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THEATRE
VERSUS OPPRESSION |
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Working with Jennifer has been a revelation, both personally and
professionally. I find I'm able to use so much of what I've learned not
only as an actor but in my personal life. It's helped me so much. Thank
you!
Fantastic play, I haven't stopped thinking about it or talking about it
since I saw it. Brave and bold work. The Rainbow of Desire workshop gave me the
opportunity to meet fellow practitioners and performers as well as
learning key skills for my own work as a facilitator. In terms of
personal and professional development I could not have asked for
anything better.
Once again, I have a lot to thanks Jennifer for. Having participated in
numerous courses from Rainbow of Desire to Acting techniques workshops I
have learnt much about both myself and ways into finding character.
Jennifer delivers a brilliant workshop that is both engaging and
informative and I feel extremely lucky that I have had the opportunity
to work with her. I have got to thank Jennifer again for
helping me discover so much. In June I attended a TvO 3 day workshop
with a rather limited understanding of Boal and his work. Jennifer's
professional, friendly and down to earth approach gave me such an
insight into Theatre of the Oppressed and into me as a teacher, student
& whole person. I was so very impressed with this experience that I was
decided we simply must have Jennifer over to Toulouse to run a workshop
for both an adult acting group that I run and my IB Theatre students.
Everybody simply loved the experience and learnt so much. Thank you
Jennifer for your hard work, for making the whole weekend so much fun
and for opening our minds to new possibilities. Everybody felt
challenged and exhilarated and we have all begun to (re)-evaluate our
approach to performing - and that's down to your creative, intelligent
and provoking teaching. As one of the group explained, 'Jennifer is a
superb practitioner doing very important work.' I know I speak for all
of us here when I say, WE CAN'T WAIT TO HAVE YOU BACK!
"Attended a workshop with Jennifer last week. Just a few words to
describe this experience: empowering, moving, surprising, exhilarating,
life changing...etc I feel very privileged and lucky. TVO has opened my
eyes on many things about life, human nature and theatre. Three Reasons why to do a Theatre Versus
Oppression Workshop!
These are things I was not expecting - I did not know we could learn
from playing games. We can laugh and learn. The Rainbow of Desire workshop is a
powerful reminder of not only how Boal's techniques can be applied to
acting and performance, but as to how we perceive oppression in our own
lives. Jen's cheeky humour and big heart create a sense of trust and
play in the group and allows for individuals to take creative risks. I
can't believe how quickly time flew during the days, and I can't stop
thinking about the workshop and the layers of meaning it communicated,
and I continue to reflect upon. I would recommend this workshop to
everyone. I recently did a 5 day TVO workshop with
Jennifer Hartley. Through these intensive 5 days we were guided through
games and exercises which were fun, supported and extremely powerful. I
explored oppression, what it is, can be, hides behind, how it can recur
and saw many shades. I made a lot of personal discoveries that week and
made some big changes, the cogs are still whirring now. The environment
of the class was always facilitated in a way which made us feel
challenged but safe. I certainly want to learn more; meanwhile I have
been able to incorporate some of the techniques in my own practice. I have just completed a 5 day TVO workshop
with Jennifer Hartley. It was extremely intense and challenging but also
enjoyable and revealing. I learned an a lot about myself and
others and even though at times it became for a number of people quite
emotional Jennifer handled it very well and no-one felt exposed or
embarrassed. Everyone felt safe enough to explore their issues in
a very supportive environment. I thoroughly recommend TVO
workshops.
When Jennifer first came to our school to see us, I admit - I was
sceptical of the value of 'Theatre of the Oppressed' as a form of
learning about oneself and others. I
left Jennifer Hartley's workshop emotionally drained. After a weeks
workshop I learned things about myself that I thought I would never have
to learn. Its amazing that it only takes one woman with a handful of
exercises to change your outlook on life, yourself and others. The
exercise on how we oppress ourselves has been one of the most emotional,
informative and eye-opening experiences. I
was wondering what type of work what type of work that Jennifer was
going to do with us, as before she came both my teachers said that they
were not going to be able to be in the same room as us, so this already
had me very interested. I
had an enlightening and truly amazing workshop with Jennifer and I feel
have learnt a great deal, not only about theatre and drama but also
about people and how the smallest feature communicate the biggest parts
of oneself.
