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Zimbabwe: Theory X theatre Project
YOUR COMMENTS |
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In support of Zimbabwe and the projects we are unable to carry out due
to the current situation, One Love will now come to the UK and give
performances and hold workshops to raise money for our return to
Zimbabwe as well as help us raise awareness for what is happening there.
It is our dream to set up a One Love in every country we work in, if you
have a group who would be interested please contact us.
Below is information on our Ethiopian group and our proposed performance
and workshop ideas. If you are interested in booking the group, would
like more information or would like to discuss this further please
contact me Jennifer Hartley by email
theatreversusoppression@gmail.com or on 07751743799.
To make this possible we need to set up performances and workshops as
soon as possible.
Thank you
Jennifer Hartley
The Story
The roots of One Love HIV/AIDS Awareness Theatre (One Love) stretch back
nearly 8 years ago to the shores of Lake Awassa, Ethiopia. A group of
youth had organized and begun teaching themselves gymnastics and basic
circus techniques. Then, with the help of director/playwright David
Schein, the group managed to put together a performance that showcased
their talents while also delivering crucial HIV/AIDS awareness messages.
With the formula in place One Love began to take the show to the
streets, and ultimately, the people of Ethiopia and the rest is history.
Since moving into the Awassa Youth Campus (AYC), a registered Ethiopian
Non-Governmental Organization, One Love has grown into a professional,
youth-directed theatre company whose performances are an engaging blend
of dance, drama, circus, multimedia, music, and gymnastics. Providing
free theatre for audiences across Ethiopia One Love is also an excellent
vehicle for disseminating awareness messages to large populations as the
shows have the ability to transcend linguistic, social and economic
barriers. Grounded in the creativity and imagination of its youth cast
One Love reflects the thoughts, feelings and life of Ethiopia's next
generation.
One Love believes HIV/AIDS awareness must be delivered through relevant,
accessible and impressionable media. As a result, over the years they
has developed a style that is as much physical theatre as it is a
circus. Through a unique artistic voice One Love gains the respect and
attention of audiences young and old. Building upon this relationship
between the artists and audience a One Love show aims to be as much
community dialogue as it is community theatre.
Since 2005 One Love has performed, free of charge, for over 100,000
people across the country. Venues for performances have ranged from
streets to stadiums of Ethiopia and everything in between. Well
established in here in Ethiopia, One Love now hopes to take to take
their unique blend of theatre, education and fun across the World in
order promote HIV/AIDS awareness on a Pan-African scale.
The Performance
A typical One Love performances usually involves between 15-20 cast
members, however, for the proposed tour we will be travelling with an
eight (8) person cast. Performing a truncated version of the most recent
theatrical show "Adventures in OneLoveLand", an adaptation of Lewis
Carroll's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The 45-minute show
incorporates One Love's unique blend of theatre, circus and dance while
also telling the story of a young Ethiopian, Abeyot. Beginning on the
streets the show follows Abeyot and his journey to and from the
completely unpredictable yet strangely familiar "OneLoveLand". While
touching upon social, cultural and economic aspects of HIV/AIDS the
performance, above all, aims to promote hope in the fight for the
general overall well-being of Africa's next generation.
The Experience
In addition to a series of performances, One Love will also be
conducting several workshops during the course of the tour. These 2-hour
workshops will include a presentation of One Love's work, a hands-on
session based on One Love's brand of physical theatre and conclude with
a question/answer session with the cast. Ideally workshops will bring
like-mined youth artists from different corners together to create,
learn and laugh together.
Finally, as this is One Love's first trip outside of Ethiopia
experience-sharing will most definitely prove to be a key component of
the tour. The opportunity for the cast to express their collective
artistic voice on an International platform will truly be a life
changing experience from which everyone involved will benefit.
Ultimately, we envision this tour providing hope for young artists both
in the UK and Africa.
For more information on One Love Awassa see
www.awassachildrensproject.org
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