In Africa today, Theatre-for-Development (TfD) is widely viewed as both an effective and appropriate medium for communicating development-orientated information at the grassroots level. Capable of functioning on multiple levels, theatre encompasses many types of learning ranging from the transmission of practical skills through to the advancing of political and social consciousness. As such, various styles of theatre are being used by both government and non-government agencies as a tool for tackling a multiplicity of development issues, including but not limited to literacy, health, family planning, agriculture, sanitation, human rights, environmental education, and the establishment of self-help projects and co-operatives (Bakari, 1998; Laws, 1998).
Two dominant ideological approaches exist regarding the use of theatre as a means of bringing about socio-economic advancement to those living in poverty. One perspective, adopted by the developmentalist school of institutional policymakers, sees TfD as simply another instrument for communicating and executing development strategies amongst impoverished and illiterate populations. The alternative approach, embraced by social activists, sees theatre incorporating participation as a means of empowering those living in poverty because it gives them the opportunity to critically analyse their own situation, and the self-awareness gained motivates them to take a proactive lead in the development process (Mlama, 1991; Dogbe, 2002).
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Using examples of TfD practice, this essay will look at how these effective these different approaches at functioning as a means of message delivery and as a means of empowerment.
There are a number of reasons why development theatre is an effective instrument for delivering new information. Until relatively recently the oral tradition dominated in Africa, information was carried in people’s consciousness and collective memory rather than in text, and recalled through performance. Forms including storytelling, dance, drama, masking, puppetry, singing and music have been used across the generations as a means of communicating ideas and values, as a way of teaching important behavioral lessons, and for passing down history (Bourgault, 2003).
As such, theatre which incorporates well-established cultural customs such as oral communication and social learning through performance mirror existing communication practices, uses skills that community members already possess and validates long-standing art forms (Abah, 1990).
TfD brings people together and creates an arena where a community can engage in discussion about issues and difficulties, whilst simultaneously providing an occasion for communal entertainment. Furthermore, the face-to-face dialogue element enables people to respond immediately to issues raised and involves everyone in problem solving discussions (Etherton, 1982; Mlama, 1991; Abah, 1998; Morrision, 2003).
Theatre can also be more effective than other media forms at reaching people living rurally, who for reasons such as remoteness, poverty or illiteracy, are not well exposed to development messages conveyed through other mass communication channels (Morrision,2003).
The importance of media as a means of transmitting development agendas to the masses has long been acknowledged by government and aid agencies. Film, television, the printed press and radio have all been incorporated into awareness raising campaigns throughout Africa with varying degrees of success. In the modernization approach, which focuses on the diffusion of innovation, these mediums have been favoured over theatre because of opinion that they are the best way to communicate with the largest amount of people in the quickest time (Musa, 1998).
The Essay on Progress and development in communication system
The objective of the study are: To know if people are aware of the progress and development in communication system. To know how can people absorb the rapid change of technologies that affects our communication with other people and making more easy. To let people know how communication affects the fast growing of technologies. Significance of the study: Most of us already have our own mobile ...
Some of these mass communication development drives, such as those on forestation, immunization or family planning, have made strong impacts without involving any participation from the target audience. However, many working in the field of development communication now believe that the transmission of information alone is not enough in most circumstances to elicit the level of consciousness crucial for peoples’ deep-rooted and enduring participation in development action (Mlama, 1991).
This viewpoint is associated with a growing realisation that a major reason for the failure of previous development strategies is because the people most affected by policy implementation have been denied the opportunity to have a say in their own social, political and economic welfare. Development communication has tended to be based on a one-way flow of policy diktats issued by state and development agencies designed to inform and persuade supposed beneficiaries of the advantages of adopting change. Such impersonal and alienating approaches marginalize long-standing indigenous forms of communication and imply that local people are unable to think critically about their own situation (Mlama, 1991; Musa, 1998. As Mlama states:
‘Awareness also needs to be critical so as to enable people to assess and analyse the advantages and disadvantages of their participation in development programmes. The idea is for a person to plant a tree not because of a government decree but rather because of a clear understanding that planting the tree is a process of liberation from the forces behind deforestation and their impact on his well-being. It is the absence of presence of this critical awareness which moves a person or a community to act one way or the other.’ (1991:207)
This alternative approach to TfD emerged began emerging in the late 1960’s. Highly influential in developing this new perspective, which is based on genuine participation, self-reliance and conscientisation, is the work of renowned radical educationalist Paulo Freire (1972).