Last term Jennifer Hartley came to our school to conduct a workshop with
the A level Drama and Theatre Studies students. The workshop was
particularly focused on Theatre of the Oppressed. During 5 of the 7
days, we tackled exercises that caused me to be very emotional, such as
moulding my classmates to mirror my oppressions. Thinking about it now,
I realise that many of the exercises forced me to confront things I was
hiding from, as well as I started to consider how I oppressed others
through the way I behaved (body language,actions). The weekend
continuation of the workshop, we focused on devising and acting method.
There was one particular exercise where we explored and devised
background stories for each character in Cinderella, this developed my
understanding of character development and reiterated the fact that we
can't generalise or stereotype people and characters. Throughout this
workshop I discovered and confronted issues I had been hiding from and
learnt new things about myself. Jennifer was brilliantly inspiring and
so open and non-judgemental during the hard parts. I feel that the whole
class took away something more from our time spent with Jennifer. Thank
you so much Jennifer and I hope you come to our school again next year!
:)
Working with Jennifer has been an amazing experience. This workshop
helped my bring back memories that were deep inside me, and learnt a lot
about myself which helped me awaken from my previous personality. The
ideas Jennifer gave us was definitely useful for my future, and the A
level exam monologue I will be performing. Thank you for
everything, and I hope to see you soon. I
thoroughly enjoyed a recent 5 day workshop where I gained a greater
understanding of the use of drama as a therapy and of Boal's methods of
working with oppression. Jennifer Hartley is an excellent facilitator
and her passion to make Boal's work relevant in the 21st Century is
inspiring. At a time of greater individualism we humans have to look to
ourselves for solutions to individual and society's problems. The
exercises and games challenged participants to break out of habitual
patterns of thought to strip away all abstractions of thinking towards
clear and unprejudiced thinking. I cried and laughed during the process. I am an IB Theatre student and was honoured
when Ms. Hartley came to our school and conducted her workshop.
Personally, the most insightful thing about the experience was
discovering things about myself that I knew existed, but never really
faced. I understand how this form of theatre can be used for therapeutic
purposes because it allows to reflect not only on yourself, but on how
others treat you and how you treat others. In fact a lot of how others
treat you is dependent on what you communicate with them. I found a lot
of the exercises to be enjoyable, others not so much. However I could
see how each exercise was specifically designed in a way that allowed
you to learn something about yourselves and the people around you.
I think this form theatre is very interesting due to what it encompasses
and I also believe that more people should be aware of its existence. I
personally enjoyed and found the therapeutic side of the art form to be
the most interesting, because it allows you to analyze yourself as human
being, which is not something that people do on a regular basis. Thank
you for the workshop Ms. Hartley, looking forward to seeing you next
year. The
week of workshops that we spent with Jennifer was extremely challenging
and provoking – it made me realize a lot of things about myself that I
didn’t necessarily think about normally, such as who my biggest
oppressor is or how to deal with oppression. As disturbing as some of
the revelations had turned out to be, I enjoyed the workshops
nevertheless. In these workshops, it's like I could see myself from the
side and observe not only my behaviour, but the behaviour of those
around me as well. It was extremely insightful to learn more about
others as well. Many people seem so in control but in fact they're very
closed up and they see oppressive behaviour as a method of letting go of
their own fears.
This November our IB class did a short workshop with Ms Hartley. The
workshop was extremely interesting in the sense that it provided a
different viewpoint on both methods of acting and life in general. It
was challenging to say the least, and there were times during the
workshop where I felt extremely uncomfortable (such as when we had to
deal with how we oppress other people – something which I had previously
thought I was hardly guilty of). That having been said, in hindsight I
think those moments were perhaps the best in the whole workshop – they
forced me to consider the way I treat other people, the way I act, my
body language. From the perspective of a drama student, the workshop
definitely gave a different take on acting. Body language and the subtle
signals we send out was something which I had always wanted to know more
about. Perhaps the most memorable part of the week, for me, was the
stories Jennifer told about working on the Art of Silence and Emilio’s
story. Insight into such a delicate situation was interesting to say the
least and put into context the problems we face in our own lives. By the
end of the workshop I felt not only that I had learnt more about myself
and theatre of the oppressed, but also that our whole class had been
brought closer together. Our
class did a workshop with Jennifer Hartley last term and I think it is
safe to say we all benefitted from the week-long sessions. On the one
hand it was fun – the games got us all moving and laughing, it brought
us all together. But then a few words from Jennifer and the class would
become tense. The exercises became more and more challenging,
