Change the world while you play

TOL Gender Project: Women and Men: Can We Hear Each Other? A Theatrical Dialogue....

by Halim Dunsky, President, President Seattle M.E.N.

Seattle Public Theatre, in cooperation with Seattle M.E.N. and N.O.W., is presenting a workshop on gender issues this fall. We are looking for men and women to participate in this exciting form of issues work through theatrical exercises.

The following message comes from Marc Weinblatt, Co-Artistic Director of SPT. Please consider joining us, and forward this message widely to anyone you think might be interested.

The Seattle Public Theater, in cooperation with the Seattle chapter of the National Organization for Women (N.O.W.) and the Seattle Men's Evolvement Network (Seattle M.E.N.), will conduct a 6-day "Theater of Liberation" Intensive Workshop exploring gender issues. Under the guidance of Marc Weinblatt and Jan Maher, 15 men and 15 women will investigate and dialogue gender roles, desires, and obstacles, as well as possible solutions to some of the problems we face in today's society.

Using a dynamic array of games, physical imagery techniques, and improvisation, participants will explore issues of personal and collective importance to them. This will culminate in the creation of a short play or series of scenes which reflects the participants' experiences. The workshop will ultimately be open to the public with the final event presented in the participatory Forum Theater style. In Forum Theater, the scene is performed once as written. It is then started a second time at which point the audience is invited to "stop" the action, come onto the stage, replace the character they feel is lacking power, and improvise their solution. In this way, everyone is drawn into the exploration and can be empowered to have a say in the outcome.

"Theater of Liberation" is based on the ground breaking "Theater of the Oppressed" work of Brazilian visionary, Augusto Boal, and uses theater as a tool to effect personal, social, and political change. Originally developed in Latin America to help oppressed peasants explore solutions to their own problems, it is now used all over the world for social and political activism, conflict resolution, community building, and therapy.

We seek 30 adventurous women and men to take part in this exploration! How are we different? Where can we meet? Our intention is to gather as diverse a group as possible to uncover the vast rainbow of our dilemmas as well as our joys. This workshop will be playful and undoubtedly very rich. Come prepared to take risks. All perspectives are welcome! Absolutely no acting experience necessary.

Workshop Dates: Sun. October 6 thru Fri. October 11, 1996
Time: 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Location: Seattle Public Theater (in Capitol Hill)
Cost: $300-500 - sliding scale (Some scholarships are available based on need.)

Public Performances: Fri 10/11 and Sat 10/12 at 8:00 PM

To Register and for more information, contact:

Seattle Public Theater - (206) 328-4848

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