Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences ( 2010) Vol 2, No 1, 112-135112

Dramatic Problem Solving: TransformingCommunity Conflict through Performance inCosta RicaSteven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)1. IntroductionThis study is an examination of how Dramatic ProblemSolving (DPS), an interactive theatre based facilitation wasimplemented in a community with the goal of structuralconflict transformation at a community, interpersonal, andintrapersonal level. By incorporating action research in astudy of a theatre based facilitation model, the study mergesthe fields of conflict resolution with performance studies. Thestudy’s focus is praxis, equally examining theory, processand outcomes. The field of facilitated conflict resolution hasoften focused on process (Frey, 2003; Broome, 2003;Schwarz, 2005). The field of performance has often focusedon the external expression and final outcome (Schechner,2003; Park-Fuller, 2005). By combining performancestudies, theatre for social change, and facilitation, this studyprovides an example of transdisciplinary research that is thehallmark of both conflict analysis and resolution andperformance studies.The study took place in La Carpio, a neighborhoodcomposed of mainly Nicaraguan immigrants, in San Jose,Costa Rica. Performance Studies provided key theoreticalinsights into the formation of the analysis of the DPS model.The concept of liminality, that space created during ritualand performance that is in between the present and thefuture (Yancey, 2009; Golden, 2009) and communitas, thespontaneous moment when the individual members of thegroup become focused on the larger needs of the group andnew, unforeseen actions are created via that energySteven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)113

(Schechner, 2003), were key for applying performance theoryto the conflict resolution workshop model studied.This study provides a bridge between the structuredgroup facilitation conflict resolution models (Lederach, 2007;Broome, 2003) and the more free-flowing, interpretive natureof the performing arts (Grady, 2004; Marin, 2005; Mitchell,2007). This was made possible by the use of a qualitative,participatory action research model that asked participantsto be both informants and agents of change (Herr &

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Anderson, 2006). The theatre provides a space for thischange to take form in a playful, safe, facilitated space.Several studies have looked at the ways theatre and theatrebased exercises can be used for conflict analysis andresolution, often in the educational setting (PecaskiMaclennan, 2008; Schroeter, 2009; Snyder, 2008). Thisstudy looks at ways issues based theatre works in thecommunity setting for conflict resolution.Research participants were led through the DPSprocess, following a series of exercises and processes toidentify a problem, look at the root causes of it, design a planof actions to transform the conflict, implement the plan, andimagine and plan next steps for an ongoing process ofcommunity action. This examination of the full actionresearch cycle with TO groups was lacking in the research.Though recently more scholars are beginning to think aboutTO in an academic light (Sun, 2009; Smith, 2006; Schroeter,2009; Pecaski Maclennan, 2008), a study that involved followup with a structured action plan within the TO frameworkdid not exist prior to this study.Performance Studies is focused on understanding theways performances create and sustain meaning in a society(Taylor, 2002). Victor Turner believed in the power ofperformance to create liminality. The liminal, as defined byTurner, is a space or threshold that is created by ritual andperformance where the norms of culture can be changed andbroken by the actors. The creative, theatre based exercisesand the performances within the research described heresought to provide the participants and the community achance to examine a conflict in a “liminal phase” (1982, 27).During these times of liminality the participants can try onnew identities, new behaviors and ways of dealing withDramatic Problem Solving: Transforming Community Conflict through Performance inCosta Rica114

conflicts, themselves, and others. “This intermediary space... is where symbolic realization takes place before it istransformed into everyday life” (Feldhendler, 1994, 104).Schechner discussed the importance of liminality inperformance. Schechner’s group, as did Turner’s originalethnodrama conception, used a workshop model (1998;2003). This performance workshop is parallel to the conflictresolution workshop models proposed by Lederach (1997)and Schwarz (2002; 2005). In these, the facilitator works tocreate rapport, and a space of safety, trust, and honestywhere people can be open and “discuss undiscussableissues” (2002, p. 97). Schechner argued that by getting the

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group to this level of confidence, in a liminal space whereroles and past actions are seen as changeable, the group canwork to transform conflicts. The workshop works, accordingto Schechner, as a way, “of re-creating, at least temporarily,some of the intimacy and security of small, autonomouscultural groups … The aim of the workshop is to constructan environment where rational, arational, and irrationalbehavior exist in balance ... leading to expressive, symbolic,playful, ritualized, ´scripted´ behavior. It is my opinion thatworkshops are more important than most people dream of””(2003, p. 110). All of the above components, clarity, goalsetting, trust, creativity, liminality, and intimacy areimportant aspects of the DPS workshop model.The workshop and the liminal space created can lead towhat Turner called “communitas” (1982, p. 45). It is in thisspace, where Schechner states that there group mayexperience a, “leveling of all differences” (2003, p. 128).Through the ability of the workshop and the performative tocreate a liminal space in which communitas can happen andnew, unthought-of consensus based agreements can resultin a completely different set of actions taken by theparticipants in their lives following this experience.Diana Taylor’s contributions are important for thisstudy because she focuses on two central aspects of thestudy, Latin American performance and the role of women inperforming meaning (Taylor, 2002; 2004). Taylor delineatesbetween the archive and the repertoire with the former beingthe written, archival theatre that is found on prosceniumstages and the latter being that which is created in culturesthrough the performance of rituals, protests. Often, these areSteven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)115

acts taken on by members of groups with limited agency orthe oppressed. This repertoire, argued Taylor, is what allowsfor these groups to have a voice. Her study of women, HolyTerrors (2004) and their wide ranging performances of genderroles and issues showed how this type of theatre could beused to question, threaten, provoke and change. Thecommunity based efforts of people trying to bring aboutcommunity change through theatre is an act of performance;is part of the repertoire. The archive is reserved for thegroups in power, for those with the highest levels of agencywithin the culture. This study, by involving immigrantwomen at the grass roots, seeks a better understanding ofthe repertoire. It asks the questions that Taylor does. Suchas, what are the everyday performances of these women?

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What are their roles? Through an explicit performance ofthem there can be a challenging of the current order, a freshlook at the conflict.One of the strengths of theatre based facilitatedproblem solving model is the way performance can makephysical and real what is often unspoken or hidden.Cultures depend on signs being understood by everyone inthe group and not questioning them. Theatre heavily utilizessigns and gestures as a way of presenting a point. Brechtspoke of the gestus, “the attitudes which people adopttowards one another” (2001, p. 86), stated through bodilyexpression. The various masks worn by people as they movethrough their lives can be taken off, put on others, andexamined through theatre. Theatre is “transformational,creating or incarnating in a theatre what cannot take placeanywhere else” (2003, p. 186).With the Theatre of the Oppressed, the BrazilianAugusto Boal followed the line of Brecht´s Epic Theatre(Mumford, 2009), Grotowski´s Poor Theatre (Slowiak &Cuesta, 2008), and Schechner’s Performance Group(Schechner, 2003), in the desire to create a theatre thatengaged and incited the public to thought and action. Thiswork created what Sandi Diaz has called the anti-scenario.These “anti-scenarios provoke debate among audiences andquestion social and political structures, helping to bringabout social change” (2007, p. 4). The TO, “is a system ofphysical exercises, aesthetic games, image techniques andDramatic Problem Solving: Transforming Community Conflict through Performance inCosta Rica116

special improvisations whose goal is to safeguard, developand reshape this human vocation, by turning the practice oftheatre into an effective tool for the comprehension of socialand personal problems and the search for their solutions”(Boal, 1995, p. 15). The system includes Image Theatre,Forum Theatre, Cop in the Head, Rainbow of Desire,Invisible Theatre, and Legislative Theatre (Boal, 1979; 1995;1998, 2006; Baiocchi, 2006).Storytelling is another aspect of performance that waspart of the DPS model studied here. Storytelling is lessformal and requires less traditional acting on the part of theparticipants. As Byrne and Senehi suggest, storytelling is lowtech, a skill that is easy to attain, “everybody gets it” (2004)Zelizer found that storytelling and performance basedsharing in post-war Bosnia between Bosnians and Serbs,Christians and Muslims, led to increased understanding.Performance was seen as central to coping with large scale

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conflict both during the war and post-war (2003). Thisdemonstrated the power of performance to provide for thecatharsis and metaxis necessary for carrying on in situationsof conflict.DPS combined the traditional facilitation models andbehaviors as described by Schwarz (2002; 2005), Justice &Jamieson (1999), and Broome (2003), with the TO facilitationmodel known as the Joker system (Schutzman, 2006;Bentley, 2001; Boal, 1979). The Joker system originated inthe Arena Theatre of Sao Paolo, Brazil. The Joker an on stagefacilitator acting as narrator, commentator, a person withthe power to stop the action, take the role of any other actor,and propose immediate and unexpected changes to thescene. How the performance went depended greatly on theJoker’s interventions, knowledge, energy, connection withthe group, ability to ask questions and provide relevantinformation. He or she would frame the issues in new waysfor the public to consider (Schutzman, 2006). These are allimportant tasks of any group facilitator.As Boal and others developed this work into the currentsystem of the TO, the Joker took on the role of facilitatingthe entrance and exit of the spectators into the scenesduring Forum Theatre performances. In this new format thepower of the Joker is given over to the spectators, or inBoal’s term, the spect-actors (Schutzman, 2006; Popen,Steven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)117

2006). Bentley’s interviews with six of the major TOpractitioners in North America revealed that they have hadto adapt their practices based on the needs of theparticipants. The TO Joker must be flexible in the face ofchanging participant groups and varied social and politicalcontexts (2001). This represented a shift from the originaldesign to a more participant led design; an even moredialogic approach to facilitated performance.Recent studies of TO have revealed applications of themodel in varied settings. Snyder (Snyder, 2008) studiedadolescents and their identities. That study focused on thespecific nature of the antagonists in the lives of theparticipants. The participants worked to identify theirpersonal antagonists, those that were actively working toblock their progress. The study also had the participantsexplore their inner antagonists, the “cops in the head” fromBoal’s structure (Snyder, 2008, Boal, 1995). Marin (2005)worked with Latina adolescents on issues of identity. Herstudy was an important mirror for this study as it worked

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with Latinas in the US exploring their own identities throughBoal’s work. Her results were summed up thus, “By creatingan environment for emancipatory pedagogy, the studyopened up a space for the participants to critically reflect ontheir own perceptions of how society portrays Lateen@s as asubculture. Through praxis, a symbiotic relationshipbetween theory and action, the young people involved in thisstudy have awakened in themselves a critical consciousness,described by educational theorist Paulo Freire as essentialfor social change” (3).Sun (2009) completed a study on the use of theatre bypreschoolers to promote breast cancer education andawareness among Chinese immigrant women. The resultsshowed that women’s awareness and knowledge about theguidelines for breast cancer screening were significantlyincreased. This study provides insight to the present studyas it demonstrates another study using theatre for breastcancer awareness. It was shown to be a highly effective toolto increase awareness of the Susan G. Komen breast healthguidelines. Rollin & Gabriel (2002) applied TO in their actionresearch project resulted in a manual for use in a sexualhealth education program that featured Boal’s techniques,Dramatic Problem Solving: Transforming Community Conflict through Performance inCosta Rica118

specifically Forum Theatre. The project was used in Guineawith refugees from Sierra Leone to perform trainings forfacilitators and then about sexual health for youth refugees.The study stressed the importance of the necessary healthservices in conjunction with the information and dialoguethat comes from the play.All of the above referenced research indicated thatscholars increasingly recognize the value of theatre andperformance for increased understanding and dialoguearound important conflicts. Systems of oppression andstructures of violence continue to be at play, especially in thesquatter’s community that was the setting of this study. Inorder for this process to be effective in the view of theparticipants, the issues need to be real and urgent in theirlives, something in which they “have an investment,situations in which they venture their lives and theirfeelings, their moral and their political choices” (Boal, 1995,16). Through connecting to issues that are of such intimateconnection to the participants, and working through adialogic relationship with the facilitator, meaningful changescan take place.2. Research Process

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The participants were residents of La Carpio, a poor,neighborhood in San Jose, Costa Rica. This burgeoningsquatter’s community has over 30,000 inhabitants, themajority Nicaraguan immigrants. The participants werebrought together via the CRHF (Costa Rican HumanitarianFoundation, www.crhf.org). This Non-GovernmentalOrganization has been working in La Carpio since 1997.Previous research and workshops coordinated with theCRHF using the DPS helped to enhance the level ofcommunity trust and credibility helped me gain entry andacceptance in the community.This study employed an action research model. Theresearcher worked directly with the group of women in theCore Group, guiding them through the DPS model utilizingtheatre techniques to analyze a group-selected issue.Together, the researcher and the participants created aninteractive theatre piece to present to the community forSteven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)119

their input and ideas for transformational actions. Thisinteractive theater production was designed to help peoplerecognize and relate to the conflict, define and name it, andcreate a series of steps to act on it. From the communitypresentation there resulted an action plan that defined stepsand actions the participants committed to completing. Theresearcher worked with the community to ensure that followup on the stated actions of the action plan were attemptedand/or implemented. The final step saw a follow up sessionwith the Core Group that facilitates a dialogue around thechanges that were implemented, what worked, and what didnot. The Re-look Core Group then began to work on a newproject utilizing the DPS process to bring more change to thecommunity.3. ProceduresThree basic methodological foundations for theprocesses were employed. Those were Roger Schwarz’sfacilitated problems solving structure (2002), Boal’s theatreof the oppressed techniques (1979; 1995, 2006), and anaction research cyclical model (Stringer, 1999; Herr &Anderson, 2006).Action research is a model of research in which theresearcher directly involves the participants as researchers.The research is also always directly focused on analysis of aspecific issue that directly affecting the participants. Actionsthat transform the problem are sought through this researchmethodology. The methodology is generally broken into four

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phases: look, think, act, rethink (Herr & Anderson, 2006;O’Connor, 2003).In the look phase, the researcher observes what acommunity is like, their perceived needs and how they mightbe defined. This then moves into the think phase where theresearcher, working directly with the participants, createspossible alternative actions that might result in positivechange in the observed situation. Techniques utilized hereinclude brainstorming, consensus building, voting, feedbackgathering, and role-playing. Finally, the problem looked atand thought about is acted upon through a series ofDramatic Problem Solving: Transforming Community Conflict through Performance inCosta Rica120

interventions developed through the previous two phases.The participants themselves are the actors and thereforeparticipate directly in the research while the lead researcheris there to observe, collaborate, and provide support so thatthere is follow through. This culminates with an analysis ofthe actions taken based upon the research. The method iscyclical and requires prolonged engagement with thecommunity to see that there is continuity and a carrying outof the defined actions (Dick, 2005; Herr & Anderson, 2006).Below is a graphic presentation of the DPSParticipatory Action Research Process. The tabledemonstrates how the process was continually revisitingsimilar questions. It was cyclical but it did not necessarilycome back to the same place. The overall goal was formovement and progress on an issue while still reviewingwhat has worked and what is now needed.Schwarz described the use of a process for facilitatedproblem solving through a nine-step model. The use of thisDPS Participatory Action Research ProcessSteven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)121

set framework is important for, as he states, “A group thatsolves complex problems using a structured approach islikely to develop a high quality solution” (2002, 221).Therefore, the DPS model utilized a structured model derivedfrom Schwarz’s nine-step model. The nine steps are: 1.Define the Problem, 2. Establish Criteria for evaluatingsolutions, 3. Identify root causes, 4. Generate alternativesolutions; 5. Evaluate alternative solutions; 6. Select the bestsolutions, 7. Develop and action plan; 8. Implement theaction plan; 9. Evaluate outcomes and the process ( 2002;221).The Schwarz model fits well within the framework of

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action research. The nine steps can be chunked together intothree phases. Proceeding through the first three steps, definethe issue; think about desired outcomes; and root causeidentification, is what happens during the “look” phase of theaction research process. The middle three steps, generate,evaluate, and choose alternative solutions, are the “think”phase, where the group thinks about ways it can confrontthe issue. Finally the last three steps are the act phase,develop, implement and review the action plan, brings thecycle back to the beginning, to looking at the situation isnow and thinking about creative ways to transform theconflict.Augusto Boal stated that the, “real goal of the arsenalof the Theatre of the Oppressed is to contribute to thepreparation of the future rather than waiting for it tohappen” (1995, 185). With this forward looking approach totheatre, the TO has created a set of activities and theatreperformance formats that work to analyze and providesolutions to the problems confronted by people living in theworld. This research utilized Boal’s methods of using gamesthat develop muscular and sensory awareness. Theparticipants also undertook Boal’s techniques of usingimages and sculpting humans to create images of whatemotions, issues, and conflicts look like to variousparticipants. This results in an image theatre that canprovoke people’s emotions and sensibilities in relation to aproblem (O’Connor, 2003, Linds, 2006).Improvisational theatre techniques for scene andcharacter development are also part of the Boalian structureDramatic Problem Solving: Transforming Community Conflict through Performance inCosta Rica122

(Boal, 2006; 1995; Rohd, 1998) and were incorporated intothe model. These techniques, combined with the imagetheatre work, were used in the creation of the dramaticpresentation that the participants presented to thecommunity group in the style of theatre called, “ForumTheatre” (Schroeter, 2009). In this style of theatre, theaudience is engaged by being presented with the opportunityto change the scene through their own actions. The audiencehas a chance, after viewing the play once, to stop the actionand enter the scene to try new actions that may change thesituation. The audience member is transformed from“spectator” to “spect-actor” (Boal, 2006). The audience thenevaluates these proposed solutions and discussions of whichinterventions are the most applicable are held. The endresult hoped for in Boal’s techniques is that the audience

