By Heba Radwan
With the emergence of self-awareness in humans, accompanied by the art of self-discovery, development, and interaction with their social environment, one of the artistic manifestations in the human journey to search for and express oneself is theatrical art. It has evolved from mere religious rituals in temples to elite theater and popular theater, ultimately culminating in social theater.
Through this artistic journey of humans, the principles, rules, and methodologies of theater have crystallized and evolved with the development of human societies. The central question in the evolution of theater since the beginning of the last century, or even since the Industrial Revolution, has been how the arts transitioned from being exclusive to the elite to becoming more accessible to ordinary people. This complexity increased with the emergence of modern states, which created social classes and worked to eliminate cultural and ethnic distinctions among their citizens in an attempt to promote the comprehensive and national project of the state.
The pre-existing models of theater that addressed all social classes disintegrated, and there arose a need to create open theatrical models that addressed the diverse segments of these societies. Its beginnings can be traced back to Bertolt Brecht, who attempted to establish a connection between art and social issues and eliminate the illusory space between the audience and the theater, as well as its traditional purifying role.
Then came Jerzy Grotowski, who took his perspective to impoverished theater, which can exist without makeup, costumes, mechanical scenography, separate stage, or background music. According to him, theater cannot exist without the direct and living relationship between the actor and the spectator.
Another school emerged, known as the Theater of the Oppressed in Latin America, pioneered by Augusto Boal. As a result of numerous experiments in eradicating illiteracy in Peru, he began his work in the “Forum Theater,” where the audience participates in developing the dramatic situation by intervening in the theatrical event. Initially, the audience’s intervention was merely suggesting ideas, and the actors developed the drama based on the audience’s input. But at some point, he discovered that the audience could physically participate in the theatrical work as actors. Here, the audience became a partner in the creative theatrical process, rather than just a passive recipient. Theater shifted from a logic of “for” to a logic of “together.”
The social theater is a term that refers to a broad spectrum of theatrical practices that intersect with social work. It is an interaction that can bring about changes in both fields. These theatrical practices are often developed under the umbrella of psychological, social, or educational intervention, with less emphasis on recognized artistic aesthetics or artistic and cultural representation.
Another definition of social theater, as defined by director Ahmed Saleh, is an artistic intervention in the space of citizenship, where artists, civil society activists, and citizens participate. It addresses a social issue that everyone shares in raising and discussing it equally.
One of the key features of social theater is that it creates a safe space where we can share our personal feelings about the challenges we face in society and the effects they have on us. Often, we are bombarded with a lot of information through the media, and we feel frustrated when trying to communicate with leaders and people in power who we sometimes feel are not listening to us and that we cannot effect change. Therefore, social theater can be a wonderful outlet for individuals to express their emotions and address their understanding of the things happening in their lives. It can also foster conversations among groups of people and pave the way for positive social change.
The most important theatrical techniques used in social theater:
Street theater (the main style)
The American researcher Henry Lucek defines street theater in preliminary notes as “a radical political theater that presents its shows in the streets, schools, shopping centers, outside factory gates, and anywhere else people can gather. It is a theater of simplicity and advocacy for a particular issue.”
Street theater also maintains a broad and flexible definition, primarily working to encourage as many people as possible to participate, allowing various theatrical styles to be part of this event as much as possible. There are many ideas in this direction, such as performance art, singing and music, acrobatics, improvisation, comedic movements and sketches, tricks and magic, and animal shows (limited to domesticated animals). The theatrical techniques used by project members can also be employed.
Street theater is also subject to the regulations governing public spaces, which requires high coordination by the participants with the authorities and the local community. It involves deep thinking in securing the participants. Of course, some groups have faced various harassments and occasional cancellations of shows by the authorities. We will address this in detail when discussing each project.
Forum Theater
Forum Theater is a form of theater used to explore social justice. It was created by the theater practitioner Augusto Boal. Boal founded Theater of the Oppressed, which is a theatrical form that utilizes various interactive techniques to investigate and promote social change.
Forum Theater examines the relationship between oppressors and the oppressed in society. The oppressors may take the form of individuals who hold power or authority over others and misuse their power. The oppressed individual is someone who is treated unjustly and lacks opportunities or freedom to act. For example, an employer who acts harshly towards an employee exemplifies the oppressor (the employer) mistreating the oppressed (the employee).
Forum Theater helps us explore how our reactions and choices can help combat different forms of oppression, allowing us to look at our struggles in society and ask ourselves: What impedes us? What existing systems and structures make overcoming our struggles more challenging? Using Forum Theater, we can then explore how we can change our actions and reactions for the better and make positive changes.