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This assignment is intended to provide information on how detecting early signs of speech, language and communicational issues within a child or young person. In this report we will also be looking at what potential risks it may have on a child or young person? We will be analysing the importance of early identification of any potential risks and looking into who (Multi- Agency) may become ...
He positioned education at the heart of a liberatory praxis which seeks to transform the social order, arguing that for genuine transformation to occur individuals need to gain a critical consciousness about themselves and their situation. This can only develop by undergoing a process of conscientisation which involves human beings developing self-awareness about their sociocultural reality and their ability to transform their own lives. Participatory education can facilitate this new awareness of selfhood, thus enabling those who are marginalized to look critically at the contradictions within their social situation and through this process move beyond the fatalistic outlook which anchors people in their poverty and gain the motivation to genuinely transform society.
While Freire demonstrated how literacy can play a central role in conscientising the working classes, the revolutionary dramatist Augusto Boal (1979) applied this notion to what he terms Forum Theatre, a form of radical drama that can be used as a means of empowerment by enabling people to comprehend the underlying causes of their problems. By treating people as subjects, not objects, of their circumstances Forum Theatre assists those who are oppressed in appropriating language, thus making it possible for them to articulate both their oppression and their liberation (Boal, 1979, cited by Okagby, 1998).
The experience of developing and acting out plays which confront daily manifestations of repression within a fictional framework gives people the opportunity to practice taking control of their lives by rehearsing for action in ‘real life’. In this way an individual living in deprivation can become empowered by imagining a world in which they have greater control, which in turn helps them develop the confidence necessary to tackle social problems. Engendered through a greater sense of awareness and confidence, this self-reflexive experience can facilitate the transformation of an individual’s self-perception and the perception of their surrounding, which can in turn have profound effects on both the individual and the host community. If members within a group come to recognise that they are part of the same social stratum and hold in common analogous life experiences and difficulties, this may result in a sense of collective belonging and cooperative action. This enhanced understanding can motivate and unite groups in seeking to bring about material improvements (Abah, 1998; Harding, 1998).
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In addition to the possibility of whole communities uniting to confront long-term problems, it can also lead to immediate results when those in authority feel pressurized to agree to performers’ public demands under the glare of the theatre’s metaphorical spotlight (Boal, 1979, cited by Bourgault).
Not all TfD projects either strive for and/or succeed in achieving the level of empowerment described in the works of Freire and Boal. To measure the extent to which a TfD project is engaged in message delivery or is functioning at a deeper level in facilitating empowerment, it is useful to see how Mda(1993) outlines the approach and impact of three levels of TfD practice. The first, agitprop theatre, is a message-orientated and advisory. It is produced by professionals who address and respond to local issues, but it does not entail any audience participation. As merely spectators of a ‘finished spectacle’, audience consciousness is raised only from the outside, and only regarding explicit development topics such as hygiene or family planning. Consequently any long-term impact is minimal. Moreover, although this theatre form has been found to have strong potential in rousing people to organise and challenge the status quo, it can also be appropriated for sloganeering and propaganda purposes.
The next group that Mda identifies is participatory theatre, which is ‘produced by and for the people with spectators’ (Mda, 1993:50).
This form of theatre, sometimes called the problem solving model, incorporates grassroots participation and the use of improvisation within the parameters of specific themes designated by ‘experts’ who act as regulators over local participants. Mda states that this is the method generally favoured by developmentalists (as opposed to theatre professionals) because it incorporates a two-way flow of communication rather than information just being passed from the top down. While this form of theatre may function as an efficient supplementary educational tool on behalf of government and non-governmental agencies, Mda contends that the lack of grassroots control and scant explanation of the underlying macro-origins of problems means that participatory theatre results in only ‘pseudo-conscientisation’ (Mda, 1993:50) of the target group, and as such is ineffectual in generating solutions to the complex problems surrounding poverty and oppression (Lambert, 1982, cited by Mda, 1993).
