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Raising Environmental Awareness Through Performance Art

Item

Title (dcterms:title)

Eng Raising Environmental Awareness Through Performance Art

Date (dcterms:date)

2007

Creator (dcterms:creator)

Eng Smith, Alison

Subject (dcterms:subject)

Eng Environmental Studies

extracted text (extracttext:extracted_text)

RAISING ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS THROUGH
PERFORMANCE ART

by
Alison Smith

A Thesis Essay of Distinction
submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Masters of Environmental Studies
The Evergreen State College
June 2007

ABSTRACT________________________________________________

Theater for social change focuses on the dynamic relationship between
theatre and society and sees itself as an agent for social criticism and/or
change. Throughout the twentieth century, many developments in theater
for social change (including educative theater, theater of the oppressed,
theater for development, theater in education and activist theater) have
brought attention to myriad social issues. Most recently, performances have
begun addressing environmental issues as well. This thesis investigates the
significance of environmental topics as subject material for performance art
and found that the environment can be seen as a social issue that has
recently begun to benefit from, and contribute to, theater for social change.
Theater for social change can raise awareness about environmental problems
we face and the potential solutions available. Four performances from the
West Coast of the United States are reviewed to examine their place within
theater for social change. All of the performances are found to be messagedriven and community based and to incorporate a variety of theatrical
methods drawn from other areas of theater for social change. In addition,
methods for measuring the impact of a performance on knowledge retention
and attitude change are presented.

i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS_________________________________

I greatly appreciate the time and insight provided by the four
producer/performers spotlighted in this thesis: Manuel Cawaling, Lissin Lev
Chaya, Peter Donaldson, and Eli Sterling. I also thank the entire Masters in
Environmental Studies faculty at The Evergreen State College. All of the
faculty members were greatly supportive throughout the entire program and
the thesis process. Most of all, I thank my thesis reader Ted Whitesell, who
was ever-encouraging and kept me focused for the past 6 months. Dan
Waite was the best friend and editor I could hope to have during this time
and I thank him for just being there with me. Finally, I thank my
friend/roommate/fellow MES student Marium Ubilava, for sharing in this
epic thesis journey and always providing a good laugh when needed.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS_______________________________________

ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

i

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

iii-iv

LIST OF PICTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

v

I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1-6

II. WHY USE PERFORMANCE ART . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7-9

III. FOUNDATIONS OF PERFORMANCE ART FOR CHANGE . . .

10-33

Educative Theater: Bertolt Brecht . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pedagogy and Theater of the Oppressed: Paulo Freire and
Agusto Boal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Theater for Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Theater in Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Activist Theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fundamental Characteristics of Theater for Social Change . . . . .

11
14
18
27
28
32

IV. MEASURING THE IMPACT OF A PERFORMANCE . . . . . . . . . 34-41
Knowledge Retention: Rainier High School Drama Class . . . . .
Attitude Change: Metro Washington Park Zoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Behavior Change: DramAidE (Drama for Aids Education) . . . .
Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary of impact measurement methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
V. CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE PIECES FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Procession of the Species, Olympia WA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Winter Solstice Celebration, Seattle WA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Salmonpeople, Anywhere Pacific Salmon Swim, West Coast US
and Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
EarthCapades Environmental Vaudeville, Northern California . .
Preliminary Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

35
36
37
39
40

42-61
44
47
51
55
59

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued)_________________________

VI. ANALYSIS: ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE ART
WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THEATER FOR SOCIAL
CHANGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62-70
Recommendations for Future Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

63
64

REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

71-73

APPENDIX 1 Example before and after attitude survey . . . . . . . . . . . .
APPENDIX 2 Copy of interview questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
APPENDIX 3 Components of An Environmental Performance Art
Piece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

74-75
76
77-83

iv

LIST OF PICTURES____________________________________

Picture 1: Group work on a float for the Procession of the Species .
Picture 2: A luminary-bearer at the edge of the International
Fountain in the Seattle Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Picture 3: Peter Donaldson as Cyrus Jackson in Salmonpeople . . . .
Picture 4: Lissin Lev Chaya and David Heartlife of EarthCapades
with a volunteer during a school assembly . . . . . . . . . . .

45
49
53
56

v

I. INTRODUCTION

Peter Donaldson walked onto the stage and welcomed the audience to
his show. He told us that we would soon be meeting another man named
Cyrus Jackson who works at a dam in Washington State. After donning a ski
cap, Donaldson transformed into the character of Cyrus, who proceeded to
explain that his job is to drive salmon up and down the river in the back of
his work truck, around the dam, to ensure that they can get to and from their
historical spawning streams.

Cyrus, though a fictional character, spoke

directly to the audience from the stage, about the life history of the salmon
and their importance to the people in his life for the next hour and a half.
This is just one of many examples that I have witnessed over the past
few years that foster environmental education through the use of theater,
parades, and other forms of performance art to reach large audiences and
increase environmental awareness. I began to study this relatively new form
of performance art, to learn more about its nature and its impacts. This thesis
bridged two of my passions – environmental education and performance art.
Performance art can be a formal theater play, song, dance, puppetry,
simple storytelling or anything else that is performed in front of an audience.
Often I will use the terms performance art and theater interchangeably, for
the sole reason that much of the literature that refers to theater for social
change includes all of these approaches under the umbrella term of theater. I
will, for the most part, follow this convention, but where convenient and
appropriate I will also distinguish various types of performances under these

1

terms. Also, environmental education in this paper covers a wide spectrum
of topics and participants. Education is not limited to young people or formal
learning environments. The performances represented in this paper pertain to
people of all ages from all over the world, from children to grandmothers,
from activists in Canada protesting their government politics, to villagers in
Africa organizing for community development.

