Theatre and Social Change

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/09/2009 - 3:11am.

By Courtney Holbrook

It begins with the harassment of a naïve woman by her middle-aged lover in a small hotel room. It ends with intense brutality as private conflict evolves into the public devastation of war.

A birthday party for a guest ends with a man broken by the rhetorical dominance of others. The downfall of a guest reiterates the destruction of the individual by the authoritarianism of civilization.

A woman in a Brazilian village acts out her anger against her abusive husband. Through improvisation, she is able to take control and fight.

Whether they are works by Sarah Kane or Pinter, or an artistic form with a definite social bent, theatre in all its forms is on the front line of activism.

“Theatre is at its nature a political act,” said George Contini, a University of Georgia associate professor of theatre. “It is the first to get picketed as immoral.” This has led to annoyance in milder forms, and censorship in the extreme.

Of course, there have been variations in intensity and overt politicization. One may not have the advantage over the other. “Angels in America” by Tony Kushner has an unabashed political motif – the plot revolves around repressed homosexuals and the AIDS epidemic. In contrast, there are those plays who make their statement with less apparent social aims. Richard Foreman’s “Deep Trance Behavior in Potatoland” uses digital film from around the world to accentuate mankind’s relationship with rationality. Both plays benefit social change throughout the world.

There are always questions as to what political theatre truly can accomplish, and whether it will ever be fully appreciated. Individual plays have often been part of immense theatrical movements, such as Theatre of the Oppressed, or Theatre of the Absurd. These movements reflect moments in political and social history. The transition from the Bush administration to the Obama presidency will affect theatre. Nevertheless, the question remains whether the effect will be forceful enough. In order to understand the future of political theatre, we must look back at momentous theatrical movements.

Theatrical and political fronts shaped societies’ reaction to drama. One can return to the ancient Greeks for examples of theatrical influences on society. Euripides’ “The Trojan Women” was written in response to Athens’ treatment of Milesian captives in the Peloponnesian War.

In the twentieth-century, plays continue to be used in an attempt to deal with political upheavals and the need for conformity. However, their popular success is often withheld until later dates. Yet, the unique ability of theatre to point out the problems within a society, and literally show them to that same society, cannot be undervalued.

Theatre of the Absurd is a movement that came about as a response to realism. Characters are involved in broad comedy mixed with brutality and cliché.

Theatre of Cruelty involves the idea that theatre must have a violent resoluteness to shatter the falsities of belief that cloud reality.

One of the more overtly activist theatrical movements is Theatre of the Oppressed. Developed by Augusto Boal, Theatre of the Oppressed removes the stage, and brings theatre to everyday life. In doing so, it takes the comfort of artificial drama away from the audience and forces them to accept social change. Boal, a Brazilian theatre director and social activist, would go into poor areas and use improvisational games to teach resistance to oppression.

“Oppression is when one person is dominated by the monologue and has no chance to reply,” Boal said. It involves three main techniques - invisible theatre, image theatre and forum theatre.

Invisible theatre has a group of actors go to a public place, and enact a scene about a certain issue. Hopefully, ordinary people will take notice. Image theatre uses bodies and shapes to “form” an image of what a person wants to be.

“It engages the transformational power of image,” Contini said. “When they feel powerful physically, an oppressed person can transfer that feeling to their lives.”

Forum theatre has actors go to a public place and act out a social problem. Half-way through, they can stop and ask the audience to step in and solve the problem.

“You use improv to find ways around problems that seem intractable,” said Amy Roeder, a third-year graduate student at the University of Georgia. “It is all about empowering people who are oppressed.”

Theatre movements and dramatic pieces change to reflect the social problems of the times. What will the changes be with the transition from Bush to Obama? It is easy to retreat to the past and point out the similarities in certain works, or connect a significant play to a social or political evil. Now, with the present period facing such upheaval, can we reflect on the theatrical issues of the past eight years? Can we predict the future of art and activism in this period of economic disfunction?

Perhaps.