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member will then take home these ideas for new behaviorsand apply them in his or her life. This forum theatre has “thecapacity to produce different outcomes than those a public ispresented with as given, rests with the theatre itself as anoccasion whereby a critical presence can gather” (Martin,2006, 28). It is in those liminal moments of critical presence,the moments of communitas, that the DPS process can beginto challenge people to consider new ideas (Schechner, 2003).All three of these methodological formats have at theircore the same structure, of first defining a problem, thenthinking about it through varied lenses, and finally seekingto create concrete actions to change the situation. This is thefocus of the model studied here, how did the merging ofthese three methodologies work to promote social change inthis community of La Carpio, San Jose, Costa Rica.The Core Group went through the nine steps ofSchwarz’s problem solving model in order to look, think, andact on issues and conflicts of importance to them. Weutilized many image theatre exercises. These allowed for anon-verbal expression of feelings and knowledge about theconflicts. The process relied heavily on story tellingconstructs that engaged the whole group in an exploration ofthe conflict.In the first sessions the group brainstormed a list ofthe most pressing conflicts/problems in their community.Through interactive, theatrical exercises such as “SnowballFight”, “Dueling Images”, “Unpacking the Story”, and “theSteven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)123

Great Wind Blows” they narrowed down the issue. The groupfocused on the community trash problem. This was anobvious problem. La Carpio is located next door to thelargest active landfill in Costa Rica (Sandoval Garcia, et.al,2007). The company that operates the landfill provides thecommunity with trash collection services as compensationfor their presence and the daily passing of innumerable trashtrucks. However, the trash service is irregular, there are notrash bins in the streets, large numbers of dogs roam thestreets and tear open trash bags, strewing the rubbisheverywhere. The community is located on a hill. Trash fromthe main road washes down on those living at the bottom ofthe river bank. The La Libertad community where thisresearch took place is at the bottom of the hill.Root causes were explored through the Boal exercise,“Two Secrets”; to uncover what was hidden. What the groupfound was that attitudes had as much to do with the

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problem as any other factor. Thus when the women namedthe antagonists and protagonists present in this problem,they named only themselves. Through exploration of theissue in depth and the increased self esteem built throughthe group building experienced, a metaxis emerged wherethese women could begin to look at their own behavior andbe ready to change it.A short play was created about the issue of trash inthe community. The play came from the minds andexperiences of the group members. They began with sculptedimages and grew them into full fledged scenes. These scenesshowed community members not acting in the face of theproblem. Health problems and increased contaminationsurrounded the characters but they did nothing. The playwas made, rehearsed, and ready to present to thecommunity. This whole process, from first session to havinga play ready to be presented, required 8 two-hour sessionsand one extra rehearsal on the day of the performance.The Community Group was the audience for the firstplay. “Theatre for a Better Future” was the title the groupgave to their short play. The play was presented and wasreceived with applause. Now the audience was asked to getout of their seats and intervene to change the problem. Andthey did. Three people called for a stop in the action on theDramatic Problem Solving: Transforming Community Conflict through Performance inCosta Rica124

second run through. They entered with actions focused onraising awareness, taking responsibility for waking up ontime, and organizing a campaign to petition the HealthDepartment. When the intervention portion of the Forumwas finished, the researcher facilitated a discussion abouthow people felt about the issue. They were asked to namehow they felt about this problem/conflict after participatingin this group performance. They listed such things as health,lack of communication, solidarity, humility, respect, love,cleaning, friendship, and an example for the community.Based on these stated desires and the interventionsseen in the forum theatre, the creation of an Action Plan forthe community to deal with the trash problem wasfacilitated. The action plan had short, mid-range, and longterm actions in it. It called for a day of cleaning, posting ofsigns indicating the days for trash pick up, a petition to sendto the Ministry of Health was planned, and a day ofeducation for the children of the community. The responsiblepeople were identified and dates for implementation wereagreed upon.

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Over the course of the next three weeks thecommunity completed all of the action plan steps. Thepetition to the Ministry of Health was signed by 106 adults.The signs announcing the trash pick ups were made andposted. A Carnival of Cleaning that included clowns, music,children’s theatre, educational activities about trash, and acommunity clean up was held on a Sunday afternoon. Someof the older children created signs showing children cleaningup their garbage. These were laminated and posted aroundthe center for all the children to see.Following this success, the Core Group met again tobegin the process of re-looking at the action plan and itsimpact. This facilitated processing session resulted in a songand a prayer about the new hopes they had for theircommunity. One of those was for there to be moreopportunity for them and their children. Another was tobroaden their reach and open up the group. Gail Nystrom,director of the CRHF, had an idea to bring this group ofwomen together with another group from the center of LaCarpio, about a quarter of a mile up the hill.The re-think phase of the action research processbegan. The women, inspired by Gail, were going to focus onSteven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)125

breast cancer awareness. Most of these women had at onetime been seasonal coffee pickers. They decided to create aplay to help bring education and awareness about the breastcancer to the coffee pickers in the plantations. The playwould be part of a three pronged education and healthpromotion project that the Foundation would bring to theplantations, including educational activities for coffeepickers’ children, and free health screenings.The process of creating a play about breast cancerbegan. Image Theatre and Storytelling exercises provided thefoundational material. Stories about lack of education,opportunity and understanding were told. Images of childrenin the fields, of angry supervisors, of depression, werecreated. After several sessions the women asked me to writethem a formal script. This was a variation from the first play,which had been rehearsed improvisation. They felt that ifthey were going to travel and present it that it should be areal play with a real script.A script was written based on the stories and images.Rehearsals were carried out over the course of a month. Thebulk of the directing and rehearsing was done by the womenof the group. The researcher facilitated sessions only twice,

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once at the beginning of the month and once at the end. Adate was set and the women were ready to take it on theroad. The performances were also interactive, inviting theaudience members to enter the scenes and change thechoices made by the protagonist, creating a new outcome.Education about how to conduct self-breast examinationsand breast cancer detection was shared. The childrenparticipated in the educational activities. The volunteerdoctors and medical students saw many patients.The play, The Coffee Dance, has now been performedmany times all across Costa Rica. A grant for the project wasattained from the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Adocumentary film was made about the process. Thesesuccesses have emboldened the women to propose adaptingthe play to present it to other mainly Nicaraguan immigrantcommunities such as banana and pineapple plantationworkers. They also began a new cycle of re-looking at theirlives through performance. They decided to work on internalissues again. They defined the conflict to be addressed viaDramatic Problem Solving: Transforming Community Conflict through Performance inCosta Rica126

theatre as a lack of a name or story behind their face thatwas seen by the numerous volunteers that were broughtbriefly into their lives in La Carpio through the CRHF. Theywanted to show that although they were poor women, theyhad a great deal of dignity. They began a new DPS process ofstorytelling and image theatre to create a play entitled, “TheDignity of Poverty.” As of this writing the play is still notcomplete. However, the women of the group are committed tocontinuing the participatory exploration of their lives andtheir community’s needs through performance.4. DiscussionThree central areas of importance that emerged in thestudy are examined here: communitas, play, and action. Thefollowing is an analysis of this research in terms of each ofthese facets of performance as brought to light by thisprocess and in terms of the existing literature and thecontributions of the study.CommunitasThe DPS process was not searching for revolution as agoal or as an answer to a research question. However, theimportance of abandoning fighting and seeking a single mindto be successful in the attainment of a goal was somethingthat emerged in the data. The women reported anecdotallythat one of the main accomplishments of the process was thelessening and even the elimination of infighting and

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gossiping within the group. The ritual space in thefacilitation created a moment of communitas where theycould come together and be of one mind about the success ofthe process.This was especially true during the Re-Look CoreGroup phase. The group wanted to take on the breast cancerissue and take it outside of La Carpio. This was a greatchallenge to them. It challenged their existing roles andsocietal rules for someone in their place. It required a greatdeal of group focus, mutual support and recognition.Through storytelling and image theatre exercises this mutualrecognition and group focus was fostered. Communitas was,Steven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)127

however, not achieved until after the stories and images hadbeen transferred into the script of The Coffee Dance. Wheneach woman had their own part, lines and cues; then theybegan to see their mutual needs for support.However, the presence of an outsider/researcher didnot allow for communitas. To fully use the empoweringnature of the liminal space created by the DPS process andtheatre, they needed to be more autonomus. Due to culturallimitations they were restricted as to how much they couldquestion the researcher’s authority as the director andplaywright. Therefore, a decision was made to leave thegroup alone to carry out the ritual of rehearsal on their own.From this emerged two things, an in-group leader in theform of Francella, one of the Re-look Core Group members,and a sense of communitas. The sense of being onesupportive group, capable of completing this challenge,emerged. They set aside their personal differences, theirdisbelief in the capabilities of both themselves and theirfellow participants. They recognized that this was a challengethat could only be completed through the concerted, directedeffort of the entire group.The emergence of communitas in this fashion issignificant in that it demonstrated that the model didactually create communitas. However, the model can notforcefully create a spontaneous communitas. Elements thatengender a sense of safety, unity, and a desire for changewere present. But the emergence of a true spontaneouscommunitas could not nor can not be expected or predictedby the implementation of this model. It can be hoped for andits power as a vehicle for change recognized, but the DPSmodel does not automatically create a true communitas.The core group that created the trash play, developed

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the action plan, and carried out the steps of the plan withenthusiasm could not be categorized as a group workingfrom a place of communitas. The workshop model of conflicttransformation utilized created a safe space. It led to a desirefor change, a vision of a better future. It did not, however,create what emerged in the re-look core group’s experience ofthe Coffee Dance.Dramatic Problem Solving: Transforming Community Conflict through Performance inCosta Rica128

Play“Games for Actors and Non-Actors” (Boal, 2002) wasfirst published in South America in the 1970s. Its title inSpanish was more extensive, “Games for Actors and Non-Actors with a Desire to Say Something Through Theatre”(Boal, 1975). Calling exercises which are designed to elicitemotions and create theatre that challenge existing powerstructures games speaks to the importance of play in theprocess. That a work of theatre is called a play in English isanother reflection of this importance. Victor Turner subtitledhis seminal 1979 work on ritual and theatre, “the HumanSeriousness of Play” (Turner, 1979).The Alternative to Violence Project has been usingexperiential games with prison inmates as the vehicle forpersonal development and conflict resolution since the early1970s (www.avpinternational.org, 2009). The play creates aspace, a liminal space, where you can behave differently,more like a child, and try new or old things. Break habitsand create new ones in a safe space. Boal’s games work to“de-specialize the body” (1998, 49). These categories aredesigned to integrate different senses, touch, hearing, sight,through movement, memory, and images.How did this playing of games translate into significantfindings in this study? Is play a tool for empowerment andcommunity change? The research would suggest this.Research field notes continually reference the laughtercreated by the exercises among group members. The gamesare fun. While having fun, the participants discovered,rediscovered, or integrated senses rarely used. Theparticipants moved their bodies in new ways, listenedattentively, limited and enhanced sight, recalled stories,shared memories, and expressed this all in images. Thisdynamic structure moved people out of their chairs and thelimitations of verbal expression.By doing this, the process had more democraticvalidity. The discussion was never dominated by one or twospeakers. Everyone played the games. Everyone’s image was

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seen by everyone else. While laughing and playing theparticipants were being given a voice. The democratic natureof play translated into a more inclusive facilitation process.Women who at the outset of the process were very reticentSteven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)129

and shy to speak were, by the second or third session,opening up and sharing their thoughts and opinions on theconflicts researched.Whether or not the group would have acted asdemocratically, would have completed their goals, or giveneveryone an equal voice without play is not possible to saybecause play was built into the model. However, in thisfacilitation process, these goals of facilitation were met in anenvironment where play and fun were stressed.ActionAs Herr and Anderson pointed out, creating concreteaction is the missing part of much action research (2006).The DPS process was created with the goal of brining directaction to TO, which was also missing this action portion.Analysis of problems and proposed solutions without actualfollow through was often encountered in both academics andTO. A pilot study of the DPS process had ended withfrustration over not successfully completing the action plan.Why was direct action so difficult? Are people simplycomplacent? Was the facilitator solely responsible for thecompletion of direct actions? How does a performance-basedmodel influence the possibility to complete direct action?As Schwarz stated, “developing an action planincreases the likelihood of the group implementing a solutioneffectively and on time” (Schwarz, 2002, p. 230). The designof the model took this into account. The central focus of thecommunity group performance was the creation of an actionplan. The idea being that the direct actions proposed wouldhave be fresh and important to the group, having just beenperformed and analyzed. This would be the time for thegroup to decide on which actions to implement. The actionplan was created and it was successfully implemented.During the second phase, an action plan was createdand completed. But the action plan had more to do withcreating and performing an interactive theatre piece.Following those performances there was no action plan.There was an interactive portion but no actions. This wasbecause there was not a structure for follow up because theaudience was not from the same community as theDramatic Problem Solving: Transforming Community Conflict through Performance inCosta Rica

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performers. This would suggest that the model is effective increating actions when the group is from the samecommunity and are focused on an internal problem. Theprocess does use the performative nature of the forumtheatre to generate a call to action. The successfulcompletion of that action requires that those that performedit and named it be able to carry it out.In conclusion, the research demonstrated that throughperformance, group processes could lead to direct actionsthat changed participants’ lives, empowering them to thinkin new and creative ways. The process left behind a group ofpeople who have a framework for facilitating issues that arisein their lives. The significance of the study is that theprocess may be transferred to other settings, similar anddissimilar to the one presented here, so that communityissues may be confronted in creative, dynamic ways.ReferencesSteven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)131

AVP International, “What is AVP?”http://avpinternational.org/whatisavp.html, (July 15, 2008).Boal, Augusto (1979). Theatre of the Oppressed. NY: TheatreCommunications Group.Boal, Augusto (1995). The Rainbow of Desire. London: Routledge.Boal, Augusto (1998). Games for Actors and Non-Actors. London:Routledge.Boal, Augusto (1998). Legislative Theatre. New York: Routledge.Boal, Augusto (2006). The Aesthetics of the Oppressed. New York:Routledge.Bonson Baquero, M. C. (2009). The Creative Path to Understanding:Organizations Building Community Through Performing Arts.Dissertation, The American University.Brecht Berthold. (2001) “The Street Scene” in Counsell Colin and Wolf,Laurie (Eds), Performance Analysis. London: Routledge.Broome Benjamin. (1998). “Overview of Conflict Resolution Activities inCyprus: Their Contribution to the Peace Process.” The Cyprus Review,vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 47-66.Broome Benjamin (2002/2003). “Responding to the Challenges of ThirdParty Facilitation: Reflections of a Scholar-Practitioner in the CyprusConflict.” The Journal of Intergroup Relations, vol. 29, no 4, pp. 24-43.Burns, D (2007). Systemic Action Research: A Strategy for Whole SystemChange. Bristol: The Policy Press.Dick, B. ¨You want to do an action research thesis? -- How to conduct andreport actionresearch.¨ www.arlist.scu.edu.au. (October, 15, 2005).Feldhendler Daniel (1994). “Augusto Boal and Jacob L. Moreno: Theatre

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and therapy” in Schutzman Mady and Cohen Cruz Jan, (eds), PlayingBoal: Theatre, Therapy, Activism. London: Routledge.Dramatic Problem Solving: Transforming Community Conflict through Performance inCosta Rica132

Freed, D. and Davis, M. (2009). Exploring "The Prodigal Son" throughAugusto Boal's Forum Theatre with Seventh-day Adventist AcademyDrama Students. PhD Dissertation, Arizona State University.Freire Paolo. (2003). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.Frey Lawrence. (Ed.) (1995). Innovations in GroupFacilitation: Applications in Natural Settings. Hampton Press.Golden, Isis (2009). Performing Cultural Empowerment: Native AmericanActivism on Alcatraz Island. Davis: University of California.Grady, S. (2004). “Go Theatre Motivational Performance Team: Six HourFacilitation Training Manual.” Austin: University of Texas at Austin.Haedeicke, S. and Nellhaus, T (2001). Performing Democracy:International Perspectives on Urban Community-Based Performance.Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan PressHerr, K. and Anderson, G (2005). The Action Research Dissertation: AGuide for Students and Faculty. London: Sage.Justice, T. and Jamieson, D. W (1999). The Facilitator’s Fieldbook. NewYork: AmacomLederach, John Paul (1995). Preparing for Peace. Syracuse, NY:Syracuse University Press.Linds Warren (2006). “Metaxis: Dancing (in) the In-between” in Cohen-Cruz, Jan and Schutzman, Mady (eds), A Boal Companion: Dialogues onTheatre and Cultural Politics. London: Routledge.Marin, C (2005). Breaking Down Barriers, Building Dreams: UsingTheatre for Social Change to Explore the Concept of Identity with LatinaAdolescents. PhD Dissertation, Arizona State University.Martin, Randy (2006). “Staging the Political: Boal and the Horizons ofTheatrical Commitment” in Cohen-Cruz, Jan and Schutzman, Mady (eds),A Boal Companion: Dialogues on Theatre and Cultural Politics. London:Routledge.Steven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)133

Mitchell, M. M. (2007). Theatre of the Oppressed in United StatesPrisons: Eight Years of Working with Adult and Youth PrisonersExamined. PhD Dissertation, Cornell University.Mumford, M. (2009). Berthold Brecht. New York: Routledge.O’Connor, P. (2003). Reflection and Refraction: The Dimpled Mirror ofProcess Drama: How Process Drama Assist People Reflect on TheirAttitudes and Behaviours Associated with Mental Illness. PhDDissertation, Auckland: Griffith.Park-Fuller, L. (2008). “Beyond Role Play: Playback Theatre and ConflictTransformation. www.playbackcentre.org, (August 15, 2008).Pecaski McLennan, D. M. (2008). Kinder/caring: Exploring the Use and

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Effects of Sociodrama in a Kindergarten Classroom. PhD Dissertation,University of Windsor (Canada).Rohd, Michael. (1998).Theatre for Community, Conflict, and Dialogue:The Hope is Vital Training Manual. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Rollin, J. and Gabriel A. (2002). Manos a la Obra: Un Manual para elTrabajo con el Juventud en Salud Sexual y Reproducción. SociedadAlemana de Cooperación Tecnica: Eschborn, Germany.Sandi-Diaz, G. (2007). Latin American Theater for Social Change: TheCase of Augusto Boal and Enrique Buenaventura. University of Kansas,UMI MicroformSandoval Garcia, Carlos. (2004). Threatening Others: Nicaraguans andthe Formation of National Identities in Costa Rica. Athens, Ohio: OhioUniversity Press.Brenes Montoya, M., Masis Fernandez, K., Paniagua Arguedas, L.,Sanchez Solano, E. (eds), (2007). Nuestras Vidas en Carpio: Aportes parauna Historia Popular. San José, Costa Rica: Editorial Universidad deCosta Rica.Schroeter, S. (2009) Theatre in My Toolbox: Using Forum Theatre toExplore Notions of Identity, Belonging and Culture with FrancophoneSecondary Students in a Context of Diversity. PhD Dissertation, YorkUniversity (Canada).Dramatic Problem Solving: Transforming Community Conflict through Performance inCosta Rica134

Schutzman Mady and Cohen Cruz, Jan. (eds) (1994.). Playing Boal:Theatre, Therapy, and Activism. New York: Routledge.Schutzman Mady. (2006). “Social Healing and Liberatory Politics: ARound Table Discussion” in Cohen Cruz, J. and Schutzman, M., (eds), ABoal Companion: Dialogues on Theatre and Cultural Politics. London:Routledge.Schechner Richard. (2003). Performance Theory, 2nd Edition. London:Routledge.Schwarz Roger. (2002). The Skilled Facilitator. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Schwarz Roger. (2005). The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook. San Francisco:Jossey Bass.Senehi Jessica and Byrne Sean (2004). “From Violence Towards Peace:The Role of Storytelling for Youth Healing and Political Empowermentafter Social Conflict.” University of Manitoba, Canada. 2004.Slowiak, J. and Cuesta, J. (2007). Jerzy Grotowski. New York, Routledge.Smith, R E (2006). Theatre of the Oppressed and Magical Realism inTaiwanese and Hakka Theatre: Rectifying Unbalanced Realities withAssignment Theatre. PhD Dissertation, University of California, SantaBarbara.Snyder, D. (2008) The Rules that Rule Their Worlds: Urban YouthDeconstruct Their Antagonists Through Theatre of the Oppressed. PhDDissertation, New York University.Spence-Campbell, M. S (2008). Pedagogical Change: Using Drama to

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Develop the Critical Imagination. PhD Dissertation, University ofAlberta (Canada).Stringer Ernest (1999). Action Research. London: Sage.Sun, A. (2009). Promoting Breast Cancer Screening Among ChineseAmerican Women through Young Children's Theatrical Performance.PhD Dissertation, Walden University.Taylor Diana( 2002). The Archive and the Repertoire. Durham, NC: Duke.Steven T. Hawkins and Alexia Georgakopolous, Nova SoutheasternUniversity (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)135

Taylor Diana and Constantino, R. (eds) (2003). Holy Terrors: LatinAmerican Women Perform. Durham, NC: Duke.Turner, Victor. From Ritual to Theatre: The Human Seriousness of Play.New York: PAJ Publications. 1982. Text.Yancey Jason (2009). Dark Laughter: Liminal Sins in Quevedo'sEntremeses. PhD Dissertation, The University of Arizona,Zelizer Craig (2003). “The Role of Artistic Processes in Peacebuilding inBosnia-Herzogovina” Peace and Conflict Studies, vol. 10, no. 2, Fall pp.62-75.

The Power of Theatre in Transforming Conflicts at Kakuma Refugee Camp

By

Maurice O. Amollo

January, 2008

This piece was written while the author was completing a Master of Arts degree in Peace Studies at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

The major theoretical approaches to peacebuilding provide for the systemic dimension in the peacebuilding process. However, the cultural dimension — which carries with it local indigenous knowledge — has not been well integrated into the system; nor have practical indigenous methodologies been well integrated with theory. To understand these shortcomings, we need to look at John Paul Lederach's widely applied model. He has gone one step further than most, and many peacebuilding programs in Sub-Sahara Africa use his model. He outlines four stages in what he calls conflict transformation.[1] They are:

Dealing with immediate crisis;

Re-establishing working conditions;

Dealing with the systemic issues underlying the conflict;

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Finding a way to introduce the systemic issues so as to uphold, re-enforce and build on the mutual relationships established in stage two.

Lederach's "transformational" model offers the best available theoretical framework for integrating the indigenous and cultural dimension in the understanding of conflicts. His first stage includes establishment of a ceasefire, clean-up of war-torn areas, disarmament, delivery of relief aid, and restoration of security. This may take one to two years. The second stage, which is the building of relationships, may last twice as long as the first stage and includes getting the groups to talk, interact, and work with each other. From here, he moves to the systemic stage, where the focus is on transforming the systems of injustice and oppression — on unraveling the deep-seated structural incongruities and imbalances that are built into the system through traditions, history, and culture. In a way, this stage seeks to change whole cultures and the pathways that create and sustain situational injustice. The third stage attempts to arrive at a clear vision for the path that the peace process must follow. This stage is the hardest to achieve in any peacebuilding process.

However, most peacebuilding initiatives today get stuck in the second stage, even though states often create policy to deal with the third stage or its equivalent. Moving on to the third stage has remained a pipe dream in many such cases, because it presents the challenge of fostering a cultural integration process based on previously established cultural knowledge. To move into the third stage requires not only some element of institutional retooling and an examination of the socio-cultural roots of the conflict, but also an adequate "integrational vehicle" with which to facilitate the cultural changes sought in the third stage. Theatre/drama has the capacity to achieve this onerous task because:

As an oral medium in the local language, it appeals to and involves those audiences which, either through problems of illiteracy or through a lack of knowledge of the prevailing language, are kept out of the development of the political, social, and economic structures within which they live;

It is a means of cultural expression, and thus enhances the sense of ownership for everyone within the community;

The message to be put across becomes an integral part of entertainment — an enjoyable social occasion;

It provides a forum within which diverse — and sometimes sensitive — issues can be discussed without the fear of victimization or intimidation.

Crossing the Barrier: Rebuilding Relationships at Kakuma Refugee Camp In 2000/2001, Amani Peoples Theatre (APT), in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Caritas Italiana, conducted a drama peacebuilding program with young Sudanese refugees and local Turkana youth at the Kakuma refugee camp.The Sudanese refugees, numbering about 80,000, had escaped war from Southern Sudan and had been settled at a camp in Turkana-land, Northern Kenya. The Turkana are Nilotic pastoralist peoples of Kenya, and number around 350,000. The rate of poverty and insecurity is high in Turkana-land. The land itself, for the most part, is parched desert plain strewn with

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rusty sun-baked rocks and coarse sand, and some low and equally barren hills. The climate is dry and often blisteringly hot, and the paltry annual rainfall of around 250-300mm prevents all but the hardiest of desert plants from growing. In any case, rainfall patterns are unreliable and patchy. Life here is tough, and the arrival of thousands of refugees only made things worse.

The Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) consisted of three main factions: the SPLA Torit faction, led by John Garang; the SPLA Bahr-al-Ghazal faction, led by Carabino Kuany Bol; and the South Sudan Independence Movement, led by Rick Machar. The internal divisions had intensified fighting in the South, hampering any peace negotiations and affecting life in the refugee camp due to tribal alignments. A clash between any two of the adversaries in Sudan would always spill over to the camp with adverse effects. Even worse, the local community (the Turkanas) hated the refugees; they thought the UNHCR and other international NGOs were providing a good life for the refugees while turning a blind eye to the suffering of the Turkana community, even as Turkana land was used as a home for the refugees. The clashes between the refugees and the Turkanas were serious and deadly. APT was to work with the two parties — but particularly the youth, who were the main characters in the intermittent violent conflicts.

The APT project aimed to use drama/theatre as a tool by which peacebuilding and reconciliation could be enhanced among young refugee leaders and the local Turkana community. In the initial peacebuilding initiatives to end the violent fights between the refugees and the Turkana community, it had become clear to the UNHCR that a theoretical discourse with the youth in the camp on why they should embrace peace was proving ineffective. (It had slowly become clear that the famous dialogues between the "Turkana elders and refugee representatives" were not bearing much fruit; something more dramatic was required. The conflicts, having taken on a violent dimension, did not simply resist dialogue but actively destroyed it, bringing about an active reversion to a state anterior to language, to the sounds and cries a human being makes before language is learned; only now it was accompanied by lived memories of pain.

Working with 200 refugee and Turkana youth (divided into groups of 25 each in three-week blocks over two years), the artist facilitators started by asking them to do what neither the experience of a peacebuilder nor a rational solution for the problem could justify. In groups of five, the participants were asked to go and compose a play or dramatized dance in which they could express whatever they wanted — to the UNHCR, their friends, their governments, their countrymen, or the outer world and universe. Instead of talking, they were supposed to perform all their fears, nightmares, doubts, and opinions, and let the characters they had created do the talking for them.

At first, this process was hard and undertaken only with a lot of skepticism, confusion, and dead ends. But after five days, the artistic pieces started shaping up, showing the first contours of potential plays. The game of reconstructing life through stories on stage, in times of pain and destruction, started picking up. Their stories got condensed in time, space, and action, even as they were expanded to create new perceptions and understanding. It is in this sense that John Paul Lederach's conception of devising an appropriate infrastructure for peacebuilding[2] becomes important; this was a way to establish a safe

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space for a negotiated transition for a successful conflict transformation. This space, according to Soyinka[3], can be interpreted as the reflection of the archetypal struggle of the mortal being against exterior forces. It becomes a transitional abyss which confronts the actors in the same way it confronted Ogun (the first creative instinct and conqueror of transition leading to accommodation and harmony). However, the above analogy should not be restricted to the actors/performers on stage, but must be extended to the audience. After two visits, we had two open-ended performances, one of which was a play titled Bor, and the other a Dinka dramatized dance called Pinda, about new initiates into society. The two pieces allowed for audience involvement and participation through a facilitator. They were constructed as a microcosm of the realities of life at the camp and its implications for the local Turkana community, revealing fears, anxieties, aspirations, dreams, and visions. As such, when their performance was opened to the public, the theatrical space was constructed to transcend the actors and engulf the audience in order to create an unsigned mutual contract. The mutual arena of confrontation represented a symbolic conflictual space, and the roles of the characters within it revealed the fearful awareness of the delicate context of the participants' existence. The performances incorporated audience interaction, which precariously challenged the transitional abyss that nobody dared talk about in the "dialogue meetings" and made the play uniquely effective. The audience members could question the characters — their decisions, cultural assumptions, and values — and this led to extended dialogues long after the performances were over. These scenarios reinforce Soyinka's argument that: "Acting channels anguish into creative purpose which releases man from a total destructive despair, releasing from within him, the most energetic, deeply combative inventions in which, without usurping the territory of internal gulf bridges it with visionary hopes."[4]

A clear example of this power was manifested in the cultural creative dance, Pinda. Although the main spoken language was Dinka, the piece actually used very little dialogue, relying mainly on songs, dances, and mimes. It is important to understand that most of the songs and dances were ritually derived and would, under normal circumstances within their authentic culture, not be performed by non-Dinkas. But in making the dance drama, Dinkas and Turkanas sang and danced together, overcoming the challenges of putting together a creative work of art, oblivious to their cultural differences. During the performance, the crowd joined in the presentation, completely ignoring cultural affiliations within the theatrical space. Athough the central theme of the dance was drawn from the Dinka community, the audience came from a wide spectrum of the refugee community; it included Ethiopians, Somalis, and hundreds from the local Turkana community, and all participated enthusiastically without any particular cultural or racial inhibitions. The audience was drawn into the aesthetic nuances of the dance and the songs, and did not prioritize the source of the material. Indeed, at this time, all cultural "differences" and "otherness" got dissolved into the lyric and rhythm of the dance.

This power of song and dance to melt cultural and conflict boundaries is further captured by Tania Kaiser in an anthropological study of the ways in which musical and dance forms have been used to negotiate identities, bring about social transformation, and deal with political upheavals at the Kiryandongo refugee settlement in Uganda. Kaiser concludes that music and dance have been used by the residents of Kiryandongo "to negotiate competing and overlapping identities, providing a forum in which both a

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specifically Acholi identity, as well as a more inclusive Sudanese identity, can be asserted and explored."[5]It is in this sense that the theatrical space becomes a neutralizer of barriers — dismantling some and redefining others — and, in doing so, creates a safe space for discussion of pertinent structural imbalances and builds social harmony. As Cecil O'Niel observes, "the medium of drama is available for discovering and articulating ideas, feelings and aptitudes, and shaping this private understanding into public form."[6] If, in John Paul Lederach's[7] words, "to look is to draw attention to, or pay attention to... and to see, is to look beyond and deeper," then theatre is an appropriate and powerful tool, "a way of looking, as well as seeing."But the possibilities offered by theatre in bridging Lederach's third stage gap are not restricted to dramatized dance. The play, Bor, dramatized a conflict and the attempts at challenging the transitional abyss at several levels. Though the narrative focused primarily on the cultural and generational conflicts that were common at the camp, it also portrayed, in a larger sense, the developing tension that emerges as a result of the coexistence of two different cultures.In the play, the girl called Rot is a foreigner in the society she lives in, even though she has been a resident of this community since childhood. She has been brought up in their ways, but when the time comes for "initiation" (a rite of passage in her society), she is denied the opportunity to participate. However, her age-mates who go through the initiations vow to initiate her. They want to do this by allowing her to participate in the initiation dance, and moreover, to actually be the leader of the dance. Ultimately, however, the girls (but not the boys) feel jealous about Rot being the leader of the dance and rebel, marking the beginning of conflict between the male and female initiates.Through this conflict, the play magnified itself not only into a cultural and a generational gap, but also captured the discrimination against refugees by the local Turkana community, and the exclusion of Southern Sudanese from engaging in all sectors of Sudan by the Arab North. But, the play's dynamics became even more interesting during a discussion with members of the audience who saw the jealousy and rebellion against Rot by the female initiates as representative of the troubles in SPLA that had led to its eventual split.

In the play, the role of the ritual was subverted. Ordinarily, rituals should signify the whole process of cultural identification and consciousness; however, for the Turkana youth in the story of Bor, the converse is true: the initiation rite not only alienates them from their culture and tradition, but propels them to a new level of consciousness, leading to a rebellion. The new initiates challenge the community's long-held beliefs, which they deem as prejudicial against the aliens living among them. Thus in developing this play, the participants deliberately set out to subvert the ritual as a prelude to challenging the transitional abyss through a conflict, and subsequently introduced reconciliation and harmony.

When the play was staged, its theatrical space acquired ritual proportions and perspectives among the diverse audience. The space ignited a conflict intended not only towards transition, but also towards a transformation of behaviors among the parties in conflict — in this case, the Turkanas and the refugee community. This is well articulated by the protagonist hero of the play, Kur, when he implores his fellow initiates:

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Patience, patience my dear friends. We swore when the knife ate away our childhood that ours would be the season of light and sight. Our manhood and womanhood would be a fight against all darkness and blindness. Rot is part of our fight; if the elders have refused to admit her to womanhood with us, that is their blindness and we should not follow blind men into ditches of their ignorance.[8]

The play reaches its climax when the initiates become adamant in their demands, confronting the conservative elders and the transitional abyss. Hence, the young actors and their audience not only dared look into transitional essence, but also triumphantly bridged it with knowledge and vision — a scenario well captured in protagonist Kur's words when he declares:

Here in this great land of our forefathers, in the soil of their bodies,

You the future of our forefathers,

Take up your spears...Raise them before our ancestors and the elders

Here before the father of the hills and the valleys

Swear, WE WILL NOT KILL no man, or woman, no

Child will die at the strength of these spears.

This is our season, and it will be a season of life and peace

We will not kill,

Men must live

Here before our forefathers,

We deposit our spears. [thrust spears on the ground]

Kur's statement must be understood in a larger and wider sense. The statement, though directed at characters in the play, was meant for the refugee and local Turkana community in attendance at the performance. In this way, one can see how the theatre and its space becomes a conciliatory medium, as the statement challenges our narrow cultural beliefs and attitudes. Within the safe confines of this play, the youth explored Lederach's nested paradigm[9], bringing to the fore issues deeply buried in the system, taken for granted even though they contributed to the recurrent conflicts. The power of theatre as a vehicle for negotiating transitions and transformations is captured by Wole Soyinka in his description of the Yoruba Ogun, or the first creator. He says:

The first conqueror of transition was Ogun. The Yoruba metaphysics of accommodation and resolution would only come after the passage of the gods through transition gut, after the demonic text of the self will of Ogun the explorer, god in the creative cauldron of cosmic powers — only after such testing could the harmonious Yoruba world be born; a harmonious will which accommodates every alien material or abstract phenomenon within its infinitely stressed spirituality.

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At all levels, theatre includes a mechanism for transformation. At the level of staging, there are costumes and masks, exercises and incantations, incense and music, all designed to allow the performer to exist in another time and place, but to simultaneously manifest a presence in the here and now, so that time and place are doubled. It is in this doubling of time and space that theatre becomes privileged among other reconciliation approaches in serving as an "integrational vehicle," able to unblock movement to John Paul Lederach's stage three. It becomes paramount in the whole process of intervention and transference of information, as well as in the entire process of mediation and conciliation.The two productions in Kakuma acted as a lens to help the parties in conflict perceive the patterns of their conflict — to realize that domination and injustice were part of endlessly repeating social and personal "scripts." When the world is a theatre of violence, as is the case in post-conflict communities, the roles are strictly limited. There is the aggressor, the accommodator, the avoider, and the counter-aggressor. The scripts for each of these roles, when played out on stage, can expose the conflicts for what they really are.

True transformation should discard old scripts and enact a new system, using locally sourced symbols. Theatre offers the opportunity to dramatize possibilities where none existed before. It offers a space in which to try alternative ideas for resolving conflict and to jar ourselves and others loose from the spell of structural imbalances, breaking the action/reaction cycle so typical of protracted conflicts. It offers a space for exposing the offending scripts of violence and structural domination and then the ability to rewrite those scripts, enacting a drama that replaces the existing conflicts with a formula that is more human and just. In this sense, theatre becomes an active process of revision and re-enactment of the systemic structure of our life.

Conclusion. The second stage of John Paul Lederach's conflict transformation model — getting the groups to talk together, to interact and work with each other — is much easier than making them face up to the challenge of unraveling the deep-seated structural incongruities and imbalances that are deeply built into the system. It requires a different approach from what was originally happening in Kakuma. The initial approach failed to account for the fact that the players in a conflict frequently have no other frame of reference. It is the world in which they live and move. It is "the way things are." In this case, people's ideas about conflict had become culturally conditioned and constructed. But in providing a space within which these assumptions can be challenged, theatre tells us that those scripts of structural violence, though enshrined at the heart of a culture, can be re-written. Scenarios of violence, though reinforced endlessly and thus often forming well-grooved neural pathways, can be transformed.

Music and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2

Music and Art in Conflict Transformation: A ReviewARILD BERGH & JOHN SLOBODA

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University of Exeter | UK*

Oxford Research Group | UKABSTRACTSince the early 1990s, there has been an increase in the use of music and the artswithin a conflict transformation context. This guest editorial discusses thedevelopments in this research and practical area. The current status of the field,and challenges it faces, are then examined within the context of this issue's themeof the arts and conflict transformation/peace building.*HUSS, University of Exeter, Rennes Drive, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 2http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2

INTRODUCTIONIn Music and Arts in Action's first theme issue we focus on two areas that until recentlywere treated as separate, namely music/arts and conflict transformation/peacebuilding. In recent years, however, these two areas have often been joined up andhave received increased interest from musicians, practitioners and academics. It is anarea where we can learn a lot about how music and art is used (positively andnegatively) in situations that are relatively extreme, thus expanding our understandingof how the arts and their use affect us. There is also an important role forresearchers and practitioners to play here to help improve the results of interventionsaimed at reducing conflict and tension.In this extended editorial we provide some background information from twoconverging viewpoints: Sloboda has for many years researched the psychology ofmusic (Sloboda 2005) and simultaneously but separately been a peace activist and,more recently a contributor to peace research and policy (Abbott, Rogers & Sloboda2007) whereas Bergh has combined the two areas in a recently concluded PhD onmusic and conflict transformation (Bergh 2010). Here we sketch out the backgroundagainst which this issue’s papers have emerged. We will first examine recent andcurrent forms of violent conflict, and rather importantly, how music has often beenused to generate or support conflict, rather than reduce it. This will be followed by a

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historical background to the growth of music and arts in small scale conflicttransformation as it is currently practised. Given our backgrounds the focus willprimarily be on music. We will conclude this section by discussing some of the coreproblems that have been highlighted through a overview of the articles in the currentissue and how they in different ways help improve this situation.MODERN CONFLICTS AND CONFLICT TRANSFORMATIONSince the 1990s the attention of conflict transformation researchers and practitionershas been increasingly directed towards what Kaldor (1999) calls “new wars”, warsthat are more complex than before and are frequently internal to a country. Typicalexamples of this are the wars in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s or the conflictthat affected Northern Ireland from 1968 to 1998. The term “protracted socialconflicts” coined by Azar (Azar et al. 1978; Ramsbotham 2005) in the 1970s capturesthe essence of these wars by describing them as “hostile interactions which extend over longperiods of time with sporadic outbreaks of open warfare fluctuating in frequency and intensity.”(Azar et al. 1978, p.50). Azar identified four elements of protracted social conflicts;unfulfilled basic needs such as security or recognition; lack of good governance bythe state; identity issues (referred to as communal content); and internationallinkages, whereby a country intervenes across borders, directly or through supportfor one side (Ramsbotham 2005, pp.114-117). Azar maintained that as conflicts weremore complex than the Cold War bi-polarisation indicated, they should also behandled by different academic disciplines working together since no single disciplinecovered all aspects of such conflicts (Miall et al. 1999, p.99). This is something takento heart in this issue where ethnomusicologists, music psychologists, theatrepractitioners and sociologists all discuss different aspects of the role of music and

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arts in conflict transformation.Today there is a clearly established, but very diverse, discipline of conflicttransformation/conflict resolution (Miall et al. 1999; Kemp & Fry 2004; Wallensteen2002; Woodhouse 2000). A major strand in the recent development of this discipline© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 3http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2

has been the increasing adoption of a human security approach to conflict andconflict resolution (for instance, Human Security Report Project (2005)). Thepremise of a human security approach is that no political or strategic goals can bepursued that ignore basic human needs for safety, well-being and livelihood. Peopleon the ground, and their legitimate aspirations, should be an integral part of anypolitical or strategic considerations. This has opened the door to conflict-resolutionactivities at all levels of society, not just at the level of the state or inter-stateprocesses which dominated the conflict-resolution community during the cold war.This has meant more opportunities for small scale, local peace building with newapproaches and experiments. These new approaches tend to focus on the psycho-socialeffects of conflict (Miall et al. 1999, pp.269-277; Stubbs 1995; Bradbury 1998, p.335;Chandler 2000, pp.147-148), e.g. traumas and other invisible effects of war that wereoften ignored in earlier conflict transformation work. The projects developed in thisspace range from dialogue workshops (Lumsden & Wolfe 1996; Maoz 2000), drama(Epskamp 1999), cross cultural music events (Independent 2005) and reconciliationwork (Chicuecue 1997; Chirwa 1997) to music therapy with traumatised children inBosnia-Herzegovina (Osborne 2004; Sutton 2002).It is within this psycho-social domain of conflict transformation that music and artare used. The activities themselves have generally been ad hoc with little theoretical

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underpinning specific to the use of arts and the academic research that focus on theintersection of music/art and conflict transformation is rather limited.MUSIC IN CONFLICTSMusic as a social activity and distribution mechanism of ideology is often used tofoment conflicts, a brief summary of how music has been used for such purposes istherefore useful. This, we hope, will also demonstrate that not utilising music forpeaceful purposes will leave it open to abuse by those who attempt to maintainboundaries between enemies, either by performing music that emerged during aconflict, by creating new music that commemorates a conflict or through music thathighlight latent conflicts. Over time such unchallenged enemy images of “the other”can become part of future conflicts as happened in Northern Ireland after the 1960s(McCann 1995).Before a conflict music is often used to mobilise resources for “the cause”: in NaziGermany in the 1930s music provided a uniting focus in the large Nuremberg rallies(Reinert 1997, pp.13-14);1 in Croatia independently produced tapes of ultranationalisticCroation music were produced and sold before the war started in the1990s (Pettan 1998, pp.11-12) and in Serbia turbo-folk2 was used by Serbians tobolster the myth of the Serbian uniqueness (Hudson 2003; Bohlman 2003, p.215).Kosovo Albanians actively used music videos to disseminate a message that tried tocreate a national identity whilst also bolstering preparation for war (Sugarman 2006,p.13). Music is also used to clarify and disseminate ideology as discussed for instancewith regards to White Power music (Corte & B. Edwards 2008; Eyerman 2002;Futrell et al. 2006).Music during wartime has tended to be thought of as a morale booster or a diversionfor the non-fighting population, as seen in the UK during the second world war

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1 For more discussions on music use in Nazi Germany see Levi (1994), Gilbert (2005), Reinert(1997), Bergh, Sutherland and Hashim (2008) and Jaros (2005).2 A mixture of Eurovision Song Contest style pop with traditional folk music/themes.© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 4http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2

(Weingartner 2006) or in parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990s(Hadzihusejnovic-Valasek 1998; Zelizer 2004). In active warfare music has been usedto marshal troops in(to) battle, through marching rhythms that help build a(temporary) community and foster strong euphoric feelings (McNeill 1995). In the2003 invasion of Iraq American soldiers played recordings of loud, predominantlyrap, metal and hardcore music, whilst engaging in patrols and attacks inside armouredvehicles (Gittoes 2006).In times of war music has also been used to intimidate as was seen in the Balkans(Hogg 2004, p.223; Pettan 1998, p.18) or in the second world war (Moreno 1999, p.4;Gilbert 2005, pp.177-178). Music has also been used as torture (Cloonan & Johnson2002) to torment and humiliate prisoners of war (Cusick 2006; Bayoumi 2005).Songs have been used to encourage fighting in Rwanda (African Rights 1995) andSudan where the hakkamah, female praise singers from Darfur (Carlisle 1973) have inrecent years used their skills to encourage jihad (Lacey 2004).Thus music is not inherently peaceful and groups and individuals who want to createor maintain conflicts have often made good use of music to further their agenda.However, this does not mean that these musical positions are fixed. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for instance songs about Jerusalem have often changed as a resultof political twists and turns on the ground (Al-Taee 2002). Hence a musician thatsings for conflict today may sing for peace tomorrow.AN OVERVIEW OF MUSIC AND ART IN CONFLICT TRANSFORMATIONIn this summary we sketch out a rather broad picture of the literature on music/artand conflict transformation as it has emerged over the past 20 years, space

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consideration prohibits a in-depth review of each contribution.It is important to realise that the use of music or art in conflict transformationcontexts is not a new innovation. In the Philippines for example, the BuwayaKalingga People established peace pacts that were cemented through feasts whichincluded peace pact specific songs (Prudente 1984).However, in recent years there has been an increase in the use of the arts by nongovernmentalorganisations (NGOs) who are increasingly involved in local andinternational mediation efforts. NGOs are commonly seen as least-contentiouschannels for external funding, and can often provide a neutral meeting ground forparties who would otherwise find it hard to come together. On the other hand, therehas been increasing criticism over the domination of external NGOs in someconflict zones, whose operations can drain resource and capacity away from theindigenous population (Ghani & Lockhart 2008). Partnerships between internationalNGOs and local citizen-led organisations may work better if there is real sharing ofdecision-making. However, in many conflict areas (or areas emerging from conflict)such local organisations are thin on the ground, and can often be infected by strongpolitical or sectional interests such that their involvement polarises, rather than bringstogether, the key sectors of local society. A 1996 review of the workshop model byLumsden and Wolfe (1996, p.48) pointed towards current trends when suggesting amove away from purely analytical approaches to using arts related methods for“creative problem solving” efforts.A common approach to using music for conflict transformation is the multiculturalproject or event. These have been arranged in late modern countries since the 1970s© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 5http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2

when Rock Against Racism (Frith & Street 1992; Roberts 2009) and similar concerts

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took place. Although not a method per se, the general purpose of such events iscommonly defined as an endeavour to “build bridges” (Lundberg et al. 2000, p.138;Al-Taee 2002, p.53; Skyllstad 1995, p.10) between different groups who are perceivedto be in conflict. Multicultural events frequently take place in educational settings(Baird 2001; Fock 2004; Evron 2007; Bradley 2006). Skyllstad has written extensivelyabout music and conflict transformation based on the “Resonant Community”project in Norwegian schools in the early 1990s (Skyllstad 1995; Skyllstad 1997;Skyllstad 2000). The focus in what he has described was on changing attitudestowards immigrants among young pupils by exposing them to music from aroundthe world. Similar projects have been researched (with less positive outcomesreported) by Einarsen (1998; 2002), Fock (1997; 2004) and Evron (2007) amongstothers.More specifically connected to protracted social conflicts we can observe that theconflicts in the Balkans and between Israel and Palestine, which due to their locationand connection to “the West” received considerable media attention and outsideintervention, were the sites of frequent mediation efforts using the arts at the nonstatelevel. These range from joint Israeli-Palestinian CDs (Music Channel 1995)being recorded after the Oslo Accord; joint folk arts exhibitions from the Jewish andPalestinian diaspora communities in Boston (Cohen 2005b); theatre used forreconciliation in Bosnia-Herzegovina (Davis 2005); multicultural workshopsinvolving the arts (Sultoon 2001) via music therapy with children (Ng 2005) to brassband performances drawing children from different ethnic groups with foreignvisitors (Veledar 2008).With regards to literature on music/art and conflict transformation, this startedemerging in the 1990s. The edited volume Arts Approaches to Conflict Resolution

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(Liebmann 1996) from 1996 has a number practitioners and academics discussingdifferent aspects of conflict transformation through music therapy, drama and arts inthe community. The edited volume People Building Peace (European Centre for ConflictPrevention 1999) covers a wide range of peace activities on the local level.Ungerleider (1999) discusses the role of music and poetry in conflict transformationefforts in Cyprus. In the same volume Epskamp (1999) draws on personal experienceas a community artist from theatre of development as well as summaries of anumber of practical music initiatives around the world to provide a list of “lessonslearnt”. Weaver's (2001) thesis on music and reconciliation suggests that one shouldsee reconciliation between parties in a conflict as a creative process.Zelizer (2003; 2004) conducted research in Bosnia-Herzegovina and focused on thepractical use of artistic processes in peace building in so-called identity conflicts. Theunderlying idea was that these conflicts can be resolved by broadening ortranscending the identity of the participant beyond their separate and conflictimbuedgroup identities. Overall his work provides an early look at this field withempirical data from the field, albeit mainly focused on musicians and organisers.Cohen (2005a), Zelizer and Weaver all suggest that emotional work, not strict rationalthough, is the route to reconciliation after civil war. However, Cohen also stressesthat music and arts should connect with other conflict transformation type activitiesand take into consideration the context within which the work is done. Such advice isrelevant to all individual peace building initiatives, not just those involving music. Coordinationbetween disparate activities is essential to strategic progress, and it is© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 6http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2

precisely the lack of co-ordination which has so profoundly hampered peace buildingand development activities around the globe (Ghani & Lockhart 2008). However,

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this injunction has particular force when considering music, precisely because musicis, despite the enthusiasm of the current constituency, a statistically rare componentof global peace building efforts. Most people involved in conflict resolution activitiesworldwide have never used music as part of their toolkit, and have no conceptual orpractical understanding of its dimensions or benefits. Unless music practitioners cantalk the wider language of conflict-resolution, and show a professional understandingof the larger toolkit, their efforts are likely to remain marginalised and largelyineffective.Haskell (2005, p.8) who studied NGOs and international cultural aid in Bosnia-Herzegovina suggested that “issues of power and control should be central to any study ofsituations which involve patronage”. In Haskell’s fieldwork on a village and its relationshipto an international NGO, she found that when funding was allocated to start a villagefolklore group they had to fit into the NGOs way of working. Beckles-Wilson (2007)has also discussed the issue of power in music and conflict transformation effortswith regards to the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the Israeli and Arab youthorchestra mentioned earlier. She is mainly concerned with the negotiations of powerbetween the instigator and conductor Barenboim and the young musicians, andshows that despite the utopian character of the orchestra (Beckles Willson 2009) it isclearly dominated by Barenboim.A number of recent articles by music therapists on music and war, peace, trauma andrefugees (Hunt 2005; Ng 2005; Akombo 2000; J. Edwards 2005; Kennedy 2001;Lopez 2007) point to an increasing interest in the topic of music and conflicttransformation from music therapists. Dunn (2008) provides an exploration of thepotential for music use with adults in mediation situations, primarily through role

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playing by mediators. Community Music Therapy (CoMT) (Pavlicevic & Ansdell 2004) isincreasingly used to deal with victims of war and torture both in one on one musictherapy sessions (Zharinova-Sanderson 2004), as well as groups of children (Sutton2002). The use of music for therapeutic purposes may also occur in casual ways, e.g.a US soldier rapped about his experiences in Iraq to cope with the aftermath of hisdeployment there (Gilchrist 2006) and in Uganda “One young man is playing a stringinstrument […] all day long, but is too traumatised to talk about his role as a [Lord’s ResistanceArmy] commander” (Mirren 2005).Two recent books have put music and art more firmly on the agenda for conflicttransformation. The first is a monograph by a well known peace building scholar andpractitioner Lederach (cf.1997) who engaged with the question of how artists cancontribute to peace building in his book The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul ofBuilding Peace (2005). One chapter is devoted to the discussion of music and arts inconflict transformation, with a number of anecdotes used to illustrate a wide rangeof points, within a book that is primarily philosophical and spiritual in tone. Thesecond book is the edited volume Music and Conflict Transformation (Urbain 2007).Over a number of chapters music therapists, psychologists, academics, musicians andpractitioners discuss different aspects of music either used for, or as a form ofconflict transformation, both in areas of protracted social conflicts and multiculturalsocieties. More recently Bornstein (2008) has researched the artistic and religiouscontributions to peace building in Indonesia.© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 7http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2WHAT NEXT FOR MUSIC AND CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION?An in-depth review of the literature summarised above and empirical data collected

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from conflict transformation projects that had used music in Sudan3 and Norway4

(Bergh 2007; Bergh 2008; Bergh 2011(forthcoming)) raised a number of concernswith regards to the use of the arts for conflict transformation purposes. In particularit became clear that in general there exists an overly optimistic view of what musicand art can achieve in conflict transformation situations which has a negative effecton the outcomes. These problems provided the impetus for inviting contributions tothe present issue of Music and Arts in Action. It is therefore reassuring to see that thepapers presented here all tackle some of these issues and help move this increasinglyimportant field forward. We now briefly discuss the main points that were uncoveredand (where appropriate) relevant papers from this issue that deal with these concerns.The participants views are rarely heard: In most research on music and conflicttransformation only artists and organisers are interviewed, and they tend (ratherunsurprisingly) to report success. This is particularly puzzling as the participants' livesare meant to be altered through engaging with music. Musicians are seen as impartial,and their quotes are often taken as proof of music's effectiveness. The frequentfocus on musicians implies that any positive changes are bestowed (at will) uponparticipants by gifted musicians and the participant-music interactions are rarelyinterrogated. Positive reports may therefore be a result of informants trying to pleasethe organisers. Fock (2004, pp.23-24) for instance found that teachers in a Danishmulticultural music project were more cautious when reporting changes in pupils toher than in the questionnaires returned to the organisers. Furthermore, theparameters by which success is measured are set by the organisation, and their“world view” is used as a starting point; any lack of local knowledge that affects

