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Cy K, Week 9, Theater of Witness

I chose to read chapter 13: Beauty Born From Ugliness, about Teya Sepinuck's work in Northern Ireland. The first thing that jumped out at me about this chapter was how much the narration centered on Sepinuck's feelings and journey with the work as compared to those of the participants. Within the context of Theater of Witness, this could be a manifestation of "Becoming the Vessel", but it feels more as a personal reflection than an offering of guidance for others trying to emulate her process. Other principles that are prominently evident in Sepinuck's account are "Finding the Gold" and "Taking the Problem and Make it the Solution." Finding the gold in one participant's use of drumming as emotional release helps invite the audience into his healing process. Making a problem a solution affected the piece in multiple ways, both where one participant's desire for a nonspeaking role helped create a better closing to the piece and another participant's safety concerns leading to a film/projection element of the piece that later expanded to include other participant's stories.

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