David Diamond & Theatre for Living in Berlin!

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Striving for social change ?

Want to BE the change ?
Want to do so creatively with interactive theatre ?

Want to do so with a systemic approach ?

Then experience THEATRE FOR LIVING!

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Inviting:

Artists           Performers      Educators

Peacebuilders           Mediators        Anthropologists

Psychologists         Therapists       Councellors      Social workers

David Diamond of the Canadian theatre company Theatre for Living (Headlines Theatre) is offering a rare training in Berlin. Theatre for Living (TfL) combines Augusto Boal´s Theatre of the Opressed with the insights of systems theory, making it one of the most exciting developoments in social theater. An interactive and participatory form of theatre, TfL is an aesthetic and creative process for social change and conflict transformation - thus  attractive and lucrative for anyone in any field of work who strive for transforming our society.

TfL is about empowerment - about people being the experts in their own lives and being able to use theatre to make change. The process gives a community the opportunity to re-ignite 'emotional intelligence' - using a symbolic language to investigate alternative approaches to hard-to-talk-about issues. This is a first step towards dealing with difficult topics - moving towards open communication and realities that living communities want in an active and entertaining way.

We at the Berlin-based researcher/practitioner group Performing Transformation are organising the event and invite you to participate.

Gute Neuigkeiten für alle TheatermacherInnen im sozialen Bereich und solche, die es werden möchten. Diesen Sommer wird David Diamond vom Theatre for Living einen seltenen Workshop in Berlin geben. Die kanadische Gruppe verbindet Augusto Boal´s Theater der Unterdrückten mit den Erkenntnissen der Systemtheorie, die sie zu einem der aufregendsten Entwicklungen in angewandtem Theater macht. Dies ist unsere große Chance, uns den Flug nach Vancouver zu sparen und von seiner Anwesenheit in Berlin zu profitieren.

Die Berlin-basierte Forschungs- und Anwendergruppe Performing Transformation organisiert diese Veranstaltung. Wir werden Entwicklungen bezüglich Veranstaltungsort, Teilnahme, etc. veröffentlichen. Um Euch auf dem Laufenden halten zu können, meldet Euch bitte per E-mail oder RSS an.

Participants' Quotes

“The THEATRE FOR LIVING tools are like having a zoom lens - we can so easily move from one person's suffering, zoom out, and suddenly see the infinite repercussions, causes, symptoms. All are affecting and affected. This is so important for us in our work. The training that we did should be something all front-line workers have access to! Theatre for Living really is information for living!”

Rianne Svelnis, Downtown East Side Living Room (Lookout Society)

“I direct a youth forum theatre troupe. The THEATRE FOR LIVING training has bolstered my sense of safety and aesthetics in these interactive techniques. I gained a tremendous amount of insight watching David lead our group through important dialogue and coaching individual actors specific to their growth needs. I appreciate his keen eye, his steadfast direction to what is just and fair, and his joyful spirit in this work. It is contagious!”

Tim McLeod 

“When the certificates were handed out (at the THEATRE FOR LIVING training), you said that no one would give us a job with them. I secretly vowed to prove you wrong. I am currently developing a syllabus for a theatre course at the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica where I studied in 2008. In a way, your certificate got me the job.”

Shawn Bryant

“I feel like I have been saturated in the best possible way by the language of Theatre. This THEATRE FOR LIVING training workshop has given me many real life skills, some of which resonate on an emotional level, and others on more of a practical level. I can't wait to begin applying them to my community.”