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conflict transformation negatively goes unnoticed.Past articles in Music and Arts in Action have provided good examples of how valuableunderstanding of how music and arts get into action in everyday life is obtainedthrough direct interviews with people who engage with the arts: Lawson (2009) hasdiscussed amateur tap dancers and their motivations and Corte & Edwards (2008)researched the use of music by white power activists. In the present issue thisapproach has been used successfully by Brooks, Jennings & Baldwin, Riiser andRoberts who conducted research in USA, Northern Ireland, Spain and Bosnia-Herzegovina.Music’s role is exaggerated or taken out of context: When participants'understandings of conflict transformation are ignored, the result is often that musicis elevated to a level that is not matching participants’ experience. In Norway theparticipants generally liked the musical events but did not see them as particularlyimportant, as one former pupil said: “For us it was like going on an excursion to a powerstation” (Bergh 2010, p.133), whereas the official report often focused on the idea ofmusical peak experiences (Skyllstad 1992, pp.8,17,37,50,79). Furthermore, there areno attempts at trying to open the “black box” of the artistic episodes that is oftenillustrated through anecdotes, the aesthetic experiences are often seen as selfexplanatory as to why any conflict transformation changes take place. Thus3 Data in Sudan was collected from a settlement of people who were internally displaced inEast Sudan due to the 22 year civil war in Sudan. Here music was used as a meeting placebetween 29 different ethnic groups.4 The Norwegian data came from interviews with former pupils who were involved with the“Resonant Community” project in Norway from 1989 to 1992.© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 8http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2

suggestions such as “The arts by nature hold significant power to transform individuals and

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societies” (Zelizer 2004, p.59) are made without any proof or further discussion as towhat this power is. In this issue of Music and Arts in Action Riiser and Roberts bothshow how important contextualisation is to understand the real role of music and artin conflict transformation and not be seduced by anecdotes discussed in isolation.Relationships, musicking and interventions: Relationship building is, quiterightly, seen as a core element of conflict transformation, this is clearly illustrated inthe articles in this issue. However, when music is used there is an underlyingassumption that one can quickly create long lasting relationships where none existedbefore. What we found was that this is a process that takes a long time, in Sudan anelder in the settlement explained how the relationships between tribes hadstrengthened over time due to regular joint musicking over a 10 year period:[…] those people, when in the past, when they were simple, they used to go to eachother as tribes. Now there is a development; even the bands go to participate in theoccasions of the people, they go to participate and the people also participate; thebands have brought the people closer together.Thus there is a problematic notion that interventions by outside organisations areassumed to make lasting changes. Roberts, Brooks and Jennings & Baldwin all showthat long term community based activities can have an effect, and the communityaspect is increasingly important to understand. Interventions can also haveunexpected side-effects. In Sudan an international NGO helped form professionalbands with their own costumes to help raise their income, but as woman explained:Now singing and dancing has become limited to those who are recognized asmembers of the bands. The rest of the people have been turned into spectators.This has limited the extent of enjoyment of the rest of people as it has become likea stage where they perform and we, the public are the spectators.Traditions and multicultural issues: Conflict transformation work that focuses onmulti-cultural issues is prevalent, and often takes place in educational settings as

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aforementioned. This area exposes a range of problems that tend to have a negativeeffect on the conflict transformation efforts. Often organisers assume that differentethnic groups have a homogeneous, unchanging culture. In multicultural contextsthis presents particular problems. Often the invocation of multiple cultures reifiesthe very boundaries and problems they seek to challenge by emphasising “the other”(Milligan 1999) something that Riiser discusses in her article on the West-EasternDivan Orchestra. One of the informants in Norway who was a young (14 year old)performer in the project explained that in her later experience:[…] what I have tried to experiment with a little when I work with kids since, try torelate to kids on the similarities. First and foremost. And then bring in thedifferences, but not starting up with the differences. Because I think differences putpeople's backs up instantly and it instantly puts on this kind of strange barrier intheir mind which goes me and you. I am here, you are there and that's kind of it.Thus multicultural music projects often share certain basic problems: a failure torealise that they often increase, rather than reduce, differences; a problematicassumption (implied or explicit) of music being a universal language; the notion thatmerely playing music to different social groups will bring them together. A formerpupil illustrated how the enjoyment of music does not necessarily translate into animproved view of others:© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 9http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2[…] it was fun to watch [the African musicians] when they played, a little comical andwe laughed a bit at their costumes and the way they played, like "is this the way theyplay?", in a way teasing/bullying [about] the outfits and the way they played.Top-down vs bottom-up power issues: It is obvious that the power wielded byNGOs and (visiting) artists is largely ignored in writings on music in this field. Yetthere is clearly an imbalance in power between organisers and participants. Zelizer

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(2004, p.156) has highlighted this: “Much of the arts-based peacebuilding related work is partof the huge post-war investment of international funds and expertise to support extensivehumanitarian and peacebuilding work” and Haskell (2005) suggested that power andcontrol should be central concerns to any inquiry in this area. As a weaker party mayprefer to “play along” with what they assume the stronger party wants, partly out ofdeference, partly to avoid trouble (Munch 1964), it is important both forpractitioners and researchers to pay attention to power issues (Assal 2002).Although it is important that academics also get involved in this field as Pettandiscusses in this issue, we must also be reflexive about our involvement, a key pointdiscussed by Jennings & Baldwin in their article. There is a danger, as was foundfrom the data from both Norway and Sudan that networks of professionals emergethat sideline real local involvement.Interventions may also be too laden with theory or ideology upfront. In a complexand emerging field such as music and conflict transformation this is problematic: Inthis issue Robertson discusses this point with regards to his own work on music andconflict transformation (Robertson 2006) which had to be revised with considerablyless focus on theoretical rules once empirical data had been collected in Bosnia-Herzegovina.Top-down approaches to conflict transformation also means that there may be aconsiderable difference between what leaders think, and the opinions of theparticipants, as Riiser demonstrates in this issue. In Norway a teacher suggested that:I do actually think that the pupils also thought it was good music and good dance,and that they simply liked what they saw. It wasn’t, I think, that they thought, greatthat we escape teaching and do something else, I don’t think so.However the following quotes from some of former pupils tell a very different story:“I think we kind of saw it as a bit of time off or at least time off from the usualroutines of the school day”. “We didn’t have to stay in the classroom, and have

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[regular] teaching, so it was a bit OK to get into the music room and watch someoneplay.” “It was fun time off ” “[…]I think we were more happy to avoid doing schoolwork and [have] fun different places.”Evaluations are geared towards claiming success, not exploring what tookplace and how music may work: Evaluations are central to conflict transformationprojects where outsiders are involved, a successful evaluation may be the key tofurther funding for NGOs or future work for musicians. Various forms ofevaluations are also what support claims of music's effectiveness as a tool for conflicttransformation.The review of the existing literature indicates that frequently occurring concernsinclude: evaluations that are done by organisers and authority figures; the assumptionthat any changes inside a short term project automatically affect the participants’lifeworlds in the long term; positive changes are assumed to come solely from music© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 10http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2

use and little attention is paid to the context; anecdotal evidence is seen as “proof ”and personal experiences of music are extrapolated to apply to entire societies.These concerns all link back to a single issue: the tendency to interpret and observethe use of music in conflict transformation in a distinct top-down manner. As withconflict transformation in general, this causes problems as it fails to thoroughlyunderstand any conflict transformation processes that may occur through music.Here Jennings & Baldwin's article on evaluations of drama and theatre in Northern-Ireland is invaluable to shed further light on a very important part of interventionsthrough the arts.Passive versus active engagement and sustainability: The default mode ofengagement with music in most societies is that of consumer of recorded music, or

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spectator at live musical events. The vast majority of episodes of musicalengagement in everyday life take place in the context of a non-musical activity whichdominates the priorities of the individual concerned (Sloboda 2010). So, people listento music on portable music devices as they undertake daily tasks, ranging fromdriving a car, doing housework, exercising, or studying (Sloboda, Lamont, & Greasley2009). This offers both an opportunity and a threat to music in conflict initiatives.The opportunity is that music offered into a conflict situation by external actors cansurvive the duration of the intervention if it finds its way onto the CDs and IPodswhich will allow its survival and dissemination long after the end of a funded-project.The threat is that the essentially passive nature of the relationship between listenerand music will be insufficiently robust to offer an engine of significant change whichendures beyond the immediate confines of the intervention. Long-term personal andsocial change after music engagement tends to occur where the involvement is active;it involves the participant in the structured acquisition and regular exercise ofmusical skills over a period of time measured in months rather than days (e.g.Spychiger, Patry, Lauper, Zimmerman, & Weber 1995; Harland, Kinder, Stott,Schagen & Haynes 2000). In contrast, where the musical intervention involveslistening alone, effects are often short-lived and ephemeral (e.g. Hetland 2000;Sloboda 2007). This is clearly demonstrated in Brooks paper where activists havesustain (often decades long) involvement through communal sing alongs.More attention needs to be given to the nature and extent of engagement that musicinterventions in conflict bring about or encourage in the participants that are thetargets of the intervention. This needs to be informed by a better understanding of

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the diverse ways in which music and musical engagement can impact on non-musicalbehaviour (see for instance Clayton 2009; Rauscher 2009, Hallam & MacDonald2009; North & Hargreeves 2009; Garofalo 2010; Thaut & Wheeler 2010)SUMMARYWe hope to have demonstrated that music and arts in conflict transformation is notonly an interesting field for academic reasons, it is also an important space for thedevelopment of relationships beyond the art event itself. These relationships are animportant part of ensuring that violent conflicts are avoided in the future. This fieldis developing rapidly and the lack of theoretical foundations, which means manyprojects do not survive in “the wild” beyond the evaluation stage, is in urgent needof improvement. Here academics should consider being more than “diagnosticians”.As Pettan suggests in this issue, there is scope for academics to actively involvethemselves in conflict transformation, although one should be aware of the ethicalimplications of this. Conflict transformation interventions in a community requires© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 11http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2

considerable reflexivity as Jennings and Baldwin explain in their paper. Practitionersand academics need to work together, and it is important that the type of peacebuilding communities that Brooks describes are nurtured long term through musicand arts that are suitable for their situations. Relying on short term, strong emotionalreactions to aesthetic experiences is counter productive. It is longer term projectssuch as the choir in Bosnia-Herzegovina that Roberts discusses that can benefit froman academic investigation, where it is important to understand power dynamics andidentity issues as Riiser demonstrates in her paper. Overall we see that whether we

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engage with international “high art” or local community theatre, with communalsinging during anti-war protests or post-war choirs, the aesthetic experiences do notoccur in isolation, they are always connected with the “nitty-gritty” of everyday life.With this issue of Music and Arts in Action we wanted to provide a more in-depth andcritical view of this exciting and emerging field. This we feel our contributors haveachieved, and we look forward to future work in this field.

REFERENCESAbbott, C., Rogers, P.F., & Sloboda, J. A. (2007) Beyond Terror: the Truth About the Real Threats toOur World. London: Rider.African Rights, 1995. Rwanda, not so innocent: when women become killers, London: AfricanRights.Akombo, D.O., 2000. Reporting on Music Therapy in Kenya. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 9(1).Available at: http://www.voices.no/mainissues/mitext11akombo.html [Accessed October 8,2009].Al-Taee, N., 2002. Voices of peace and the legacy of reconciliation: popular music, nationalism,and the quest for peace in the Middle East. Popular Music, 21(01), 41–61.Assal, M.A.M., 2002. A Discipline Asserting Its Identity And Place: Displacement, Aid AndAnthropology In Sudan. Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, 18(1), 63-96.Azar, E.E., Jureidini, P. & McLaurin, R., 1978. Protracted Social Conflict; Theory and Practice in theMiddle East. Journal of Palestine Studies, 8(1), 41-60.Baird, P.J., 2001. Children's song-makers as messengers of hope: Participatory research withimplications for teacher educators. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. San Francisco: Universityof San Francisco.Bayoumi, M., 2005. Disco Inferno. The Nation, 26. Available at:http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051226/bayoumi.Beckles Willson, R., 2007. The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. British Academy Review, (10), 15-17.Beckles Willson, R., 2009. Whose Utopia? Perspectives on the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.Music and Politics, (Summer), 1-21.Bergh, A., 2007. I'd like to teach the world to sing: Music and conflict transformation. MusicaeScientiae, (Special issue 2007), 141-157.Bergh, A., 2008. Everlasting love: The sustainability of top-down vs bottom-up approaches tomusic and conflict transformation. In S. Kagan & V. Kirchberg, eds. Sustainability: A new frontierfor the arts and cultures. Higher Education for Sustainability. Frankfurt am Main, VAS.Bergh, A., 2010. I'd like to teach the world to sing: Music and conflict transformation. UnpublishedDoctoral Dissertation. University of Exeter.

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Bergh, A., forthcoming. Emotions in motion: Transforming conflict and music. In I. Deliege & J.W. Davidson, eds. Music and the Mind: Investigating the functions and processes of music (a bookin honour of John Sloboda). Oxford: Oxford University Press.© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 12http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2Bergh, A., Hashim, M.J. & Sutherland, I., 2008. Music of the fears: The dialogue betweenmusicking, war and peace. In ESA Sociology of the Arts Research Network Conference. IUAVUniversity, Venice.Bohlman, P., 2003. The music of European nationalism: cultural identity and modern history,California: ABC-CLIO.Bornstein, J.L., 2008. Religion And Art As Peacebuilding Tools, A Case Study Of The Education OfArts Appreciation Program, Solo, Indonesia.Bradbury, M., 1998. Normalising the Crisis in Africa. Disasters, 22(4), 328-338.Bradley, D., 2006. Global Song, Global Citizens? Pitfalls and Potentials on the Journey toMulticultural Human Subjectivity. Unpublished conference paper, ISA.Carlisle, R.C., 1973. Women Singers in Darfur, Sudan Republic. Anthropos, 68, 785-800.Chandler, D., 2000. Bosnia: Faking Democracy After Dayton, London: Pluto Press.Chicuecue, N.M., 1997. Reconciliation: the role of truth commissions and alternative ways ofhealing. Development in Practice, 7, 483.Chirwa, W., 1997. Collective memory and the process of reconciliation and reconstruction.Development in Practice, 7, 479.Clayton, M. (2009) The social and personal functions of music in cross-cultural perspective. In S.Hallam, I. Cross, & M. Thaut (Eds.) (2009) The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology. Oxford:Oxford University Press.Cloonan, M. & Johnson, B., 2002. Killing me softly with his song: an initial investigation into theuse of popular music as a tool of oppression. Popular Music, 21(1), 27-39.Cohen, C., 2005a. Creative approaches to reconciliation. In M. Fitzduff & C. E. Stout, eds. ThePsychology of Resolving Global Conflicts: From War to Peace vol 3. Greenwood Publishing Group,pp. 69-102.Cohen, C., 2005b. Engaging with the Arts to Promote Coexistence, in http://www. brandeis.edu/ethics/resources/publications. Engaging Arts, 3.Corte, U. & Edwards, B., 2008. White Power music and the mobilization of racist socialmovements. Music and Arts in Action, 1(1), 4-20.Cusick, S.G., 2006. Music as Torture/Music as Weapon. Transcultural Music Review, 10.Davis, B., 2005. Scenarios for Human Rites. Unpublished conference paper.Dunn, B.M., 2008. Transforming conflict through music. Ph.D. dissertation. Union Institute andUniversity, Ohio.Edwards, J., 2005. War and Music. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Available at:http://www.voices.no/columnist/coledwards200605.html [Accessed October 8, 2009].Einarsen, H.P., 1998. Møtet som ikke tok sted. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Oslo: Universityof Oslo.Einarsen, H.P., 2002. Musikkens roller i kulturmøtet. Nord nytt, (83), 17-34.Epskamp, K., 1999. Introduction - Healing Divided Societies. People building peace. Available at:

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[Accessed December 10, 2009].European Centre for Conflict Prevention, 1999. People building peace: 35 inspiring stories fromaround the world, European Centre for Conflict Prevention,Evron, N., 2007. Conflict and Peace: Challenges for Arts Educators. In International Handbook ofResearch in Arts Education. pp. 1031-1054.Eyerman, R., 2002. Music in movement: Cultural politics and old and new social movements.Qualitative Sociology, 25(3), 443–458.Fock, E., 1997. Music - a part of intercultural communication. NORDICOM-Information om medieochkommunikationsforskning i Norden, (4), 55-65.© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 13http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2Fock, E., 2004. world.dk - erfaringer fra verdensmusikprojekter i skoler og på spillesteder.Copenhagen: Center for Kulturpolitiske Studier, Danmarks BiblioteksskoleFrith, S. & Street, J., 1992. Rock Against Racism and Red Wedge: From Music to Politics, fromPolitics to Music. In R. Garofalo, ed. Rockin' the Boat: Mass Music and Mass Movements. South EndPress, pp. 67-80.Futrell, R., Simi, P. & Gottschalk, S., 2006. Understanding music in movements: The white powermusic scene. Sociological Quarterly, 47(2), 275-304.Garofalo, R. Politics, mediation, social context and public use. In P. N. Juslin & J. A. Sloboda (Eds.)(2010) Handbook of Music and Emotion: Theory, Research, Aplications. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress.Ghani, A., & Lockhart, C. (2008) Fixing Failed States: a Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World.Oxford: Oxford University Press.Gilbert, S., 2005. Music in the Holocaust: Confronting Life in the Nazi Ghettos and Camps, Oxford:Oxford University Press.Gilchrist, K., 2006. Soldier rapper tells his tale of Iraq. BBC News. Available at:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/americas/4828816.stm [Accessed January 10, 2010].Gittoes, G. dir, 2005. Soundtrack to War, DVD, Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Hadzihusejnovic-Valasek, M., 1998. The Osijek War-Time Music Scene 1991-1992. In S. Pettan,ed. Music, Politics, and War: Views From Croatia. Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, pp.9-27.Hallam, S. & MacDonald, R. (2009) The effects of music in community and educational settings.In S. Hallam, I. Cross, & M. Thaut (Eds.) (2009) The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology. Oxford:Oxford University Press.Harland, J., Kinder, K., Stoot, A., Schagen, I., & Haynes, J. (2000) Arts Education in SecondarySchools: Effects and Effectiveness. NFER/The Arts Council of England. London: Royal Society ofArts.Haskell, E., 2005. International Cultural Aid and the Case of Guca Gora, Bosnia. In ICTM World

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Conference 2005. University of Sheffield.Hetland, L. (2000). Listening to music enhances spatial-temporal reasoning: Evidence for the“Mozart Effect.” Journal of Aesthetic Education, 34, 105-148.Hogg, B., 2004. Who's listening? In A. J. Randall, ed. Music, Power, and Politics. London:Routledge, pp. 211-230.Hudson, R., 2003. Songs of seduction: popular music and Serbian nationalism. Patterns ofprejudice, 37(2).Human Security Report Project (2005) Human Security Report 2005: War and Peace in the 21st

Century. New York: Oxford: Oxford University Press.Hunt, M., 2005. Action Research and Music Therapy: Group Music Therapy with Young Refugeesin a School Community. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 5(2). Available at:http://www.voices.no/mainissues/mi40005000184.html [Accessed October 8, 2009].Independent, T., 2005. Rockers from old Yugoslavia reform to heal war's wounds. TheIndependent. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/rockers-fromold-yugoslavia-reform-to-heal-wars-wounds-497028.html [Accessed December 5, 2009].Jaros, B.N., 2005. Sounds of survival and regeneration: A microstoria of the Holocaust, 1940–1945(Poland). THE CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY.Kaldor, M., 1999. New and old wars: organized violence in a global era, Polity Press.Kemp, G. & Fry, D.P., 2004. Keeping the peace: conflict resolution and peaceful societies around theworld, London: Routledge.Kennedy, P., 2001. Working with survivors of torture in Sarajevo with Reiki. Complementary© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 14http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2Therapies in Nursing & Midwifery, 7, 4-7.Lacey, M., 2004. Nyala Journal; Singers of Sudan Study War No More. NYTimes.com. Available at:http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/12/world/nyala-journal-singers-of-sudan-study-war-nomore.html [Accessed January 10, 2010].Lawson, H.M., 2009. WHY DANCE? The Motivations of an Unlikely Group of Dancers. Music andArts in Action, 1(2).Lederach, J.P., 1997. Building peace: Sustainable reconciliation in divided societies, United StatesInst of Peace Pr.Lederach, J.P., 2005. The moral imagination: the art and soul of building peace, Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.Levi, E., 1994. Music in the Third Reich, MacMillan Press.Liebmann, M., 1996. Arts Approaches to Conflict, Jessica Kingsley Publishers.Lopez, M.E., 2008. Music Therapy: Healing, Growth, Creating a Culture of Peace. In O. Urbain, ed.Music and Conflict Transformation: Harmonies and Dissonances in Geopolitics. London: I. B. Tauris,pp. 147-171.Lumsden, M. & Wolfe, R., 1996. Evolution of the Problem-Solving Workshop: An Introduction toSocial-Psychological Approaches to Conflict Resolution. Peace and Conflict, 2(1), 37–67.

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Lundberg, D., Malm, K. & Ronstrom, O., 2000. Musik, medier, mangkultur: forandringar i svenskamusiklandskap, Gidlunds, i samarbete med Riksbankens jubileumsfond.Maoz, I., 2000. An Experiment in Peace: Reconciliation-Aimed Workshops of Jewish-Israeli andPalestinian Youth. Journal of Peace Research, 37(6), 721 -736.McCann, M., 1995. Music and Politics in Ireland: The Specificity of the Folk Revival in Belfast.British Journal of Ethnomusicology, 4, 51-75.McNeill, W., 1995. Keeping Together in Time: Dance and Drill in Human History, Harvard UniversityPress.Miall, H., Ramsbotham, O. & Woodhouse, T., 1999. Contemporary Conflict Resolution: thePrevention, Management and Transformation of Deadly Conflicts, Polity Press.Milligan, J.A., 1999. The idolatry of multicultural education. Multicultural Education.Mirren, H., 2005. The lost generation - Africa, World. The Independent. Available at:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/the-lost-generation-486374.html [AccessedJanuary 10, 2010].Moreno, J., 1999. Orpheus in hell: Music and therapy in the Holocaust. The Arts in Psychotherapy,26(1), 3-14.Munch, P.A., 1964. Culture and Superculture in a Displaced Community: Tristan da Cunha.Ethnology, 3, 369-376.Music Channel, 1995. Mantra For Peace (CD, Maxi, Promo) at Discogs. Available at:http://www.discogs.com/Music-Channel-Mantra-For-Peace/release/740387 [Accessed May 15,2010].Ng, W.F., 2005. Music Therapy, War Trauma, and Peace: A Singaporean Perspective. Voices: AWorld Forum for Music Therapy, 5(3). Available at:http://www.voices.no/mainissues/mi40005000191.html [Accessed October 8, 2009].North. A.C. & Hargreaves, D. J. (2009) Music and consumer behaviour. In S. Hallam, I. Cross, & M.Thaut (Eds.) (2009) The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Osborne, N., 2004. How opera can stop war. The Guardian. Available at:http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2004/oct/01/classicalmusicandopera2/print [AccessedJanuary 6, 2010].Pavlicevic, M. & Ansdell, G. eds., 2004. Community music therapy, London: Jessica KingsleyPublishers.© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 15http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2Pettan, S., 1998. Music, politics and war in Croatia in the 1990s: An introduction. In S. Pettan, ed.Music, Politics, and War: Views From Croatia. Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, pp. 9-27.Prudente, F.A., 1984. Musical Process in the Gasumbi Epic of the Buwaya Kalingga People ofNorthern Philippines. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Ann Arbor, Michigan: The University ofMichigan.Ramsbotham, O., 2005. The analysis of protracted social conflict: a tribute to Edward Azar.Review of International Studies, 31(1), 109-126.Rauscher, F. (2009) The impact of music instruction on other skills. In S. Hallam, I. Cross, & M.

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Thaut (Eds.) (2009) The Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Reinert, K.C., 1997. Music and the Nazi Party Congresses , its role in spectacle, festival and ritual.Roberts, M.J., 2009. Peace Punks and Punks Against Racism: Resource Mobilization and FrameConstruction in the Punk Movement. Music and Arts in Action, 1(2).Robertson, Craig. (2006). The Potential Role of Collaborative Music-Making in Conflict Resolution:An Exploratory Enquiry. Unpublished thesis. London: Goldsmiths University.Skyllstad, K., 2000. Creating a Culture of Peace. The Performing Arts in Interethnic Negotiations.Intercultural Communication, November(4).Skyllstad, K., 1992. Klangrik Fellesskap, Interkulturell musikkpedagogikk somholdningsskapende praksis i det multikulturelle samfunn.Skyllstad, K., 1997. Music in Conflict Management - A Multicultural Approach. InternationalJournal of Music Education, 29, 73-80.Skyllstad, K., 1995. Society in harmony. A polyaesthetic school-program for interracialunderstanding. History of European Ideas, 20(1-3), 89-97.Sloboda, J. A. (2005) Exploring the Musical Mind: Cognition, emotion, ability, functions. Oxford:Oxford University Press.Sloboda, J. A. (2007) Mozart in psychology. Music Performance Research, 1.1, 66-75.Sloboda, J. A. (2010) Music in everyday life: the Role of the Emotions. In P. N. Juslin & J. A.Sloboda (Eds.) (2010) Handbook of Music and Emotion: Theory, Research, Aplications. Oxford:Oxford University Press.Sloboda, J. A., Lamont, A. & Greasley, A.E. (2009) Choosing to hear music: motivation, process,and effect. In S. Hallam, I. Cross, & M. Thaut (Eds.) (2009) The Oxford Handbook of MusicPsychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Spychiger, M., Patry, J., Lauper, G., Zimmerman, E., & Weber, E. (1993) Does more music teachinglead to a better social climate? In R. Olechowski & G. Sivk (Eds.) Experimental Research inTeaching and Learning. Peter Lang: Bern.Stubbs, P., 1995. Nationalisms, Globalisation and Civil Society in Croatia and Slovenia. Availableat: http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/62/066.html.Sugarman, J., 2010. Kosova Calls for Peace: Song, Myth, and War in an Age of Global Media. In J.O'Connell & S. E. Castelo-Branco, eds. Music and Conflict: Ethnomusicological Perspectives.Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press.Sultoon, S., 2001. Bridging Balkan divides. CNN.com. Available at:http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/07/26/balkan.culture/ [Accessed December 7,2009].Sutton, J.P., 2002. Music, music therapy and trauma: international perspectives, London: JessicaKingsley.Thaut, M. & Wheeler, B, (2010) Music therapy. In P. N. Juslin & J. A. Sloboda (Eds.) (2010)Handbook of Music and Emotion: Theory, Research, Aplications. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Ungerleider, J., 1999. Music and Poetry Build Bi-communal Peace Culture in Cyprus. Peoplebuilding peace. Available at: http://www.gppac.net/documents/pbp/7/4_mpcypr.htm© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 16

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http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformationMusic and Arts in Action | Volume 2 | Issue 2[Accessed December 10, 2009].Urbain, O., 2007. Music and Conflict Transformation: Harmonies and Dissonances in Geopolitics,London: I. B. Tauris.Veledar, A., 2008. Tutti Concert in Mostar. The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Sarajevo. Available at:http://www.norveska.ba/News_and_events/Culture/Music/Tutti_Concert_in_Mostar/[Accessed January 10, 2010].Wallensteen, P., 2002. Understanding Conflict Resolution: War, Peace and the Global System, SAGE.Weaver, H., 2001. Travellin' home and back, Exploring the psychological processes of reconciliation.Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Virginia: Union Institute and University.Weingartner, J., 2006. The Arts as a Weapon of War, Britain and the Shaping of National Morale inthe Second World War, London: Tauris Academic Studies.Woodhouse, T., 2000. Conflict resolution and peacekeeping: Critiques and responses. In O.Ramsbotham & T. Woodhouse, eds. Peacekeeping and conflict resolution. Frank Cass, pp. 8-26.Zelizer, C.M., 2004. The Role of Artistic Processes in Peacebuilding in Bosnia-Herzegovina.Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Fairfax, Virginia: George Mason University.Zelizer, C.M., 2003. The Role of Artistic Processes in Peacebuilding in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Peaceand Conflict Studies, 10(2), 62–75.Zharinova-Sanderson, O., 2004. Community Music Therapy with Traumatised Refugees inBerlin. In M. Pavlicevic & G. Ansdell, eds. Community music therapy. Jessica Kingsley Publishers,pp. 233-248.ABOUT THE AUTHORSArild Bergh has recently completed a PhD on the topic of music and conflict transformation atthe University of Exeter, with fieldwork in Norway and Sudan. He is editor of the journal Musicand Arts in Action. He has previously worked as a music journalist and researched and writtenon topics ranging from music of immigrants in Europe to cassette music culture andunderground music in communist countries. Published and in press work includes "From windupto iPod: techno-cultures of listening" with Tia DeNora (in The Cambridge Companion toRecorded Music, 2009), “Emotions in motion: Transforming conflict and music.” (in Music and theMind: Investigating the functions and processes of music; Oxford: Oxford University Press,forthcoming) and “Forever and ever: Mobile music in the life of young teens.” with Tia DeNora andMaia Bergh (in Handbook of Mobile Music and Sound Studies; Oxford: Oxford University Press,forthcoming).John Sloboda, FBA, is Emeritus Professor at Keele and Visiting Research Fellow at the GuildhallSchool of Music & Drama, London. He is also Consultant and Director of Oxford ResearchGroup's Recording Casualties in Armed Conflict programme and chairs its InternationalAdvisory Group, and he is Honorary Professor in the School of Politics and International

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Relations at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is co-director of the Iraq Body Countproject. He is author of over 150 publications. His books include "The Musical Mind", "Psychologyfor Musicians", (with Patrik N Juslin) "Handbook of Music and Emotion", (with Hamit Dardaganand others) "A Dossier of Civilian Casualties in Iraq", and (with Chris Abbott and Paul Rogers)"Beyond Terror: the Truth About the Real Threats to Our World".© Music and Arts in Action/Bergh and Sloboda | ISSN: 1754-7105 | Page 17http://musicandartsinaction.net/index.php/maia/article/view/conflicttransformation

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TWB CONFERENCE 2010 - ACTING TOGETHER ON THE WORLD STAGE: Theatre and Peace Building in Conflict Zones - WAITING LIST ONLY!

By rlevitow - Posted on June 19th, 2009

Tagged: INTERNATIONAL • TWB & Coexistence International • United States of America

Start: 23 Sep 2010 - 5:00pm

End: 26 Sep 2010 - 6:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-7

!!!! CONFERENCE RESERVATIONS FULL !!!!

!!!! GET ON THE WAITING LIST!!!!

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Write conference@theatrewithoutborders.com

VISIT OUR NEW CONFERENCE WEBSITE: www.theatreandpeace.com

La MaMa ETC presents

ACTING TOGETHER ON THE WORLD STAGE:

A CONFERENCE ON THEATRE AND PEACE BUILDING IN CONFLICT ZONES

produced by

Theatre Without Borders

Theatre Without Borders, presented by La MaMa ETC and in affiliation with Brandeis University, announces ACTING TOGETHER ON THE WORLD STAGE: A CONFERENCE ON THEATRE AND PEACE BUILDING IN CONFLICT ZONES, September 23-26, 2010 in New York City. This conference brings

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together theatre and performance practitioners from around the world to share their experiences with artists, activists, educators, policy makers, and the general public.

ACTING TOGETHER ON THE WORLD STAGE grows out of a five-year initiative of Theatre Without Borders and Brandeis University. During this time, Theatre Without Borders members have attended gatherings and explored, with the guidance of peace-building scholar/practitioners, a range of questions about the relationship between the arts and conflict transformation. ACTING TOGETHER ON THE WORLD STAGE will begin a year of programming to disseminate the documentation of artists working in conflict-zones worldwide in contexts of direct and structural violence and in the aftermath of mass violations of human rights. At the conference, TWB and Brandeis will launch a documentary film and a website and plans for an upcoming anthology.

TWB is a grassroots, volunteer, virtual community of individual theatre artists around the world who are committed to international exchange. This conference has no formal funding and guests are being sponsored by hosting organizations, including universities, Cultural Affairs divisions of embassies, foundations, and theatres. All are welcome!

Thursday, September 23 – Sunday, September 26, 2010

Ellen Stewart Theatre, La MaMa ETC, 66 East Fourth Street, NYC 10003 www.lamama.org

WORKING AGENDA - Please note that this agenda is subject to change!

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La MaMa E.T.C. presents:

Theatre Without Borders

ACTING TOGETHER ON THE WORLD STAGE:

THEATRE and PEACEBUILDING in CONFLICT ZONES

September 23-26, 2010

Thursday, September 23, 2010

3:30-5:30pm REGISTRATION

5pm MEET & GREET

5:30 WELCOME AND ORIENTATION

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6-7:30 DOCUMENTARY

"ACTING TOGETHER: PERFORMANCE AND THE CREATIVE TRANSFORMATION OF CONFLICT"

A film by Cynthia Cohen and Allison Lund

Tells the stories of courageous and creative artists, cultural workers and peacebuilders working in zones of conflict. http://www.brandeis.edu/ethics/peacebuildingarts/

Introduction by Dan Terris, International Center for Ethics, Justice & Public Life, Brandeis University

Followed by remarks by Devanand Ramiah, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UNDP, and a brief Q & A with Cynthia Cohen, Brandeis University and Allison Lund, filmmaker.

7:30-8 RECEPTION hosted by Brandeis University

8:15-9:45 PERFORMANCE FOLLOWED BY TALKBACK

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“BUCK WORLD ONE” (USA)

Developed under the guidance of playwright and University of California, Riverside Professor of Theater Rickerby Hinds. Buck (sometimes called Krump) is an energetic, expressive and very physical new dance form that grew out of South Los Angeles neighborhoods. “Krump or Buck is a form of expression often related to praise dancing that explores and addresses themes such as violence in the community, police brutality and the civil-rights movement.” Young people with no formal dance training gather in church fellowship halls, playgrounds, parking lots or any neutral space each week throughout Southern California to participate in “krump battles” in which they use dance moves instead of bullets. “Buck World One” portrays how the worlds might have begun 13.7 billion years ago — from the universe, the Earth, continents, countries and neighborhoods down to the individual - showing that everyone is part of the larger picture.

Friday, September 24, 2010

9-9:30am DOORS OPEN

9:30-9:45am WELCOME AND ORIENTATION

9:45-11am KEYNOTE

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Dr. Barbara Love, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"CONFLICT & TRAUMA: Strategies for Transformation and Healing”

In “The Teeth May Smile But the Heart Does Not Forget”, author Andrew Rice grapples with the trauma produced by violence and conflict on individual lives as well as the entire society in the Uganda of Idi Amin. The ongoing trauma produced by violence and conflict in Liberia, Rwanda, Sudan, Sri Lanka, the Americas, and other parts of the world hurts the human spirit and marks the soul. Humankind needs healing to reclaim our capacity to transform ourselves and the societies that cluster us. This discussion reflects on strategies for healing and the extension of soul healing to the transformation of the world.

11-11:10am BREAK

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11:10am-12:30pm ROUNDTABLE

AFTERMATH: HUMAN RIGHTS AND RECOVERY:

Facilitator Catherine Filloux (TWB, USA) With Ieng Sithul, Chhon Sina, and Rithisal Kang (CAMBODIA); Pauline Ross (NORTHERN IRELAND); Hjalmar-Jorge Joffre-Eichhorn (AFGHANISTAN); William Yellow Robe, Jr. (ASSINIBOINE TRIBE, PART OF THE SIOUX NATIONS)

12:30-12:50pm SHAKE IT UP SESSION - Forum Theatre with Chris Vine and Helen White (Creative Arts Team).