uncomfortable and intense. That is not to say I didn’t enjoy them, but
they were much more focussed on issues and so made you reflect more. As
a learning tool I found they were the most interesting, for example, an
exercise when a person/character has an angel and a devil on their
shoulder constantly talking to them turned out to be extremely different
in different cases. I found that through this and other similar
exercises, it was impossible to cast the characters we were working on
as stereotypes. There was depth and thought behind every thing about
them. "I
recently just participated in five training with Dr Jennifer Hartley and
WOW….Theatre versus oppression is unlike any other training I've ever
been on. At the start of the week I hated it, and by the end of the week
I found it to be a true revelation. It challenged in every aspect and
has given me a new perspective on how I look and handle situations. I
work with Families and Children who are affected by domestic abuse and
this aspect of working with people has been truly incredible. I feel
privileged to have experienced theatre versus oppression. Jennifer’s
methods are intoxicating she really pushes you to express and unpick the
behaviour that we feels comes so naturally to us and understand why we
do them. Truly Brilliant!!! I am an IB Theatre 1 student that worked
with Ms. Harley for the majority of the week, which I found not only
interesting, but also eye-opening. The things I discovered about myself
were not things I had never thought of before, but rather things that I
had neglected and pushed to the back of my head because I was to fearful
to deal with them. With Ms. Hartley's expertise and guidance, I had
learned that Theatre of the Oppressed was not only for show, but it
remains one of the most important art forms out there, and my only
regret is that only a limited number of people know about it. Thanks
again for the workshops Jennifer, I think its safe to say that we all
enjoyed it. See you again next year :) I have learnt a lot from Theatre verses
oppressions, especially from your director - Dr Jennifer Hartley. I have
worked with her in three different places, ALA - South Africa, Kyangwali
Refugee Camp- Uganda and at our Peace-building organization in Kenya. I
have observed that your works are really creative and innovative, so
humble designed in such a way that they address the core of the problems
societies face. As such, you leave a long-lasting resulting that help
eradicate the problems of the people and allow opportunities to sprout
creatively where they were once lost. I am humbled by and proud of all
that you do. Wow, what an
incredible mother you are to our community! You didn’t know us, but
because you care you decided to find us. Ever since you came to our
community, you have restored the hope for many. Dear Jennifer We can't
thank you enough for your kindness, love, support and the passion you
have for our community. We are so grateful to know you and want to say
thanks again for always be there for us and being our best friend,
mother and everything. Many appreciation to TVO. Every time I meet
Jennifer both in workshops and in discussions about self and community
responsibility I feel so empowered. Sometimes
back I spent 4 years without smiling due to problems. In the workshop in
the camp (Kyangwali) was one of the best days in my life. I forgot all
stressing situations and problems I had as a refugee. I was also happy
and learn t the power in theatre. Jennifer Hartley's TED speech was awesome.
So inspiring. This past June I
took a 5-day course with Jennifer Hartley based on understanding the
theories behind Boal's work in order to understand how to better use
drama techniques and exercises when working with oppression. I met Jennifer in
Uganda, she is a lady of an extra ordinary personality and well visioned,
hard working generous and compassionate. Special thanks to Dr Jennifer, and her team
for having visited these forgotten war victims. What is so special
about Jen's workshops is the aspect of regeneration and the insights we
gain on our own understanding of the world around us. The fact that I
can encounter people I met in a previous workshop and feel like we have
been friends for... ever! The self reflection and the sense of something
inside having changed after a workshop, make these so much more than
just a training in Boal techniques. Jen captures the essence of Theatre
of the Oppressed, that is often quite easy to miss. The weekend of workshops in Singapore was
particularly helpful for me, as someone who has studied Boal primarily
in an academic context. The sessions brought alive the practical
possibilities of working with the myriad tools of the Theatre of the
Oppressed and the dynamic way these tools can be employed in a variety
of contexts. A valuable experience and a weekend well spent. Dr. Hartley talked to our IB first year students during their IB retreat last week. The students had finished 4 hours of rock climbing, repelling, trekking and swimming just prior to the talk. Jennifer was scheduled in a very warm room and I was worried about student nodding off or at least losing focus. For 45 minutes, students and we teachers listened intently to the story of Joseph and his inspiration to the Theatre versus Oppression organization. At the end of her talk, Jennifer asked if there were any questions. I looked around at students who were obvious deep in thought and trying desperately to grasp and digest the story of Creativity, Action and Service they had just heard. One hand went up and the question that followed summed up the value of Jennifer’s talk and the work of the organization,…………’ How can we help?” Earlier in the
