HowlRound: India is a massive country with over a billion people and a cultural tapestry that spans throughout the ages. To speak of one part of this beautiful and complicated country, or of one person’s experiences, can be valuable, but is certainly not recognized as a national truth. Some of what I will share comes from my own experience and some has been shared with me by the amazing young artists I now know because of my time in India.
8 comments:
Often times I believe it is easy for us to forget how theatre "works" in other countries, especially non-Western countries such as India. Art is a very powerful tool in tandem with education. This seems to especially be true in places where such an emphasis is put on left-brained, disciplined learning. I am also in awe of the creative way dance therapy has been used to help victims of prostitution "reclaim their bodies". That image is very powerful.
It's great to see theater touching the lives of people that it didn't originate in. I find it also great that it's being used as a creative outsource for kids in need. India is going through some powerful conversations concerning power and gender and I'm surprised that students jumped at adding these themes into their plays. These kids tackled some heavy issues in a way that I don't think American kids can. This is just another way that theater can connect and educate a people, and I think this is a great partnership that is growing.
This is surprisingly similar to something my friend from high school did. She "adopted" an orphan in Kenya through one of those commercials you see on tv. She had a strong desire after years of supporting her "little girl" to go see her. However when she decided to do so, she decided to go with a bigger cause. She created a group called "Theatre on a Mission" who raised money to travel with 15 people to Kenya and put on a very camp like program where the kids put together a production. This was so big of a deal in Kenya that a representative from Parliament ended up coming to the production and giving money to the orphanage to purchase a new water source. Its kinda remarkable what you can get done when you put your mind to it.
I have always enjoyed reading about other countries cultures and the theatre that they put on. Last year I read an article about villages in Africa writing and creating plays where they would put the aids disease on trial. That article was magic to me because it was a direct relationship on how theatre has grown from humanity. The article also gave a glimpse on what different cultures find important. I think this article was a mirror of the article I read a year ago. One of my favorite things mention in this article was how dance was being use to allow women involved in human trafficking could reclaim their bodies. Another great piece of this article I saw was near the end when the students put together a play about power and gender dynamics and it gave a small glimpse of what the culture finds is important to talk about. I really wish I got to see the play the students talked about it would be a fantastic cultural experience.
This is a very exciting program, while high school students in America, yes there is stiff competition and other talented people, have essentially a direct pipeline to the best universities and best theater in the world. Most people around the world have no direct access to our level of theater, and in even more places the local culture discourages young people from participating in the arts as a professional career. I like what this program is doing in terms of helping encourage local art abroad, and spread the news of it.
This is incredible and something that moves me. I really loved the part toward the end of the article where the young man and woman got in a discussion about gender roles and power. That is awesome and that can be the power of the collaborative art that we do. When I taught high school theatre I loved watching students grow and change. It is amazing what people can do when they come together. I love the voice that these kids will bring to stage, they are the ones that can slowly be some real change.
This is exactly how I think that theatre should be used more often than not. Theatre, like music should be used to empower children and young adults, it should give them an outlet/voice that they didn't know existed before. Sometimes we get so caught up in creating this amazing abstract piece of theatre that no one understands and I just wish that we would create more impactful products! I agree with Adam when you teach kids theatre, it is aways amazing to see how it impacts them and changes them.
I completely agree with this article. I have always believed that art is an essential part of education development. It grown parts of the brain and problem-solving skills which can be obtained no other way. Theater especially is an outlet for solving and learning to express political or emotional problems, making it an incredibly important part of education, especially in third world or impoverished countries. I went on a service trip to the Dominican Republic last November, and one of the things we did with the kids was paint of make up games. It was really cool to see how positively the kids were affected by creating something from themselves.
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