The breadth of material

supports the notion that we are all continual learners as well as teachers and
potential artists.
Existing literature documents the significance of art in other areas of
social change but little has been written about art that focuses on
environmental degradation or the interactions of humans and their
environment. This is surprising because theater has historically been used to
raise awareness about numerous other social ills and environmental issues are
not that new – although they are gaining ever-increasing attention in the
media and even motion pictures (for example, look at Al Gore's documentary
An Inconvenient Truth). In addition, the performances I have witnessed
share a great deal in common with the intentions and methods from the
practice of theater for social change throughout the 20th century, but are
seldom mentioned.

The central question of this thesis is can these

environmentally themed performance pieces be considered part of the canon
of theater for social change?
I pose a secondary question in this thesis as well: how can we
measure the success of theater for social change, most specifically within the

2

area of environmental issues? For example, in a zoo show, a keeper will
showcase wild animals while sharing tales of their native habitats and
behaviors. While it is clear that the performance intends to impact the
thinking and behavior of the audience concerning the appreciation and
conservation of the animal and its habitat, it may not be clear to the
performer how much influence the performance had. In order to shed some
light on this important question, I included measurement strategies in my
research and was sure to bring up the issue of measurement in interviews
with local performers.
The intended audience for this paper includes environmental
educators, advocates, performance artists, and any other individual interested
in effecting change with their art. Environmental educators can glean some
new ideas for educating their students and the general public through the
adaptation of theatrical philosophies to specific environmental topics.
Producers of performance art pieces may be inspired to look at
environmental topics as an area that needs to be addressed in the same way as
other social issues that have been and currently are the subject of theatrical
productions. With more people making plays and entertainment in general
about the many environmental crises and potential solutions that we
encounter today, the performers and their audiences will be exposed to new
information through art and, hopefully, be inspired to make change.
This thesis recognizes that contemporary environmental performance
art is simply a relatively recent extension of theater for social change and as

3

such has been largely overlooked in the research on theater for social change.
The existing literature focuses predominately on other societal issues – a very
few examples of topics include gender issues, civil rights and gay pride.
Hopefully, my research will open the door further to explore the role of
performance art at a catalyst for environmental awareness as well.
Chapter 2 addresses the importance of using performance art as an
educative tool. Chapter 3 introduces the development of performance art for
social change throughout the 20th century. I begin with the educative theater
of Bertolt Brecht in Germany and his then highly innovative methods, such
as recognizing the audience, using written signs on stage, or speaking stage
directions out loud; some of his methods are considered standard theater
practices today. In addition, Brecht was one of the first to include nonprofessional actors in his works to bring his theater closer to the working
classes. The pedagogy of Paulo Freire, and Augusto Boal's theater of the
oppressed expanded on Brechts philosophy of theater for all by literally
bringing theater to the people – in the streets, factories and any community
meeting place. Theater for Development, as its name suggests, takes place
around the world in developing nations, though often as a tool for both
governmental and non-governmental agencies to share education materials
with community groups.

Theater in Education, which has its roots in

England, promotes student learning through the theater or "acting out" of
problem solving across a myriad of school subjects. Finally, I introduce what
I call Theater as Activism, in which theater, produced for the express purpose

4

of influencing policy, is taken to the streets. Chapter 3 concludes with a
summary of the fundamental characteristics of theater for social change
across these many approaches.
Theater for social change and the environmental performances that I
viewed aim to make an impact on the audience. However, it can be difficult
to determine precisely what is to be measured and how. Chapter 4 explores
established possibilities of measuring the impact of a performance piece.
Chapter 5 documents the performances of four artists from the West Coast of
the U.S. that approach a variety of environmental issues through different
methods including plays, assemblies, and parades. I conducted interviews
with the artists to explore the goals of their projects and the methods they use
for connecting to an audience, in order to compare it to theater for social
change. I also inquired about their methods for measuring the success of
their projects, in order to document any additional possible methods of
measuring success.
Chapter 6 explores the similarities of the case studies from my
interviews to established practices of theater for social change. In answer to
my first thesis question, I conclude that indeed these strong similarities
indicate that they should be considered a part of the theater for social change
movement. Regarding my second question, while the performances I studied
can be considered successful regarding their popularity – because of large
numbers of participants and/or audiences – none of the performers were able
to provide what would be considered quantifiable data to confirm that they

5

had made an "impact." They did demonstrate that they were concerned about
making an impact by sharing stories that indicated to them their success.
Nonetheless, methods are available that could be used to measure these
performances (those outlined in Chapter 4). Also included in Chapter 6 are
my recommendations for future research in the area of social change and
environmental education.

6

II. WHY USE PERFORMANCE ART?

First and foremost, performance art attracts a great deal of attention to
an issue.

Theater is alive, colorful, often humorous and, if done well,

engaging. People will want to watch and listen. After gaining the attention
of an audience the performance then is not meant to just entertain, but to
stimulate thinking and effect change.

Theater is an ancient art form,

something that has caused a visceral reaction in spectators for thousands of
years. Storytelling and drama satisfy the dual purposes of passing on the
beliefs, values and knowledge of a culture and of sharing new information
with groups of people.
Incorporating theater into modern schooling or adult education
curricula adds variety to conventional forms of learning. It also promotes
group cooperation and critical thinking when developing story lines and
proposing problems and solutions. Knowledge retention is increased when
relating complex issues to everyday concepts through stories and analogies.
Because of the complexity of many environmental issues, especially the
technicality of the science and policy behind them, theater is also an
innovative way to stimulate people to learn about the subject matter.
Performance art can also bring a community together, whether it is a
classroom full of students or a group of strangers in a town that share a
common concern. Many hands are needed and everyone has skills to offer –
writing the script, painting scenery at a theater or designing posters or flyers,

7

running the administration, acting, singing, dancing, etc. On an even grander
scale, the need for multiple resources will promote coalition building.
In the late 1990s, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
assisted by a local non-profit organization called the Watchperson Project,
conducted a survey of local anglers in a predominantly Latino neighborhood
in New York to determine the amount of fish consumed from the East River.
Extremely high numbers of fish in the diets of local residents translated into a
particularly high cancer risk for this population. The EPA decided that the
usual methods of regulatory responses and educational campaigns would not
be effective.

The Watchperson Project, composed of local community

members sensitive to the cultural needs of the people, proposed a waterfront
festival.
At the festival, theater, dance and street-art supplemented educational
materials about the hazards of eating locally caught fish. All materials were
presented in Spanish and English. The festival was only realized however,
once the EPA and Watchperson Project were able to form a coalition with
other organizations including the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation, the local chapter of the Sierra Club and three
local organizations, Neighbors Against Garbage, The Greenpoint Waterfront
Association for Parks and Planning, and The Friends of the India Street Pier
(Coburn 2006).
Another benefit to community art about the environment is the
valuable knowledge provided by citizens about their surroundings. Local

8

knowledge often differs from that of "experts" and politicians. Theater for
Development projects in Africa specifically aim to find out about a
community's needs this way. Identifying community needs and proposing
creative solutions can be very empowering. The process, which is just as
important as the product, gives people the opportunity to express themselves
and exchange ideas with those around them. After the play is over, there is a
base group capable of furthering their political and social action.
Finally, participating in or watching a performance art piece is
enjoyable. While it may be intimidating for many people to get involved at
the onset, once engaged, they can develop individually in their skills and
confidence to achieve goals, while promoting a cause they believe in.

9

III. FOUNDATIONS OF PERFORMANCE ART FOR CHANGE

Performance art is a powerful tool to bring attention to social,
political and environmental issues around the world. In fact, at any given
moment a performance for change is occurring somewhere. The events for
change presented in this chapter occur on a local community level, whether
through organized events aimed at educating local community members or as
the result of local citizens themselves banding together with the aim of
influencing social and political change. This chapter charts the historical
development of various approaches to theater for social change to provide a
framework for later comparison of contemporary performance pieces that
have an environmental focus.
This chapter begins with an introduction to performance art for social
change, a movement that developed throughout the twentieth century
beginning with Bertolt Brecht's creative use of educative theater for the
working class in Germany. Next is an exploration of Augusto Boal's theater
of the oppressed (Boal 1979), based on Paulo Freire's pedagogy of the
oppressed (Freire 1970).

Brecht and Boal's theatrical approaches were

adapted to many projects around the world in what has come to be known as
Theater for Development. Finally, Theater in Education, a British-based
system (Jackson 1993) and another theatrical approach, what I distinguish
from the rest as Activist Theater, are discussed. While these approaches
overlap, they all have distinct histories and as such have developed unique
attributes.

One or more may be most suitable for any given situation

10

depending on what the educational or activist goal is and depending on the
target audience. This chapter concludes with a summary of the fundamental
characteristics of theater for social change across these many approaches.

Educative Theater: Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht, a playwright and director, worked in theater for many
decades, but it was early on in his career when he became the first to
influence what theater for social change is today. Many books have been
written on his life and theatrical methods but this section will only address
Brecht's initial impact on the role of theater in Germany in the 1920s--his
development of educative theater. The raison d'etre of theater at that time
was to entertain the audience and distract them from reality. The canon
relied heavily on emotional themes, and it was expected that the audience be
able to empathize with the characters. This theater was "naturalist" in that
the audience was separated from the play by an invisible wall: the characters
went through the story without acknowledging the audience. Brecht altered
this form of naturalist theater by breaking down that invisible wall in an
attempt to urge the audience to critically analyze their own reality and the
social ills of the day, and to motivate them to leave the theater and effect
change:

This view influenced ideas on theatre as a medium, as a didactic
instrument. Educative theatre distinguished itself from other types
of theatre because of the fact that it aimed primarily at the process
of awareness raising among their audience, to which the medium
was subordinate. First of all, educative theatre was meant to
change the view, which the target groups had of reality: to have

11

them consider things in a different way then they used to.
Secondly, educative theatre was designed to provide as many
means as possible for the target group to realize the desired
interventions of their reality (Epskamp 1989, 47-48).
Plays were intentionally written and acted so the audiences were well aware
that the play was a representation of reality and not reality itself.

For

example, Brecht utilized techniques that included "direct address by actors to
the audience, transposition of text to third person or past tense, speaking the
stage direction out loud, exaggerated, unnatural stage lighting, the use of
song, and explanatory placards" (Willet 1992, 138).
Many of Brecht's plays are viewed as propagandistic, supporting the
unionization or workers or calling attention to Marxist theory.

