Acting Together II: Performance and the Creative Transformation of Conflict: Building Just and Inclusive Communities - Softcover

Cynthia Cohen; Roberto Gutiérrez Varea; Polly O. Walker

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1613320000 ISBN 13: 9781613320006

Publisher: New Village Press, 2011

Synopsis

 Acting Together, Volume ll, continues from where the first volume ends documenting exemplary peacebuilding performances in regions marked by social exclusion structural violence and dislocation.  Acting Together: Performance and the Creative Transformation of Conflict is a two-volume work describing peacebuilding performances in regions beset by violence and internal conflicts. Whereas Volume I, Resistance and Reconciliation in Regions of Violence, emphasizes the role theatre and ritual play both in the midst and in the aftermath of direct violence, Volume II, Building Just and Inclusive Communities, focuses on the transformative power of performance in regions fractured by "subtler" forms of structural violence and social exclusion. The case studies in this volume document examples from Afghanistan, Australia, Ghana, the Netherlands, South Africa, and the United States. This volume also offers resources, tools, and recommendations to help educators, artists, students, policymakers, and funders alike to become involved with, and contribute to, the emerging field of peacebuilding performance.The Acting Together project documents how divided communities in conflict regions across the globe draw on the power of performance to express silenced truths, rebuild severed relationships, and work toward justice. Born in 2005 of a partnership between the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life at Brandeis University and Theatre Without Borders, the project grew to include the two-volume anthology Acting Together, the feature-length documentary film Acting Together on the World Stage, a website of related materials, and a toolkit, or "Tools for Continuing the Conversation," included with the documentary as a second disc and featuring practical guidelines and templates for further action. Taken together, these resources yield rich case studies, theoretical frameworks, and recommendations to help practitioners, educators, students, and policymakers understand and strengthen the emerging field of peacebuilding performance.

About this title

Review:

This book gives Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage" new meaning. Experts in foreign policy and diplomacy, conflict resolution and peacemaking, as well as theatre and performance professionals, can learn from these extraordinary examples what theatre and performance can do to heal the wounds of violent conflict.

--Ambassador Cynthia Schneider, PhD, Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Political and social failures begin and end in failures of imagination. Acting Together invites a major renewal of the dramatic imagination--for the sake of social healing and understanding. The project is itself an exemplar of the engaged imagination set free, a celebration and a challenge at once.

--James Carroll, columnist and author, Jerusalem, Jerusalem

Humanity [has the] capacity to inflict great suffering and unfathomable misfortune. Yet art and, as we see in this work, theatre in particular, can show us that there is a greater force in creativity and a greater power in solidarity. It is in instances like these that art is not just contemplation and transcendence, but also a form of justice that cleanses and vindicates our species in a universal way.

--Dr. Salomon Lerner Febres, former President, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru

In 1996, Back Bone Youth Arts devised a performance, "Sk8 Grrl Space," to be shown only once in a male-dominated skateboarding park in Australia. Thirteen young women played scenes that addressed women's limited access to public space. One audience member became so riled he shattered a bottle on the steep-sided skate bowl where the women performed. The smashed bottle didn't shut the performance down, but instead was incorporated into the action.

In Volume II of Acting Together, editors Cynthia E. Cohen, Roberto Gutierrez Varea, and Polly O. Walker present vigorous case studies on the use of performance to create just and inclusive communities. "In situations characterized by structural violence, exclusion, and social injustice, building peace involves more than ending violent conflict," they write. In the aftermath of violence, structures to pursue justice and negotiate differences must be put in place. Silenced voices must be heard.

In his foreword, Salomon Lerner Febres writes, ..". the violent act involves robbing the individual of the possibility of occupying a dignified space in the world of our lives, that is, of depriving her or him of their condition of person. This is why those who suffer any form of violence, experience an attack on their identity. ... The great power of representation lies precisely in its symbolic force, in its ability to restore, through re-enactment, the meaning inherent in the traumatic act."

Francois Matarasso writes, "Participation in the arts is a guarantor of other human rights because the first thing that is taken away from vulnerable, unpopular, or minority groups is the right to self-expression." Reading the powerful studies in Acting Together, you witness survivors of injustice reclaim their right to self-expression, and in so doing, awaken others.

In these stories, theater makers, community leaders, actors, activists, scholars and others recount how they dealt with issues of pressing urgency to their communities such as economic or social inequality, gender-based violence, poverty and displacement of refugees. From storytelling to skateboarding, from hip-hop to Playback Theatre, the case studies highlight an astonishing diversity of performance modes. They document aesthetic surprises and how transformation occurs.

How does transformation begin? How does it spread through a community to permeate the world at large? These are crucial questions in peace building that Acting Together addresses theoretically, aesthetically and practically.

Click here to read the full review!

--Jean Randich"Truthdig" (11/20/2012)

The recommendations of the Acting Together project are clear, grounded and convincing. The editors have demonstrated that performance can significantly contribute to the transformation of violent conflict, and can reach audiences that are inaccessible by other means. It also has the potential to support communities in mourning, those dealing with trauma and those celebrating resilience. Aesthetic excellence reinforces socio-political effectiveness if the integrity of the artistic process is respected. This comprises a strong argument for more peacebuilders to recognize and incorporate performance into their initiatives and for artists and peace-builders to explore their respective practices together. The recommendation of respecting the integrity of the artistic process will hopefully be a reminder for funders and NGOs to trust that the creative process of the performance will provide a transformative experience without the need for heavy-handed programmatic messages to be incorporated into the end-product.

