TOPIC TWO: THEATRE FOR DEVELOPMENT, BACKGROUND

Theatre for development predominantly exploits the theatre-in-the-round stage

space for its relatively greater sense of intimacy and, also, for the fact that it is
relatively cheaper to use. Besides, this type of theatre space, lends the
audience a fuller and more wholesome view of the actors on stage. We can see
them from their front and also from their backs. This, indeed, is one of the
reasons why beauty pageants like The Broadway Catwalk have a liking for this
type of theatre- the many possible elevations that it affords the spectators. This
theatre space/design, also referred to as the ‘arena theatre’ or the ‘circular
theatre space’ is also preferred in Theatre for development for its natural
configuration always adapted by human beings in the event of an incident, as
earlier mentioned, like a public fight between two people, a brawl, a motor
accident, a street preacher and a market madman doing some curious thing.
The public will most naturally fall into this circular pattern.

Apart from the above, another most preferred stage design for Theatre for
development is that of ‘found spaces’, also known as ‘improvised spaces’,
earlier discussed. This has all the qualities of the above theatre design, only
that it is even more readily available and, also, for the fact that it actually takes
theatre to the people, thus a readily available audience; remember that saying
about Mohammed and the mountain.

Because of its realistic approach, Theatre for Development often targets issues
of common or everyday men and women. Found or improvised spaces will
include abandoned garages, street corner pavements, market squares, shop,
bar, restaurant fronts and such everyday places. So, where else do we find the
common man? In other words the proscenium stage, the thrust stage and the
arena stage seem relatively more elitist, formal and, most times, will be
patronized by a ‘special’ category of people, ready to travel to these venues and
even pay for witnessing a performance.
This type of theatre was relatively easiest to mount and even with few actors
and actresses and also minimal props. Sometimes, members of the public
would easily join in the acting and so this theatre type was a sure way of
ensuring public participation, inclusivity, involvement and social mobilization.
This brings to mind South African theatre that flourished in the apartheid era
using the two-hander technique which only had two main actors. The South
African activists preferred this design for it enabled for a quick mounting and
even disbanding of the performance when the apartheid police appeared.

Without empowerment there can be no development. Ownership of knowledge

and action by a community must underpin any project undertaken in
partnership with them

Bakebwa Milton Yemale in Theatre for Development in Uganda: Position and

Prospects, a dissertation Makerere University, Department of Music, Dance and
Drama states: “TfD is that genre of theatre which talks about the people’s lives
and experiences and aims at making them aware of their social, political and
economic situations. TfD may not always get the remedies to every people’s
situation, but it can still shake the structures that perpetuate their servitude.”
This brings to mind the materialist theory of literature which suggests that
whereas literature in itself may not enact change, it is nonetheless an active
ingredient in the propulsion of change. Jean Paul Sarte in What is Literature
talks about ‘action by disclosure’. That the literary artist, in exposing the
maladies of a society already has started the step towards reforming that very
society. Remember Anton Chekhov’s analogy of the surgeon who has to expose
a patient’s boils to himself and even get full disclosure from the patient about
his circumstance before he can begin treating him.

A simple consideration, again, is the model that defines democracy: theatre for
development is that theatre of the people by the people and for the people.
Thus their active commitment is essential.

A benefit for the cooperating discipline, “external stakeholders”, is that

drama approaches are able to make realistic models of issues those
specialists find hard to raise; they raise such with generalizations which
do not locate the issue in particular socially detailed contexts, thereby
lessening the learning impact.

Drama allows us to create such detail and to embed the issues in the lives
of believable human beings, thus making the issues become context
specific.

John William Somers in Interactive Theatre: Drama as Social Intervention,

Department of Drama, University of Exeter, UK, 2008 states:
As a theatre-maker who for many years has created dramatic experience which has the
express intention of bringing about change, I am convinced that, when shaped, targeted
and delivered in particular ways, theatre and other forms of drama excite change.

Conventional theatre subscribes to a more general ‘humanising’ aim for

theatre, that audiences should leave performances more sensitive to human
nature, its foibles and strengths.

Referring to Theatre for Development, which he also calls Drama in Education,

Interactive Theatre and Community Theatre as well as the umbrella term
Applied Drama, Somers talks about ‘hard change’ and ‘soft change’. The former
is well-defined attempts to confront audiences or workshop participants with
particular issues; the latter is theatre whose purpose is making and performing
the drama and the participation of others in witnessing it is well defined.
Nb: In the UK the term ‘community theatre’ describes theatre usually made by
and for a community centered on stories that are seminal to that community
and not the USA definition which is synonymous with amateur theatre.

In several ways the Theatre for Development experience leads to personal

growth through meaning-making in a complex, reflexive and reflective
relationship dramatic experience and personal identity. Drama achieves both
psychological and emotional equilibrium, and that is where dramatherapy and
psychodrama come in.

Drama allows audiences to contemplate an ‘other’, alternatives, that which may

be different from us, thus drama considers ‘what might be’ and to compare it
with ‘what is.’ Remember what Aristotle stated in proposing that literature was
a much more superior thing than, say, history or philosophy? “Literature
considers not only things as they are but, also things as they may be and even
things as they ought to be.” This is very true of Theatre for Development. Thus,
by involving participants in a fictional experience that does not focus on their
own attitudes, feelings and behavior (but which has relevance to them) the
immersive, distancing effects of drama can create conditions for reappraisal
and change.

