Rachel Tibbetts - What a Riot

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, questions and concerns that she later used in the play. The subject matter of the play was completely relevant to the current social climate of the city;  it was also relevant to the issues that still face these students today.

I thought it was clever how Shutzman incorporated the student’s questions into the play. The addition of the “Joker System” plays, written by Boal and Guarnieri, gave the opportunity for the students to stop the play and find places to speak their own mind through the Joker Role. Often times sharing their emotion and profound questions through the character. Another successful tactic used in the play was the act of drawing from themes seen in entertainment and various popular media. In my opinion, one of the most valuable aspects of this collaboration was when Shutzman encouraged to consider the thoughts and motivations of the “Bad guys” or “villains”. Since the students performing in the play switched roles; this encouraged them to sincerely analyze each character involved, the role he/she played and how that character’s actions played into the larger picture. Mady points out some unavoidable circumstances that she and the students were faced in their collaboration. Mady admits that there were times when the students didn’t have a full grasp of the subject matter and the roles they were playing. Although there were messages lost in translation; Shutzman made a point not to simplify any language or complexity of the play. This decision shows the respect and rational mind that Mady had for the students and the situation she was entering.

Overall I think this collaboration served as a great learning experience for the students involved. The process and art created seemed extremely informative to not only the youth but to the writer herself and any audience members coming to see the show. My only question to Mady Shutzman was, how was this piece beneficial to the future of the youth who participated in the experience? When I her the term “Community Engaged Art”; I assume the first goal is to help serve the community you are interacting with. Although the collaboration process clearly had a lot of value for the students. I wonder what/if there was any other collaboration or engagement that continued on after the show closed.