week, Jennifer had conducted over 30 hours of workshops with our Year 7
though 11 students. She left our Drama students excited about theatre
and how games can contribute to understanding. She left us Drama
teachers with a wealth of material to enhance our classes, productions
and teaching in the future. She organized a Forum Theatre performance
with our students to highlight some of the pressures our students
confront in the international community. She did a special workshop with
our boarding students to help them communicate problems they were facing
as boarders. She made her week at Uplands a highlight of the year for
all of us. But perhaps most important and impressive was the sincerity
of the student’s question and the expressions of agreement and came from
everyone in the room as he asked and we echoed, “How can we help?” I must admit it was
hard giving up an entire weekend but I am really glad I did. Jennifer's
Theatre of the Oppressed workshops were incredibly inspiring and
beneficial to my work as an educator with youths. More than just
learning theatrical techniques and skills, the exercises made us go deep
into ourselves as individuals as well. Very thought-provoking and
refreshing! My class had the privilege of meeting Dr
Hartley and have masterclasses with her. This experience widened my
perception of the arts, in particular theatre. Also, i was inspired by
what she did and the stories she told. In short, it was an eye-opening
experience for me and I would like to thank her very very much. We
enjoyed your classes! I enjoyed listening to Jason's interview
and also looking at the pictures in Kyangwali. I had the pleasure of
communicating with Jennifer Hartley about Kyangwali. She asked me
questions in preparation. Our organization also works in Kyangwali,
funding the orphanage/kindergarten where they stayed, among other
projects. Thank you for your great work. Having completed the
three day course for actors and the five day ToO course I have a
newfound understanding of the Theatre of the Oppressed and the unique
ideas founded by Augusto Boal. Jennifer is truly an inspirational
teacher and facilitator and has developed these ideas in her own ways
that work exeptionally well and make it easy for all participants to
understand and grow within themselves. Jennifer creates a safe, creative
environment making it possible for anyone to take steps that help one to
understand a deeper sense of self and ones own actions in response to
the issues that surround us. An inspirational experience - thankyou. It is clear from the comments below that
Jennifer and Theatre versus Oppression are doing a great job working to
help many people directly.
Long live THEATRE
VERSUS OPPRESSION for the wonderful work and you are doing on this
planet.
The song is amazing and watching them
especially the guy who is dancing is great. Makes us all feel a part of
it. Great work.
I would encourage anyone who is wanting to
learn and expand as a human and as a practitioner to do learn with Jen.
I feel expanded by the course and am grateful for that. Thank you.
Thank you. I am very happy to have attended
this seminar. I have benefitted in the way that I have gained more
skills. I have understood that I need to listen more to people and work
together to find solutions to problems. I have also gained the
knowledge of replacing someone who is oppressed. By putting on their
shoes we can look at the problem as a community and look for a solution
together. Lastly something which is very important for me at the time I
joined I was very tired yet I now feel younger because of this type of
approach. And through the games I even forgot I was a refugee. When I
came I asked the others how are the seminars and they all said they had
never been in seminars like this and they were learning a lot. Please
keep coming again.
I thank Jennifer for making the promise a
reality and I thank my community members for joining me. When I invited
Jennifer I didn’t know who would attend, all of you came and made a big
sacrifice. We have come together, shared ideas and made teamwork, we
must keep this network together. Some are coming from so far, it is
showing your spirit for the community that you are here. As we have been
saying small changes together can make a big change. I am happy and
excited for the whole group.
I want to thank Joseph for inviting you all
to come. When Joseph left for South Africa I thought he was going as an
individual for personal gain but now it is clear he went as part of our
community and never forgot us. I have learned a lot especially listening
skills with others problems. When you reach your home tell others about
us, tell them our story, help us build our community. And next time come
for longer.
Thank you Joseph for bringing the white
people! My grandfather told me that white people eat black people so
when you see them run. I came here I kept sitting next to Jennifer to
see if she would try to bite me but she never did! I proved it was
wrong, Jennifer didn’t bite me and she is a human being just like him.
We are all the same. Now I will tell the children they must go to
school, I am an old man but I am learning. Come back please.
Thank you Joseph for helping our community.
I came for a workshop and played like a kid. Now am like a kid again,
just been born again. I will use these methods to help our community.
Bring us more.
I also thank Joseph. When we said farewell
to Joseph we shed tears, I told him to be a good ambassador, sing our
song, the song of Coburwas, now I know that he never forget us. He put
his community first always. I am excited that you showed love for our
community. We are the youth the future of tomorrow, we must be
empowered. Nothing is impossible. But we still have a long way to go.
