“Actually,
while I was training to become an English teacher, at ICANAES, when I was going
through the optional texts, I came across a methodology textbook. It was one of
those describing the outburst of 'methods' that were in practice in the United
States during the 80's. TPR, The Silent Way, The Natural approach, and so on.
Among the 'celebrity' teachers I had was a guy (whose name I can't remember)
who used acting as a language teaching and learning skill. And I had the
feeling that was a road that would be interesting to explore. Just thinking
about it as a teaching tool, no as something I'd personally pursue. So, when I
heard about the EFL Drama Certificate that was offered in CAECE, I enrolled.
There I was fortunate to meet some pretty talented people who ended up kindling
my interest for theatrical activity, not only as a teaching tool. I took some
classes with Alfred Hopkins and also with Alberto Ivern, before deciding
to do a drama teaching major.
What is theatre in your opinion and what is its role in
society?
Obviously,
theatre is an ART- and like all art forms it is a means of expression. I think
when we can see 'art' in retrospective we get the 'essence' of the time. Before
I used to think that some people were sort of born artists (and then trained or
not) and the rest of us were spectators of their art. Artist were able to see,
hear, sense more and express more than us regular sorts- who at the most were
able to appreciate what the privileged crowd could do.
Now,
I think we should all have the chance to not only appreciate the artistic
expressions of others, but be able to have firsthand experience in different
forms of art. I now think we can all do art and it is as important for a
person’s development as learning your basic arithmetic and reading- It's what
connects us to beauty and to the roots of human nature.
There are many different ways of doing theatre, as there are
also many different schools of painting or music. What kind of theatre do you
like to see and what kind of theatre do you like to practice or teach?
I
like to see almost any kind of theatre-- when it's a good performance--drama,
tragedy, comedy, although I'm not much into `comedia de puertas' type of
thing-but I do love a good clown and I love physical theatre and street
performers. I admire the talent street performers have to make people
stop doing whatever they were doing to watch. I think they put spice to a day
that may be otherwise dull.
I
took acting classes for four years in Andamio 90 - most teachers there are
method teachers- Stanislavski- I've also taken clown classes and now I'm in
Cachimba which is a school that follows the Lecoq methodology- ( and I feel
really good there , so I plan to stay)
Could you tells us a little about your experience with
the "Theatre of the oppressed?"
I
have a workshop where we use Boals techniques- basically we do the Image
theatre and Forum theatre I learned at CELCIT with Raúl Shallom, however, I also took a few more workshops with Cora
Farestein--and what really got me hooked was the idea of using theatre as a
tool for social transformation. The basic idea of the methodology is that
anyone can do theatre--the different exercises are used to explore different
themes that arise from the group. This results in the creation of pieces that
are then subject to the forum. In the Forum, basically, any spectator can
interrupt the performance to suggest a different course of action, taking the
place of any of the actors. In this way the performance becomes a rehearsal for
life.
Do you mean to say that anyone do it, or is it a technique
for experienced actors?
Yes,
absolutely anybody can do it; that’s what makes it so powerful. There are w-up
games that prepare the group for the task- and then everybody just plays along.
I understand that you have established your own school or
workshop based on Theatre of the Oppressed. Could you tells us what you do and
who participates in your theatrical activities?
The
workshop is a 15 hour workshop done in five three-hour meetings which I do in
LA Galpona (CENTRO CULTURAL IN VILLA MARTELLI). Anybody can do it. So far, most
of the participants have been teachers, coordinators of several
organizations, neighbors- First we play- (to lose inhibitions, to improve body
register, etc- ) then the participants choose a theme to work on and depict
that theme as an image. The individual images are transformed by the
participants into a collective image- Then they are improvised to add text,
rehearsed, presented and transformed again during the forum.
An extraordinary number of persons are involved in
theatrical activity but most of them do it out of passion, dedicating long
hours to rehearsals with little or no income resulting from their efforts. Do
you think that is a positive or negative aspect of the society in which we
live?
I'll say it in Spanish 'cause I'm tired right
now and it takes too much thinking: la autogestión y la producción en
cooperativa por un lado permiten la increíble proliferación de
espectáculos teatrales que hay en Buenos Aires pero por otro continúan
alimentando la mitología popular de que al artista no le interesa el dinero,
solo su arte- cuando en realidad también pagan su alquiler, sus servicios, etc.
como cualquier hijo de vecino-y se ven obligados a trabajar de otras cosas para
solventar sus gastos. Considero injusto que se paga la sala, se pagan los
derechos de autor, se pagan los técnicos y por último se reparte a los
actores... como si no fueran los que sostienen el espectáculo y obviamente
antes se ensaya sin sueldo. Creo que los actores debiéramos cambiarlo- no
actuando gratis.
What are your plans or projects for the near future?
I
want to become a referent of Theater of the Oppressed in zona norte- and
obviously I also want to perform- as much as I can.
Contact: ceciantuna
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