begin to ‘believe in themselves’ through their active participation (Freire 1972: 39–40). By generating these ideas for themselves, participants can have an experience of being in control of their circumstances and of having the means to make positive changes. They begin to develop a sense of collective responsibility, and to learn that they don‘t need wait for others to help, but can work together to build a better community. Through Touch-Tag Theatre, a ‘deeper consciousness’ can be developed and participants’ situations are capable of ‘transformation’ in which ‘resignation gives way to the drive for transformation and inquiry, over which men feel themselves in control’ (Freire 1972: 58).

Applied Theatre students in Malawi

Students were able to choose to work with the community in Lilongwe or within schools in the capital. Most chose to work in both as to give themselves as wide of experience as possible.

Whilst there, we worked with Theatre for a Change in a variety of settings such as the military, sex workers and in schools. All on the message of Gender Equality and HIV prevention. Theatre for a Change believes that through active and physical participation in the learning process, young people can learn communication skills that can protect them from infection,discover their rights to balanced relationships free from abuse & transform their lives and the lives of people around them.

Applied Theatre students in Malawi

Applied Theatre students in Malawi

Performance of 'Turning Poison into Medicine,' Lilongwe, Malawi May 2010

'Turning Poison into Medicine'

Turning Poison into Medicine (original title, Living with HIV in the UK) is a piece of verbatim theatre, which is a form where the words of the people represented on stage are faithfully recorded and structured into a narrative which is presented to an audience in the form of a play.

The Third Year St. Mary’s University College Applied Theatre students gathered stories for a play in Malawi in May 2011 as a part of their workplacement with the charity Theatre for a Change.

Working with the UK charity, Positive East, in January 2010, the students gathered stories of living with HIV in the UK. These interviews were transcribed, edited and adapted for the stage. Performances were given at St. Mary's University in February 2010 and in Lilongwe in May. Several of those interviewed were in the audience in February at St. Mary’s and participated in the post-show feedback session. The play was performed outside of a school in Lilongwe, Malawi to a captive audience and was very well received by both Theatre for a Change and their learners.

Whilst the students were in Malawi, they gathered stories for their return performance of 'Living with HIV in Malawi.' This play consisted of verbatim stories of women living with HIV in Malawi and was performed upon return to London in May.

The play was later filmed at Nickelodeon studios in central London to be distributed by MTV as a part of the HIV awareness programme. There are also plans to distribute it in student film festivals. The second part of the play, Living with HIV in Malawi, was performed to a packed audience at the Waldegrave Drawing Room at St. Mary’s upon return from Malawi in May 2011.