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The most radical form of theatre, which also entails the greatest potential for transformation and empowerment, is what Mda terms theatre-for-conscientisation. All performance is produced by and for the people without spectators, as those who are initially spectators may become actors. TfD practitioners act as catalysts, assisting the community in researching local concerns, analysing issues, and assisting in putting on the performance. Storylines are based on the real experiences of community members, improvisation is used throughout the performance and direction is never pre-planned. Consciousness is raised internally through group analysis of social reality and the nature of power relations which underlie poverty and other oppressive apparatus. This form of TfD is seen as empowering because it provides the means by which those living in poverty are able to develop a critical consciousness of their true situation, thus motivating them to become active participants in the development process. When catalysts withdraw participants may engage in continuing dialogue and long-term collective action, and this increasing local participation and control enables spectators first to become dramatic actor and then social actor.
An aspect of theatre practice crucial to achieving ‘theatre-for-conscientiasation’ is that all participants are invited to perform the stories and characters they have created themselves. By inviting spectators to act out their ideas, audience members become the makers and owners of the event, and it is through this process that the spectator is transformed into a performer. Harding (1998) explains that this level of participation gives people control over performance content and presentation, thus allowing them to engage in modes of behaviour and expression that would not otherwise be permissible in daily circumstances. It creates opportunities for the transgression of social, political, and spiritual boundaries, with individuals able to express personal concerns to their community that they would not otherwise be able. The challenging of social norms and values outside of this protective fictionalized context can elicit serious penalties including social ostracization, physical punishment, or even death. Furthermore, the adopting of new identities through role play makes it clear to people that they have it within their own power to project out onto society a number of different identities (Okagbu, 1998; Harding, 2002).
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Rachael Rice Humanities What Was The Federal Theatre Project? ? ? ? ? Throughout the late 1920's an important theatrical movement developed: The Workers' Theatre Movement. In the end, it diminished around the middle of the 1930's, and one of the developments aiding the decline of the Workers' Theatre Movement, was the creation of the Federal Theatre Project. The Federal Theatre Project was the ...
Harding (1998) cites an illustration of this transformation process which occurred in a TfD workshop where young women’s rights to enter into tertiary education were being explored. Some of the men in the community disagreed with the idea on the grounds that it is a waste of time for girls to attend school because they may become pregnant. The drama centred on the theme of a daughter who can no longer attend school because her father has decided to use money for school fees to set her brother up in business. The young woman playing the daughter’s role was from the village and had recently entered college. Whilst in character she addressed her fictional parents (whilst her real parents and the village elders watched from the audience), giving an impassioned argument against the unjust practice of prohibiting women from entering further education. As her performance progressed it became difficult to demarcate between the feelings of the fictional character and those of the young woman portraying her. Thus the fictional context of the performance provided a unique public platform for the actress to express her frustrations and opinions about a real situation without being personally compromised. Furthermore those in the audience, including her parents, elders, and those who disagreed with women’s education, were obligated to listen to the young woman and observe for ability to analyse the situation.
The implementation of one form of TfD over another is often an indication of the dominant development paradigm. When theatre was first used during colonial times ‘native’ forms of performance were expropriated in aid of promoting the agendas of ruling administrations, and primarily involved the propagating of development ‘solutions’ formulated by highly placed government officials geared towards modernization and promoting the advantages of adopting new Western methods and technology (Musa, 1998; Dogbe, 2002).
Sometimes called the propaganda model because it aims to impose the agenda of the ruling elite onto the masses, this type of TfD is still being used to a lesser extent by African governments today. Under the guise of promoting national cultural identity, indigenous forms of theatre provide a channel for the promotion of official policies. As well as providing an outlet for propaganda this linear, top-down approach is also considered by some in authority as a more convenient and less expensive way of transmitting information. In addition to governments, many INGO’s (international non-governmental organizations) promote the incorporation of locally based and devised theatre within African development projects because they are generally viewed as more popular, successful and democratic than top-down approaches based on material produced and implemented by foreigners or urban elites which often fail to match the requirements and concerns of local audiences (Bourgault, 2003).
An example of TfD that is focused on the transmission of information rather than on the radical restructuring of society can be found in Mali where a pre-colonial theatrical form called Koteba has been endorsed by the government to promote AIDS awareness. Stock characters, themes, music and dance based on existing cultural stereotypes act as vehicles for passing on instructional information, and can communicate messages which would normally be unacceptable in mixed or formal company. Humour is often successfully used as way of attracting audiences and keeping their attention in order to ensure they remain present when any development messages are delivered. While this style of performance is popular and serves as a vehicle for disseminating information it cannot be describes as empowering. Firstly, performances are scripted and performed by actors thus providing no opportunity for spectators to enter into the creative process, which is a key element to raising peoples’ consciousness. Secondly, the stock characters are taken from long-standing theatrical genre and as such are ingrained with sexual stereotyping. This in turn raises concerns about the extent to which the use of highly gendered representations which reaffirm patriarchal hierarchies, encompass profound double standards between the sexes, and reinforce assumptions that women are responsible for the AIDS epidemic, actually contributes to the spread of AIDS rather than preventing it. Furthermore, one can question the appropriateness of using humour as a means of disseminating information about such a life-threatening topic. While it may be a useful device for appealing to audiences there is a danger that the humour will dilute the perceived threat of the disease, or by making it more acceptable take the viewer ‘beyond awareness’ (Bourgault, 2003).
Therefore, while such initiatives may have some effective as a means of delivering information, it is unlikely that they will result in any long term changes to peoples’ attitudes or behaviour.
The top-down approach to development communication has been criticized by communication and development experts for disregarding grassroots initiative, for being culturally insensitive, and for continuing a cycle of dependency (Musa, 1998).
Moreover, geared as it is towards modernization and mass mobilization as opposed to raising awareness, this top-down unidirectional style of information flow from ‘experts’ to grassroots ‘lay receivers’ level provides little or no opportunity for dialogue or consultation (Musa, 1998; Bourgault, 2003).
The result is that the assessment of social development problems tends to be naïve, short-sighted and based on adherence to the constraints of political pragmatism (Mda, 1993).
Another concern relates to how TfD projects often end up being appropriated by governments as a means of legitimize existing power structures and giving a veneer of government interest and involvement in extreme forms of cultural expression. Funding usually comes from a mixture of local government bodies, international aid agencies and development agencies. Okagby (1998) argues ‘the funding situation enables the funding authorities or agencies in the end to highjack Theatre for Development projects into mediums for communicating or transmitting government propaganda programmes to target communities in a top-to-bottom/centre-to-periphery form of communication’ (1998:26).
The common centre-periphery relationship between funding authorities and fieldworkers’ means that in many TfD projects the agenda is set by those who are providing the funding, and development themes are communicated to theatre practitioners without them being given the opportunity to add their own input regarding the content or structure of the theatre project. The autonomy of TfD practitioners can be restricted and a situation of dependence and control created. This unidirectional relationship is then reflected in the one-way information flow between theatre workers and host communities. The result is that in practice there is a tendency for TfD projects to revert back to the paternalistic practices which support government hegemony, rather than fulfilling its broader function as a mechanism for conscientisation and liberalization. Moreover, instead of operating in the interests of those they are supposed to be assisting Mda (1993) contends that international funding agencies such as UNESCO are inclined to promote the interests of the government. As such there is a tendency to focus on problems that can be solved locally whilst sidestepping their underlying structural causes. Aid agencies also tend to favour TfD projects that can be shown to produce ‘quick and measurable’ results in order to justify the spending of funds.
In his critique of a TfD project commissioned by the government in Ghana Okagbu (1998) provides a useful illustration of how the control of funding can hamper the freedom of theatre practitioners to pursue an awareness raising agenda over and above their role as facilitators of message delivery. The Ghanese authorities wanted a TfD project that would transmit information to the masses in a top-down manner as part of a national adult literacy campaign. Despite recommendation from the theatre practitioners that the workshop be based on a participatory model the government insisted on an agitprop approach incorporating role-play within the restricted bounds of the literacy programme agenda. Okagbu posits that a reason why the authorities preferred this mode of theatre was because of concerns over the potential threat to the status quo and the challenge to ruling power which could arise from critical consciousness developing amongst the masses. The main issue which emerged during the research process centred on the community’s lack of shared identity and trust. However, the performances which took place only reflected the government’s development policy agenda, and whilst the performances were well received by the audience Okagbu doubts whether there were any long term benefits. He argues that if practitioners had been allowed to use participatory performance production as they had wanted the unity and bonding which would have occurred would have helped build the sense of group identity which the community was seeking. By neither able to act or direct performances relating to their own lives, the opportunity for empowerment was lost.
