Workshop involving performers in collaborative development of new performance; topics include cross-disciplinary arts, solo performance, language, and movement.

In a time where division and polarization are all too common, many feel called to bridge across difference and create communities of belonging. Theater is a powerful tool for this because of how it explores the human experience, amplifies the power of storytelling, teaches collaborative process, and transforms us by creating opportunities to "rehearse" new ways of being. In this course, we will consider various approaches to bridging across difference and creating spaces of belonging through collaborative performance. Participants will have the opportunity to build their skills in applied theater, an interdisciplinary realm of performance practice where all forms of creativity are welcomed. The skills they gain will be transferable to many areas of life, both personal and professional. We will explore the frameworks of "bridging" and "belonging" as defined by the Othering and Belonging Institute, and we will watch and analyze acts of bridging and belonging that have taken place in formal performance spaces as well as in public spaces such as the streets, in work places, in TV and film, and on social media. Participants research social issues that are important to them, explore their own creative visions, and build the skills to develop creative work that deepens understanding and "expands the circle of human concern," as Dr. john a. powell of the Othering and Belonging Institute says. For the culminating project we collaborate on the creation of a devised inter-disciplinary theater piece, inspired by our research and our process of building a community of creators from diverse identities and lived experiences. The practices we use to develop work come from Augusto Boal’s “Theater of the Oppressed,” Tectonic Theater Project’s “Moment Work” Methodology, Playback Theater, Arawana Hiyashi's "Social Presencing," the Viewpoints, improvisational composition, somatics, and generative writing practices. Participants have the opportunity to present what they have created to engage the campus community in these explorations of bridging and belonging. All participants will be part of the creative process through writing, design, multi-media arts, or embodied performance, and can choose whether they’d like to perform or stay behind the scenes for the final sharing of work.

Repeat Rules

Requirements class fulfills