Drama workshops can be seen as a kind of social laboratory in which we

examine the attitudes, values and relationships of chosen people in selected
situations. They add to our personal and social understanding of the human
condition. When Theatre for Development engages, it often does so with a spirit
of playfulness and openness.

Some element of intertextuality exists in the nature of theatre for development

as when participants place themselves within the community’s identity, it
involves a productive coalition and collision of the personal, the community
and context.

During the last 25 years, there has been a perceptible tendency in developing
countries to use theatre as an educative medium for social change and
development.

Kees P. Eskamp in Theatre in Search of Social Change CESO, 1989 states,

“Because theatre is neutral as a technique, it can serve purposes of oppression
as well as of liberation. However, as soon as it is used to transmit direct
information, whether it is intended or not, it becomes an instrument with
which people are persuaded to accept their situation or get involved in
changing it.

TOPIC THREE: CLASSIFICATION OF THEATRE FOR DEVELOPMENT IN A

DEVELOPING COUNTRY SET UP
Theatre for Development can be broadly classified in 3 categories. It is useful to
note, however, that performances may not necessarily be an absolutely
homogeneous type; rather, some performances will combine traits of the varied
categories in a single instance.

Theatre with development themes

This application of TfD uses conventional, westernized plays in order to focus
on the political, cultural, social and economic issues in a country. In most
African countries, theatre groups use this form of TfD to address issues
ranging from corruption to religion to culture. In Uganda some of these groups
include Diamond Ensemble, Mulago Theatre Artists while in Nyanza region in
Kisumu we have Misango Arts Ensemble, Magnet Theatre and Jicho Four. Find
out about these groups and their engagements.

Theatre with Packaged Messages

Addressing issues like HIV/AIDS or malaria, these works are usually created
by a theatrical troupe under commission by an NGO that gives them a draft of
what the message contained should be. Whereas this category may be similar
with the above category, the difference is that here, NGOs commission
individual or organizations in the former, the individuals and organizations do
the work on their own volition. These packaged messages tend to focus mostly
on health issues. In Uganda these groups include Bakayimbira Dramactors,
Ndere Troupe and Makerere Department of Music, Dance and Drama. (See the
DramaTool Magazine)

Forum Theatre
The “Theatre of the Oppressed” (TOP) was born in 1971 in Brazil under the
leadership of Augosto Boal. TOP was created with the specific aim of dealing
with local problems with the game of dialogue ie playing and learning together.
It is a system of special techniques that aims at developing in the oppressed
citizens, the language of the theatre. This was with express intention of making
the oppressed practice about and for themselves to help them fight oppression
and to transform the society that engenders oppression. This theatre type is
considered to be one of the most widely used form of TfD globally and is the
most intellectual category of Theatre for development. Its popularity also arises
from its complete participatory nature.
In its most conventional form, forum theatre follows the following sequence:
1 The play/scenario is acted non-stop through to the end.
2 The joker/facilitator then invites the audience to participate by asking
them questions about what they have seen especially in terms of what
was wrong with the scenario presented.
3 The actors then re-enact the scenario, but this time the audience is
allowed to stop the action on stage any time they observe a problem and
suggest alternatives.
4 The audience (or ‘spect-actors’) themselves are invited to act out the
alternatives and see where that new path will lead them to. Does it lead
into a new problem?
The scenarios usually will have protagonists and antagonists and the latter do
their best to cause problems whatever the suggested alternative may be. This
calls for strong and effective improvisational skills on the part of the actors.
Their role is not to be unreasonable or unruly but only challenging and
questioning.
The above process is malleable and may vary depending on the time available
and the issues addressed. Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Kamirithu Theatre was an
experimental outfit that used this forum approach, when the group was active.

Radio and television drama

These, which we could refer to as “non-conventional Theatre for
development” ,do adopt some of the features associated with the above
categories, only that this time it uses the electronic medium of sound and
screen. The advantage of this theatre is its broad circulation potential as
almost every homestead in Africa owns, at least, a radio. Even herdsmen
engage in their trade with, at the very least, a transistor radio or a mobile
phone with the same app! Issues handled here-in are less complex and they
include the mundane issues of domestic family life, substance abuse,
HIV/AIDS, personal and community hygiene as well as proper sanitation and
education of the girl-child. This category is especially useful where there are no
spaces. (Read around the significance, and, particularly, advantages, of radio
in a developing society. Also read about the mass culture theory of film or the
cinematic medium).

Theatre for therapy

This is, actually, the earlier mentioned ‘psychodrama’ or ‘dramatherapy.’ Here,
theatre is used with the express aim of ‘healing’. It involves a significant of role-
play, story-telling, music, dance and drama. It is recreational drama. People
cherish having just a good laugh! It ventilates dangerous emotions, especially
when people are given an opportunity to tell their stories. Post-conflict societies
like South Sudan and Rwanda have used this theatre very successfully, even
by merely placing warring communities collaborate on this venture. In the
developed world theatre has been used successfully to “heal” patients in
hospital. Relate this to Aristotle’s poetic theory of ‘catharsis.’

A NOTE ON DEVELOPMENT
Most people think of ‘development as ‘economic’. For us we want to think of it
as the social, intellectual and emotional progress of a society. Certain
intangible, immeasurable aspects like happiness, creativity and culture could
be more accurate indicators about the development of a people. It makes
people more aware of problems and options; it sensitizes them to a variety of
issues to inspire confidence and progressive thinking. Study from texts in this
field to find out what, really, is development? What are the parameters and
indices? Who decides what development is, underdeveloped, developing
countries, developed countries etc?