This is an initiative in which practitioners of feminist Theatre of the Oppressed come together to deepen into the methodology, share their knowledge and experience, learning, multiply the method through workshops with young people and create networks of empowerment.
During the first meeting hosted by KURINGA at the festival Aesthetics of Solidarity in September 2021 at the Ufer Studios in Berlin, we produced the forum theatre play “Noises of Silence”, directed by Bárbara Santos, in memory of all the women who were killed by patriarchal violence.
In the process of collective creation we asked ourselves, why do we keep silent, even when we have discovered feminism as a practice of freedom?; how can we get out of the trap of individuality that isolates us?
Thanks to the support of the Erasmus+ programme, we have been able to launch the project with the participation of the associations Pas à Passo – Théâtre de l’Opprimé (France), Spai La Tregua (Spain), Kulturno umetnisko drustvo Transformator (Slovenia), GTO LX – Grupo de Teatro do Oprimido de Lisboa (Portugal), Centar za kazaliste potlacenih POKAZ (Croatia).
The next part of the project will take place in Ljubljana in September 2022.
13.-19. September 2021, Uferstudios, Berlin-Wedding
Das
KURINGA Forumtheaterfestival ist ein internationaler dialogischer
Raum, in dem Künstler*innen ihre Realitäten auf die Bühne bringen
und das Publikum eingeladen wird, Ideen zur Transformation dieser
Realitäten einzubringen. Alle gemeinsam suchen mit ästhetischen
Mitteln nach alternativen Wegen, Solidarität zu entwickeln.
Nach einer langen Zeit der Pandemie wollen wir Kunst | Aktivismus | Aktion feiern und unsere Communities und Netzwerke wieder miteinander in Kontakt bringen. Wir möchten auch in einer polarisierten Welt Räume schaffen, in denen Dialog stattfinden kann – in einer Welt, in der mit Lügen und Fake News Rechtspopulismus, weiße Überlegenheitsvorstellungen und toxische Männlichkeit verbreitet werden. Während des Festivals wollen wir Interaktivität im Theater anregen und entwickeln, um Kunst und Politik miteinander zu verbinden und Botschaften der Solidarität zu verbreiten.
Mit
dem Festival feiern wir auch den 10. Geburtstag von KURINGA – Raum
für Theater der Unterdrückten in Berlin. Hier ist durch das
Qualifizierungsprogramm und die Verbindung mit lokalen Theatergruppen
und mehreren Netzwerken eine große internationale Community
entstanden. Während des Festivals werden lokale und internationale
Theatergruppen Forumtheaterstücke zeigen, die sich basierend auf
eigenen gesellschaftlichen Erfahrungen und politischen Kämpfen mit
dem Thema Solidarität auseinandersetzen, um dann über theatrale
Interaktion gemeinsam mit dem Festivalpublikum konkrete Aktionen
erproben zu können. Das Festival wird mit einem Stück zur Frage
“Wie
kann Solidarität nach der Pandemie aussehen?”
eröffnet werden, das zuvor von einem internationalen KURINGA
Ensemble entwickelt wird.
Das
KURINGA Forumtheaterfestival möchte die Grenze zwischen Bühne und
Publikum durch kollektive Interventionen einreißen, indem die
Zuschauer*innen angeregt werden, gemeinsame Strategien zur
Überwindung der Unterdrückung zu entwickeln, die auf der Bühne
dargestellt wurde.
Neben
Theateraufführungen umfasst das Festivalprogramm eine Straßenparade,
ein Theatersymposium, Dramaturgielaboratorien (basierend auf Stücken
aus dem Festival) und den Austausch über Praxiserfahrungen.
Theatre of the Oppressed Qualification Course 2022
This course offers theoretical and practical bases for the understanding of the Theatre of the Oppressed method as a whole, underlining its feminist perspective for the development of its praxis: critical analysis and aesthetic representation of the reality for the creation of spaces for dialogue.
The theoretical part includes the main concepts that structure the core of the method which is an essential content for the adequate development of each of its several techniques.
The practical bases are composed by exercises, games and techniques that constitute aesthetic strategies allowing the identification and investigation of the areas of interest of the target groups. The methodology aims at investigating the contextual dimensions of the problems identified in order to frame the question of the group and produce its Forum Theatre play.
The Qualification Course is based on the Aesthetics of the Oppressed and is structured by the dramaturgy of the Theatre of the Oppressed, using various techniques such as Image Theatre, Forum Theatre and Newspaper Theatre.
The course is open for everyone who wants to deepen their knowledge and develop a practice in Theatre of the Oppressed using its feminist perspective and is interested in the Aesthetics of the Oppressed.
The Qualification Course 2022 is composed by:
Online Course: 15th and 16th August 2022 (16:00 / 19:30)
The working sessions will be happening 15th and 16th of August 2022. Each Online Meeting will have two sessions of 90’ each with a break of 30’ in between. A set of articles, films and videos related with each of the online course contents will be offered in advance for the participants. The discussion is based on the material and on questions by the participants.
Theoretical contents:
The Tree of Theatre of the Oppressed (an overview of the method)
Oppression (as a fundamental concept of the method)
Social Context / ASCESE / Metaphor (the contextual approach for theatre production)
Aesthetic of the Oppressed (the path of artistic process and production)
At the face-to-face course the theoretical concepts studied in the online course will be practically applied during the development of different techniques.