Krista Lynch

Programme OLD

Date: June 26 - July 1, 2012

Time: 10am - 6pm everyday

Training Language: English

June 26	Group Building, Image Theatre
June 27	Objective Dialogue, Group Building, Image Theatre (via Magnetic Image)
June 28	Objective Dialogue, Group Building, Rainbow of Desire OR Cops in the Head
June 29	Objective Dialogue, Create Plays (4 or 5)
June 30	Objective Dialogue, Rehearse Plays and Vote on 2 or 3 Plays to Forum
July 1	Objective Dialogue, Internal Forum (No Public Performance)

* The above schedule may change to respond to needs of the workshop *

David Diamond

David Diamond, the Artistic and Managing Director of Theatre for Living (Headlines Theatre) in Vancouver, Canada is the originator of Theatre for Living (TfL). David´s book Theatre for Living: the art and science of community-based dialogue, which tells the whole story behind TfL, is a phenomenal one. Augusto Boal himself was highly appreciative of David´s work:

"I greatly admire the achievements of David Diamond and his Headlines Theatre. He is following his own path, doing extraordinary and groundbreaking work in several fields, like his work with many First Nations communities in Canada and the US, and his adaptation of Forum Theatre on TV and on the Internet. This book relates the experiences of his life in theatre. For what he has already done, is doing, and certainly will do, David Diamond deserves all our support."

David has directed approximately 500 community-specific projects on issues such as racism, civic engagement, violence, addiction, street youth, intergenerational conflict and homelessness. He has worked throughout Canada and USA, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brazil, various European countries, Rwanda, Namibia and Palestine, and has pioneered the development of live, interactive Forum television and web casting.

David is the recipient of numerous awards, including the City of Vancouver's Cultural Harmony Award, the Jessie Richardson Award for Innovation in Theatre, an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Fraser Valley and the Otto René Castillo Award for Political Theatre.

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David Diamond, der künstlerische Leiter und Geschäftsführer des Theatre for Living (früher Headlines Theatre) in Vancouver, Kanada, ist der Gründer des Theatre for Living. David´s Buch "Theatre for Living: die Kunst und Wissenschaft  von Community-basierten Dialog", das TfL vollständig erklärt, ist phänomenal. Augusto Boal selbst hat David´s Arbeit sehr geschätzt:

"Ich bewundere die Errungenschaften von David Diamond und seinem Headlines Theatre. Er geht seinen eigenen Weg und macht aussergewöhnliche und bahnbrechende Arbeit an verschiedenen Fronten, wie seine Arbeit mit den First Nations Communities in Kanada und den USA, seine Bearbeitung von Forumtheater für das Fernsehen und im Internet. Dieses Buch erzählt von den Erfahrungen seines Theaterlebens. Für das, was er schon getan hat, tut und sicherlich tun wird, verdient David Diamond unser aller Unterstützung."

David hat ca. 500 Community Projekte zu Themen wie Rassismus, Bürgerbeteiligung, Gewalt, Sucht, Straßenkinder, Generationenkonflikt und Obdachlosigkeit geleitet. Er hat sowohl in Kanada und den USA gearbeitet, wie auch in Australien, Neuseeland, Singapur, Brasilien, Europa, Rwanda, Namibien und Palästina und war Pionier in der Entwicklung von live, interaktiven Fernseh-Foren und Web-Casting.

David hat zahlreiche Preise gewonnen, u.a. den Cultural Harmony Preis der Stadt Vancouver, den Jessie Richardson Preis für Innovation im Theater, einen Ehrendoktor der University of the Fraser Valley und den Otto René Castillo Preis for politisches Theater.

Contact Form

TfL@Berlin.DE is brought to you by Performing Transformation. Please use this contact form if you don´t want to post public comments on the webpage. If you don´t get a reply within 24 hours, please write to performingtransformation@gmail.com.

Registration Form

After registering, if you don´t get a reply within 24 hours, please write to performingtransformation@gmail.com.

TfL in a nutshell

Theatre for Living (TfL) evolves from Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed (TO), combining the Systems Theory approach that posits that social structures – that create divisions between oppressors and those they oppress – are simply manifestations of repeated behaviours. TfL´s approach is to investigate those behaviours and learn together in our society how to change them, in order to eventually change the structure of our society. TfL recognizes communities are complexly integrated living organisms and invites them to engage in constructive social change, moving from various forms of violence to respectful engagement.

