tibet: "Theatre of the Oppressed" (Nov 19-24, 2007)

nov 19th, 2007

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Friends of Tibet

"Theatre of the Oppressed"
(Dharamshala, November 19-24, 2007)

When Brazilian theatre activist Augusto Boal created this new interactive
theatrical mechanism and called it "Theatre of the Oppressed" who would
have imagined that one day it would be brought to Dharamshala by two
Indian Tibet supporters for the use of young exiled Tibetans?

Friends of Tibet organises a five-day theatre workshop in Dharamshala for
a mix of 20 Tibetan and Indian youngsters living in Dharamshala. "We don't
have to shout our lungs out all the time, we can act and demonstrate our
pain and give voice to our frustration through drama. Theatre is also a
process of self introspection for the self and to the society and it
becomes a collective expression at the time of public performances", says
organiser Tenzin Tsundue, who is himself a theatre freak. "Some times we
can just come out into the streets and laugh at giant China's paranoia and
fear of one Buddhist monk" he added.

For the purpose of training, Friends of Tibet has roped in two of the most
experienced and active India theatre activists Jaya Aiyer and Ishtiaq who
are especially experienced in the Theatre of the Oppressed. Augusto Boal's
Theatre of the Opressed is studied and used in many places in India for
both social and political causes like communalism, environment protection
and AIDS awareness.

Founding director of the Center for the Theatre of the Oppressed,
University of Nebraska Prof Doug Paterson says "Boal's explorations were
based on the assumption that dialogue is the common, healthy dynamic
between all humans, that all human beings desire and are capable of
dialogue, and that when a dialogue becomes a monologue, oppression ensues.
Theatre then becomes an extraordinary tool for transforming monologue into
dialogue."

In the five-day theatre workshop the participants will learn voice
modulation, body language, sense of space and whole gamut of theatre
languages and mechanics. There is also an active yoga training every
morning.

A group of Indian and Tibetan youngsters will undergo the theatre training
camped at an Indian village called Garoh seven Kilometres down the valley
from Dharamshala. The Indians and Tibetan youth will later give a
performance at the end of the workshop in Dharamshala.

This event of Friends of Tibet is supported by Foundation for Universal
Responsibility, New Delhi.

To know more, email: tenzin.tsundue@friendsoftibet.org or call:
+91.9418079832

. . . . . . . . . .
Friends of Tibet, PO Box: 16674, Bombay 400050, India.
. . . . . . . . . .
Friends of Tibet is a people's movement to keep alive the issue of Tibet
through direct action. Our activities are aimed at ending China's
occupation of Tibet and the suffering of the Tibetan people. Friends of
Tibet supports the continued struggle of the Tibetan people for
independence. To know more, visit: www.friendsoftibet.org
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