Get involved in the outcome of a play!!!!
The basic concept of Forum Theatre is getting the audience actively involved in the action on stage – through suggestions, discussions, debates and sometimes even live participation. Currently, rehearsals now entail a series of preparations for the actors who are training themselves to hear, understand and perform the suggestions of audiences – even the bad ones. (Actually, especially the bad ones!!!)
And now with the publication of this blog, we thought it might be a good idea to extend the discussion with our audience even before the play starts. So… for you guys only, here’s a chance to influence what you will see on stage between the 1st and the 5th of September.
The Issues
In trying to pick issues to act on, we mooted almost 30 ideas before we finally settled on three. We picked these 3 because we felt they were either currently very pertinent, or they were issues that were hardly ever discussed in the open. Either way, what makes an issue suitable material for a good forum Theatre piece is if the issues surrounding the topic are not black and white… issues that foster a great topic for debate.
1. Ethnic Conflict.
We have done a Forum piece on this before. This time round, we created a new Forum Theatre piece based on our observations and experiences. What we will be looking at is the complextity of the relationship between the Tamil Community and the LTTE, and the Sinhala people’s perception of this relationship. It is a very tough topic and rehearsals have been emotionally and intellectually quite exhausting.
Questions from the cast on this issue:
1. Why do mixed race couples tend to leave the country?
2. If a child whose surname is Thiagarajah does not speak Tamil but speaks Sinhala is that a problem?
3. Isn’t it the saddest thing that as long as there is a war in this country that being a Tamil will always be problematic? That something person at such an integral level can be used to degrade a person completely?
2. Bribery and the middle class.
Here we are attempting to unearth some hard questions.
Check this space for further cast questions.
3. mental illness in families.
This is an area which, we feel, is hardly ever addressed publicly, though clearly wide spread:
Check this space for further cast questions.
13 Comments so far
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W.R.T. “Bribery and the middle class”.
Comment by Sohan August 30, 2006 @ 12:32 pmAn interesting but distressing phenomenon: most Sri Lankans (probably regardless of class) are quick to criticize bribery when others engage in it (e.g., the police; judiciary; the tigers in the USA), but are conveniently blind and silent when they themselves, or their relations/friends/colleague/acquaintances, do the same! Even if it’s “only” on a smaller scale.
Following from my previous post (and with apologies for my amateurish “playwriting”!); e.g., doesn’t this sound all too familiar:
{After-dinner/after-drinks conversation:}
Sohan: Sri Lanka is going to the dogs, men; bribery is everywhere, no? Such a Serious Situation.
Mohan: Machang, not only here; didn’t you hear men, the tigers tried to bribe the Americans also? Mara cheeky Maggots!
Rohan: Really? These cops also, aiyo: the other day some fellow crashed into my car, it was all his fault but he bribed the cops and they looked the other way. Ridiculous.
Yohan: Yes men, and not just the police: the other day I had a court case in my favor but because the other fella’s lawyer [...unmentionable bribery details!...] I lost the case. Yuck.
Lohan: Last week I discovered that [substitute any government organization] gave that tender to you-know-who, that was because of bribery; even though my boss had clearly given the more reliable and cheaper option. Because of people like that, this country is Lost.
{… a while later, in the wee hours of the morning: time to go home…}
Comment by Sohan August 30, 2006 @ 12:47 pmSohan: {Slurring] Shhhleepy now, I had too many drinks. I better go home. Hope I don’t pass any cops because I’m waaayyy over the limit. (Sigh.)
Mohan: My goodness, yes, it’s terrible no: those days we just gave the b**gers a 100 bucks and they looked the other way but now you can’t get away with less than 2000 bucks. Maggots!
Lohan: Let me know if you get stopped and caught: I’ll get you off – I have this contact at the cop station. Don’t worry, I always do that when I’m caught for being over the Limit!
Yohan: Yeah, I’m going too. I also got off that way last week: I almost had to go to court but my lawyer pulled some strings, good old lawyers! [Yawn]
Rohan: Right then! See you all again next Friday. R… [???]
Don’t give up your day job mate.
Comment by Sophist August 30, 2006 @ 4:03 pmDon’t worry about Sophist, it’s obvious he/she’s got a pineapple up his/her backside. You go Sohan! I think that’s a great one.
Comment by Kurumitta August 31, 2006 @ 8:29 amYou hear that Sophist??? Pineapple! haaa ha ha ha haaa ha!
Comment by stagestheatregroup September 1, 2006 @ 7:49 amI like the bribery idea. Simply because any Asian audience will find it hard to be detached from it. I was at the performance in Chennai (Aug 5 2007) and I felt that the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict/difficulties of life under constant martial law is not a theme that every kind of audience will immediately relate to personally. Perhaps, within India, Kashmiris or North Easterners might relate to it right away. But bribery is everywhere. It’s universal. Subcontinent folk eat, have sex and bribe. How about a situation where one’s teenage child, who is usually an excellent academic performer, does very poorly in a very important exam (A levels, CBSE , entrance test whatever). There is a very good chance that it could be a paper correction/marks totaling error. But the only way to get that done is by paying a Rs 1 lakh bribe to a Education dept official. Would the audience do it? The child’s future is at stake. To make things interesting, perhaps the father or mother is employed in the government’s anti-corruption vigilance cell. The potential other perspectives here are – education system, rote learning, focus on pure academic performance, pressure on kids etc.
Comment by krishashok August 6, 2007 @ 8:49 pmAha. This is interesting. Well this comment comes one year too late.
Comment by CR's other half, A.K.A. Melancholy Boring Extremist August 25, 2007 @ 10:31 amYes I like that bribery idea, it is rampant in our country and like many other social issues, both ethical and moral, we all ourselves tend to do little little “wrong” things which we conveniently turn a blind eye, but then we complain that our society is messed up and we ignore our own contribution to that mess. These are hard facts, which we don’t like to deal with it : recently I was called a lot of nasty things (hence my pseudonymn!) by my sort of better half, someone who couldn’t face such truths. But I continue to stand by what I told told her: It is really important to avoid hypocritical double standards and truly apply good morals and ethics even in the seemingly insignificant things of our daily lives. a million of us doing the right things in tiny ways, will have a greater a influence eventually in correcting Sri Lanka, rather than complaining about the several dozen politicians and official who are messing up in big ways. The top guys can be corrected as much as we please, but it won’t help if all of us individual citizens continue with our small wrongs.
I hope you are going to pur more checkpoint syle productions soon, I enjoyed it last year.
*knock* *knock*
Comment by shehal February 26, 2008 @ 2:28 pmanyone there??
can you help me? I don’t know whay should i do
Comment by JoRDANA February 4, 2009 @ 6:53 pmi dont noob!
How you think, in our situation whis crisis its actual?
Comment by AlexStivenson February 15, 2009 @ 8:32 amHello!
Comment by RaiulBaztepo March 29, 2009 @ 2:51 amVery Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo
Hello !!!!
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And want to ask you: is this blog your hobby?
Sorry for my bad english:)
Tnx!
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Comment by Madisonmay April 11, 2009 @ 1:55 am