A portion of Forum Theater begins with a live performance that demonstrates how a character is suppressed in some way. For instance, there might be a scene where the character is treated unfairly by an employer. The piece may involve live scenes where the audience challenges the dominion in future scenarios for the character. The character may lose their job and be unable to pay their bills, leading them to lose their home… and suddenly the situation spirals out of control.
In Forum Theater, the audience stops being mere spectators and instead becomes spect-actors. They watch the performance again, and this time, they can stop the piece at any moment. The person calling for a temporary stoppage is called the “Joker” and interacts with the protagonist, referred to as the “Novel’s Hero,” to experiment with a new way of responding to a situation or obstacle to see if their actions can lead to a different outcome.
The beauty and challenge of Forum Theater lie in the absence of answers. Although the actors may try different ways to address a certain problem, sometimes the structures in society mean we end up with the same result or face different oppressions that are still difficult to overcome. Forum Theater is primarily created with and for specific communities or individuals affected by certain social injustices. You don’t need to be an expert in acting or theater to participate. When it comes to interventions, the forum welcomes audience members to contribute with genuine responses to the situation. Perhaps you may want to participate because you have personal experience with specific issues being raised. Maybe you work professionally with marginalized groups or individuals. Or perhaps you are an activist and want to explore injustices in society. Whatever your background, it’s about engaging with topics and communities you feel passionate about. It is a widely used theatrical approach in social theater.
Carnival Theater
Carnival Theater is the theater of the future, where everyone can participate. It is a theater that considers everyone as artists, while also respecting the environment, cultural and religious diversity, and global human rights. This theater helps us express our emotions and increases our understanding of reality. It enables us to engage in dialogue with people around us, encourages social success, and leads the way to positive social change.
Carnival Theater is a new approach created by Egyptian director Ahmed Saleh. It allows for innovation and combines different art forms in alternative spaces, where anyone with any group can participate. It addresses social issues and benefits from cultural diversity in finding solutions, while supporting gender equality.
It targets marginalized and deprived communities, as well as groups with specific characteristics, whether cultural (such as Nubians, Bedouins, newcomers, etc.) or based on age or gender (such as women, youth, children, etc.). It also involves artists, social workers, and psychologists.
All of this is done within an atmosphere of joy and allows for interaction with the surrounding community, involving both performers and spectators in a celebratory participation. This leads to the community embracing the carnival group, understanding their cultural values, which they have created themselves, and using their perspective on reality to engage in open dialogue.
Physical theater
“The body moves – Tout bouge – Everything moves.” This is simply the philosophy of the teacher Jacques Lecoq, the founder of the International School of Theatre Movement and Creation that bears his name. Physical theater relies on the body’s possibilities in public space, using physical improvisation, gestures, mime, pantomime, modern dance, and circus arts. However, the essence of physical theater lies in the concept of play, where performers are able to play with all the elements of theater and approach the theatrical narrative with the seriousness of children. This includes playing with objects by creating new meanings for them and exploring their potential. It also involves playing with space, using the theatrical space to highlight the actor, emphasizing form over meaning or vice versa, with actors actively creating the stage space. Furthermore, playing with others on stage enriches the performer, providing vitality, understanding, and connection with others. Additionally, physical theater incorporates vocal performances and various techniques of theatrical expression.
Interactive theater
Despite all the methods of social theater aiming for direct interaction with the participating audience, here the term “interactive theater” refers to a style closer to a seminar. The performers present a social issue in a scene and then ask the audience to share their opinions on the topic. The facilitator, also known as the “conductor,” manages the relationship between the presented scene and the audience.
Social theater and personal skills:
Regardless of the topic or objective, the most distinguishing feature of social theater is the development of participants’ skills, whether they are performers, interactive audience members, or interveners. Personal skills, regardless of one’s position in society, are the key to effectiveness in life. From self-confidence to communication skills and emotional intelligence, they all play a crucial role in determining a person’s success and happiness. Despite the use of various effective tools and processes for soft skills training, none seem to be as effective as social theater.
According to a study conducted by the Hamilton Project, the impact of social skills on success has increased by 15% over the past thirty years. And according to the “Future of Jobs” report by the World Economic Forum, emotional intelligence, creativity, and people management will be among the most important skills required in 2020.However, training in personal skills is always challenging because it requires individuals to change habits they have developed throughout their lives. Therefore, for any training to be effective in developing social skills, it must allow for repeated practice and provide intensive feedback. Social theater is one medium that incorporates all these integrated mechanisms.
Different experienced trainers in this field use various tools to train personal skills, but the impact demonstrated by this theater workshop is unparalleled. It has shown the highest value in terms of recall and increasing effectiveness in bringing about long-term changes in personalities and behaviors.
Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage.” For this stage called life, drama is considered a comprehensive medium. It encompasses all kinds of subjects and represents all types of people and situations. It now emerges as an incredibly powerful medium and finds its way as a training tool at all levels, from schools to corporate institutions. It is being used by an increasing number of organizations (across sectors) and leading multinational companies, deriving learning and joy from it.