Finally, the anthology fills an important niche in connecting performers and peace practitioners. In the field of conflict resolution, artistic and creative initiatives are still seen as somewhat exotic, and are sometimes questioned with regards to their effectiveness. This has led to feelings of isolation and self-doubt among some practitioners. This anthology opens the curtain to showcase the beneficial effects of performance for creative conflict transformation and validates the courage, skill and determination of its proponents. For the first time, the anthology and the Acting Together project provide a platform for peace-building artists to connect and to reflect on their work together with other scholars and practitioners. That in itself is already a significant achievement of the editors and curators of this complex and fascinating collection.

--Serge Loode "Applied Theatre Research "

Advance Praise

"Humanity [has the] capacity to inflict great suffering and unfathomable misfortune. Yet art and, as we see in this work, theatre in particular, can show us that there is a greater force in creativity and a greater power in solidarity. It is in instances like these that art is not just contemplation and transcendence, but also a form of justice that cleanses and vindicates our species in a universal way."
--Dr. Salomon Lerner Febres, former President, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru

"Political and social failures begin and end in failures of imagination. Acting Together invites a major renewal of the dramatic imagination--for the sake of social healing and understanding. The project is itself an exemplar of the engaged imagination set free, a celebration and a challenge at once."
--James Carroll, columnist and author, Jerusalem, Jerusalem

"This book gives Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage" new meaning. Experts in foreign policy and diplomacy, conflict resolution and peacemaking, as well as theatre and performance professionals, can learn from these extraordinary examples what theatre and performance can do to heal the wounds of violent conflict."
--Ambassador Cynthia Schneider, PhD, Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Expert Reviews

"In Volume II of Acting Together, editors Cynthia E. Cohen, Roberto Gutierrez Varea, and Polly O. Walker present vigorous case studies on the use of performance to create just and inclusive communities. 'In situations characterized by structural violence, exclusion, and social injustice, building peace involves more than ending violent conflict, ' they write. In the aftermath of violence, structures to pursue justice and negotiate differences must be put in place. Silenced voices must be heard."
--Jean Randich, Truthdig

"For the first time, the anthology and the Acting Together project provide a platform for peace-building artists to connect and to reflect on their work together with other scholars and practitioners. That in itself is already a significant achievement of the editors and curators of this complex and fascinating collection."
--Serge Loode, Applied Theatre Research
Advance Praise

"Humanity [has the] capacity to inflict great suffering and unfathomable misfortune. Yet art and, as we see in this work, theatre in particular, can show us that there is a greater force in creativity and a greater power in solidarity. It is in instances like these that art is not just contemplation and transcendence, but also a form of justice that cleanses and vindicates our species in a universal way."
--Dr. Salomon Lerner Febres, former President, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru

"Political and social failures begin and end in failures of imagination. Acting Together invites a major renewal of the dramatic imagination--for the sake of social healing and understanding. The project is itself an exemplar of the engaged imagination set free, a celebration and a challenge at once."
--James Carroll, columnist and author, Jerusalem, Jerusalem

"This book gives Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage" new meaning. Experts in foreign policy and diplomacy, conflict resolution and peacemaking, as well as theatre and performance professionals, can learn from these extraordinary examples what theatre and performance can do to heal the wounds of violent conflict."
--Ambassador Cynthia Schneider, PhD, Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Expert Reviews

"In Volume II of Acting Together, editors Cynthia E. Cohen, Roberto Gutierrez Varea, and Polly O. Walker present vigorous case studies on the use of performance to create just and inclusive communities. 'In situations characterized by structural violence, exclusion, and social injustice, building peace involves more than ending violent conflict, ' they write. In the aftermath of violence, structures to pursue justice and negotiate differences must be put in place. Silenced voices must be heard."
--Jean Randich, Truthdig

"For the first time, the anthology and the Acting Together project provide a platform for peace-building artists to connect and to reflect on their work together with other scholars and practitioners. That in itself is already a significant achievement of the editors and curators of this complex and fascinating collection."
--Serge Loode, Applied Theatre Research

From the Back Cover:

"Humanity [has the] capacity to inflict great suffering and unfathomable misfortune. Yet art and, we see in this work, theatre in particular can show us that there is a greater force in creativity and a greater power in solidarity. It is in instances like these that art is not just contemplation and transcendence, but also a form of justice that cleanses and vindicates our species in a universal way."
--Dr. Salomon Lerner Febres, former President, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru

"Political and social failures begin and end in failures of imagination. Acting Together invites a major renewal of the dramatic imagination--for the sake of social healing and understanding. The project is itself an exemplar of the engaged imagination set free, a celebration and a challenge at once."
--James Carroll, columnist and author, Jerusalem, Jerusalem

"This book gives Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage" a new meaning. Experts in foreign policy and diplomacy, conflict resolution and peacemaking, as well as theatre and performance professionals, can learn from these extraordinary examples what theatre and performance can do to heal the wounds of violent conflict."
--Ambassador Cynthia Schneider, PhD, Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

The Acting Together project documents how divided communities in conflict regions across the globe draw on the power of performance to express silenced truths, rebuild severed relationships, and work toward justice. Born in 2005 of a partnership between the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life at Brandeis University and Theatre Without Borders, the project grew to include the two-volume anthology Acting Together, the feature-length documentary film Acting Together on the World Stage, a website of related materials, and the Acting Together Toolkit featuring practical guidelines and templates for further action. Taken together, these resources yield rich case studies, theoretical frameworks, and recommendations to help practitioners, educators, students, and policymakers understand and strengthen the emerging field of peacebuilding performance.

About this edition

• Publisher: New Village Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1613320000
• ISBN 13: 9781613320006
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 280