jokering justice: introduction to theatre of the oppressed
Background
Is culture just art and architecture or is there more to it? How does it affect lives? Does it only exist in the past, to be observed from a distance? The irony is embedded in everything around us, as indigenous and folk forms of expression, like Warli Art, are being capitalised upon to be put on objects, like laptop covers and backpacks. Does this constitute cultural work? Entire ‘communities’ get busy in celebrating Karva Chauth while communal lynching, violence and deaths due to COVID mismanagement are camouflaged with celebrations using lamps, drums and thalis. Or is this the new normal for ‘culture’? What does culture mean for us? How can we problematize ‘culture’? How is culture instrumentalized? How does culture lend itself to multiple interpretations?
These are the kinds of questions we’d like to engage with … through theatre. Theatre has always been synonymous with culture – not just a form through performance, but something posing with its dual nature as both the mirror and the window. Just like any other journey, culture moves and grows without structural frameworks. It is non-linear and chaotic in its extension.
Theatre of the oppressed and the Culture of dialogue
Theatre of the Oppressed (TOTO) is a praxis based on the political views of equality and democratic processes. Across the world, different movements, communities and organisations have used it for initiating sociocultural shifts.
Real, vital and inclusionary dialogues are crucial aspects of enduring democracies, in present and in future too. TOTO, both as an approach and a technique, facilitates a shift in behaviour and perception of individuals and collectives, enabling greater ownership and hands-on approach to validate and support diverse dialogues. The Theatre of the Oppressed practice deeply respects the intellectual faculty of people and therefore has the potential to portray oppression and change the story. This form of theatre focuses not just on acting, but also action. It deliberates on the reflection of realities and can be a rehearsal for future action.
We are organizing an intensive TOTO program with three modules, which is designed as a funnel – spread across 10 months with exit possible at every level but entry possible only at the foundation level for freshers and at intermediary for those with experience. This entails both on-site workshops and action projects led by participants.
Objectives
- The three workshops will be placed within an interval of a few months and be spread over through 2022.
- There will be three levels: Foundation > Intermediary > Intense.
- The resource persons (Jaya Iyer and Zubair Idrisi), along with Sambhaavnaa Institute, want to create a space and community for individuals planning to engage in TOTO methods and practices in their respective fields. This could be any arena of social development and education among other spaces. The idea is to create Agents of Change who would become TOTO practitioners in the future for issues related to justice, equality and transformation.
- The level of information, practice methods and intensity for the workshops would step up with every level of the workshop in this sequence: Foundation > Intermediary > Intense.
- On completion of Foundation level, participants are expected to engage with TOTO in some way, in their respective professional spaces. This will be an imperative, to be able to apply for Intermediary level. The idea is to create a timeline where training and on-field practice run simultaneously.
This workshop, which is the first and introductory level, is a 6-day workshop. It is an introduction to this amorphous framework and possible ways to implement TOTO in various fields. This workshop will focus on participatory process which offers people the possibility of identifying issues, articulating them in form of short plays and creating a structure in which an active dialogue between the actors and the spectators is instigated in order to try and change the story. The work that we will do during these 6 days will be experiential, with a summary and debrief of the techniques involved:
- Space to connect within – understanding the connectedness between our body and the mind, and between human beings and everything in the world around them.
- Analyse the intersectionality of oppressions and confront the hierarchies, violence and injustices within ourselves, and our collective lives through personal sharing and listening sessions.
- Script forum and facilitation – principles of jokering and utilising these in different fields (e.g. facilitating large heterogeneous groups).
- Develop trust in the power of the oppressed and finding means and tools to harness the same.
- Build an effective culture of dialogue for sustainable change.
The second round will take place later in the year, after a gap of 2-3 months. We would mostly like to have the same participants who participated in the first round of workshops. This workshop will involve an advanced training in TOTO and also involve work with the communities on the ground. In the third round, there shall be a training component at the Sambhaavnaa campus and a longer component of working with the communities. We shall together discuss the particularities of these workshops in detail when we meet during the first round. Details would be finalized collectively.
In addition to these workshops, and through them, we also plan to work with teachers in educational spaces, and engage with students and schooling community at large. The aim is to have a critical look at the schooling systems and the relationship of power, hierarchy, and politics in these systems. We are guided by the idea that classrooms are also a theatre and the cultural impact of these performances run deep.
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop is for change-makers, social work practitioners, activists, people associated with people’s movements, theatre artists who work on aspects of social change and young artists exploring techniques for social change. Prior understanding of TOTO is not essential.
This workshop is ideal for those who want to begin using theatre for social change processes. We are trying to create a process where we can continuously create, produce, and share knowledges over three workshops.
About the facilitators
Jaya Iyer has been associated with various aspects of social development for over three decades. An awardee of many prestigious fellowships, Jaya is also a recipient of the UNESCO Aschberg Bursary to study the Theatre of the Oppressed with Augusto Boal. As a theatre professional she has developed and staged over 20 major productions and around 1000 studio, street and community performances. Her productions have won the prestigious Sahitya Kala Parishad “Best Play of the Year”, have been showcased in Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Urdu theatre festival, Sriram summer festival, theatre for Truth festival etc.
Jaya was CEO of Pravah and led the process to set up the National Centre for Children and Youth in Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. She has been a guest faculty in Bachelor of Elementary Education, TIE, National Museum Institute and Disom School of Leadership. Jaya has designed and led various public campaigns around Seeds-sovereignty, Child Rights, Gender-based violence, Anti-plastic movements and Proactive Peacebuilding.
Zubair Idrisi has been a theatre practitioner for more than fifteen years. His area of interest lies in working around the transformative power of theatre in influencing social change. He specialises in theatre-based training and facilitation of workshops at individual, community and organizational level. He has extensive experience in project design and coordination with a focus on youth-and gender-oriented programs. He has designed and executed various social campaigns as well, each addressing a specific cause or an issue. His work with Pradan between 2017 and 2019 involved campaigns around gender-based violence, PDS distribution and the right to vote. Zubair has worked with multiple non-government, government and private organisations, along with students and teachers belonging to educational institutions as well. These include UNICEF, Greenpeace, JAGORI, Sangat, PCI, and Teen Murti Bhawan, Nehru Learning Centre for Children and Youth and Government of India headquarters in New Delhi.
Dates and Venue: 11th to 16th March, 2022, Sambhaavnaa Institute, VPO – Kandbari, Tehsil – Palampur, District – Kangra, PIN 176061, Himachal Pradesh
Participant Contribution: We hope that participants would contribute an amount of Rs. 5000 /- towards workshop expenses, inclusive of all on-site workshop costs: boarding, lodging, and all the materials used in the workshop. Travel of participants will have to be borne by the organisation/the participants.
Do not let money be an impediment to your application. Need based fee waivers are available. We have a limited number of scholarships so please apply for a fee waiver if you really need it. Do remember that there may be others who need it more than you. Fee waiver will be offered to people from marginalized groups and non-funded social, political or students movements.
Please fill the form below to apply: