Recipients of Acting Together Small Grants for Course Development in Performance and the Creative Transformation of Conflict
The Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts offered small grants designed to provide support to five college and university educators as well as trainers of theater practitioners to support the incorporation of the resources of the Acting Together Project into their course curricula and workshop sessions. The Acting Together Small Grants for Course Development in Performance and the Creative Transformation of Conflict were made possible by the generous contribution of Elaine Reuben ’63.
Acting Together resources were sent to educators and trainers in Canada, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nepal, and the Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota, USA.
The recipients of the Acting Together small grants for course development in performance and creative transformation of conflict include:
The Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts is proud to announce the recipients of five small grants designed to provide support to college and university educators as well as trainers of theater practitioners support they need to incorporate the resources of the Acting Together Project into their course curricula and workshop sessions.
Acting Together resources will be sent to educators and trainers in Canada, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nepal, and the Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota, USA.
Walungwa Bitela Christian, Association pour la Solidarite des Enfants Demuni/ ASED (Solidarity Association for Underprivileged Children/ ASED) Democratic Republic of the Congo
Walungwa Bitela Christian works for an organization that cares for orphan children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He plans to use the Acting Together resources in English seminars with pupils in secondary school in the DRC. Walungwa envisions the Acting Together resources spreading throughout the DRC as a valuable tool for teachers to strengthen their workshops and seminars and apply Acting Together teachings in the Congolese context.
The Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts offered small grants designed to provide support to five college and university educators as well as trainers of theater practitioners to support the incorporation of the resources of the Acting Together Project into their course curricula and workshop sessions. The Acting Together Small Grants for Course Development in Performance and the Creative Transformation of Conflict were made possible by the generous contribution of Elaine Reuben ’63.Acting Together resources were sent to educators and trainers in Canada, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nepal, and the Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota, USA.
The recipients of the Acting Together small grants for course development in performance and creative transformation of conflict include:
The Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts is proud to announce the recipients of five small grants designed to provide support to college and university educators as well as trainers of theater practitioners support they need to incorporate the resources of the Acting Together Project into their course curricula and workshop sessions.
Acting Together resources will be sent to educators and trainers in Canada, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nepal, and the Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota, USA.
Walungwa Bitela Christian, Association pour la Solidarite des Enfants Demuni/ ASED (Solidarity Association for Underprivileged Children/ ASED) Democratic Republic of the Congo
Walungwa Bitela Christian works for an organization that cares for orphan children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He plans to use the Acting Together resources in English seminars with pupils in secondary school in the DRC. Walungwa envisions the Acting Together resources spreading throughout the DRC as a valuable tool for teachers to strengthen their workshops and seminars and apply Acting Together teachings in the Congolese context.
Jessica Charest, Humanities and Social Science Department Faculty, Oglala Lakota College
South Dakota, USA
Jessica Charest plans to incorporate the Acting Together program into her Literature and Creative Writing classes at Oglala Lakota College, a tribal college that strives to incorporate Lakota cultural values into all courses and is dedicated to the consistent pursuit of peace, justice and equality. The Acting Together resources would support the drama component of the course curriculum, which comprises approximately one third of the current semester. The program will offer an invaluable opportunity for students to learn about other cultures, the struggle of other peoples around the world, and the ways in which art can work towards mending traumatic experiences.
Read update report from Jessica Charest.
Rajan Khatiwada, Creative Director and founding member, Mandala Theatre, Nepal
Mandala Theatre aims to preserve the traditional and indigenous theatrical forms of Nepali society and be a strong voice for how theatre can contribute to social justice, political awareness, human rights, peace, conflict transformation, dialogue and healing. Since there is no formal theatre training opportunities available in Nepal, Mandala Theatre works to fill this gap within the country, with the long-term vision of becoming a comprehensive acting school. Mandala Theatre plans to integrate the Acting Together into its future Theater-Labs and relevant workshops, as well as accompanying discussions on how these learnings can be implemented in Nepal. With the support of the Acting Together resources and grant, Mandala will organize a 3-5 day-meeting outside of Kathmandu for 25 representatives of nine groups and individual actors involved in the Forum Theater Network to reflect on its past activities, learn from Acting Together and discuss potentials for future activities. As guest lecturer at Tribhuvan and Kathmandu University, Rajan Khatiwada will screen and discuss the movie together with other lecturers and students reaching approximately 150-200 individuals. The Theatre was impacted by the April 2015 earthquake, but is joining the rest of the village and country in the rebuilding process.
