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Augusto Boal Dies

wtd09 — Sat, 02 May 2009 23:48:31 +0000

I was stunned to receive this email today from Carla Estefan, with whom we had quite a lot of contact during our World Theatre Day celebrations. Augusto Boal was the given the honour of writing this year’s World Theatre Day International Address.

The playwright and theater director, Augusto Boal, died in the early hours of today, at 78 years, of respiratory failure in the Samaritan Hospital in the district of Botafogo, Rio. He suffered from leukemia and was hospitalized since April 28. The location and time of the funeral have not been disclosed.

The work of Boal, who was also essayist and theorist of theater, gained prominence in the 1960s and 1970s, when he created the Theater of the Oppressed, which was internationally recognized by combining drama to social action.

Boal graduated with a degree in Chemistry fromthe Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in 1950, but then traveled to the United States, where he studied dramatic arts at Columbia University. Back in Brazil, his first piece as a director was Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, which garnered him an award from the the APCA (São Paulo Association of Art Critics). He directed of the show Opinião, with Zé Kette, João do Vale and Nara Leão, which went down in history as an act of resistance to the military coup of 1964.

From Boal’s WTD International Address:

Weddings and funerals are “spectacles”, but so, also, are daily rituals so familiar that we are not conscious of this. Occasions of pomp and circumstance, but also the morning coffee, the exchanged good-mornings, timid love and storms of passion, a senate session or a diplomatic meeting – all is theatre.

Participate in the “spectacle” which is about to begin and once you are back home, with your friends act your own plays and look at what you were never able to see: that which is obvious. Theatre is not just an event; it is a way of life!

We are all actors: being a citizen is not living in society, it is changing it.

Boal was a man who truly used theatre to change the world. A bright light has gone out today, and he will be sorely missed.

Read the entire WTD address.

Read my interview with David Diamond, Boal’s colleague here in Vancouver.

–Rebecca Coleman

Celebrations : New York City

nickkeenan — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 06:42:09 +0000

Doug Howe of the Internationalists sends us this WTD happy hour event in NYC –

Come join The Internationalists for a Happy-Hour Celebration of World Theatre Day 2009. Augusto Boal’s Message will be read at 6:30pm and a video of Robert LePage’s message, recorded by friends of the company from around the world, will be broadcast. Drink specials last all evening and include $3 domestic bottles, $4 domestic drafts and $5 well drinks.

Friday, March 27, 2009
5:00pm – 8:00pm
The Irish Rogue (Upstairs)
356 West 44th Street (bet. 8th and 9th Aves.)
New York, NY

What’s your favourite Aussie play?: polling starts WTD09

Kate Foy — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:59:21 +0000

As part of world-wide celebrations for WTD09, Australia’s Radio National Artsworks program is launching a poll to find Australia’s favourite play. You can nominate from Friday 27th – the day itself.

Australia’s Script Centre out of Hobart is keen to hear what is the most-loved Aussie play, and the poll forms an event in Tasmania’s 10 Days on the Island Festival.

Get more details on how to vote at the RN Artworks site and listen to this week’s program where panellists discuss their favourites.

What’s Happening :: Boston

smlois — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:00:13 +0000

When: Wednesday, March 25th, 5pm

Where: Balch Arena Theatre at Tufts University

What: Staged reading of PeaceWomen by Dr. Susan Corso

PeaceWomen is the name of a theatre piece I wrote about the female Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. Since 1901, twelve women have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Just twelve. Their writings and their lives fascinate me.

Because I, too, Nobel Laureate or not, am a peacewoman, I spent many years reading the words of these women, and because of my theatre background, it made sense to me to create a solo performance piece as an opportunity for a dedicated performer. So far I haven’t found that actor, but I will.

What I have created is an invitation to have a theatre community do a reading of my piece for World Theatre Day! Am I excited! First, the director has cast women and men as the peacewomen, and the reading is colorblind as well.

More info at http://www.odemagazine.com/blogs/readers_blog/5388/peacewomen_theatre_and_peace

CHICAGO: Jess Hutchinson’s interview on Chicagoist

Jessica Hutchinson — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:46:10 +0000

Hi everyone – Jess in Chicago here! Chicagoist recently interviewed me about our town’s plans for World Theatre Day 2009. You can see the article on their site – and I’ve cross-posted the text below:

Interview: New Leaf Theatre’s Jessica Hutchinson on World Theatre Day

We’ll admit it. Last week, we hadn’t heard of World Theatre Day, celebrated on March 27. Although our shame increased upon learning that the celebration, created by the UNESCO-sponsored International Theatre Institute (ITI), has existed for almost 50 years, we were comforted to learn that New Leaf Theatre company members Jessica Hutchinson (Artistic Director) and Nick Keenan (Artist-in-Residence), who have spear-headed the effort to bring the fête to Chicago this year, came across World Theatre Day just a few months ago, via Twitter. The shock of finding evidence of Twitter’s usefulness was quickly eclipsed by our discovery that 2009 will be the first year, at least according to Mayor Daley’s proclamation, Chicago has joined the party.

