Reflection so far on my research

Defining the Subject Area

I am widely investigating into political, forum and feminist theatre. I am interested in researching into Feminism; the history and development of the movement in conjunction with theatre within the context of war. During a war, women’s roles and relationships within society change and I want to explore women’s ‘voice’ in the context of war through theatre. How agitprop theatre and feminist theatre has or is being used. War is a very broad area as each war is different, each country will be different and it will be dependent on what time period the war is - I understand I will need to narrow this down

Action: what am I going to do to test my research?

•I am going to read and look at the books I have put in my reference pages and also find more relevant books to further my research

•I will also use the internet to discover and investigate into modern feminist theatre companies used within a war context

•Visit the V&A and Imperial War Museum for primary research

Conclusion

I feel I need to do more research into connecting feminist theatre with war. At the moment, I have starting points and basic knowledge of feminist theatre but haven’t applied it to the context of war enough. I need to decide how I will do this; whether I need to choose a specific culture, country or time period within war, and see what theatre exists/existed for and by women to help create the link. Or, choose a few different cultures or a few different wars which I could compare each other with? 

Feminist Theatre Groups - Dinah Luise Leavitt

Really useful book on Feminist theatre – why does it exist and what is it? 

Also looks at the women’s movement within theatre; the successes, criticism and problems by looking at a few different companies. One chapter also focuses on comparing it to political theatre of the 1930s and the Black theatre movement. (does tend to focus largely on Feminist Theatre in America; includes a list of them at the end) 

'Feminist theatres have made their work accessible to sectors of the public that rarely experience plays, through tours and performances not only in theatres but wherever an audience could be gathered.' page 103

Sphinx Theatre Company

 http://www.sphinxtheatre.co.uk/about-sphinx-theatre/who-we-are

''From 1973, a feminist ensemble company, the Women's Theatre Group, toured to factories, clubs, women's groups, women's prisons, hospitals, schools and theatres.  Arts Council England funded the company from 1975 to 2007.

Developing an unequalled multi-cultural approach and nurturing new talent, the company proved a catalyst for changing the climate for women throughout the theatre, particularly for women writers and directors.''

Trip to V&A - study room

Collection box 1 & 2: The Status and role of Women 1900-1939

Within the V&A , you can visit the study rooms where there is a huge amount of resources and education boxes they put together into different subject areas. Luckily for me, there was an education box called: 'The Status and role of women 1900-1939'

The box contained many real paintings, lithographs, sketches and drawings from artists during the war for propaganda magazines and posters. Artists such as Archibald Hartrick, Claude Shepperson, Ettore Tito, Eric Fraser, J.H Lartique and Celia Bedford were all artists of that time which have created primary research about women and their roles within society.

I learnt how important women were to the economy and running of the country during this time - they were vital for the work force; they were given the opportunity to work in typical male jobs, got more independence and the change in their fashion.

These are a few of my favorite images from the collection. I felt they really reflected the independence and current image of women during the war.

Archibald Hartrick - Bus conductor 1917, encourage and inspire women to volunteer these jobs within the railway



Celia Bedford - Fisherwomen; 1930, group of women engaged in hard physical work





Ettore Tito - Aide toi le ciel t'aidera, 1925-30, modern girl of that time capable of fixing car - independence of women

Imperial War Museum Website

Voices of the First World War Podcast - Women's war services



Recording about the role of women during World War One with abstracts taken from interviews of real women who joined the women's war services; their memories and experiences. 

PODCAST 30 

http://www.1914.org/podcasts/podcast-30-womens-war-services/ 

Kuringa - Women's Theatre Company

http://www.kuringa.org/en/productions/images-of-women.html

Quotes taken from the website... women's theatre company - using theatre of the oppressed (forum theatre) to tackle issues of oppression due to inequality and relationships of genders

''Maia, Donna and Carmen are three women who consider themselves modern and emancipated: one of them single, another married and third one divorced. Each in a distinct moment of life faces woman's models socially standardized and propagated that; somehow, they have also incorporated. In this Forum Theatre play the audience is invited to examine the social and cultural patterns that influence and / or determine the gender relationships and look for alternatives to overcome the injustices arising there from.''

''The initiative gave way to the need of the creation of a privileged space, in which the specificities of women’s daily oppressions could be discussed. A space exclusively for women in which mutual confidence is being strengthened and appreciated and in which the endeavour to overcome guilt and shame as well as competition can take place.'''

October 2010: 

''...with support from KURINGA-Berlin, project S.U.S.I. and Rudi-Nachbarschaftszentrum, met in Berlin twenty women of different ages, backgrounds and stories to participate in an innovative aesthetic experience: Madalena Laboratory.'' 

''...The objective is to analyze with the public the consequences of the incorporation of these images in everyday life, and find alternatives to the situations of oppression and gender inequality still identified.''

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalena_Project 

The Magdalena Project is an international network of women in contemporary theatre and performance. It aims to increase awareness of women's contributions to theatre and to create the artistic and economic structures and support networks to enable women to work.

Unfinished Histories

Unfinished histories is an archive of alternative and political theatre companies; including women's theatre - contains a massive list of all the identified women's theatre companies. It also holds details of where to find collections of material - for example collections at the V&A or universities. This is a useful website to find where to go for primary research into women in theatre.




http://www.unfinishedhistories.com/