Tell people what you saw, they don’t understand they don’t know the
suffering here. We don’t want you to leave.
Thank you to all involved. For me I have
learned many things like this method of giving lessons through games. It
is good. I would never have thought this – it is like magic. The first
day when you started to explain the games I realised this was a new way
to learn. Come back, please come again.
Thank you for what you have taught. Even
though I borrowed money for transport to come here I have gained more
than I borrowed.
Thank you for bringing these kinds of
seminars. When I heard about them I didn’t know what to do – should he
give the time for the workshop or go to dig. But I do not regret the
decision to come. I learned a lot. I want to organise these seminars
because I am one of the new refugees and we need this.
I’m happy and at the same time sad. I am
from Chaca (another refugee camp) and we have many problems and we need
this training there also. It was not easy to travel to here.
I know now there is going to be a change in
our community.
Thank you for your sacrifice to come and
teach us and thank you Joseph for convincing them to come. I am a
student who still needs to learn, so please don’t let this be the last
time to come here.
Thank you for bringing this kind of
workshop because we learned a lot, we learned how to live with others,
how to work together, how to solve problems, how the weak and the strong
can work and develop together.
This has been special training. I request
that before we go change our community we change ourselves and our
families and we can be the example. We get visitors time and time again
but this visit has been different and I have learned so many things.
You were most welcome here. We need help
and support from other countries. Please come back.
I am so happy that you came to help us and
working in this wonderful group felt like sitting in the parliament with
the president. We can use what we have learned to chase away ignorance
and help people develop. I believe that spiritually we can improve. My
mission is not only for myself and my family but also for my community.
I’m glad for having attended this workshop because we have attended many seminars and workshops but this one was unique. We have learned new tactics for solving our problems. Thank you. (James, Uganda - August 2009)
I found
the level 2, 5 day intensive course very enpowering and gained hugh
insight into the human condition. The course was liberating and after
gained new perspectives on my own life and behaviour. Now I am working
towards liberating others from there own fear and disconnection. Thank
you Augsto Boal for your work and the tools which you have left us.
Thank you for the bold and honest Jennifer who puts TvO into action
making it accesible to all.
Three extremely stimulating and informative days. Of the many
workshops/courses I attended during my career, this has been one of the
most insightful and supportive I have experienced, not least because of
Jennifer’s superb facilitation skills. I am very proud of
you. You are a very special person
I
have just completed the 3 day ToO workshop with Jennifer and have come
away feeling very inspired and invigorated. Working in this way
encapsulates all I love about theatre and having been quite
disillusioned and exhausted I feel refreshed and ready to put this in my
own work. ToO requires passion and commitment both of which Jennifer
inspires in a way that draws the group together in a communal
exploration. Many thanks!
As
actors directors always tell us to experiment, tell us they want to hear
ideas but they don't and we always do it their way. For the first time
this weekend I found myself in an acting workshop where I was told this
and it was true. I felt challenged but safe, stretched yet able to give
more than I ever have. I wanted to be there. I wanted to learn. I want
more. Thank you.
Jennifer Hartley visited our school and led 4 days of sessions with my
Theatre group based on concepts and techniques from Theatre of the
Oppressed. The days consisted of discussions, practical workshops and
reflection including both social and political content relevant not only
to this culture but those of the students involved. Jennifer initiated
discussions that required students to challenge their current thinking
and the perspectives that lead to forms of oppression (found both within
us and in others). She was engaging, sincere and direct. Students were
encouraged to reflect honestly and were challenged when responses seemed
superficial or trite. Her approach created a wonderful environment for
the group, one based on sincerity and productivity. As a teacher I was
thrilled to see my students challenged in this manner. Jennifer
introduced the students to numerous practical activities and performance
opportunities. The activities were thought-provoking, exhausting and
provided a great deal of enjoyment for the students and myself. She
masterfully connected these activities to concepts within the practice
and then allowed students opportunities to reflect on understanding,
learning and development. The content for activities and performance
were from external sources as well as those from the students’ lives. I
was impressed to see how students responded to Jennifer’s choice of
stimuli and to her creative ideas for performance development; she
continuously offered insight and encouragement to the group and
individuals in need. Again, from a teacher’s standpoint, I was
thoroughly impressed with Jennifer’s ability to engage the students as
well as challenge them in new and unique ways, ways that to this day
they still acknowledge as having greatly impacted their understanding of
this practice as well as its connection to their own lives. This was
truly a unique encounter for the students and me, one that has inspired
us to apply our experiences with Jennifer to other areas of the course,
and even our lives.
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