Augusto Boal, Brazilian theatre director and founder of Theatre Of The Oppressed, authored this year’s “World Theatre Day message” – an honor which has previously been bestowed upon Arthur Miller, Pablo Neruda and Eugène Ionesco, to name a few – which discusses the need to not just live in society, but to change it. In the spirit of that message, Hutchinson and Keenan teamed up with theatre professionals in Austin, Vancouver, London, and Australia, to launch the World Theatre Day blog, a forum for artists around the world to share their contributions to the celebration. We sat down with Hutchinson to find out how things are shaping up.

Chicagoist: So after you started working with your international cohorts, how did you get the ball rolling in Chicago?

Jessica Hutchinson: I sent an email to Deborah Clapp, the Executive Director of the League of Chicago Theatres, and Ben Thiem, also at the League, and said, “Did you guys know about World Theatre Day? Because I didn’t, and here’s what’s happening – and wouldn’t it be cool if Chicago got on this train?”

C: Did they know what it was?

JH: No – I think it’s really interesting that it doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s radar in the U.S. But Deb and Ben are phenomenal, and they said, “No, we didn’t know about that – but let’s figure it out.” We had a meeting a couple of weeks ago – we ended up having, I think, ten different companies, and we all kind of bashed around ideas of what we could do. We looked around the room and thought, “We’ve got two months. And nobody has any money.” But I feel like what we can do, and do well, is call attention to everything that we’re already doing. And provide an opportunity for everybody in this community, our audiences and our supporters, to come together and recognize the fact that Chicago is doing world-class theatre. Our conversations with Deb and Ben have been really simpatico about simplicity being the watchword. Simple, free, or cheap – because it’s not about creating a whole other evening of programming.

C: It’s about celebrating what’s already here.

JH: Yea, because there’s so much. It’s such a rich community. And there’s a lot going on all over. TCG (Theatre Communications Group) has actually put up a really cool interactive map that has pinpoints where things are happening. The League has posted a list of things that you can do to celebrate – simple, easy, free. And we’re having this party at the Chopin Theatre – this big, citywide after-party, that I hope will be people who had shows that night, people that are in rehearsal; I hope people will bring their audiences. I hope if somebody happens to not be in a show or in rehearsal, that they will take that opportunity to go and see someone else’s work, and then come over and party.

C: Does it cost anything to go to the party? And what kind of party is it?

JH: No, it’s free. I think it’s primarily a great chance to get everybody in the same room. There’s a Tumblr feed that we’re doing, in complement to the World Theatre Day blog, where everybody from all over the world can email photos and video clips or text, and it all gets thrown into this live feed. So our hope is to be able to post this feed on a big screen so everybody can see. There are two different groups in India, at least, who have commented on our blog with what they’re doing. There are a few companies in Australia that are having open rehearsal. And Vancouver has had a great presence for years. So hopefully we’ll be able to post that feed and then also take video of what we’re doing at this party and post that as well.

C: What are you doing on World Theatre Day? Besides going to the party.

JH: I have a feeling my day will be dedicated to last-minute logistics to make sure the Chopin party is low-stress and high-awesome for everyone coming out to take part. Nick and I are working with Deb, Ben, and our other collaborators of a “day-of” plan of attack right now.

C: Where should we check for information on what’s happening that day?

JH: We’re trying to make worldtheatreday.org one-stop-shopping for what’s going on. There are great resources on the League website, like a program insert with Boal’s statement, and it will be updated with ticket offers and more information as we get closer.

Chicago’s World Theatre Day After-Party, Friday March 27, 9 p.m. – 1 a.m., The Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division, Free!

By Julienne Bilker in Arts & Events on March 17, 2009 4:00 PM

Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble joins the celebrations

Kate Foy — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:13:58 +0000

Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble are opening up a dress-rehearsal run of Shakespeare’s Shorts to the general public on World Theatre Day.

Shakespeare’s Shorts are fast and funny half hour versions of the original scripts, delivered with QSE’s trademark clarity and accessibility. Each of the Shorts also features gentle audience participation to get everyone into the action.

The Half-Hour Hamlet takes out all the procrastination – the tragedy is performed in 20 minutes, then, in 7 minutes, and again, in just 3.
Instant Romeo & Juliet turns the tragedy of the star-crossed lovers into a high-paced comedy with plenty of wooden-sword-buckling.

These celebrated shows are rarely performed for a general audience (usually only at corporate events and festivals). This one-off performance is a celebration of World Theatre Day and is free to everyone.

If you’re in Brisbane Australia on the day, get along at 7pm to the Michie Amphitheatre, University of Queensland, St Lucia.

Want to know more about QSE? Check them out on their website.

Travis Bedard defines the WTD Blog mandate

wtd09 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:26:58 +0000

From Midnight Honesty at Noon:

World Theatre Day isn’t about creating a global theatre experience. It’s about celebrating the local theatre experience globally. World Theatre Day is an acknowledgement that we are all doing this thing that we love.

And the internet allows us to share those local celebrations and revel in the fact that we’re not alone in our pursuit, and that no matter how many times they try to prove it to us mathematically, theatre is not dead.

Thanks, Travis.

Read the entire post here.