If you want to look at photos of this year’s SOAW vigil at Fort Benning Georgia. Please notice the wonderful puppets we were able to bring to life inspired by the Six Jesuit Priests, their housekeeper and her 14 year old daughter. These martyrs were assassinated by the Salvadorian army 20 years ago.
Dear Friends of IMAGINACTION,
Happy New Year! As we wrap up 2009 we wanted to share with you some of the highlights of the year. This past year has been exciting and has taken us to new places, including Afghanistan, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria and Ireland. We are proud that our work is part of a global movement that supports peace through justice and alternatives to violence.
This year Hector Aristizabal was invited by several organizations to two European tours where he performed his solo piece “Nightwind” and offered his unique and innovative blend of Theater of The oppressed and Awakening the Imagination trainings.
In October 2009 Hector co-created and co-directed a new Forum theater piece “Under Pressure” with Luc Opdebeeck , director of FORMAAT. “Under Pressure” deals with coma drinking and addiction among the youth in the Netherlands. The play, which premiered in October, has been scheduled for over 200 performances in schools and Juvenal facilities in Holland.
One of the major highlights of this year is the expansion of our work into Afghanistan. Hector was invited to Afghanistan by FES (Friedrich Ebert Stiftung) ICTJ (International Center for Transitional Justice) and AHRDO (Afghan Human Rights & Democracy Organization) for 3 weeks Hector led Theatre for Social Change workshops with women and community activists. As Hector puts it, “I was honored to meet many courageous Afghan human rights activists working with victims of war, orphans, women, mental health providers, teachers and professional actors.” While most of the work was in Kabul, Hector also conducted workshop in Herat where he worked with “Voices of Women” the organization founded by Suraya Pakzad, recipient of the 2008 International Women of Courage Award. “Voices of Women” is committed to providing Afghan women shelter, counseling and job training.
In Afghanistan, Hector had the honor of working with his longtime friend and T.O. colleague, Marc Weinblatt from The Mandala Center for Change USA, and Playback Theatre specialist, Karin Gisler, from Switzerland. The 7- week program in Afghanistan was envisioned and organized by Hjalmar Joffre-Eichhorn.
As part of our culture-bridging work Vivien Sansour offered three successful classes in Arabic language and culture in Los Angeles and Orange County and performed some of her new work at American Friends Service Committee “Colors of the Arab World” exhibit among other places. Both Vivien Sansour and Hector Aristizabal participated in this year’s encounter of TO practitioners in CTORIO, the center created by Augusto Boal who unfortunately died in May of this year, a few months before this unprecedented encounter of nearly 100 practitioners from all over the world who have been inspired by his revolutionary methods.
As in past years we continued offering basic training and technical assistance to on-going projects in Colombia and Palestine, which we aim to increase in this coming year of 2010.
Hector continued offering his yearly intense trainings at Pendle Hill, the AFSC (American Friends Service Committee) and The Ojai Foundation. He was also invited to do his work at Oberlin College, DeAnza College, Foothill College, Swarthmore College, and University of Michigan.
Many of us at Imaginaction returned this year to Fort Benning, Georgia to make giant puppets and participate in the SOAW vigil to close the School of the Assassins. We participated in bringing imagination to other similar peace marches in the Los Angeles area including Free Gaza Vigils, The World Peace March, and the Martin Luther King Parade. Our own Johnny Zeremeh is currently editing a documentary based on Imaginaction’s street theater and activism.
Finally we have participated in several conferences throughout the year doing presentations, performances and Imaginaction workshops. Recently we were in Barcelona at the Teatro y Salud Mental organized by Forn de teatre Pa’tothom, the Social work and Spirituality conference and the 15th Annual PTO conference. We are pleased to announce that Hector is now member of the PTO board of directors helping organize the 2010 PTO conference in Austin, Texas.
What About The New Year?
Vivien Sansour is working with theatre director, Naomi Newman, on a new piece based on dreams, drawings, personal story, and her poetry.
Hector has been invited to return to Derry, Northern Ireland to develop a 4 week intense program working with two different communities (Protestant and Catholic) dealing with the tensions of a the recent violent killing of a Catholic man.
We are working with FORMAAT to create a 4-week intense training in the West Bank and Gaza.
One of Hector’s dreams is to be able to return to his native Medellin, Colombia and continue offering sustainable trainings to the young leaders at Red Juveniles and other community based organizations so we are working on making his dream come true by fundraising and organizing with locals on the ground in Colombia!