Whilst government control over funding prevented the workshop in Ghana from functioning as mechanism for conscientiasation, Abah (1997) provides an example of how TfD can be successful both in terms of message delivery and empowerment. Forming part of the larger Akpa District Theatre-for-Development Workshop, the project was organised by the Nigerian Popular Theatre Alliance (NPTA) which received funding assistance from a number of national and international agencies. The project’s aims were to explore the agricultural situation in Onyuwei, a rural village in Nigeria, and two other local communities, identify problems and aspirations of both the farmers and the wider social group, and to mobilise them towards agricultural and social development.
Onyuwei is a remote village which becomes cut off from outside physical contact during the annual rainy season due to a network of surrounding rivers that flood. By the time the water recedes each year the bridge and roads which connect the community to the outside world have been rendered unusable. These transport routes are crucial because they are used to bring supplies to the village and enable farmers to move their produce for external sale. As such, while the workshop practitioners’ opening agenda had been focused on agricultural issues, the main development priority expressed by the villagers during the workshop was the importance of finding an effective way of dealing with the annual destruction of their main path of travel. As a result of the theatre workshop and follow-up meetings, the community decided to establish a communal farm project as a means of generating income which could be used to fund annual bridge repairs. The community, with assistance from the NPTA a proposal was submitted to the government requesting a grant for setting up this income generating project. Funding was approved, and used to create on-going farming project from which the income was used to pay for the annual bridge reconstruction as well as other community projects.
In addition to the material gains, Abah gives an example of how the workshop may have attributed to the empowerment of the community in another way. Four years into the farming project there was a disagreement between the women and the men over whether to sew the same crop a second year. During a village meeting a woman, who had been a vocal participant in the TfD workshop, explained their reason for objecting to the men’s choice was because too much of it had been consumed by the community and as result not enough money had been raised through its sale. Another female participant of the workshop suggested that if the men insisted on pursing their own choice then they could also do all the ridging and weeding on the farm – the women got their way. Abah posits that the women’s strength to pursue what they wanted and the discussion and resolution of the disagreement could be attributed to empowerment stemming from the TfD workshop. The effectiveness of this workshop highlights the advantage of development recipients identifying their own problems as opposed to external groups making assumptions about a community’s development requirements without knowing their specific situation. It also shows the interconnected and complex nature of development difficulties and how important proper diagnosis is to finding a long-term resolution.
However Abah (1997; 1990) also makes the important point that while TfD might succeed in raising people’s consciousness their access to material resources remains the same, which means that suggestions made during workshops can remain unobtainable, leading to a crisis of unfulfilled expectations. Furthermore, the practical application of development takes place off stage and as such, theatre alone does bring about concrete improvements, it must be linked to grassroots or political movements engaged in fighting for advancement. Unfortunately this infrastructure is lacking in many regions, meaning the problem for many TfD initiatives striving for community empowerment resides not in how to affiliate to existing groups but in how to assist in their proliferation. This leads one to wonder whether the only way TfD can be truly effective as a means of empowerment is when there are concrete resources to support it. Furthermore, Morrison (2003) points out that there are no quantitative means of measuring changes in behaviour due to peoples’ awareness being raised. This makes it problematic to tangibly gage how effective a TfD workshop is in its function as a process of empowerment.
In conclusion, it is clear that TfD incorporates a broad range of practices, which can be applied in a number of ways and that the extent and longevity of a project’s impact is heavily affected by these various factors.
The smaller the amount of participation at a grassroots level, the less effective TfD can be, not only at transmitting information but also at bringing about the changes in people’s thinking and behaviour which is necessary for successful long-term development. The most valuable and efficient form of TfD embraces the belief that development is about more than fiscal growth and delivering development policy messages, and that it is through the development of culture that the necessary conditions are created through which real improvement in living standards can be obtained (Mlama, 1991).
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