Read update report from Rajan Khatiwada.
Kirsten Sadeghi-Yekta, Assistant Professor, Applied Theatre, University of Victoria British Columbia, Canada
In fall 2015, Kirsten Sadeghi-Yekta will teach the course Theatre, Conflict and Development, which offers a practical exploration of theatre in (post)-conflict zones supported by an analysis of the value of applied theatre practitioners working in these settings. The course explores some of the underlying theory surrounding the potential of theatre, conflict and development. Also, this course assists students in approaching global applied theatre critically and analytically and attempts to create awareness of the important place that theatre occupies within different cultures and societies.
Read update report from Kirsten Sadeghi-Yekta.
Paolo Vignolo, Associate Professor, Department of History and Center of Social Studies, National University of Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia
Paolo Vignolo plans to utilize the Acting Together resources in his courses on public history, historical memory and oral history as associate professor in the Department of History and Center of Social Studies of the National University of Colombia in Bogotá. Since 2008, Paolo and his colleagues have been working on the intersection of performance and political issues, with a focus on the dialogue between artists, scholars, and activists.
These grant recipients receives:
South Dakota, USA
Jessica Charest plans to incorporate the Acting Together program into her Literature and Creative Writing classes at Oglala Lakota College, a tribal college that strives to incorporate Lakota cultural values into all courses and is dedicated to the consistent pursuit of peace, justice and equality. The Acting Together resources would support the drama component of the course curriculum, which comprises approximately one third of the current semester. The program will offer an invaluable opportunity for students to learn about other cultures, the struggle of other peoples around the world, and the ways in which art can work towards mending traumatic experiences.Read update report from Jessica Charest.
Rajan Khatiwada, Creative Director and founding member, Mandala Theatre, Nepal
Mandala Theatre aims to preserve the traditional and indigenous theatrical forms of Nepali society and be a strong voice for how theatre can contribute to social justice, political awareness, human rights, peace, conflict transformation, dialogue and healing. Since there is no formal theatre training opportunities available in Nepal, Mandala Theatre works to fill this gap within the country, with the long-term vision of becoming a comprehensive acting school. Mandala Theatre plans to integrate the Acting Together into its future Theater-Labs and relevant workshops, as well as accompanying discussions on how these learnings can be implemented in Nepal. With the support of the Acting Together resources and grant, Mandala will organize a 3-5 day-meeting outside of Kathmandu for 25 representatives of nine groups and individual actors involved in the Forum Theater Network to reflect on its past activities, learn from Acting Together and discuss potentials for future activities. As guest lecturer at Tribhuvan and Kathmandu University, Rajan Khatiwada will screen and discuss the movie together with other lecturers and students reaching approximately 150-200 individuals. The Theatre was impacted by the April 2015 earthquake, but is joining the rest of the village and country in the rebuilding process.Read update report from Rajan Khatiwada.
Kirsten Sadeghi-Yekta, Assistant Professor, Applied Theatre, University of Victoria British Columbia, Canada
In fall 2015, Kirsten Sadeghi-Yekta will teach the course Theatre, Conflict and Development, which offers a practical exploration of theatre in (post)-conflict zones supported by an analysis of the value of applied theatre practitioners working in these settings. The course explores some of the underlying theory surrounding the potential of theatre, conflict and development. Also, this course assists students in approaching global applied theatre critically and analytically and attempts to create awareness of the important place that theatre occupies within different cultures and societies.Read update report from Kirsten Sadeghi-Yekta.
Paolo Vignolo, Associate Professor, Department of History and Center of Social Studies, National University of Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia
Paolo Vignolo plans to utilize the Acting Together resources in his courses on public history, historical memory and oral history as associate professor in the Department of History and Center of Social Studies of the National University of Colombia in Bogotá. Since 2008, Paolo and his colleagues have been working on the intersection of performance and political issues, with a focus on the dialogue between artists, scholars, and activists.These grant recipients receives:
- Acting Together on the World Stage: Performance and the Creative Transformation of Conflict, documentary and toolkit
- Acting Together two-volume anthology:
- Multilingual copies of the Acting Together documentary with subtitles in Arabic, Hebrew, Japanese, Sinhala, Spanish and Tamil