Brecht

therefore moved away from the canon of creating plays focused on the lives
of the bourgeois, although such plays were popular among all the classes. In
addition, he cast both amateur and professional actors to move away from
bourgeois identity and appeal to the working classes to see the plays.
Another practice Brecht utilized were didactic pieces written for laborers and
schoolchildren. They then considered their roles and struggles within the
acting process, not necessarily from established scripts. His support of the
working classes and his opposition to the Nazi's rise in Germany forced him
to leave Germany in 1933, though he eventually returned in the 1950s.
Many of Brecht's innovations are now viewed as standard theatrical
methods. One group that used these methods was El Teatro Campesino (El
Teatro Campesino, 1970).

El Teatro Campesino evolved out of the

organized strike led by Cesar Chavez against grape growers in California.

12

The small group of theater performers was born in 1965 on a picket line
when they repeated everything the grape growers were yelling at them.
Eventually the grape growers were so annoyed and frustrated with the noncompliance of their farm workers that they left. This small success was the
catalyst for the group's evolution into something more than a protest against
working conditions – it became a declaration of human rights and a uniting
of Mexican-Americans. The members of the group included farmworkers or
former farmworkers.
In their theater work, they used methods, knowingly or not, originally
developed by Brecht.

These methods included directly addressing the

audience, incorporating songs with catchy choruses that the audience could
sing along to, and most significantly wearing signs around their necks so that
it was clear who the actors were portraying. Some of their sketches were
recorded and aired on National Education Television in 1970. In one of their
scenes, one actor played a White field manager, the patron, and another
played a Mexican farmworker. At certain points, the characters switched
roles by exchanging their signs. This switch was significant because the
audience was identifying and sympathizing with one actor, but when the sign
was exchanged, they were shaken out of the "make-believe" world of the skit
and focused on what was being represented. In their new awareness, the
audience realized the sketch was about the situation occurring outside the
theater, not about the actors themselves. Also, solutions to the problems
were proposed, such as forcing the patron to sign a contract promising fair

13

wages. While all of their performances were moving, they also incorporated
satirical comedy to appeal to their audiences (El Teatro Campesino 1970).

Pedagogy and Theater of the Oppressed: Paulo Freire and Augusto Boal
Beginning in the 1960s two Brazilians, Paulo Freire and Augusto
Boal, alerted the world to the crucial need for liberation of the people through
adult literacy campaigns (Freire) and participation in theater (Boal). Since
that time their philosophies on education and theater have spread especially
well in developing nations, where they are used to specifically address the
social concerns of marginalized people.
Freire devised informal and popular education practices to raise
general awareness of disparate social positions held in society and
understanding of the causes and solutions to the situation.

Informal

education in Freire's approach was the knowledge learned in daily life. In
contrast to formal education, in which teachers "teach" and students absorb
information, informal education promotes interaction and sharing of
knowledge with others. Informal education is thus personal, unpredictable
and at times an emotional process. Informal education in this way also builds
communities by bringing together many members of society to participate in
dialogues of people working together to explore solutions.

"Popular

education" refers to education by and for the working class majority.
Freire focused on "functional literacy" as a means of liberating
individuals and groups to explore and change their physical and social

14

environments. His functional literacy approach was a response to the late
1960s movement to incorporate literacy into development campaigns where
the globalization of capitalism was taking place. For example, Maguerez in
North Africa "referred to the importance of literacy as an integrated part of
vocational training, fulfilling the needs and problems that the adult laborers
experienced within their working situation.

He made it a condition for

motivating adults to learn to read and write" (Epskamp 1989, 18). Freire, on
the other hand, took the promotion of literacy past the point of purely
benefiting the socio-economic development of the country and brought it
down to the personal level of the individual, while also emphasizing the
political dimension of the world in which illiterate people were living. Freire
"considered reading and writing as vital in the process of 'concientization',
which represented the development or the awakening of critical awareness"
(Epskamp 1989, 19).
Augusto Boal drew on Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970) and
the concept of "concientization" as well as the dramaturgy of Bertolt Brecht,
forming the theater of the oppressed. In fact, Boal, in publishing his book
called Theater of the Oppressed (1974) was paying homage to Freire's work.
But Boal had been creating theater for the people since the 1950s, when he
recognized the need to address the oppression of large segments of the
Brazilian population. At the time he was the artistic manager of the Arena
Theater in Sao Paulo, where he produced classical and modern plays. On the
side however, he presented theater pieces to others who he felt needed to

15

become more socially and politically aware of their situation.

He was

drawing on Brecht's idea that the role of theater was not only to reflect
reality, but also to interpret and try to change it. In his efforts to perform
pieces to the oppressed, however, he ran into a problem: the oppressed
groups often did not see themselves as discriminated against or oppressed.
Somehow, there was still a disconnect between the theater and the people.
The classic example of Boal's realization of the need to change his
approach comes from his experience producing a play on the second military
coup occurring in Brazil in 1968. While the theatrical rendition of the coup
happened inside, the real thing was going on in the streets. He then decided
to abandon the ticket-only theater and took theater outside to the community
in churches, factories and local meeting places. Also, he decided to forget
the idea of performing for the oppressed and instead opted to begin
facilitating the plays that would be created and produced by the oppressed
themselves (Epskamp 1989, 52).
Two of Boal's theatrical methods, forum theater and invisible theater,
have greatly influenced the whole concept of theater for social change. Both
methods utilize Brecht's model of giving peasants and working-class people
the opportunity to participate in a performance in order to explore solutions
to the problems they were facing. Forum theater was revolutionary in that:

