In this week's post I chose to use the 'Did you understand what you are dying for?' chapter. It is a profoundly deep case study on the psychological effects of war and how we can possibly tackle them. In the chapter I saw evidence of all the case studies being used like: hold the paradox, bear witness, deeply listen to the ears of your heart, and find the gold. All of these principles apply deeply to the kind of theatre being produced by survivors of war, but the one that stood out to me the most was "find the medecine." I was moved by this guiding principle because of its impact on life as a whole for these people. They were able to channel a deeply disturbing feeling, like the story about guarding the possibly boobytrapped body of a diceased woman; and create an artform that allowed those feelings to be expressed. They were able to find the healing that resides in every performer's story or persona. Another powerful aspect of the Man to Man play that was talked about was the fact that the performers were both former soldiers who fought, as well as conscious objectors. This gives diversity in perspective makes for an excellent dichotomy of expression. These people are disturbed by the sounds of choppers floating around in their minds, and visions of the extremes of human existence. Through the theatre, they were able to find a healthy way to release these emotions, instead of walking around with them bottled up inside. When they talked about the smell of rotting flesh, I immediately thought about every history book on World War I I've ever read. In every one of those books, one of the first things talked about was the constant smell in the air. A smell of rotting flesh that would make most people vomit; was these soldiers reality day after day. I am extremely fascinated by extremes of human experience, and the lengths human beings will go to in order to achieve a certain goal. However, when soldiers come back from extremes of living into regular monotonous life; it feels like they aren't living any more. In war they had to put in strenuous work in order to ensure their daily survival. At home they are at a loss, dealing with post-traumatic-stresses on their minds and bodies. This is wear theatre, and performance can really work their magic. It can transport them to a realm of emotional elation. Where they can feel safe and free to express their emotions in a healthy way.
Art and Social Change Invisible Theatre Invisible Theatre is the art of creating a performance in spaces that are not stages. The people who witness it cannot be aware it is a performance or else they would become spectators. The way this can be done is creating a solid and locked script that the actors stick to but also know it so well it allows flexibility and the ability for them to mess with it when the people witnessing the act give input or there is any disruption. The actors will prepare for anything when it comes to their performance. It is imperative to choose a location where people gather in large groups in the public. An example of how this is done is by having actors play in a scene in a crowded restaurant with many patrons. You have one actor make a big fuss over a meal they hate and the waiter offers them the nicest meal, acknowledging the price which the actor eating the meal lets it be known that the price is o...
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