12:50-2pm LUNCH

Lunch table conversation: "The Emerging Generation" Moderated by J.J. El-Far and Tracy Francis – The Club Theatre, 74A E. 4th Street

Lunch table conversation: “Responses to the ACTING TOGETHER Documentary” with Cynthia Cohen & Allison Lund –The Club Theatre

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2-3:20pm ROUNDTABLE

IN THE MIDST OF VIOLENT CONFLICT:

Facilitator Roberta Levitow (TWB, USA) With Dijana Milosevic, DAH Theatre (SERBIA); Lee Perlman and Aida Nasrallah (ISRAEL); Shahid Nadeem, Ajoka Theatre (PAKISTAN); Gũlgũn Kayim (CYPRUS/USA); Mahmood Karimi-Hakak (USA/IRAN)

3:30-3:45pm BREAK

3:45-6pm PERFORMANCE IN DIALOGUE - Welcome, Mia Yoo

The Club Theatre, 74A E. 4th Street/seating limited

Naomi Newman, A Traveling Jewish Theatre (USA)

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"Through An Old Woman’s Eyes; Stories and Lamentations About the State of the World and How to Repair the Mess"

Mahmood Karimi-Hakak, Siena College (IRAN/USA)

Dialogue Impossible? "The Glass Wall"

Dawn Saito, Fordham University (USA)

“Sword of Sea”

Federico Respeto, Loco7 (USA)

Excerpts from “Room To Panic” Scene Titles - “Coming to terms with yesterday to move forward today” And “Trying to get two feet on the ground and take it from there”

(Archive open by appointment 11:30-5:30pm and Ellen Stewart Lobby available for meetings)

6-7:30pm CULTURE ON CANVAS: CONTEMPORARY BURMESE ART Exhibit and Reception – Richard Streiter, Curator

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La MaMa Galleria, 6 East 1st Street

(EXHIBIT HOURS: Thurs-Sat 1-8pm, Sun 1-6pm)

8-10pm PERFORMANCES

VOICES FROM CAMBODIA (In Khmer with Translation)

Ieng Sithul sings “The Birth of Sam and Bopha” and “Our Land’s Compassion” from the contemporary opera Where Elephants Weep (Composer Him Sophy).

Chhon Sina and Ieng Sithul perform from “The Tooth of Buddha” a new play by Morm Sokly, a Cambodian performer and playwright. The play is Poetry Theatre (Lakhaon Kamnap) and is done in spoken or chanted verse, portraying the miracle of Buddhism. In Cambodian poetry there are at least 53 styles of verse and 60 different ways of reciting. The sacred relic tooth of the Buddha and its eventual resting place in Sri Lanka is not a common subject for a contemporary stage play in Cambodia. The scene is about a husband and wife bringing this relic of the Buddha to a stupa.

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Ieng Sithul performs a scene from a Cambodian story Lea peakriyea tov tak domrey. Morthav the village witch doctor guides elephant catchers in performing a ritual for the souls and spirits of territory, mountains, forest, plants, rocks, and those that safeguard elephants and elephant ropes. The ritual offerings are placed on the highest hill from afternoon to midnight. The next morning, the elephant catcher blows his horn and, as he leaves the house his wife follows, handing him his bag of supplies for a three-month journey to catch "tadpoles," a codeword for elephants, so as not to alert the spirits. Ieng will use two kinds of flutes (Saneng and Pey).

brief intermission

“DISCOVER LOVE" - Belarus Free Theatre (BELARUS)

Written by Nikolai Halezin and Natalia Koliada

Directed by Nikolai Halezin

Choreographed by Olga Skvortsova

Music by DJ Laurel

Established in 2005 in response to repression in “Europe’s last dictatorship,” the award-winning Belarusian company—now outlawed at home—stages a gripping original drama based on the true story of dissident Irina Krasovskaya and her husband Anatoly, who was “disappeared” 10 years ago. Their

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wrenching story is interwoven with parallel instances of political intimidation and violence in Asia and South America. Belarus Free Theatre is devoted to presenting dramas by banned Belarusian playwrights, whose work it also translates and publishes abroad. The troupe first began performing in private apartments and has since won the backing of prominent playwrights such as the late Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard and Václav Havel, as well as numerous artistic and human rights organizations. Performed in Russian with supertitles in English.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

9-9:30am DOORS OPEN

9:30-9:45am WELCOME AND ORIENTATION

9:45-11am KEYNOTE

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James Thompson, University of Manchester, UK

"An Incident of Cutting and Chopping: A performance lecture on the Bindunuwewa child soldier massacre in Sri Lanka 2000"

The performance lecture explores a child soldier massacre in Sri Lanka in 2000 and is based on James' work in Sri Lanka since that time. It asks questions about the relationship between theatre practitioners and the contexts in which they work, and where responsibilities lie when things go wrong. 'An Incident of Cutting and Chopping' is linked to a commemorative project about the massacre that has been developed in Sri Lanka in the years since the event and draws on material in the opening chapter of James' book 'Performance Affects'. The performance is part of a broader project researching and developing performance projects in sites of armed conflict that James has directed since 2004 - In Place of War (www.inplaceofwar.net)

11-11:10am BREAK

11:10am-12:30pm ROUNDTABLE

CONFLICT UNDER REPRESSION:

Facilitator Daniel Banks (TWB, USA) With Natalia Kaliada, Belarus Free Theatre (BELARUS); Roberto Varea, Argentina (USA/ARGENTINA); Iman Aoun, Ashtar Theatre (PALESTINE); Manijeh Mohamedi (IRAN); Ruth Margraff (USA/INDIA)

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12:30-12:50pm SHAKE IT UP SESSION – Playback Theatre with Hannah Fox and Mizuho Kanazawa (Big Apple Playback)

12:50-2pm LUNCH

Lunch Table Conversation: “Theatre Artists in Iran" - led by Torange Yeghiazarian with Ayat Najafi; Manijeh Mohamedi; Mahmood Karimi-Hakak – The Club Theatre, 74A E. 4th Street

Lunch Table Conversation: "Using Devised Theatre in Conflict Zones" – led by Iñigo Ramirez de Haro – The Club Theatre, 74A E. 4th Street

2-3:20pm ROUNDTABLE

REBUILDING SOCIETY AFTER VIOLENT CONFLICT:

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Facilitator Deborah Asiimwe (UGANDA) With Maria Draghici, laBOMBA and Bogdan Georgescu, Generosity Offensive (ROMANIA); Dale Byam, Brooklyn College, Theatre for Development in Africa (USA); Adalet Garmiany, ArtRole Iraq-US Exchanges (IRAQ); Zane Lucas, Theory X Media (ZIMBABWE); Lillian Manzor, Cuba/Latina Theatre Archive (USA/CUBA)

3:30-4pm BREAK

4-6:30pm WORKSHOPS

1. International Beginner’s Guide: David Diamond, Host; Marcy Arlin, Immigrants Theatre Project (USA); Fritzie Brown, CEC Artslink (USA); Georgiana Pickett, 651 ARTS/Africa Exchange (USA) – Great Jones Street Studios, 4th Floor

2. International Video Conference: Billy Clark, International Program Director; Catherine Filloux, Curator; FAVILEK Women Theatre Artists (HAITI); Morm Sokly (CAMBODIA); Eugene Van Erven (THE NETHERLANDS); Polly Walker (AUSTRALIA) - Culture Hub, 47 Great Jones Street Studios, 3rd Floor

3. Theatre of Festivity: Ali Mahdi and Albugaa Theatre (SUDAN) -Great Jones Street Studios, 1st Floor

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4. Forum Theatre: Iman Aoun and Ashtar Theatre (PALESTINE) -

Great Jones Street Studios, 5th Floor

5. Story Circle Workshop: John O'Neal, Junebug Productions (USA) – The Club Theatre

6. Open Forum Sharing Session: Josh Perlstein and Lisa Schlesinger, Hosts - Ellen Stewart Lobby

6:30-7:45pm DINNER

8-9pm PERFORMANCE

"CROSSING THE LINE" - DAH Teatar (SERBIA)

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Dramaturgy and direction: Dijana Milošević

Performers: Maja Mitić, Sanja Krsmanović Tasić, Ivana Milenović

Set design: Neša Paripović

Costume design: Dah Theatre Research Centre

Sound design: Jugoslav Hadžić

Light design: Radomir Stamenković

Organization: Ivana Damnjanović and Dejan Popović

This performance of Dah Theatre is based on texts from the book Women's Side of War edited by the Women in Black organization (2007). The book is a collection of authentic women's testimonies about the wars that had occurred in the former republic of Yugoslavia from 1991 till 1999. The book is the result of a year's research by Women in Black, and in cooperation with women's nongovernmental organizations in the region who are dealing with the past and human rights. Most of the texts have been already published in various books and in other publications created by these NGOs. They consist of testimonies, statements, letters and memories. They show the specific suffering of women in war, but also their courage and strength for surviving the trauma of war to re-establish normal life, and also the importance of solidarity with women beyond all borders and divisions. All testimonies are presented in the first person, without comments or any other kind of use or misuse. The main goal of the performance is to reach the audience not only on a verbal but, primarily, on an emotional and psychological level and to stimulate women to start speaking; to take note of and to express their own sufferings through recognizing the suffering of others; to develop solidarity; to become conscious about the essence of violence in war; to become more active in democratic processes; and to participate in building a righteous and long-lasting peace.

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Sunday, September 26, 2010

9:30-10am DOORS OPEN

10-11:30am ROUNDTABLE

ADVOCACY AND STRATEGIES FOR MOVING FORWARD:

Facilitator Erik Ehn (Arts in the One World, USA) With Kitche Magak, Arts & Peace Building Program, Maseno University (KENYA); Emilya Cachapero, ITI US Center (USA); Cathy Zimmerman, MAPP International/Africa Consortium (USA-AFRICA); Ella Fuksbrauner, Bogota Festival (COLOMBIA); John Martin, PAN Intercultural Arts (UK); Torange Yeghiazarian & Lisa Rothe, Middle East American Play Initiative: Golden Thread Productions & The Lark Play Development Center (USA)

11:30-11:40am BREAK

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11:40am-1:10pm ROUNDTABLE

METHODOLOGY CASEBOOKS: HOW THEORY BECOMES PRACTICE

Facilitator Roberto Varea, (University of San Francisco, USA) With Chris Vine and Helen White, The CUNY School of Professional Studies, MA in Applied Theatre and CAT Youth Theatre (USA); Ali Mahdi, Albugaa Theatre & The Theatre in Conflict Zones (SUDAN); Joanna Sherman, Bond Street Theatre (USA); Jo Salas, Hudson River Playback Theatre (USA); Kwesi Johnson, Kompany Malakhi (UK)

1:10-1:30pm SHAKE IT UP SESSION – Hip-Hop Theatre, Daniel Banks (Hip Hop Theatre Initiative, USA) Kwesi Johnson (Kompany Malakhi, UK)

1:30-2:30pm LUNCH

3-3:45pm PERFORMANCE

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"SINNAR CRUCIBLE" - Albugaa Theatre (SUDAN)

Written and composed by Ali Mahdi

Performers: Gamal Abdelrahman; Tarig Ali; Gidier Mirghani; Awad Hassan; Abdelsalam Khalil; Ekhlas Noureldin; Amira Ahmed; Ibrahim Khadir; Mohamed Abdalla; Emam Hassan; Abdelaziz Mohamed; and Gasim Elelah Hamednalla.

Called a "Spectacle of Festivity Towards Indulgent Democracy", this performance comes from the Sudan Center for Theatre in Conflict Zones. The center's goals are research and performance in the meeting between Arabic and African cultures. The characters are "from our times" but they also are "the echo of the fathers", who are all meeting in the Sinnar Crucible. The play searches for solutions to the conflicts of war by retrieving the times of agreement.

5pm CONFERENCE ENDS

Please help us be as Green as possible; we will be reusing and recycling a limited number of paper programs.

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And please find BIOS for all Participants, Presenters and Performers at www.theatrewithoutborders.com, on the Conference Website www.theatreandpeace.com or in binders in the Lobby.

This conference was made possible

With Support from:

651 ARTS/Africa Exchange; Brandeis University; Nathan Cummings Foundation Arts and Culture Program; Fordham University; The Public Theater; The Romanian Cultural Institute of New York

And in Association with:

7 Stages, Atlanta; Brown University; CUNY/Creative Arts Team; Immigrants Theatre Project; The Lark Play Development Center; The League of Professional Theatre Women, International Committee; New York Theatre Workshop; New York University; TCG - ITI/US Center

With Special Thanks to Dr. Sue Snyder, arts education IDEAS, LLC www.aeideas.com; Bernard Lewis; Joe Mantello; Michael Neill; Meile Rockefeller; David Sherman; Richard Streiter; Sunrise Packaging

With Additional Thanks to Ellen Stewart, Mia Yoo, Mary Fulham, Denise Greber, Nicky Paraiso, Beverly Petty, Daniel Nelson, Melissa Slattery, Billy Clark, Frank Carucci, and the entire La MaMa Staff; Morgan

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Jenness; Gian Marco Lo Forte; Kathleen and Henry Chalfant; Fordham University: Elizabeth Margid, Dawn Akemi Saito, Matthew Maguire; Nerou Cheng; Darek Keo; Phally Chroy; Frank @ Famiglia 8th Street; Toni Shapiro-Phim; Chanveasna Chum; Fred Frumberg; Bunrith Suon; Patrick Fagan; Erin Levendorf; Morm Sokly; Lisa Rothe, The Lark; Liz Frankel, Public Theatre; Eric Sillen, Club Quarters Hotel; Anna Schmidt, NYU; Chris Vine and Helen White, CUNY; Jose Luis Valenzuela @ The New Los Angeles Theatre Center; Frank Hentschker, Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, The Graduate Center CUNY; Jessica Litwak; Ethan Cobb; and many others….

CONFERENCE PLANNING COMMITTEE

Daniel Banks, David Diamond, Catherine Filloux and Roberta Levitow

PRODUCTION MANAGERS

Daniel Nelson and Sarah Rae Murphy

TWB LIAISONS/VOLUNTEERS

Debby Brand, Arielle Julia Brown, Cosmin Chivo & InterArtGroup, Jessiee Datino, J.J. El-Far, Tracy Francis, Amen Igbinosun, Joan Kane, Ji Yun Lee, Jenny Nissell, Gamal Palmer, Tim Pracher-Dix, Sahar Sajadieh, Garret Scaly, James Simmons, Amy Singerman, Sarah Cameron Sunde, Jenny Tibbels-Jordan and many others….

Unless otherwise noted, all events take place in the ELLEN STEWART THEATRE.

*Donations to support Theatre Without Borders will be gratefully accepted at the registration desk or by one of our volunteers. Thank you!*

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SUPPLEMENTARY EVENTS SURROUNDING CONFERENCE EVENTS:

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

September 20, 2010, 4PM-8PM: An Open Rehearsal for all interested university departments to attend, as well as the general public. At the McMahon Hall Lounge (Room 109)*. A reading of a new play by Cambodian playwright/actor Chhon Sina, PHKA CHAMPEI (FRANGIPANI), about a sex worker and victim of domestic violence who lives in a slum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (Translated from Khmer to English by Suon Bunrith.) Directed by Dawn Akemi Saito, Artist-in-Residence, Theatre and Visual Arts at Fordham University at Lincoln Center. To be read by professional and Fordham student actors. At the end there will be an open discussion.

Fordham University

*McMahon Hall Lounge (Room 109)

http://www.fordham.edu/campus_resources/campus_facilities/conference_planning/lincoln_center/mcmahon_hall_48723.asp

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

September 22, Time TBA:

Belarus Free Theatre reading of CHARONVILLE

by Nikolai Khalezin of the Belarus Free Theatre

Original translation by Yuriy Koliada and Rory Mullarky

Dramaturgical and translation assistance by Erik Ehn75

In 1979, a 39-year old journalist named Ian McIntosh finds himself in a small town called Charonville and attends the funeral of a local man—the infamous mobster John Dillinger, who, contrary to legend, was not killed by the FBI, but lived his life out in this remote Midwestern town. Slowly Ian realizes that Charonville has been the refuge of many more legends who died under mysterious circumstances—including the King of Rock and Roll. And when Elvis disappears from town, Ian begins to discover the reasons so many of the famous “departed” ended up in Charonville.

The Lark Play Development Center

939 Eighth Avenue, Suite 301 (btw 55 & 56), New York, NY 10019

212-246-2676/212-246-2609 (fax)

info@larktheatre.org

September 22, starting 6:30pm:

“BROOKENYA!” HOMECOMING, location TBA in Manhattan, with special guest Kitche Magak from Kenya.

To celebrate Kitche’s return to NYC—he's presenting at the conference—we're having a potluck benefit, so bring something to eat or drink, and—if you can—$15 to help pay for Kitche’s airfare.

We are also celebrating the exciting news that a Nairobi media company wants to distribute “BrooKenya!” throughout Africa. And, we are launching a campaign to build the Community Theatre Internationale so that we can do more kick-ass projects like “BrooKenya!” For those of you who don’t know about “BrooKenya!”: Back in 2003, Kitche and I got together a bunch of folks in Brooklyn, NYC and Kisumu, Kenya to ‘create community through performance across borders local and global’. We ended up making an intercontinental grassroots soap opera called “BrooKenya!” But more than that, we built friendships that made our world a little bit better. This was most visible during the Kenyan crisis, when our web of creative friendship was able to get money from the US to Kenya. With American friends supporting them, friends in Kenya risked their lives to use that money to buy food to feed starving refugees across the tribal line. Together, we saved some lives a month before international aid agencies arrived. I believe these kinds of linkages go even deeper and are part of creating the new social infrastructure for the world that is coming.

For more information about Community Theatre Internationale click on the The Story of BrooKenya! and visit http://www.brookenya.org/. It will be held at 375 Lincoln Place, #1C, Brooklyn (click on address for map.)

1-718-230-8973

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To attend the “BROOKENYA!” HOMECOMING, please contact Kate Gardner at kate@worldensemble.com for more information. Thanks, Kate Gardner, director, Community Theatre Internationale and WorldEnsemble ‘creating community through performance across borders local and global’

The League of Professional Theatre Women/International Committee

New York Theatre Workshop, 4th Street Theatre, 83 E. 4th Street

programs@theatrewomen.org

September 26, 7:30pm-11:30pm (Performances begin at 8:30pm)

HYBRID THEATRE WORKS Post-Conference Party & Performance forum ( Bowery Wine Co.)

