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.
The IV International Meeting of Theatre of the Oppressed takes place in the capital of Guinea-Bissau, at the Theatre of the Oppressed Center CTO-Bissau, from November 20 to 30, 2022, with the slogan “For the end of violence against women!” It is the first time that an International Network Meeting takes place on the African continent. Women from Guinea-Bissau are participating from all over the country, from different ethnic groups, in addition to representatives from Mozambique, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Chile, Guatamela, and Argentina.
The program included a theoretical seminar, an aesthetic creation laboratory, and public presentations of shows by groups from Guinea-Bissau, France, Brazil, and Germany, at the Franco Bissau Guinea Cultural Center and at the Portuguese Cultural Center. Throughout the activities, the participants analyzed the different violence they face daily, transforming the themes discussed into collective performance and preparing a public march “For the end of violence against women!”
Besides some specific violence such as female genital mutilation (which although a crime since 2011, is still a recurring practice in the country), forced and early marriage, women from different countries realized that they face the same forms of violence.
With a powerful and attractive aesthetic production, on November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the participants marched through downtown Bissau counting on the support of people who joined the cry of “Enough!” of violence against women, for understanding that overcoming gender violence is a problem of the whole society.
Despite alarming data of murders of women for being women (practice known around the world as feminicide), sexual, psychological and physical violations, released by recognized international bodies such as the United Nations, three days after our march we were surprised by the initiative of some men, who inverted our motto, to present themselves as victims of a supposed violence of women against them, contrary to all national and international statistics.
We consider this manifestation an act of social irresponsibility, which treated specific facts as an everyday practice. Using an exception as if it were the rule.
We demand that the organizers of this act disclose the official statistics that show the disproportionality of the violence that women face daily in Guinea-Bissau and throughout the world.
If we women took to the streets to demonstrate at every case of serious violence, involving murder, mutilation, and rape, we would not leave the streets and we would be on a permanent march.
Bissau, November 29, 2022
Ma-g-dalena International Network of Theater of the Oppressed
Theatre of the Oppressed Qualification Course 2024
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 2024 is composed by:
Online Course: 12 – 15 August 2024 (18h – 20h):
Each Online Meeting will have a set of articles, films and videos related with each of the online course. The 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)
Practical Course: 19th – 25th August 2024 (10:00 / 15:00)
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
extra program: Forum Theatre presentation, film, seminar, discussion…
Forum Theatre Play Production and public presentation
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.
*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.
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
