We are so excited to get started this Friday with our program for Intensive Learning. “Improv with Issues” will teach students physical theatre/improvisational theatre techniques that they can then use to delve into some difficult social issues. The work is based on a program called “Hope is Vital” developed by Michael Rohd, who himself was inspired by “Theatre of the Oppressed” creator Augusto Boal. We will start the week playing games to build a sense of community and trust, and then move into using physical and improvisational activities to approach the social issues chosen by the students. Along the way, we will also spend time on the idea of building and physically embodying a character, and, depending on which issues the students choose, we may also include some films or other sources specifically about those issues to help us gain a deeper understanding.
On Monday, March 23, we plan to take the group to Philadelphia to spend the day working with Pig Iron Theatre Company. Pig Iron is an award-winning physical theatre company well known in the Philly arts scene (and, increasingly, beyond it). The company recently opened a performing arts school to provide training to theatre professionals, and they’ve agreed to let us spend the day at their school doing theatre workshops.
Looking forward to Friday,
Debra Galler and Katie LuBrant