Through storytelling techniques, Boal worked with groups to create a
scene in which a protagonist is failing to achieve what s/he needs or
desires. Audience members stop the dramatic action at any moment
they feel the protagonist has an option s/he is not exercising. They
then physically replace the protagonist in the scene and improvise

16

their alternative action, thus rehearsing for social change (Schutzman
and Cohen-Cruz 1994, 2).
In this way, spectators become "spect-actors," that is to say, engaged
participants practicing strategies for personal and social change.
Boal also conceived of invisible theater, also known as guerilla
theater today. Invisible theater takes place in public spaces, where actors
perform previously rehearsed scenes that uncover social injustices. These
public scenes draw the attention of groups of people, unaware that they are
actually witnessing staged theater. Often the actors actively seek to stimulate
discussion (Schutzman and Cohen-Cruz 1994, 2).
Invisible theater and variations on the idea of invisible theater exist
especially in places with incessant censorship of the press and suppression of
freedom of speech. In the Philippines, for example, invisible theater was the
only kind available after the introduction of martial law in 1972. Before
martial law was declared some theatrical troupes traveled around the country
putting on their shows in public spaces. Although still permissible, they
frequently stuck to churches and other safe havens criticizing the government
and exchanging ideas with local people. After the imposition of martial law,
theater troupes utilized a variation on invisible theater:

To avoid actors being arrested, detained and beaten, performances
were given in the church or the market place, with few props or
costumes. The starting time was made known by word of mouth and
people would accumulate in the market place. Look-outs were posted
who, at the merest indication of danger, would signal to actors and
audience to mingle inconspicuously with the crowd (Epskamp 1989,
139).

17

While this is not exactly "invisible" theater like Boal's—in this case, people
were aware of when and where performances were to take place—it still
incorporated the aspect of surprise and engaged the audience in discussion.
Both of Boal's innovative approaches can and should be adapted to
issues of environmental importance today as well. Forum theater, with its
spect-actors, can engage communities in discussions about environmental
problems they are facing. And invisible theater draws the attention and
awareness of the general public.

In fact, at least one performer in the

Northwest has utilized a variation of invisible theater, performing in the
Seattle Center, attracting the attention of holiday shoppers who had no idea
they were about to stumble across an outdoor performance. This and other
examples are presented in Chapter 5.

Theater for Development
Theater itself is based on the traditional form of sharing stories,
particularly for passing on information from community to community to
facilitate the sharing of important current events, or from generation to
generation to maintain an oral history and to foster tradition. The modern
information age in the developed world now negates the need for theater as a
form of everyday information sharing, so theater for this purpose has all but
disappeared. Conversely, in the developing world, high illiteracy rates and
the lack of access to information, even among literate populations, have
precipitated an ever-widening information gap. Theater for Development

18

(TfD) is based on this concept of disparity between the haves and have-nots,
stemming from post-colonial poverty. Therefore, TfD is a creative means for
continued information sharing in parts of the world that identify with and
continue to have strong relationships with traditional forms of storytelling.
Theater for Development can be divided into two broad categories.
The first category of TfD, TfD for education, comes from "outsiders" who
want to share information with local communities with high illiteracy rates
and limited access to education and information.

Much of this theater

focuses of health education including, but not limited to, the awareness and
prevention of illnesses such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, or the
importance of treatments.

Other areas frequently addressed include

sustainability, family planning, nutrition, and gender equality (McIntyre
1998, Epskamp 1989, Abab 1997). These topics are often surrounded by
cultural taboos, and theater is a creative means of bringing sensitive subjects
out into the open for discussion.
The second category, TfD for needs assessment, uses TfD as a means
of exploring community needs and resources for development. Community
performance pieces can vocalize communal concerns and work towards an
understanding or consensus about which concerns are of the most importance
and creatively discover solutions to those problems. Often, in this approach
the TfD is produced by supra-governmental, governmental and nongovernmental development organizations. One important thing to note is that
in TfD, even when the performers are from the local community, is still

19

frequently facilitated by "outsiders." However, it is important to recognize
that TfD in this second approach does draw on traditional ecological
knowledge that sustained people before the era of colonization. Theater for
Development can also, in some cases, be a mixture of these two categories.

TfD for education
Within the category of TfD that brings "outside" education to a
developing community, one of the most frequently used, and I think most
interesting, methods is puppetry. There are many forms of puppet theater
that embody strong local or regional cultural identities. Puppetry therefore
makes for an excellent local approach that can use an already familiar and
respected art form to introduce new information.

Examples

of

local

puppetry forms include small two-dimensional shadow puppets popular in
India; puppets popular in Vietnam that are submerged in water in front of a
bamboo wall and operated with underwater rods and wires; or "Muppet" style
puppets, those with large eyes and moveable mouths, made famous by Jim
Henson's television shows The Muppets and Sesame Street in the United
States. Sometimes, using traditional puppet forms makes it easier to connect
with a local audience, but it may be risky to interfere with traditional puppet
characters. Using traditional puppets to further an outsider's cause can be
offensive, especially if those puppets have religious connotations (Epskamp
1989). In this case, adapting traditional character puppets to make it obvious
that they are there for a different sort of educational purpose, or even using

20

alternative forms of puppetry may prevent the co-opting of the traditional art
form.
Nonetheless, puppetry has many advantages. The greatest advantage,
as already mentioned, is that many cultures in developing areas around the
world are already familiar with and highly respect puppetry as a method of
entertainment and information sharing. This has evolved out of the fact that,
for centuries, puppeteers have been presenters of both traditional stories and
current events to illiterate villagers. Often the puppeteer may be illiterate
himself (Epskamp 1989).
Puppets can be adapted to the style and approach of someone who is
respected locally.

