A conference, a community, a new way of living together
2010
PTW 2010: Can Performance Change the World?
Sponsors: All Stars Project and East Side Institute
Conveners: Dan Friedman, Lois Holzman, Fred Newman
“Will it ever Happen?” Video Project
Can performance change the world? Performing artists, community organizers, theatre workers, educators, scholars, youth workers, students, social workers, psychotherapists, psychologists, medical doctors, health workers, and business executives came from 31 countries to discuss/perform this question and their responses to it.
Nearly 100 presentations, workshops and performances were featured at Performing the World 2010. Below is a sampling of theatre related sessions and presentations dealing with performance, health and wellness.
Play On Stage and Off– Program Highlights
A Day in the Life of the World – The Living Theatre has been pushing the boundaries of the theatre and working to change the world since 1947. Founder and artistic director Judith Malina and company members will lead a workshop on Living Theatre performance techniques and a discussion on the Living Theatre’s perspective on performance and social transformation.
Performing Change – One morning a group of young people fan out through the downtown streets stopping people at random to engage them in conversations about problems in their community and what they think needs to be changed in the world. A few days later this group of young people present a performance illustrative of the concerns raised on the streets. Members of the Street Spirits Theatre Company, based in British Columbia will share their play-creation process.
Towards a New Educational Theatre with Chinese Characteristics − Huizhu Sun, President of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, will share his efforts to introduce devised and educational theatre in China based on traditional characters derived from Chinese Opera.
Reinventing Avant-Garde Theatre – Projekt Theater Studio in Vienna has transformed itself from a classical left avant-garde theatre to a community performance space, the Butcherie, creating new performance forms with immigrants, refugees, women and the elderly. Founder and artistic director Eva Brenner will discuss these changes and lead a workshop in the Butcherie’s performance techniques.
Bubbles on the Subway − Play in Unexpected Places − Throughout 2009 Kristen Pedemonti played with people on the subways and streets of New York City using bubbles as a means to engage. She wanted to help people remember what it is to play and demonstrate play’s potential to help people grow. Pedemonti will share her experience and explore how adult play can change energy, shift focus and open us up to each other.
Performance and Health
Patch Adams − the Clown Laureate of Medicine, comes to Performing the World for the first time. He will share his work from around the world, bringing performance and hope to the sick and suffering. In addition to his own workshop, Patch will be joining Jim Mangia, executive director of St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in Los Angeles, and other innovative doctors on a panel entitled, “What is Health?”
The Performance of Resiliency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital – Oncology nurses from John Hopkins Hospital and performance coaches from Performance of a Lifetime share how performance games and workshops helped the nurses to regain the sense of humanity that initially led them to professional nursing.
The Power of Performing Our Story – Lewis Mehl-Madrona will share her work helping people transform the stories of their illnesses into performance and discuss healing as social performance.
Clowning at Hospital Changes the World – Clownetterna, a Swedish hospital clown group, brings performance to children in hospitals, and shares the special magic of the clown/child encounter.
