Staging Social Justice: Collaborating to Create Activist Theatre

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Staging Social Justice Collaborating to Create Activist Theatre Edited by Norma Bowles & Daniel-raymond Nadon Foreword by Bill Rauch THEATRE “A compelling array of methods for measuring impact, approaches to aesthetics (with humor high on the list), coalition and community building, reflections on safe space, and acknowledgment of the diverse roles needed to apply theatre to social justice goals. The book beautifully bears witness both to how generative Fringe Benefits’ collaborations have been for participants and to the potential of engaged art in multidisciplinary ecosystems more broadly.”—Jan Cohen-Cruz, editor of Public: A Journal of Imagining America “Staging Social Justice practices what it preaches. The writers’ eloquent discussions, broadly applicable methods, and heartening outcomes offer a compendium of possibility and make tangible their faith in social transformation.”—Jill Dolan, Princeton University “Fringe Benefits’ methodology for creating socially progressive devised theatre offers a clear and practicable model for any type of group work that wishes to move beyond traditional hierarchies. The case studies in this collection will stay with me and guide my own work.”—Daniel Banks, PhD, codirector, DNAWORKS; faculty, MA in applied theatre, CUNY “Read this for an inside look at collaborative processes of making theatre that matters, theatre for change.”—Jan Selman, coauthor, Popular Theatre in Political Culture, Royal Society of Canada Fellow “An essential tool kit for all citizens and artists who want to use performance to make the world better and our communities stronger.”—Tim Miller, performer and author of 1001 Beds Fringe Benefits, an award-winning theatre company, collaborates with schools and communities to create plays that promote constructive dialogue about diversity and discrimination issues. Staging Social Justice is a groundbreaking collection of essays about Fringe Benefits’ script-devising methodology and their collaborations in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Reflecting on their experiences working on these projects, the contributing writers—artists, activists, and scholars—provide readers with the tools and inspiration to create their own theatre for social change. Norma Bowles is the artistic director of Fringe Benefits and the first recipient of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s award for leadership in community-based arts and civic engagement. Daniel-RaymondNadon is an associate professor of theatre and LGBT studies at Kent State University and a U.S./Canada Fulbright and Theatre for Social Justice scholar. southern illinois university press www.siupress.com Bowles and Nadon Staging Social Justice Southern Illinois University Press Cover photo of Fringe Benefits Teaching Artist Cynthia Ruffin as “Lady Justice,” copyright © 2012 Craig Collins. Printed in the United States of America $35.00 usd isbn 0-8093-3238-8 isbn 978-0-8093-3238-0 Bowles cvr mech.indd 1 4/29/13 12:03 PM ...