Theatre is meant to challenge the audience. It is immediate and can be created in response to anything – an advantage it holds over film. This power causes conflict. In fact, going as far back as the 1980s, a veil of silence has been repeatedly shoved over theatre . The ideological dogma of a “pro-America” voice darkens the stage for fear of being decried as unpatriotic. Religious fundamentalism allows one group’s idea of morality to define theatre as “aberrant.” A respect for the arts in this climate is lacking. According to FY 2007 Interior Appropriations bill, Bush repeatedly attempted to do away with all funding for the Department of Education’s Arts in Education Programs. To add more disheartening news, ordinary people embraced a form of self-censorship regarding wide-ranging issues from anti-Iraq sentiment to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

So what can we expect from the new administration, the new “hope” of our generation? Barack Obama should represent a forceful step away from censorship and a support for leadership that respects others, including the arts. Nevertheless, the current economic crisis provides a wealth of issues that need solutions. True, the New York stage seems to be overburdened with war plays, many from around the world, deemed unsuitable during the previous years. Still, that is not necessarily beneficial.

“There is a flood of plays now,” said Contini. “But you need immediacy to have an impact.” To an audience desensitized to violence, yet craving constant stimulus, anything less becomes tedious – like a week-old newspaper. We can only hope that the messages delivered by these pieces remain poignant to their audience. The activism found in theatre is an absolute necessity to its cultural and political significance.

Of course, while every artiste would prefer it was not so, money has proven to be a catalyst for American theatre. Broadway is collapsing, making only enough to recoup its losses, before shutting down a production. It would seem sensible to invest money in theatre – jobs are created there. While money was allocated toward the arts in the Obama stimulus package, the best plan would be a new version of the Federal Theatre Project. During the Great Depression, it was a New Deal project intended to put unemployed artists back to work.

“It makes economic sense to fund a theatre,” Roeder said. “An investment would be wonderful – as a way to build jobs and provide a cultural context for a community.”

Given right-wing protests over money sent to education and health care, it seems unlikely they will support a bill devoted to the arts. Senator Tom Coburn (R-Ok.) attempted to ban the distribution of economic recovery money toward certain groups, including theaters and arts centers. It is telling that he placed them in the same category of dismissal as zero-gravity chairs and dry-heat saunas. With Obama’s desire for “bipartisanship,” can we really hope for a new outlook on theatre?

Despite that harsh reality, theatre will not die quietly with the loss of special-effects driven Broadway productions.

“We may see a marked growth in community theatre,” Contini said. “It could be the only way people can see theatre, which could contribute to a growth in small community talent.”

Funding issues with large productions could create theatre with increased depth and skill. If Broadway cannot fund the simple blockbuster musical, maybe they will take the moving script of an unknown playwright?

“We could see a little theatre movement with more impact,” Roeder said. “There will be no helicopter landing on the stage – these plays would touch us on an individual level.”

There are even suggestions of a “green” community theatre, whereby people reduce their carbon footprints by attending plays in their local area.

“We can equate being green with supporting the arts,” Contini said. “It’s not bad!”

Whether it is the terrifying rawness of Sarah Kane, or the inspirational work of Augusto Boal, theatre is intricately connected with activism. Like all movements for social justice, it is reviled, mocked, ignored and loved in numerous forms. One always hopes that its vital necessity in a functioning, free society is recognized and appreciated. It does not seem like a strange thing to expect. As long as the artists never stop, there will always be an audience waiting for change.

Due to issues with space availability, the sidebar intended to accompany Courtney Holbrook's article on theatre as social change had to be cut from the print edition. In an online exclusive, Stand Up! presents the full sidebar featuring an extended list of socially relevant plays.

Absurd Theatre:

“Le Rhinoceros” by Eugene Ionesco

A town that turns into rhinoceroses, and one man who attempts to stay human. It is seen as a response to fascism and Communism after World War II.

Cruelty Theatre

“Le Nigres” by Jean Genet

It uses racial stereotypes and pantomime to expose the audience to its own prejudices.

Theatre of the Oppressed:

“The Misadventures of Uncle McBuck” by Augusto Boal

A comedic tale illustrating the destruction of other countries by capitalism.

Menace Theatre:

“The Birthday Party” by Harold Pinter

The destruction of an individual as a victim of civilization, all one lovely birthday party.

Musical:

“Assassins” by Stephen Sondheim

This musical portrays the lives of assassins in American history, creating a cutting satire on the American Dream.

Political:

“The Trojan Women” by Euripides

Trojan women await their fate after Troy has fallen to the enemy.

“Blasted” by Sarah Kane

In this response to the Bosnian war, private violence spills over into outside turmoil between a racist man, a defeated girlfriend and a lone soldier.