"The troupes create and perform plays based on real-life struggles, which engage diverse audiences in theatrical brainstorming - or Forum Theatre - to activate communities and creatively challenge systems of oppression."
Alliance Theatre Mission Statement:
"...creating the powerful experience of shared theatre for diverse people. The Alliance values excellence, pursued with integrity and creativity, and achieved through collaboration.
Progress Theatre About Section:
"...nationally and internationally-touring ensemble of multi-disciplined artists committed to using theatre as anti-racism engagement to encourage social consciousness, cross-community dialogue and cultural awareness. We believe in the power of art and community collaboration to advance efforts toward social equality and inclusiveness. PT considers all of our initiatives as community-engaged, community-invested and community-necessitated. We are, at once, performers/creators of ensemble-driven theatre works, presenters and supporters of artists who share our mission and creative collaborators with the communities we serve."
"...We build audiences by building relationships with communities. We are trained and experienced in diversity dialogues, group facilitation and in creating theatre with and for communities."
National Black Theater Company Mission Statement:
"To use theater arts as a means to educate, enrich, entertain, empower & inform the national conscience around current social issues impacting our communities..."
Carpetbag Theater Mission Statement:
"CBT serves communities by returning their stories to them with honesty, dignity, and concern for the aesthetic of that particular community, helping culturally specific communities to re-define how they organize."Roadside Theater Mission Statement:
"Roadside Theater is dedicated to artistic excellence in pursuit of the proposition that the world is immeasurably enriched when people and cultures tell their own stories and listen to the unique stories of others."
I bolded parts that I felt resembled a pattern that I wanted to bring up from the reading as well as what I feel I also want to add as an element of my personal aesthetic. Throughout the reading, there was always the question of a community aesthetic and having the audience as a part of the artistic process in which a performer can share their experience, but not to just perform for the audience, but for the audience to become a part of the story and experience that the performer is essentially giving the them when they set foot on stage. Mark from the transcript mentions that he is a playwright and that the plays themselves aren't the "thing" the "thing" for him, and what I also happen to agree with is "to stimulate this engagement in discussion and self-description, self-healing, tell your story." I like this because while a story is being told in the play, it's also created for the purpose of discussion and reflection; two things that I think are essential in a performance because you never know what you might spark in another individual that can create other types of art through the source of art and multiple experiences (ROOTS).
One of the points I found interesting in the audience/community creating art was the social media aspect that could potentially inspire artistic value within a community as well as with an audience. He brings up the question: "How can we, from the beginning of a work, if possible, have a visual record that’s not -- that complements whatever professional documentation has done? And then -- and I think this is where I’m so appreciative of a chance to talk about this word aesthetics, how can we use these resources, these tools, to understand how an audience responds to a performance, or a performative experience, or even a community meal." I think what's so great about this quote is the emphasis on the idea of morphing a tool that one uses to document art to be a tool into understanding and inviting the audience into developing their own creative aesthetic based on a form of media that was used in order to document a performance that was based on a creative process as well (ROOTS). I feel like it fuels an artistic cycle that can further itself out into the world and create long lasting artistic works instead of work that is done for a point in time and then is finished.
With the organizations that we have been able to work with so far, I have seen quite a bit of aesthetic choices with dancing in the Spirit. Through talking with Dana, as well as listening to the dancers talk about each piece during the tech process, it seems like there is a strong focus on making sure that the dancers understand the story behind the pieces that they are performing giving the movement so much more meaning which I feel like can strengthen a dance because there is so much more intention behind each movement. Also, within the choreography itself, it was nice to see a lot of lifts between the women which distinguishes the idea of women being lifted by men as a means of displaying the woman or strength of the man and instead, there's a feeling of community between the women because anyone could be and was lifted within the show and it gave off a sensation of support between these wonderful women dancers. Also with Synchronicity and Play Making for girls, it was great when the teachers would constantly remind the girls to make sure to have confidence and stage presence. I found that to be special because while it is important in many acting traditions to make sure you have a great stage presence, I feel like it's also important to help instill a sense of confidence in young girls both on and off the stage which was something that Synchronicity did well.
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