Practical contents:
Image Theatre and Forum Theatre: framing the question
IMAGE: Aesthetics of the Oppressed
Sound / Rhythm: Aesthetics of the Oppressed
WORD: Aesthetics of the Oppressed
Dramaturgy
Newspaper Theatre – how to develop the contextual approach
Forum Theatre Play Production: 22nd – 26th August 2022 (16:00 / 20:00)
The artistic process of producing a Forum Theatre Play offers the possibility for combining all theoretical and practical contents of the course. It will also be a concrete journey by way of Feminist Theatre of the Oppressed specificities as contextual approach, aesthetic proposals and the innovative way to develop the dialogue with the audience through the Collective Intervention. During the public presentation it will be possible to understand the specific role of the Kuringa (facilitator of the discussion with the audience) in this kind of Forum Session.
KURINGA Forum Theatre Weekend: 26th – 28th August 2022
Friday night will be the premiere of the play production and the opening of the KURINGA Forum Theatre Weekend.
Saturday morning (10:00 / 13:00) all participants and special guests will come together at the Laboratory of Dramaturgy for the analysis of the Friday presentation and for practical development of some aspects of the play.
Saturday afternoon (17:00) and evening (19:00) Theatre of the Oppressed community groups from Berlin will present their Forum Theatre productions.
Sunday (13:00 / 18:00) we will make a Laboratory of Dramaturgy based on the Saturday presentations and a conclusion of the course.
*Further information, possibilities of participation, questions of payment, please contact us by E-mail
KURINGA Theatre of the Oppressed Qualification Course is designed by Bárbara Santos, who was colleague of Augusto Boal in Brazil for two decades as general coordinator of the Centre of Theatre of the Oppressed (CTO) working in the design, implementation, coordination, supervision and evaluation of training programs in several countries and as a collaborator in artistic productions, as well as in the investigation, conception and development of Legislative Theatre and Aesthetics of the Oppressed.
The Qualification Course in Berlin is implemented with Christoph Leucht and Till Baumann, long-term collaborators of Bárbara and co-founders of KURINGA – Space for Theatre of the Oppressed.
The KURINGA Qualification combines the theoretical deepening with practical experiences, contributing to the consistent development of the praxis of the method. This initiative aims at producing a base for a consistent and reliable curriculum for permanent qualification in the Method of Theatre of the Oppressed and to stimulate the groundwork for the transformation of reality through formation of and exchange between TO community groups.
Knowledge and experience are developed through collective artistic productions, which are a practical application of the theoretical concepts, and can become a reference for the multiplication process.
BOAL, Augusto. Técnicas latino-americanas de teatro popular, São Paulo, Hucitec, 1988.
___. Teatro do Oprimido e outras poéticas políticas. Rio de Janeiro, Civilização Brasileira, 1988.
___. The Rainbow of Desire: The Boal Method of Theatre and Therapy. London and New York, Routledge, 1995.
___. Legislative Theatre. London, (also USA and Canada), Routledge, 1998.
___. Hamlet and the Baker’s Son. London, (also USA and Canada), Routledge, 2001.
___. Games for Actors and non-actors. London, (also USA and Canada) Second Edition. Routledge, 2002.
___. Teatro como Arte Marcial. Rio de Janeiro, Garamond, 2003.
___. A Estética do Oprimido. Rio de Janeiro, Garamond, 2009.
SANTOS, Bárbara. Identity in Diversity. Scripting Power: Jana Sanskriti On and Offstage. Edited by Dia Da Costa. Kolkata, CAMP, 2010, pp. 159–170.
___. Percursos Estéticos – abordagens originais sobre o Teatro do Oprimido. São Paulo, padê editorial, 2018.
___. Theatre of the Oppressed ROOTS & WINGS a theory of praxis. Los Angeles – USA, KURINGA in conjunction with UCLA Art & Global Health Center and UCLA Prison Education Program, 2019
___. Teatro de las Oprimidas – estéticas feministas para poéticas políticas. Buenos Aires, Ediciones del Signo, 2020.
Im Frühjahr 2021 hat Christoph Leucht von KURINGA Berlin in einem Probenprozess mit den Methoden des teatro das oprimidas, mit der Jugendgruppe der Romaorganisation RomaTrial das Forumtheaterstück WIR SIND HIER! Inszeniert. Das Stück hatte auf dem Festiwalla im Juni 2021 Premiere und tourt seitdem durch Jugendklubs, Theater und Festivals in Berlin, Brandenburg und Dortmund.
Am 5. April wurde bekannt gegeben, dass das Stück als eine von insgesamt acht Inszenierungen aus über 50 Einsendungen für das Theatertreffen der Jugend ausgewählt wurde und Ende Mai 2022 im Haus der Berliner Festspiele aufgeführt werden wird.
Das Stück beschreibt die Diskriminierung von Roma in Deutschland auf dem Hintergrund der jüngeren deutschen Geschichte und bittet das Publikum am Ende um kollektive Interventionen, die dazu beitragen, die Roma in Deutschland in ihrem Kampf um gleichberechtigte Teilhabe zu unterstützen.
Die Jugendgruppe WIR SIND HIER! setzt sich aus jungen Roma und Romnja von RomaTrial e.V. aus Berlin und Kiew zusammen, die Romanes, Rumänisch, Ukrainisch, Deutsch, Englisch, Russisch und Spanisch sprechen. Die künstlerische Theaterarbeit ist Teil ihres politischen Engagements im Rahmen des „WIR SIND HIER! Bildungsprogramms gegen Antiziganismus“ und umfasst außerdem die Anleitung von Peertrainings, die Organisation von Demos, Veranstaltungen, Auftritte bei Podiumsdiskussionen und die Produktion von Videos und Social Media Content.
Augusto Boal was born on 16th of March, his birthday has become the International Day of the Theatre of the Oppressed. We want to celebrate Boal and Theatre of the Oppressed with videos, discussions and forum theatre.
Video Premiere: Aesthetics of Solidarity 2019
Feminist Theatre of the Oppressed: Book presentation (Bárbara Santos) and network
