FALL 2019- ARTS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

“What a Riot!”, a project initiated by CAP and eventually spearheaded by Mady Schutzman, is a prime example of effective use of one Augusto Boal’s many forms of theatrical community engagement: the Joker System.  To summarize, the Joker System takes on a historical character or event as a point of discussion, where participants can share and debate opinions or feelings about this particular subject.  The Joker System also includes a chorus (or two) “that sings, dances, complains, rallies, and talks directly to the audience” (Schutzman, 4).  Something I appreciated about the Joker System approach was the ability for this community of youth to identify a common feeling that was represented in a real life experience: in this case that of Rodney King and Claudette Colvin.  While Schutzman clarifies that most of the teens she was working with were part of the latino community, she explores how the students found similarity and representation in the stories of Rodney King...

What strategies did she employ in her process of making in play with the youth? Mady used the Boal’s Joker System as an opportunity to engage a pedagogy of intervention,, and with this tell a story of violence, racism, and resistance in America. Using this method, she explains that it provided a means to incorporate the youth’s curiosity, dismay, outrage, fear, and inspiration in relation to the subject matter of the play within the play. Mady wanted the youth to be very involved with the creation of the play and first had them come up with a list of historical characters they would like to know more about and celebrate, and eventually came down to two characters (Rodney King and Claudette Colvin) that they voted on to learn about people they didn’t really know of. What approaches resonated with me? The approach of the Joker System turns a play into a discussion, in essence, and even a trial, where different ideas and feelings about a character/event can be debated. The goal of...

What strategies did she employ in her process of making in play with the youth? Some of the strategies Mady Schutzman employed in her process of making a play with the youth were, utilizing the Joker System, presenting exercises to create a “safe” space by opening the floor and space to the youth to speak, reflect, and share their stories. What approaches resonated with you? Many of the approaches that were used were very intriguing and interesting, but there was one approach that resonated with me. Particularly, the questions that came out of one of the approaches. In the vein of the Joker System, it was designed to ,”promote social inquiry and personal agency by asking questions (How do I know what I know? Who authored the historical narratives we reiterate? Are those stories relevant to me and my community? Who do they privilege and who do they marginalize?” Mandy shared. These questions resonated with me because they are questions I have been asking myself this...

What strategies did she employ in her process of making in play with the youth? Schutzman used the joker system to get all the students involved and discussed. Students could share their different perspectives and learn more about their own interested throughout the play. By making a direct connection between the students themselves with the historical event, the students learn more effectively by themselves.  What approaches resonated with you?  I was not growing up in a society which has racial issues, so I didn't have much interest in a similar topic. By reading What a Riot! It encouraged me to know more about the racial issue in American society because I am a minority in this society now and I have experienced different racial issues too. I'm glad that  Schutzman educates the teenagers about this issue and its history. This could help the teenagers have a better understanding of their race and other race.     How was the play relevant to this speci...

What strategies did she employ in her process of making in play with the youth? What approaches resonated with you? How was the play relevant to this specific community?  What questions might you ask Mady and why?  One strategy Mady used was the revival of the Joker System. A play that can be linked to the Theater of the Oppressed. She also integrates  other classic Boal structures (such as a nod to Greek Theater, which can be seen in the "Chorus" in "What a Riot!" She used the Joker System as an avenue for approaching and engaging intervention and the steps toward intervention. This was done through the stimulation of encounters and interactions with people who would be considered "other" to us. I resonated with her acceptance and awareness of her own outsiderness and how that brought her into a heightened state of Active Listening. I think this approach to theater creating is so fresh, rare, and beneficial. To make a voice on paper, you have to firs...

In 2005, Mary Shutzman was invited by the CalArts arts partnership to direct and write a play for the Plaza de la Raza theater program called UPSET! This play was created in collaboration with somewhere between 13-17 Latino students who wrote down a list of historical figures they'd like to know more about. "After several pedagogical sessions...the students voted on Rodney King and Claudette Colvin." The play was modeled after Augusto Boal's style of theater called The Joker System. This particular style of social theater is interesting to me because it elicits a real-time discussion with the audience. The Joker and the Chorus are meant to raise questions and discover new sides of a story that were never thought of before. "There's always a big chorus (sometimes two) that sings, dances, complains, rallies, and talks directly to the audience." The Boal style of theater is also very intriguing in that, it challenges people's set opinion about an event/...

Schutzman starts off this reflection with an excerpt from the play she created. The opening lines serve to give recognition and context to the subject matter by immediately dedicating the show to Rosa Parks. This is an extremely effective strategy to introduce the tone and subject matter of the piece. The addition of Claudette at the end was the “icing on the cake” to the introductory excerpt. Raising questions and therefore instantly opening up a dialogue. Schutzman approached the students by asking questions while also letting them choose the person/people they wanted to learn about and also depict in the play. I think entering a school with something to teach is the idealistic approach to interacting with students; when students are in class they are expecting to be taught and ask questions. This is the exact approach Shutzman used. This allowed her to familiarize herself with the student community and find their interests, question...