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Theatre for Living (TfL) entwickelte sich aus Augusto Boal´s Theater der Unterdrückten (TdU) und verbindet diese Methode mit den Erkenntnissen der Systemtheorie, die davon ausgeht, dass soziale Strukturen Manifestationen von wiederholtem Verhalten sind. TfL´s Methode ist diese Verhaltensweisen zu untersuchen und gemeinsam zu lernen, wie man diese so verändern kann, dass sich letztendlich die Struktur unserer Gesellschaft ändert. TfL sieht Gemeinschaften als komplexe, integrierte Organismen und lädt sie zu konstruktivem sozialen Wandel ein, der sie von gewalttätigen Umgangsformen zu einem respektvollen Miteinander führt.

TfL - TO contrast

The following very briefly captures the uniquness of the TfL approach in contrast with TO (contains excerpts from David´s book and other online sources of his writing):

For visuals, check out this interview David Diamond, about how TfL has evolved from TO.

Viewing of the world as a system and moving beyond dichotomy
The binary model of TO, in which characters are either oppressor or oppressed and spectactors are invited to ‘replace the oppressed character and do battle with the oppressor’ is often an impediment to transforming certain conflicts in our society. It is pertinent then to collaborate with communities through recognizing that they are living, complex, integrated organisms – entities that contain the polarity inside them, just like all individuals do, as an integrated whole.

Humanity itself breeds oppression - gives birth to the oppressors and the oppressed. Whether it is at the very

TfL resources

David´s Vancouver-based Theatre for Living (HeadlinesTheatre) website

David´s groundbreaking book Theatre for Living: The Art and Science of Community-Based Dialogue (winner of the 2008 American Alliance for Theatre and Education Award)

Out of the Silence: Headlines Theatre and Power Plays. In Playing Boal. Eds. Mady Schutzman and Jan Cohen-Cruz. London: Routledge, 1994. 35-52.

Shirley Steinberg talks with David at The Global Citizenship Education Conference in Oct. 2008

Various ongoing and past works from TfL

Programme

Date: June 26 - July 1, 2012

Time: 10am - 6pm everyday

Training Language: English

Activities, with an all throughout mode of Objective Dialogue :

• Group Building
• Image Theatre
• Rainbow of Desire, OR
• Cop in the Head
• Internal Forum

Important: while based on traditional T.O. exercises, TfL embodies its exercises with a systemic approach throughout, thereby fundamentally altering their course and effect. Click here to read more about the particularities and uniqueness of this approach.

Participation

Participation limit: maximum 30

Participation fee:

• Representatives of organisations: 450€
• Individuals: 300€
• Students/Unemployed: 250€

NOTE: Performing Transformation is a small organisation with no funding support and no capacity for logistical support. This is therefore a no-frills event, which means:

• the fee is only for participation in the training
• all collected fees will entirely be transferred to David Diamond´s Headlines Theatre in Canada
• participants are responsible for their own accommodation, meals and travel/transportation
• we do not have the capacity to entertain scholarships or financial support

Venue

battleROYAL GmbH
Waldemarstraße 33-37a
10999 Berlin
Germany

www.battleroyalprojects.com


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Accommodation suggestions

For participants coming from afar, the following suggestions for accomodation might be useful:

There are several options, depending on your budget, ranging from 7€/night to 50€/night: hostels, couchsurfing, hotels, apartment-hotels, etc. Our training venue is in the Kreuzberg area, so it may be look for something in the surrounding area, e.g. Neukölln, Mitte, Friedrichshain, Schöneberg.

http://www.berlin-lodge.de/?lang=en
http://www.oh-berlin.com
http://www.airbnb.com/search?location=Berlin%2C+Germany&sort=4
http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/germany/berlin
http://www.wimdu.co.uk/berlin
http://www.couchsurfing.org
http://www.waytostay.com/berlin-apartments/offers
http://www.berlin30.com


The other affordable option is to stay as a guest in a private room in an apartment with others. The following sites are (unfortunately) in German, but easy to make use of:

http://www.berlin-sofort.de
http://www.zwischenmiete.de/angebote_lesen.php?stadt=Berlin&fuer=Zimmer+in+WG
http://www.studenten-wg.de/Berlin,zwischenmiete.html