According to testimonials shared by some companies, theater has been mentioned as an excellent means to break the ice in new groups, leading to increased camaraderie and strengthening connections among participants. At Microsoft, movement-based theater has been used for fast-track managers who learned to overcome inhibition, find their inner storyteller, build trust to engage an audience, and, most importantly, listen actively.
According to the experiences of social theater projects in Africa, all projects have organized training camps on social theater to develop the skills of performers. Participants have acknowledged acquiring new skills and discovering different spaces of engagement with citizens, which has led to their continued involvement in this type of theater.
As mentioned earlier, theater-based training ensures application, participation, and brings about changes in general behavioral skills. The following skills are increasingly honed using social theater:
Self-confidence: Self-confidence is a secret tool behind a person’s happiness in life. Theater helps build self-confidence by encouraging participants to maintain visual communication while speaking and express themselves more clearly. Theater training is also used to assist women affected by domestic violence.
Oral Communication: Through organized and practiced exercises, participants learn to speak more clearly, accurately, and with greater confidence, while also learning how to change the
tone and pitch of their voices. They also learn the power of pauses, the impact of body language, and how expressions play a major role in communication.
Listening Skills: Listening is a skill that is usually difficult to teach through any other form of training, but through effectively listening to others’ dialogues, paying attention to body language and intentional pauses, theater can make a difference.
Overcoming Stage Fear: Theater training helps participants overcome their fear of speaking and performing in front of others, helping them feel more comfortable in front of an audience.
Collaboration: Theater brings people together and enables teamwork. This is one of the highest-rated aspects (alongside communication) by participants. They understand and begin to assess the contribution of each member, regardless of their role, which is a powerful realization of teamwork rarely felt in organizational settings. Other affected aspects include providing support to others, understanding the concept of shared success, and enhancing coordination skills based on situational and personal needs.
Creative Problem Solving: In theater training, the group collaborates in scriptwriting, prop selection, and arrangement. Often, resources are limited, highlighting improvisation as a form of creativity.
Self-Discipline: In drama, participants must adhere to assigned roles and commit to the script word for word. Even rehearsals require everyone’s participation. The experience creates a sense of discipline within it.
Punctuality and Respect for Deadlines: For theater, deadlines are crucial, and the entire team needs to appreciate them for effective team performance. It teaches the importance of time management comprehensively, both during performances and rehearsals.
Organizational Skills: Theater performance is an event, and like any event, it involves multiple activities ranging from the actual performance to specific production tasks. Participants learn how to manage multiple tasks.
Self-Discovery: As the group works together formally and informally for several days at a time, it helps them understand their potential, strengths, weaknesses, and their impact on others.
Self-Development: Through self-discovery, observation, and learning from their mistakes, participants become more aware of their key development areas. This approach encourages supporting others to overcome their fears and improve their abilities. They also expand themselves based on their assigned roles, thus discovering their untapped potentials and talents.
Acceptance of Authority according to Others’ Roles: The hierarchical order is determined through the assigned roles for each participant. Other designations are forgotten, and learners are required to embrace their new roles.
Emotional Intelligence: Theater helps enhance emotional intelligence. It allows people to connect not only with their own emotions but also with the emotions of others. It helps them see their impact through different roles, fostering empathy and their ability to effectively deal with emotions.
Leadership and Initiative Skills: Participants are left to manage their own affairs in various situations – from disgruntled peers not getting the roles they wanted to limited resources and performance pressure. All these situations enable learners to utilize their leadership qualities.
Flexibility: In theater, decisions are made spontaneously based on people’s suggestions. The direct impact of such decisions can be felt, leading to increased acceptance and flexibility towards different approaches.
Contemplation and Observation Skills: Throughout the entire process, after each step, theater involves reflection and sharing of what went well and areas for improvement. This not only teaches learners the valuable skill of critical thinking but also develops the habit and ability.
It can be said that training in social theater is a new form of experiential learning that brings joy, engagement, and real return on investment.
References:
- Madelena Gonzalez, Hélène Laplace-Claverie (2012), Minority Theatre on the Global Stage, Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
- BOAL, Augusto (1996), Théâtre de l’opprimé, Paris, La Découverte.
- JAURÈS, Jean (2006), « Le théâtre social », dans Chantal Meyer-Plantureux (dir.), Le théâtre populaire, enjeux politiques : de Jaurès à Malraux, Bruxelles, Complexe, p. 77.
*Heba Radwan:
An academic researcher, actress, and cultural manager.
Born in Alexandria, she participated in the establishment of the City for Arts in 2000 and has been involved in numerous theatrical productions. She obtained a Master’s degree in Arts Management from the International University of Senghor in 2012.