In the Spring, Lantern Books will publish The Blessing Next to the Wound by Hector and Diane Lefer, the story of his surviving civil war and torture in Colombia, his exile in the US, and accounts of seeking healing for himself and others through activism and art. They are also contributors to the forthcoming anthology, Peace Movements Worldwide (Greenwood/Praeger) and they have been invited to write about Imaginaction’s theory and practice for an anthology about new approaches inspired by Boal.
Diane has fiction on political themes scheduled for publication this year in The Ampersand, Evening Street Review, Platte Valley Review, and Santa Monica Review. Her articles about prisons and the juvenile justice system appear in LA Progressive. Beginning in January, she will lead creative writing workshops for adjudicated youth in Los Angeles which ties in well with Imaginaction’s upcoming collaboration with the Youth Justice Coalition, a youth-led organization that represents hundreds of thousands of young people who have, at some point, been in the custody of the State.
Finally, we are thrilled to announce that Imaginaction is now officially an incorporated non-profit organization that can receive tax-deductible contributions. If you feel inspired by the work we do and would like to make a tax-deductible contribution please contact us!
We wish all of you a wonderful New Year and we hope that this coming year will bring us closer to a world more just!
Warm Regards,
Imaginaction Board of Directors
Memorial for Howard Zinn 1922-2010
Sunday, April 18th, 5:00 PM
Location: Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 3300 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles 90010
With,
Theresa & Blase Bonpane, Sonali Kolhatkar, Margaret Prescod, KB Solomon, Hector Aristizabal, Jose-Luis Orozco, Peter Dudar, Frank Dorrel
Some of the Actors from Howard Zinn’s “The People Speak” & Others Have Been Invited
Questions, Contact: Shae Popovich at the Office of the Americas: 323-852-9808 – shae.popovich@gmail.com
Media Sponsor – KPFK 90.7 FM Radio www.kpfk.org
Howard Zinn - www.howardzinn.org
Join us for ‘Awaken Your Imagination’, an experiential workshop in association with IONS LA (Institute of Noetic Sciences)
Saturday April 24th, 10am-4pm
More information coming soon!
Thursday April 29th: Lecture – The Popular Theater as a Tool for Social Change
In this interactive lecture Hector will explore with audience participation some of the main techniques he has been developing while traveling the world and working with communities at risk.
Time: Noon- 2:00 PM –- FREE Event
Venue: The Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center, MLK Jr. Lounge/Room #100-A
Address: 153 W. 12th Ave. Columbus OH 43210-1389. Phone: (614) 292-0074
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Friday April 30th: Nightwind – a solo play & workshop
Time: 6:30- 8:00 PM — FREE Event
Venue: TBA
photo by Brian Biery
Saturday May 1st, 9am-noon and 1-6pm
Wild Goose Creative
2941 Summit Ave,
Columbus, Ohio
Admission: $35
For reservations and information, call: (614) 975-1085
and visit: http://burningfeather.org/
Dear friends as a member of the Board of Directors of PTO I want to invite you to participate in this
Call for Proposals
The 16th Annual Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed (PTO) Conference
Austin, Texas, June 3-6, 2010
(with pre-conference and post-conference workshops TBA)
www.ptoweb.org
Hosted by: University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance and the PTO Austin 2010 Organizing Committee
“Flex and Flexibility:
When to bend? When to stretch? When to engage?”
Flex (verb)–1. To bend or bend repeatedly; 2. To tighten; 3. To contract (as with a muscle); 4. To tense (as with a muscle); 5. To move by muscular control; 6. To exhibit or show off the strength of; 7. To move a joint so that the parts it connects approach each other; 8. To engage (as with a muscle).
Flexibility (noun)–1. The capability of being bent, usually without breaking; 2. Susceptibility to modification or adaptation; 3. Adaptability; 4. Willingness to yield; 5. Pliability; 6. Elasticity, suppleness, limberness.
We are delighted to announce that the 16th Annual Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference, “Flex and Flexibility: When to bend? When to stretch? When to engage?,” will take place in Austin, Texas, USA, from June 3-6, 2010 (with pre-conference and post-conference workshops TBA).
We invite you to submit a proposal for a workshop, dialogue, paper (to be discussed rather than read), debate, performance, or demonstration that you would like to offer at the conference. We welcome proposals that address our theme as well as one (or more) of the following in some clear way:
1) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, coined and elaborated by Paulo Freire
2) Theatre of the Oppressed, coined and elaborated by Augusto Boal
3) Other forms of interactive arts and/or education that share PTO’s goal of promoting critical thinking and social justice
For example, presentations might include (but will not be limited to):
* Workshops of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Theatre of the Oppressed, or adaptations of those forms
* Case studies of Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Theatre of the Oppressed work
* Case studies of community organizing or community education projects
* Dialogues between activists, artists, and/or popular educators, etc.
