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1.
What is the basis of Raw Theatre?
Raw
Theatre is predicated on an inherent need to share and tell stories. Raw
Theatre provides a forum for stories to be acted or played out - in the
first instance it is used as a training process for actors - the material
for the stories emerges from the participants, and may centre around a
given theme, current event or circumstance that is impacting to, and of
importance to the participants.
The stories played out are personal in origin and nature but also reflect
universal themes as part of the process of sharing, not only for the purpose
of entertainment, but also seeking to en-lighten, illuminate and improve
the human condition. The enactment of all or part of these stories, past,
present and future is done principaly by the Raw Theatre Players or actors,
and sometimes the participant who's story is being told is involved in
the enactment.
RT provides an opportunity for the provider of the story to share something
of them-selves and possibly learn something more of their situation within
the context of the local and global community experience. |
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2.
What is the unique about Raw Theatre?
In
Raw Theatre all stories are enacted with the goal being, to achieving
total believability in the given circumstances. The players strive to
achieve believable performances in order to get as close to an experiential
truth as possible. The material for the story being enacted is provided
by any of the players or participants. The proviso is that the story is
true to the original teller and the reason for wanting to tell the story
is that it contains a current potency. This means that the material being
discussed has an immediate relevance to the teller and is in some way
impacting. Because the material for the story is “current”
this means it may also be linked to an emerging awareness or consciousness.
Sometimes the need to share a story is connected to a sub-conscious urge
to know, to discover or to release. What-ever the reason; story telling
and story enactment goes deep into our psyche, Raw Theatre provides a
vehicle for such stories to emerge in a structured and spontaneous context.
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3.
Where do the stories for Raw Theatre come from?
The
material for the stories to be enacted comes from the participants of
the Raw Theatre. The stories are emergent and topical - participants
are encouraged to honour their impulses and make offers connected to any
desire or need to either share or relate to a story, theme or experience
that is being discussed. Often the germ for the story will come from a
question the facilitator will ask of a member of the group.The facilitator
may guide the group towards a particular theme, or the theme or area may
emerge from initial discussions or the session may have a specific task
or agenda.
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4. What are the major purposes of Raw Theatre…? The
four major purposes of Raw Theatre are to entertain, to educate, to devise
and to facilitate breakthrough.
Through Raw Theatre participants may enjoy the entertainment and delight
of sharing personal stories. Stories set in either dramatic or comedic
context, stories that may reflect current or past experiences. Raw Theatre
can also be used as an educative or teaching devise, providing a forum
for participation in scenario's and role play. The key to any Raw Theatre
enactment is that it strive for authenticity, be engaging and be organically
driven and acted out. By this we mean that nothing is imposed in order
to impress or please an audience. The need to speak or need to act, is
driven entirely from the inherent truth of what is happening moment
to moment within the given life of the story.
Raw Theatre may also be used by writers and makers of story - players
come together to take the material offerred by the writers and devise
script from acting out scenario's and making new offers by asking the
'what if' question. What if this or that happened within the context of
the story and the character's life, etc. By breaktrough we mean to create
(in a theatrical setting) a context which a player or participant might
take a risk and face a fear for the first time: this could be confronting
someone for the first time or taking a stand; any communication that has
been avoided or desired but not yet occured. The nature of the role play
gives the player a forum to "practice" the reality of the communication,
ina theatrical setting.
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5. What are the stages of development for Raw Theatre…? RT
is first developing in the Workshop context. The workshop responds to
a small number of participants. A facilitator and three to four players
(actors) work with the participants in order to generate the theatre.Players
usually make the first offers - they encourage the others to feel safe
and expressive.The workshop has an immediacy about it,as it repsonds to
the needs and mood of the group.
The next stage of development for the RT will be the live Performance,
here, an audience willform the next circle outside the story telling circle
- made up (as with the workshop format) of players and participant/s.
The live performance context may evolve in being either agenda, issue
or personality driven. Intertwined within the context of the workshop
and the performance stage of Raw Theatre may also come the Performed Workshop;
taking the form of a demonstration for a public or large audience. An
example of the performed workshop might be a set of scenes or improvisations
demostrating acting techniques to a symposium
or class of story tellers.
It is hoped in future the most refined stage of Raw Theatre will be the
Television, format. This is embrionic at this stage and really needs two
or three years gestation while other forms of Raw Theatre emerge.
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6. Where can the Raw Theatre Workshop be used…?
Raw Theatre is totally flexible in structure and form and can be presented
in varying formats and be driven by any agenda - in its first incarnation
Raw Theatre is set in a workshop and is structured to meet the needs of
its audience being an a class of actors:
Education:
Raw Theatre can be applied as a teaching device - in a classroom context
it can operate as a means to experience or observe scenarios likely to
occur in the area under instruction.
Corporate:
Raw Theatre can be used: in a corporate context as a means to facilitate
communication and learning, as a means of offering "role play"
enactments to assist trainees, colleagues and managers deal with varying
scenarios specific to the workplace, or as a means of building team and communication strategies.
Devising:
Raw Theatre may be used to assist writers and story tellers devise material
through role play, scenario building and improvisation.
Performance:
Raw Theatre can be used in a live theatre context where participants may
be drawn from the audience or speciifc individuals may be invited to share
their stories as the basis of enactments performed by the Raw Theatre
Players.
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7. How does Raw Theatre assist the teaching
of Method Acting.?
Simply put, Raw Theatre
provides a performance outcome within the context of the class. A typical
studio based class will focus on the exploration of particular exercises
promoting experiential learning. Application of the approaches being taugh
will usualy reisde in a rehearsal process leading to performance outcomes
such as a theatre production or film scene. Raw Theatre speaks to the
method acting process as it generates performance and story telling.
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8. What is important about improvisation?
Improvisation
exercises spontaneity, creativity and unpredictability. The nature of
improvisation is defined by that which is un-rehearsed. In some forms
of improvised theatre, ingenuity, quick wittedness and inventiveness are
pre-requisites as the who, what, where and when of the given circumstances
are established (Spolin). While RT does not downgrade
these attributes, qualities such as empathy, openness, vulnerability and
emotional risk also emerge as fundamental requirements. These qualities
are fundamental to RT because they are fundamental to the Method Acting
process striving for organic performance.
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