So in a stunning turn of events, I actually find myself having to retract my prior statements on my recent performing arts workshop. While it may have been true that by the end of Wednesday night I was ready to smash my head into concrete, Thursday proved to be almost an entire 180 - it seemed everyone's cumulative frustrations in our group resulted in a razor sharp focus the next day, with many new ideas to help improve our act. Everyone's contributions mingled and merged, which eventually turned our disaster of a play into something cohesive and actually somewhat entertaining.I was feeling much more confident by the time Friday rolled around, with the only remaining worry being whether or not people who came to the show would get involved. The concept of forum theater is that groups of actors create short plays which address certain issues or social problems. Each play is performed once through, and then repeated in exactly the same matter after all have been performed. The difference the second time through is that audience members have the opportunity and are encouraged to stop the action of the play (by literally yelling "stop") at the appropriate moment and take the place of the protagonist in the show. They are then able to alter the course of the narrative, showing how they would solve the social problem and ultimately beat their oppressor.
The night before the show, someone in our class asked what would happen if no one wanted to participate, to which the instructor said "I've never seen that happen. Ever." Our show was no different. The first two sketches were about materialism, and big businesses sacrificing the environment for money. Our group went on third, and we did a sketch which addressed technology, and how cell phone usage actually moves society more towards isolation than towards being connected. It was a little cheesy, with myself and another girl playing the malevolent spirits of technology who are out to ruin a party by keeping people from interacting through text messages, but it was overall played more for laughs, and I think it got the point across.
It was the fourth group, however, who stole the show, addressing illegal immigration. Their sketch involved an illegal immigrant working at a clothing store who has to confront his boss about why he was being payed less than minimum wage. Apparently, this was an issue that hit home with nearly everyone in attendance - the time spent reenacting this sketch was nearly an hour, making it so that we never actually got a chance to replay our sketch a second time (which was both a relief and kind of disappointing at the same time.) Solutions to the issue included flattering the boss, taking legal action, forming unions, blackmail, and even shoplifting from the store. By far the most exciting moment of the night came when one of the audience members actually managed to start a full on protest on stage, which involved all four groups storming the stage to become protesters.
In all, this issue seemed to be something that many people really cared about. I also feel like the ones who didn't care all that much about it cared a little more when they left the show. So, I have to take back what I said in the last post; I believe that, while we may not have actually solved anything, we did accomplish something, and hopefully inspired a few people.
Following the show, everyone enjoyed snacks and refreshments, during which actors could talk to the audience members and such. While I didn't hear much about our sketch or the first two, what with the immigration group clearly being the highlight, I was surprised and extremely flattered when at least four different people approached me saying that they remembered me and my DDR act from the last performance and how much they liked it. One woman said that she was deeply moved by how I've managed to use a hobby to get myself back on my feet, and someone else said that they were actually inspired to go out and buy DDR - none of this I was expecting, though I guess I didn't stick around long after the last performance for people to notice me. I'm really happy that I was able to inspire people - something I don't have much experience in.
At some point, Sarah, the other malevolent cell phone demon from my group, hooked up her Ipod to the AV system and started playing Daft Punk and some other cool dance music. Normally, I don't dance, nor do I do it in public in front of strangers (as Brett put it, "I've got the rhythm, but I don't have the moves.") None of that stopped me on Friday night, though. For about 6 or 7 of us it turned into a crazy dance party. Karen Schaffman, one of the instructors of this course, even tried to talk me into taking up a dance minor - unlikely, but I don't think I'd rule out taking some dance classes for fun. That all lasted for nearly an hour until we were all too tired and decided to help clean up and go home. Before I left, I made sure to thank Doug Paterson, the artist who led the workshop, for opening my eyes to another form of performance art, despite my initial frustrations. I ended up getting home at midnight, where I then had to write a paper on the shipping industry and containerization...
So I've been feeling pretty good as of late. I seem to have found a good balance between school, work, and friends, at least for the moment. I had a bunch of my friends over on Saturday night for "movie night", which was real relaxing, and also a nice change, as people don't usually visit my house.
My birthday is on Tuesday, but as I type I can feel myself catching a cold. Hopefully it'll peak tomorrow and I'll be well enough for Dave and Busters by Tuesday night - it won't prevent me from going, but potentially from enjoying myself. Regardless, some Spanish homework, and then time for bed.
"In order to summon the power for the conflict to come you must first have power over that which conflicts you."
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