Question......Developed.....Potentially....

Is Issue based theatre in an inclusive environment more effective than other organisations/theatres that practice in an "non-inclusive" environment?

 

This is what i first thought my question could be, however upon reflection and comments from Ahmet and Paula and Anthony...it lead me to believe that potentially my question is fundamentally flawed. The term "effective" in it self harbours so many limitations and potential bias during my inquiry.

 

Now obviously i am going to try and be as un-biased as possible and allow me to be lead by my research and not my concieved conclusion leading my research. However i believe that using the term effective i could end up defending th company and the ehtos i am most used to unknowinly and deeming it more effective than others, in tern not allowing my self to learn from other organisations to further widen my knowledge.

 

SO

 

What are the comparing and contrasting factors of issue based theatre within and inclusive environment to a "non-inclusive" environment?

 

I do need to find a term for non-inclusive that is not non-inclusive...just because i feel that could sound offensive if i took that term to other organisations. I simply mean an organisation that does not actively practice inclusive theatre.

 

Thoughts comments or anything else will be greatly greatly recieved. And thankyou for all the comments so far they have been so helpful

 

Jojox

Ethics and Theatre

http://www.dokmfa.org/?p=16

This is an "Essay on theatre ethics" which i found on line. Its is written by David Orance Kelly. There was a particular paragraph i wanted to copy and paste, but as i clicked on the screen it said "copyright protected", now i really really want to use this essay as i completly struggled to find something that was related to ethics and issue based theatre...so can i still quote from this article?

Something i found really interesting in this article was when he started talking about how ethics within theatre changes determinned on the theatre, community and interesting the theatre size.

This stuck out to me as in my first priminary questions i asked "what leads theamatic drive in issue based theatre? the issue? or  the theatre?"

Is it correct to put on stage a issue which is directly affecting somebodies lives without their permission, or if it could cause offence...but for the greater need of the awareness for the issue?....
...now that might not make sense..but if it does.....should i go further into this?




It then lead me to ask questions about Chickenshed and the processes it goes through when producing issue based theatre. When digging i found out that actually Chickenshed have had alot of confrontation and alot of people that have been offended with some of the shows that have been on. This is something in my inquiry that hopefully i will further investigated

PERFECT MATCH

"ACTive INquiry promotes increased participation in the arts as a catalyst for active involvement in society"

http://www.leithlinks.co.uk/leith-theatre/active-inquiry-leith/ACTiveINquiry-leith-theatre.html

This link is not at all what i was looking for....but I was over the moon when i accidently clicked onto it. Obviously this is all based on a very surfaced knowledge which i have upon this company. The first quote at the top of the page is how they describe themselves which is EXACTLY what issue based theatre at Chickenshed prides themselves on and strives to continue to do..to be a "catalyst" for social change.

This company do not claim to be inclusive which gives me a direct comparison of an issue based theatre organisation...and Chickenshed- where one uses an inclusive ethos and one doesnt...to find the strengths and weaknesses of both.

Upon reflection of Paula comments however i do need to determine what "effective" is.....

THE QUESTION...potentially...

Is Issue based theatre in an inclusive environment more effective than other organisations/theatres that practice in an "non-inclusive" environment?

The wording of this question will be adapted changed..but thoughts on it would be great to see if it the correct road to go down...

What is actually IS inclusion?

in·clu·sion/inˈklo͞oZHən/

Noun:

The action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure: "the inclusion of handicapped students". A person or thing that is included within a larger group or structure

This is the most basic definition of inclusion. I simple typed into google the definition an copied and pasted what i found. However i feel the term in which i use this word due to my time at Chickenshed have vastly changed and  has a much wider range than simply feeling included. This is obviously the key foundation but the word spans over so much more ground.

To me inclusion is in the process and the feeling of the environment. To not only feel included but feel valued, wanted and needed. It moulds and adapts in different situations for different people. And it is NOT just the inclusion of "handicapped students"- my first thought when reading that definition is that its a contridiction in terms- stating and labelling students that have extra needs as "handicapped" is excluding in it self.

I did however really struggle to define inclusion and then questioned myself as to is my definition is the same as others who are involved in Chickenshed. As i had time on my hands and upon reflection came to the assumtion that everyone in Chickenshed doesnt hold a conclusive defination of inclusion i asked people that were walkin past me to sum up inclusion to them in one word. This is what i found:

Inclusion is.....

Open  13
Together 16
Belonging 7
Life 2
Safe 11
Wanted 4
Other 17

Other consisted of: included, here, not excluding, disabilities, home

This on the spot research i thought was important as to go forward with my inquiry plan i had to know when comparing the Inclusive environment in which i belong to- i actually knew what it was..in order to compare..if that makes sense.

Drama Way

http://www.slideshare.net/mrq/drama-a-way-to-social-inclusion

Currently i do not know alot about the company, but on it a breif readit seems to slightly follow the layout of the Chickenshed Process. For example titles in the document include " Drama a second chance to learn ".
Once i finish the reading of the document i will blogg about it, but i am quite excited to find a company who practises inclusion as it could help me to compare and contrast their process, method and product to the one of Chickenshed. Also in my actual finial project i could make contact and see if they have ever tackled issue based theatre.

E17

I have had contact over the last year with a group of students who have created a forum theatre based show which has the main issue of gang-violence. They do not claim to practice in an inclusive setting, and for that i believe could make an excellent compare and contrasting company.

These are all things in the pipe line. For my inquiry however im uncertain as to how far i need to go in researching these companies. Do i just find them and mention them in the inquiry, or do i find some basic facts about them then in my finial project go into much more detail with them.

Please let me know any thoughts