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/

Browsing sites on feminism and theatre...

My Notes

http://www.globalissues.org/article/166/womens-rights#Progress

''Yet, despite many successes in empowering women, numerous issues still exist in all areas of life, ranging from the cultural, political to the economic.''

This website looks at women's  rights across the world: how their rights have improved fractionally over the years within many countries and governments yet not entirely improved as equality still doesn't exist

***

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/features/women-war-peace-in-afghanistan-healing-through-theater/

''Knott explains that the Theater of the Oppressed is an on-going experiment in Afghanistan. While the country has a strong arts tradition, particularly with poetry, acting has typically been reserved for men. The Theater of the Oppressed is one of the few ways in which women’s experiences of war are addressed.''

 

Women, War and Peace is a charity organisation aiming to 'help heal the wounds women have endured' during war. In this article, Leslie Knott talks about how they use Forum theatre techniques to help these women from Afghanistan to tell their stories and express themselves about what they have been through.

***

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

I just discovered a form of theatre called 'Agitprop Theatre' and wikipedia seemed to help my understanding of it.

''Agitprop is derived from agitation and propaganda,^[1] and describes stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and other art forms with an explicitly political message.''

'' In the case of agitprop, the ideas to be disseminated were those of communism, including explanations of the policy of the Communist Party and the Soviet state. In other contexts, propaganda could mean dissemination of any kind of beneficial knowledge, e.g., of new methods in agriculture. Agitation meant urging people to do what Soviet leaders expected them to do; again, at various levels. In other words, propaganda was supposed to act on the mind, while agitation acted on emotions, although both usually went together, thus giving rise to the cliché "propaganda and agitation".''

 ''The term agitprop gave rise to agitprop theatre, a highly-politicized leftist theatre originated in 1920s Europe and spread to America; the plays of Bertolt Brecht being a notable example.^[2] Russian agitprop theater was noted for its cardboard characters of perfect virtue and complete evil, and its coarse ridicule.^[3] Gradually the term agitprop came to describe any kind of highly politicized art.''

This has made me question, is there any Agitprop theatre that has been made to emphasize and define issues associated with women's rights and politics surrounding the themes of feminism?

http://www.usq.edu.au/artsworx/schoolresources/madforest/political

Quoted from this university website:

''Feminist playwright, Caryl Churchill has been heavily involved with political theatre. The following is an exert from Feminism, appearing in Different Types of Feminist Theories by Cara Stewart: (I should also read this book)

‘Feminism is the organised movement which promotes equality for men and women in political, economic and social spheres. Feminists believe that women are oppressed simple due to their sex based on the dominant ideology of patriarchy. Ridding society of patriarchy will result in liberation for women, men, minorities, and gays.' 

It was Churchill's beliefs in materialist feminism that led her to the Romanian Revolution in a study into oppressed people and their empowerment.'' .....

 ''The empowerment of a people to rise as one against an oppressor is a fantastic example of the materialist feminist idea of ‘group over individual'. To enable a radical and persistent change in society is what lies at the core of the feminist belief system, the expectation that enlightened and determined action can bring about positive change that liberates oppressed peoples ...''

***

Here is a feminist women-led political theatre company which looks at human rights issues and targets at creating political messages by looking at female perspectives of the world today. They also 'work in the community with the vulnerable and dispossessed, creating innovative street/site-specific performance theatre, celebrating their voices and exploring their experience.' 

  http://www.mamaquilla.org/

Feminism and Theatre

I am interested in researching into Feminism; the history and development of the movement within theatre but also how 'feminism' as a movement is so mis-understood/negatively perceived and how this can change through feminist theatre? This document by Sandra M. Bernis discusses the problems of feminism:

http://www2.edutech.nodak.edu/ndsta/bemis.htm 

''However, if feminism works for the equality of all individuals, why is it so misunderstood? Part of the answer lies in the diverse beliefs of the feminists themselves. Because the movement lacks clearly defined goals and objectives, the intentions or actions of feminists are easily misinterpreted. People see the feminist call for social change as an attack on their morality and personal lifestyle. Therefore, the mention of feminism often elicits a negative reaction. ''

Oppression of women still exists in our country but is even more dominant in other countries around the world. After looking at 'Theatre of the Oppressed' by Augusto Boal, it was convenient when I found this book on Feminism and Theatre. This book contains a huge amount of information about the history of feminism within theatre and how the feminist theory has been used to alter many theoretical practices throughout history and encourage the feminist movement. I feel this would be useful to look at before researching any further into perception of feminism and feminist theatre.

Theatre of the Oppressed - Augusto Boal

I am interested into looking how theatre can be used as tool for change within my MRP; whether this be a personal change; political change or social change. Theatre of the Oppressed; also known as Forum theatre, is where the audience is able to become active and allowed to transform but also analyse the reality they are living in. To investigate further; I have been reading Augusto Boal's book; 'Theatre of the Oppressed'.

ISBN: 0-86104-081-3
Pluto Press, London

My Notes and quotes when reading...

The very opening of the foreword states:

'' This book attempts to show that all theatre is necessarily political, because all the activities of man are political and theatre is one of them... theatre is a weapon. A very efficient weapon.'' page ix

He mentions Aristophanes who states: ''the dramatist should not only offer pleasure but should, besides that, be a teacher of morality and a political adviser'' - I should research more into who is 'Aristophanes' later...

The book starts by analysing and challenging Aristotle's theory on poetry/art/theatre - how they are all separate, different disciplines which have nothing to do with politics.

'' Should art educate, inform, organize, influence, incite to action, or should it simply be an object of pleasure? ''  page xiii 

Aristotle believes art is an 're-creation of the creative principle of created things' and how 'artists must imitate men as they should be and not as they are'. Boal then looks further into Aristotle's Coercive system of tragedy - the structure, how it is used etc but also challenging it.

''...it is designed to bridle the individual, to adjust him to what pre-exists. If this is what we want, the Aristotelian system serves the purpose better than any other; if on the contrary, we want to stimulate the spectator to transform his society, to engage in revolutionary action...'' page 47

It is interesting how he uses the word 'bridle' as a way to describe the control the coercive system has on the spectator.

''...empathy is the emotional relationship which is established between the character and spectator and whih provoke, fundamentally, a delegation of power on the part of the spectator, who becomes an object in relation to the character: what ever happens to the latter, happens vicariously to the spectator.'' page 102

Within Boal's theories, the audience isn't controlled but is liberated and able to engage, which I feel is important within theatre and performance.

In 1973, a new campaign called ALFIN, derived from Paulo Freire, was set up by the new revolutionary government of Peru to improve the literacy skills of it's country due to an extreme amount of people being illiterate. Its aims were:

'' 1) to teach literacy in both the first language and in Spanish without forcing the abandonment of the former in favor of the latter; 2) to teach literacy in all possible languages, especially the artistic ones, such as theatre, photography, puppetry, films, journalism, etc. ''page 121

The reasons and needs of this scheme was due to the fact that people were unable to express themselves; due to not being able to speak a the main language of the country, therefore they were oppressed. Boal states how 'all languages complement each other in achieving the widest, most complete knowledge of what is real' (page 121) He further goes on to talk about his experiments when using 'theatre as language, capable of being utilized by any person, with or without an artistic talent'...he ''tried to show in practice how theatre can be placed at the service of the oppressed, so that they can express themselves and so that, by using this new lanugage, they can also discover new concepts' (page 121)
- need to look into this case study further

''..perhaps the theatre is not revolutionary in itself, but it is surely a rehearsal for the revolution'' page 122

I will carry on my read later...