Hybrid Theatre Works- a production company dedicated to performance and peace-building will be sponsoring an end of the conference party in conjunction with their monthly artist response forum performance series. A select group of international and American artists will be asked to create a short artistic response to a specific world event. This forum is to help encourage artistic engagement with world events, and close the lapse time between world events and artistic response. This will be a great opportunity to see a variety of artistic responses in a shared environment, while celebrating the end to the conference. Party will be held at Bowery Wine Co. E. 1st. St. between Bowery and 2nd, only 2 blocks from the conference. Party will start at 7:30pm with half price food and drink specials with performances from 8:30-9:30 and the party will continue until 11:30. FREE ADMISSION ! ALL ARE INVITED!

HURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3

3-day conference • New York City • Sept 30 – Oct 3

“Performing the World 2010 Conference: Can Performance Change the World?”

Performing artists, community organizers, theatre workers, educators, scholars, youth workers, students, social workers, psychotherapists, psychologists, medical doctors, health workers, and business executives are coming from 31 countries to discuss/perform that question and their responses to it. Performing the World 2010 is well underway. Nearly 100 presentations, workshops and performances will be featured at this year’s Performing the World, including presentations dealing with performance, health and wellness.

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Registered attendees of the Acting Together conference and members of Theatre Without Borders are being extend a special discount rate of $200. Please indicate that you are from TWB when contacting us at: www.performingtheworld.org

Performing the World 2010 brings together artists, activists, young people and scholars from dozens of countries, all of whom are involved in the emergence of performance as a new way of relating to, understanding and transforming the world. The conference is open to all. For more information: ptw@eastsideinstitute.org, or 212-941-9400 x 385 performingtheworld.org is sponsored by All Stars Project, Inc.; East Side Institute for Group; and Short Term Psychotherapy.

THE PROJECT

Acting Together on the World Stage

Short Description

Acting Together on the World Stage tells the story of artists, cultural workers and peacebuilders in conflict regions, who use theatre and ritual practices to support communities to address injustices and to appreciate the humanity of former adversaries, mourn losses, and imagine a new future.

http://www.brandeis.edu/slifka/actingtogether/aboutus/trailer.htmlDescription

Acting Together on the World Stage, Performance and the Creative Transformation of Conflict, anthology edited by Cynthia Cohen, Polly Walker, and Roberto Gutierrez Varea

Documentary by Cynthia Cohen and Allison Lund

"If you get people thinking and talking about real stories, suspending argument for a time, and building relationships through sharing narratives, from there I believe you can expand the process to the exploration of real issues and alternatives."

-John O'Neal, Founder, Free Southern Theatre Institute

In the United States and around the world, in regions characterized by inequity and violence, theatre artists and cultural workers are contributing to more just and less violent communities. Through creative processes, they are supporting communities to address injustices and to appreciate the humanity of former adversaries, mourn losses, and imagine a new future.

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Acting Together on the World Stage: Performance and the Creative Transformation of Conflict is an examination and celebration of these peacebuilding performances through an anthology, a documentary, and a website. It features the work of 25 theatre artists, cultural workers, and peacebuilding scholars and practitioners working in fifteen conflict regions, who share a commitment to artistic excellence and social change. Their collaboration has yielded rich case studies, theoretical frameworks, and recommendations to policymakers that will legitimate and strengthen this important emerging field of peacebuilding performance.

The upcoming anthology presents case studies that place peacebuilding performances in their historical, social, and political contexts. It shows the creative process leading to finished productions, and assesses impacts and contributions to establishing sustainable peace.

The feature-length documentary, a companion to the publication, shows dynamic footage of rehearsals, performances, and interviews with artists and peacebuilders. It will be accompanied by a toolkit that explores more deeply the issues uncovered through the inquiry, such as ethical questions, the compatibility of aesthetic and political aims, upholding the principle of “do no harm,” and the challenges of evaluation. Preview the documentary.

The website supports the emerging community of inquiry by showcasing summaries of the case studies with related multi-media materials, and by providing a forum for dialogue and development. View the website.

The anthology, documentary, and website will be valuable resources for artists, cultural workers and peacebuilders working in conflict regions, as well as for scholars and students of performance studies, conflict transformation, and related fields.

Publishing Organization: Brandeis University

Language: | English |

Countries & Regions: | Australia |Israel |Netherlands |Palestine |Serbia |Sri Lanka |

Type: | Documentaries | Interactive Websites | Theater | Other |

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Subject: | Arts | Children/Youth | Conflict Prevention | Ethnic and Religious Conflict | Gender | Genocide | Human Rights | Mediation, Negotiation and Diplomacy | Peacebuilding | Peacekeeping | Post Conflict Activities | Refugees/IDPs | Terrorism and Political Violence | Trauma Healing | Truth and Reconciliation |

Official Site: http://www.brandeis.edu/slifka/actingtogether/Watch Trailer:http://www.brandeis.edu/slifka/actingtogether/aboutus/trailer.html

Calendar

About TWB

Welcome Center

Acogedor Ambiente

Centre d'Accueil

Seed and Grow

Info Alerts

Int'l Theatre Resources

Int'l Theatre Feeds

TWB Site Updates

Building Bridges

Policy Perspectives

Notes from the Field

Theatre and Peacebuilding

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Translation

TWB Info Alerts

[magdalena] new on the forums / neu in den foren

23 Nov 2010 - 11:42am

Afghan Voices at The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory (TOPLAB)

23 Nov 2010 - 11:36am

Two Lives in the Theater:Peter Schumann and Judith Malina in Conversation at The Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory (TOPLAB)

23 Nov 2010 - 11:33am

The Gaza Monologues at the UN

21 Nov 2010 - 8:44am

Arts Watch - November 17, 2010

18 Nov 2010 - 8:51pm

STAGE SCRIPT COMPETITION - NEXT CYCLE & PRODUCTION NEWS

18 Nov 2010 - 8:39pm

more

Int'l Theatre Feeds

Old Story of Ugly Politics

Smarter Audiences. Better Art.

Art is Hard. Respect is Good.

Rap, Peasants and Grammy

Imagine John Lennon .

SpeakersJohn H. Stanfield, II, a sociologist with senior faculty appointments in African American and African DiasporaStudies, American Studies, Cultural Studies, Philanthropic Studies, and Sociology, is on leave from IndianaUniversity Bloomington this year and is a STM (Masters of Sacred Theology) candidate at the Boston UniversitySchool of Theology. He is an ordained Baptist and a licensed Pentecostal minister with ecumenical and interfaithinterests. He is a newly appointed social issues commentator for an international historically African-AmericanPentecostal Sunday School Association. As a well published activist scholar, he studies and participates in local,national, and international peace building processes, challenges, and prospects in multiracial institutions,

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communities, and societies with the emphasis on synthesizing sociological and theological, theoretical andpractical principles of personal and structural transformation. He is also interested in the issue of seminary andcommunity collaborations in local peace-building efforts which transform both seminary and community culturesinto more open environments. A recent recipient of Who’s Who Among American Teachers and a former editorialboard member of Teaching Sociology, he has developed models introducing teenagers and young adults incommunities and universities to social justice civic engagement. He is completing a book entitled Musings onRace, Seminary Education, and Deracialization. He is an alumnus of the Fulbright Scholar Program (Sierre Leoneand Chair, Fulbright Committee on Sociologists) and twice of the Salzburg Seminar in Austria. He received hisPh.D. from Northwestern University and his B.A. magna cum laude from California State University Fresno.Amir Hussain is Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at California State University,Northridge, where he teaches courses in world religions. His own particular speciality is the study of Islam,focussing on contemporary Muslim societies, specifically those in North America. Although born in Pakistan, Amiremigrated to Canada with his family when he was four. His academic degrees are all from the University ofToronto, and his PhD dissertation was on Muslim communities in Toronto. He has a deep commitment to students,and holds the distinction of being the only male to serve as Dean of Women at University College, University ofToronto. Before coming to Northridge in 1997, Amir taught courses in religious studies at several universities inCanada. He is active in academic groups such as the American Academy of Religion (where he is co-chair of theReligion, Film and Visual Culture group, and serves on the steering committee of the Study of Islam section) andthe Canadian Society for the Study of Religion, publishing and presenting his work at conferences. Amir is alsointerested in areas such as religion and music, religion and literature, religion and film and religion and popularculture. He has taught a course on religion and literature focussing on the work of the English poet William Blake,and regularly teaches a course on religion and film.Valarie Kaur received her Bachelors from Stanford University in International Relations and Religious Studies withhonors and distinction in 2003. Blending scholarship with activism at Stanford, she co-led the Living Historyproject, taught with the Philosophy Discovery Institute, co-founded the first course on Sikhism, and organized forthe peace movement. Since September 2001, she has documented hate crimes against Sikh Americans and isnow developing her work into a documentary film. She is currently a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School.For more information on the film, please visit: www.dwf-film.comClara Wainwright is a quilt-maker and public celebrations artist. For the past fifteen years she has worked withmore than thirty community groups on collaborative quilts which explore their lives, dreams and challenges. She isfounder of First Night and the Great Boston Kite Festival. In 2002 the DeCordova Museum held a retrospective ofher work, both private and public. Her current passion is the Faith Quilts Project, a three-year initiative whichCounterpoint International – dialogue through music and mediabrings together quilt artists and faith groups to create collaborative quilts which explore their faith and explain it tothe wider world. In April 2006 Faith, The Arts, and Community will celebrate with a grand exhibition of fifty-fivequilts at the Cyclorama and then at five smaller sites in the Boston area. At each of the sites, there will beperformances and events which look at faith through various art forms. The central purpose of the Faith QuiltsProject is to encourage spiritual exploration and tolerance.Michel ElAshkar is an actor, dramatist, producer, and engineer. Born in Zahle, Lebanon, Michel immigrated to theUnited States in 1983 and graduated as a Civil Engineer from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Hefounded ASHKAR Consulting Group, a civil engineering and land surveying firm in 1989 and became member ofthe board of Surveyors in the state of Massachusetts in 1996. Hailing from a family of artists, his passion for poetry,writing, and acting culminated in his internationally acclaimed monodrama, “A Child of Life”, a theatricalinterpretation of 2 acts chronicling many of the highlights of Lebanese-American poet and artist Kahlil Gibran’s life.A Child of Life, performed to standing ovations in many world capitals, has received a number of internationalawards and “Kahlil Gibran Day” proclamations from the mayors of nine U.S. cities since its debut in 1999. InJanuary 2003, Al-Jazeera network ran an exclusive documentary highlighting Michel’s artistic contribution as anArab-American. In 2001, Michel formed ASHKARVISION, a production company with the objective of preservingLebanese artistic heritage. Its current productions range from instrumental music to old Lebanese folk songs to anarray of Christian Maronite and Byzantine Hymns.Firas Abi-Nassif is a founding engineer at Airvana, Inc., a leading Cellular Infrastructure equipment vendor, and ispursuing his MBA degree at the Harvard Business School. Born in Lebanon at the outset of the Lebanese war, hegraduated in 1996 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer and Communications Engineering from the AmericanUniversity of Beirut. He then obtained his Master's degree in Telecommunications Engineering from NortheasternUniversity in 1998. Working at Motorola research between 1997 and 2000, he has patented five internationalinventions in the field of Data Networks and produced several publications in that field. An advocate of religiousand political toleration, Firas has developed an extracurricular career in free-lance journalism and is currently acolumnist on Lebanese and Middle East politics for Profile News, a Massachusetts-based newspaper.Loai Naamani is a founding member of the National Lebanese Intercollegiate Council and is President of theLebanese Club at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a grassroots organization aimed at promotingLebanese culture and concerns and fostering a sense of community among the Lebanese in Greater Boston.

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Recipient of a number of academic achievement and leadership awards, scholarships, and fellowships in Lebanonand the US, Loai has graduated with distinction from the American University of Beirut with a Bachelors degree inCivil and Environmental Engineering (2002) and with a Masters degree from the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology (2003). With contributions to Lebanese and American newspapers such as the Daily Star, Annahar,and the Boston Globe, Loai was recently invited by the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) to partake in thespecial TV episode, “Lebanon’s Spring from Washington”, of its internationally acclaimed talk show to discuss thecurrent political developments in Lebanon. He has recently co-founded the International Network of LebaneseEntrepreneurs and Technologists, a global non-profit organization established to facilitate technology and businessdevelopment through networking, knowledge exchange, and mentoring among Lebanese entrepreneurs andtechnologists worldwide. He currently pursues his PhD in Information Systems at MIT, where he has beennominated for the presidency of its Graduate Student Council for 2005.MusiciansEthan Philbrick, 19, grew up on Nantucket Island, Massachussetts. He started to play music at a young age,beginning with flute and later switching to the cello. He has studied with many excellent teachers, including PaulKatz, Mollie Glazer, Mark Churchill, and Hans Jensen, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, such asfirst prize in the New England Conservatory, Cape Symphony, and Arlington Symphony Concerto Competitions.He attended the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, MA and is currently a sophomore at the New EnglandConservatory, in the Contemporary Improvisation Department. He has used it as an opportunity to exploreimprovised music and music from different cultures, studying with Dominique Eade and Hankus Netsky, and hasbeen playing in various ensembles, including a Free Improvisation group and The ZilZALA Middle EasternEnsemble.The ZilZALA Middle Eastern Ensemble is led by vocalist/arranger Christiane Karam and is a Boston-basedWorld Music band that draws from several musical cultures to re-interpret classical, traditional and folk ArabicMusic. The outcome is a powerful and uplifting blend of Eastern and Western influences that range from Lebanese,Egyptian, Turkish, Greek and North African grooves and melodies, to contemporary Jazz harmonies.Instrumentation includes but is not limited to vocals, kanun, clarinet, flute, ’ud, buzuki, violin, bass and percussion.ZilZALA has performed extensively in the Boston area as well as in New York City, and has headlined at venuessuch as Ryles Jazz Club, the Berklee Performance Center, Club Passim, The Zeitgeist Gallery and Tagine. It wasfeatured several times on WMBR (88.1 FM), Cambridge.Counterpoint International – dialogue through music and mediaFounder Christiane Karam is an award-winning Singer/Songwriter (First Prize Winner, 2001 USA SongwritingCompetition/World Category, Finalist, 2003 John Lennon Songwriting Contest/Electronic Category, and SESACAward recipient, among others). She has performed with the likes of Bulgarian legend Yanka Rupkina andpianist/composer Ran Blake, and has been featured on VH1. Her teachers include Simon Shaheen, DominiqueEade, and Bobby McFerrin. She is currently attending a Masters Degree Program at the New EnglandConservatory where she was recently named the 2004-2005 Kimball Stickney Scholar.-Christiane Karam (Vocals, Percussion)-Anastassia Zachariadou (Kanun, Flutes)-Theodoulos Vakanas (Violin, Buzuki)-Ethan Philbrick (Cello)-Giacomo Merega (Bass)-Pedro Ito (Percussion)Dünya is a Boston based non-profit organization whose mission is to present a contemporary view of a wide rangeof Turkish traditions, alone and in interaction with other world traditions, through performance, publication and othereducational activities. Dünya has produced five interfaith concerts of sacred music in 2004 and 2005. The Psalmsof Ali Ufki concerts celebrate the similarities between the three monotheistic faiths and open the possibility ofbuilding bridges of understanding and deepening the interfaith dialogue though sharing our music and traditions. Asa result of the success of the concerts and the on going need for interfaith dialogue, Dünya will be taking ThePsalms of Ali Ufki to schools, universities and religious groups in the New England area. This community projectwill offer a combination of performance and open discussion of interfaith issues.Ali Ufki was born Wojciech Bobowski as a Polish Christian and converted to Islam after his capture by theOttoman Turks at the age of 30. He became renowned as a musician and translator in the imperial court. The AliUfki collection of Turkish psalms based on the Genevan Psalter provides the starting point for Dünya’s Psalms ofAli Ufki concert series at the intersection of Judaism, Greek Orthodoxy, Turkish Sufism, and Protestant Christianity.The lasting impact of Ali Ufki’s Psalms is the ecumenical spirit which they embody. The cosmopolitan and tolerantenvironment which Ali Ufki lived in Istanbul in the 17th century resonates today as we revive an old tradition ofinterfaith collaboration in Boston.Mehmet Ali Sanlikol (Voice and Oud)Noam Sender (Voice and Percussion)Mehmet Ali Sanlikol is the President of Dünya and a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music with aDoctor of Musical Arts Degree in composition. He is an internationally acclaimed jazz pianist and is currently

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teaching at Tufts University.Noam Sender is the co-producer of The Psalms of Ali Ufki concert series. He is a member of Dünya’s advisoryboard and the board of directors of Temple Beth Zion in Brookline. Noam is a singer and a percussionistperforming with a variety of ensembles in the Boston area.OrganizationsThe Artist's Action Resource Network is a network of artists, scholars, and activists at Harvard Divinity Schoolwho make the connection between creativity, broadly defined, and their faith/work/calling/ministry. The groupincludes dancers, painters, poets, writers, teachers, musicians, and filmmakers. The common thread is thecommitment to exploring the transformative power of the arts in both individual and community life.Counterpoint International is a non-profit incorporated both in Boston and the UK. Its mission is to createopportunities for interfaith and cross-cultural dialogue through the arts, particularly music. Counterpoint’s principalactivities are threefold: this series of ‘concert-seminars’ at Harvard University, which infuse academic discussionwith music in order to access a deeper level of dialogue on issues of conflict resolution; a series of musicalcollaborative tours to Lebanon that will promote discussion within Lebanese educational establishments; and agrassroots dialogue between different faith-based urban communities in the UK.Counterpoint International – dialogue through music and mediaFuture Counterpoint activities:Concert Seminar in Boston, Fall 2005Orchestra tour to Beirut, November 2005Ongoing grassroots dialogue work in Bristol, UK and BostonTo subscribe to our newsletter or to contribute to online discussions, visitwww.counterpointinternational.org

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