The familiarity of puppets providing information,

especially from a known local person, makes it easier to incorporate new
messages. In addition, information coming from a puppet may seem less
critical than information coming directly from a person. Puppets are viewed
as neutral parties, creating a world that mirrors that of people so that we can
identify with them without feeling the embarrassment of watching people
perform on stage.

This aspect of puppetry can be especially useful for

educators tackling sensitive, locally controversial topics such as AIDS
prevention or the rights of girls to attend school. Parents may also be willing
to listen to their children or see the world through their eyes when the
children can explain their views through the intermediary of a puppet
(McIntyre 1998).

21

Examples of puppetry for development come from all over the world.
Burkina Faso, a landlocked nation in western Africa, has one of the lowest
literacy rates in the world – a good reason to incorporate storytelling.
Puppets were used there as part of a mobilization campaign for sustainable
development and childen's rights (McIntyre 1998, 9). Puppets were used in
Nepal to encourage people to build latrines, in Indonesia to motivate people
to participate in reforestation projects, and in India to promote family
planning (Epskamp 1989). In the United States, El Teatro Campesino also
used puppets in some of their acts. The director of El Teatro Campesino,
Luis Valdez, stated "[You] can knock puppets around more, even kill a
puppet . . . Still hang signs on all characters, because then they are easily
identified" (El Teatro Campesino 1970).
Puppets are just one example of art that is working to raise awareness
surrounding social and environmental issues in the developing world. Other
forms include picture-based poster projects and radio and television shows.
Often the television shows geared towards young children incorporate the use
of puppets. Incorporating these art forms within development projects will
emphasize the broader scope of communication and provision of services.
Whatever the message, it is still important that the educational purpose of
theater complement, not displace, the pursuit of entertainment value.

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TfD for needs assessment
The second broad category of TfD focuses on theater created by the
communities themselves for the purpose of identifying communities' needs
and resources to solve pressing local concerns. Often this process takes place
in the developing world where communities still struggle to gain the attention
of government officials who are often distant and hard to reach. Some
communities may not even be able to clearly identify and subsequently
communicate pressing issues affecting their people.
While community members are the performers, outside facilitators
once again are often used in this type of TfD. Most of these facilitators are
from local universities or governmental agencies. TfD has become a fairly
common practice in Africa in the past few decades. Once again, TfD in this
capacity is drawing on already established community forms of oral history
and knowledge sharing. The following is an example of how TfD can be a
tool for community organizing.

Surely elements of this approach are

applicable to communities confronting environmental concerns around the
world no matter what their economic status.
Nigeria has one of the longest histories of using TfD, dating back to
1975. But it was not very well documented until Nigerian Oga Steve Abab
wrote one of the first books on TfD, about a workshop he conducted in three
small villages. In 1989, Abab was a leader of the Nigerian Popular Theatre
Alliance (NPTA), a non-profit, non-partisan, and non-governmental
organization – although he himself was affiliated with a local university. The

23

workshop arose out of a food shortage crisis in the country, where 80% of the
people are farmers. Prices were skyrocketing 75-100% above their normal
prices. Abab outlined four purposes to having the workshops:
1. To analyze the agricultural and the food situation in workshop
villages;
2. To discuss the identified agricultural problems and related issues and
to explore how these reflect the development problems and therefore
how they contribute to informing the picture of life in these
communities;
3. To test and/or affirm the potential of popular theatre in identifying
and analyzing the community problems and to suggest, through the
play-making process, what means the communities may adopt, within
their limits, to solve their problems; and
4. To make use of theatre to mobilize the target communities towards
agricultural and social development (Abab 1997, 2).
Abab described two reasons for the choice of the theater option for
discussing community development. The first addresses the fact that, of
course, theater is fun and entertaining, and so is a great way to get
community members involved. The second, and more significant in this
study, is the importance of the process of creating theater with the input of an
entire village. The rural villages were already accustomed to participatory
and communal approaches to problem solving, and the workshop aimed to
explore how theater performance would discover potential solutions to the
agricultural crisis and enhance agricultural performance (Abab 1997, 4-5).
The performances in the villages were interactive. For example, in
one village there were two fictional candidates for public office who made
promises, and the other villagers took on roles, sometimes spontaneously,
asking questions of the candidates. In another there was a role-play about a
community bank in which women wanted to participate. The money would

24

allow women to purchase seeds and tools to work on their own agricultural
plots. It would also provide a means for women to invest in their neighbors'
prosperity, by loaning money through the bank and earning interest payments
in return. What happened in the theater forum was interesting. The line
between fiction and reality was blurred. Sometimes characters began talking
with real people (Abab 1997). This demonstrated that community banking
was already identified as a major interest among the women. They had
already been frequently debating community banking, and many women
were used to openly communicating their concerns about it. The framework,
however, of theater may also have given them some more freedom to voice
their opinions as "characters," without personal consequences.
Follow-up was crucial to see if the use of theater had led to any
concrete changes. Abab and his colleagues returned to the villages a few
months after the workshops were completed to see what had changed. In
some cases the theater workshops were successful. In the village where the
elders were talking about banning the community bank, they came to an
agreement that the women could meet on a monthly basis to invest and take
out loans. There are some successes and lessons to be learned from this case
study. Abab stressed the importance of a base group for contact throughout
the process. A base group can help bring the facilitators, record suggestions
for improvements in the village, and continue implementation and lead
community members afterwards. It is also essential to make sure the theater
participants know that the facilitators are there to create dialogue--not to

25

solve problems for the village.