* Case studies, workshops, or discussions of problem-posing education or popular education
* Explorations of issues central to oppression, oppressed peoples, or the politics of defining oppression in the first place
* Investigations of interactive performance, interactive education, and other facilitation techniques as tools for social and political engagement (We define performance broadly!)
Please note: Proposals that model interactive critical engagement and accessibility for multiple audiences will receive preference. Follow the instructions at the following link to submit your proposal by January 5, 2010.
http://www.ptoweb.org/cfp.html
Some questions to get your thinking on the theme started (though your proposal need not address all or most of these–just think of them as inspiration!): When a muscle flexes, it can demonstrate strength and firmness, but also the ability to bend, give, stretch, move, engage, etc. What is the value (and/or the potential cost) of flexibility in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Theatre of the Oppressed, and other forms of interactive arts and education promoting critical thinking and social justice? What does the word “flexibility” mean to you? How does it shape your educational and/or artistic practice? What are the potential possibilities and problems of exhibiting flexibility? When, if at all, might the pursuit of social justice call for flexing certain muscles? When, if ever, might it be most ethical not to bend, stretch, or engage? What environments and opportunities should Pedagogy of the Oppressed or Theatre of the Oppressed stretch themselves to fit? How do you know if or when you have stretched yourself, a group of collaborators, or a set of techniques too far?
How might we learn flexibility? How might we teach flexibility? When might flexibility threaten momentum, and when might it build momentum? How might power and privilege shape one’s ability to be flexible-or the ability to request flexibility from others? What is the relationship of flexibility to critical thinking? To genuine dialogic encounter? To building community or common ground? To collaboration? To accessibility? As educators, artists, activists, and community organizers, when do you flex, and when are you flexible?
The deadline for proposals is January 5, 2010. Questions? Contact Kelly Howe at kellybhowe@yahoo.com or Amanda Hashagen at amanda@theatreactionproject.org.
Information about accommodations, keynote guests, a pre-conference workshop with Julian Boal, and post-conference workshops will follow on the website very soon! Keep checking the website for more information throughout the year. Also, consider becoming a fan of Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed on Facebook and getting updates that way, too. We hope to see you in Austin!
Again, you can find out how to submit your proposal here:
http://www.ptoweb.org/cfp.html
Sincerely,
Kelly Howe, Co-Chair, UT-Austin
Amanda Hashagen, Co-Chair, Theatre Action Project
On behalf of the PTO Austin 2010 Organizing Committee and the PTO Board
Presentation Formats
Unless otherwise noted, all sessions are 90 minutes in length.
*
Theatre of the Oppressed Workshops: Using TO. Workshops based directly on the work of Augusto Boal that use TO in the presentations. Request 1 or 2 90-minute sessions.
*
Theatre of the Oppressed Workshops: Techniques. Workshops based directly on the work of Augusto Boal that focus on the techniques of TO. Request 1 or 2 90-minute sessions.
*
Pedagogy of the Oppressed Workshops. Experiential activities that include audience involvement, presentations, and new techniques. Request 1 or 2 90-minute sessions.
*
Performances. Staged plays, musical arrangements, comedy motifs, dances, etc. Request 1 or 2 90-minute sessions
*
Debates or Dialogues. Discussions of any aspect of liberatory education by two or more presenters. All presenters must have agreed to participate and be part of the proposal.
*
Panel. Pre-formed group of 3-4 presentations addressing a specific area of liberatory work.
*
Paper Discussion. Summary of research or issue, delivered from notes. (Papers should NOT be read.) Each presentation should last approximately 10-12 minutes, excluding discussion. We will cluster papers in groups of 3-4 with time for dialogue.
The submission form for the call for proposals will open on November 30th, 2009!
Kelly Howe
PhD Candidate
Performance as Public Practice Program
Department of Theatre and Dance
University of Texas at Austin
—
President-Elect, Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed (PTO at www.ptoweb.org)
Co-Chair, 16th Annual PTO Conference, Austin, TX, USA–June 2010
A Mentoring Retreat for Younger and Older Men
Mendocino, California ~ August 17-22, 2010
Mendocino Woodlands Camp, Mendocino, CA
Proceeds support Voices of Youth and Intercultural Projects.
For more information and registration visit the Mosaic website at: www.mosaicvoices.org or contact the Mosaic office at: 206-935-3665.