In the end, the success of the theater

workshop is in how much it strengthens base groups to continue work after
the facilitators leave.
While TfD has thus far been limited to the developing world of
African and Asian countries, many of the methods behind it could be applied
to issues occurring in communities in the developed world. It would be
interesting to see how successful the approach of community theater forums
would be in Western countries where community approaches to problem
solving are not as strong due to larger population bases and the detachment
many average citizens feel from their communities. Even in a democracy,
only a few politically active citizens frequent town hall meetings to voice
concerns. As individuals, we may not know exactly what issues are most
pressing to our communities until we communicate with others in the
community.

Taking TfD as an example shows how using theater can

facilitate clear identification of areas of concern to a town or city. Taking
needs and resources assessment out of the political arena of the town hall or
editorial section of the newspaper and making it personal and communitybased could shed light onto community concerns, needs and resources. Local
knowledge, local resources and local interest of people can increase the
health of the communities, and this is true not only in "traditional" societies,
but everywhere.

26

Theater in Education
Theater in Education (TIE) began as a movement in British public
schools in the 1960s. This educative tool uses theater for instruction in a
variety of subjects including the environment, race relations, local history,
languages, science and health. The aim "is to provide an experience for
children that will be intensely absorbing, challenging, even provocative, and
an unrivalled stimulus for further work on the chosen subject in and out of
school" (Jackson 1993). Because TIE began with the focus of children in
mind, it is often misinterpreted or categorized along with "children's theater,"
which it is not. "Children's theater" refers either to performances where
children act out pre-scripted moralistic stories or to professional theater
companies that target children as their audiences: TIE, alternatively, engages
students to consciously participate in problem solving simulations.
Theater in Education provides a venue for students to improvise a
drama, developing characters and storylines that model real-life decisionmaking.

This type of theater helps the student to simulate real-world

experiences they might have when they leave the school setting. Similar to
Boal's forum theater (see p. 18), students outside of the play can challenge
and advise the students that are in it.

The opportunity for post-play

discussion about the events presented also allows students to reflect and
analyze the situations after the fact. While TIE was specifically designed for
school age students, it is applicable to all ages. Theater in this sense is a

27

means of exploring situations with the idea of cooperating for creative
solutions.

Activist Theater
Brecht and Boal were deliberate political players in theater, aiming to
raise the individual and collective consciousness of people. The actors and
their audiences came from the same oppressed groups. In most respects their
theater was a process of building identity and pride.

Theater for

Development in many ways is empowering because it brings a community
together to identify problems and begin working on solutions. Activist
theater takes these self-realization processes one step further by actively
seeking to effect social and political change through their performances.
They are less exploratory by nature and more demanding of outcome.
Activist theater is an eclectic term though. Activist theater can address issues
of racism, sexism, war or any number of social concerns either inside a
traditional playhouse or using invisible theater. Often this takes on the form
of theater in the streets or in front of government buildings as
demonstrations.
The Raging Grannies is a group of social and environmental activists
that creates short, humorous sketches and songs, which are performed at
protests, outside of political leaders' offices and homes, in local tourist spots,
at festivals, and anywhere else they see a need to be. The first Raging
Grannies made their appearance in 1986, in Victoria, British Columbia,
where they presented an un-valentine (a broken heart) to a parliament

28

representative to protest the presence of US nuclear-powered and potentially
nuclear-armed vessels in Victoria's Harbor (Roy 2000). Today the Victoria
Grannies continue address a variety of issues, from war and nuclear weapons
to forestry practices and toxics.

Since then, the Raging Grannies have

become a phenomenon in over 50 cities around the world (Acker 1992).
They exaggerate their role as grandmothers by dressing in stereotypical
clothing of little old ladies, some wearing fancy hats and white gloves, others
in housedresses with aprons (Brightwell 1988, Goldberg 1993). They arrive
armed with theatrical props, singing songs and acting out sketches. The
Raging Grannies' best weapon in fact, is their humor, which attracts a great
deal of media attention to the issue at hand.
In 1990, the Raging Grannies in Victoria protested the continued
presence of US nuclear vessels in their harbor by launching their own navy in
Canada's capital of Ottawa. Their naval fleet consisted of dinghies, canoes
and kayaks, which they "paddled" on the concrete around the Centennial
Flame fountain on Parliament Hill, while singing songs of protest. The
Raging Granny Navy was there to focus national attention on the US nuclear
ships and they succeeded in generating nationwide news coverage of their
rebellious antics. By keeping a sense of humor throughout their performance
they gained a lot of positive feedback in the press for their actions and their
cause. Of course the Grannies do at times receive negative responses to their
methods. Letters to the editor have been written in the same humorous
design the Grannies use to present an opposing viewpoint (Roy 2000). This

29

type of response reveals the power of the satirical theatrical style of the
Grannies.
The creativity and dedication of this group of women has brought
attention not only to the issues they choose to raise but also to the women
themselves. They have the unique and slightly marginalized position of older
women in the social and political structure of Canadian culture where, as in
the U.S., what they think can be overlooked and even ridiculed. Using a few
subtle (or not so subtle) techniques, the Grannies have garnered a lot of
respect from their local and national governments. First, by exaggerating the
stereotypes surrounding them, they are actually breaking down those
stereotypes, increasing the awareness of the individual and collective power
of their group.

But also, their real-life roles as grandmothers focuses

attention on the urgency of environmental issues that will eventually and
significantly affect their grandchildren, which strengthens their political
message. Secondly, the satire and good-natured approach mitigates the often
negatively viewed "hysterical housewife" reaction to female environmental
activists. Finally, The Grannies' rigorous research and presentation of facts
grants them the respect they deserve, allowing them to be taken seriously by
their representatives – even though they use the vehicle of humor to garner
attention in the first place. In fact, the Grannies were so well recognized by
1990 that they were invited by the federal government to attend the Aging
Into the Twenty-first Century Conference held in Ottawa.

30

Often activist theater is not as lighthearted as what the Grannies
present. Many groups around the world face great risk for even attempting to
speak out through theater. For example in India, a young student group set
up the Rural Community Development Association (RCDA) to promote the
rights of Harijans, formerly known as untouchables, the lowest in the Hindu
caste system. In the late 1970s the Harijans organized and presented street
theater portraying class conflicts, especially the low wages they were paid to
work on higher caste landowners' property.

The skits themselves

incorporated humor and the landlords even came out to watch the shows.
When the landlords recognized caricatures of themselves on stage they would
react by turning off power or even resorting to violent tactics, including
hiring people to beat up Harijan leaders (Ravi 1979). This example shows
the power of theater in uniting a community, giving voice to a group of
oppressed and raising awareness among outsiders as to the conditions in
which the Harijans were living.
When political protest turns violent, it is often due to a response to the
drama of popular action. Representations of leaders or events can strike a
deep emotional chord with whoever is watching – and with those responsible
for maintaining order. The power of that emotional connection is theater's
greatest advantage, so knowing how to best use theater to further the
educative purpose of a group is fundamental. The next section lays out some
of the overarching premises of theater for social change. Pulling from the

31

key historical movements in theater outlined above, many of the methods
used have become standard theatrical practice.

Fundamental Characteristics of Theater for Social Change
Theater for social change, in all the examples provided above, occurs
on a community level.

Performances are locally oriented, from the

performers to the audiences to the topics addressed. Although actors are
usually members of the community, sometimes they are professional
performers. One case might be the use of local puppeteers presenting new
"outside" information to the public.

Also, professional actors might be

utilized when groups are attempting to make a quick connection to the
audience when in towns for very short periods of time. Performances also
take into consideration the diversity of people and their needs in the
community. They are then given for all people regardless of age, ethnicity,
or income – in fact, one of the biggest aims is to pull communities together
by crossing these boundaries and empowering the whole group.
Theater for social change is also goal-oriented, portraying an
educational message through entertainment.

Often the message aims to

change behavior to increase public health or promote economic sustainability
and equality. It is very important to note that using theater to mirror the
reality of a situation and bring attention to the cause is only one step in the
process.

32

Many innovative methods and styles of theater – which may be
considered common practices today – are also the product of theater for
social change.

Brechts use on placards, unusual lighting, stating stage

directions out loud, or Boals use of theater in public spaces are just a couple
of examples.
Finally after awareness is raised, steps are often taken to work on the
issues at hand. A group may brainstorm solutions during a performance, like
that in Nigeria, but then people need to be selected to act on making change.
As another example, after a puppet performance promoting vaccinations,
information may be provided as to the location of local clinics, or
vaccinations may be offered on the spot. The performances that I will review
in Chapter 5 share many of these same themes fundamental to the practice of
theater for social change. A discussion of whether or not those performances
should then be considered part of the collective theater for social change is
presented in 6. Before that, I introduce my secondary research question in
Chapter 4, regarding the importance of, and the methods available for
measuring the impact of a performance.

33

IV. MEASURING THE IMPACT OF A PERFORMANCE

One would imagine that a performance impacts both those who
produce or take part in it, as well as, those who are in the audience. While a
performance can serve to educate members of both of these groups, it might
impact them differently.

The writers must research the topics to be

presented, understand them and create a script that is clear and entertaining
for the target audience. Performers have to understand the material if they
are to effectively communicate it to the audience.

Prop and costume

designers also have to understand how to best visually complement the
message of the performance piece. The audience is then affected by the
overall production. This brings up my secondary research question: while
the performer will often know whether or not he or she has made a
connection to the audience, how does s/he know if the intended message was
received?
Performers presenting a piece over and over again will be constantly
adjusting the dialogue, movements, storyline, etc. depending on the response
of the audience.

This is often an undocumented process, one that the

performer knows about, but the audience does not.

The audience may

believe that the performance they are seeing has always been performed
exactly the same way and always will be, but, in fact, the performer is
constantly self-evaluating and adapting the piece to better communicate
his/her message. If the performer is to know what kind of impact s/he made,
then they must develop a plan for feedback from the audience members.

34

A number of quantitative and qualitative measures have been
designed to assess the impact of performance art. Three major areas that are
significant regarding educational theater pieces include knowledge retention,
attitude shifts, and behavior changes. Examples below are drawn from three
performance projects that address these areas.

For the purposes of this

chapter, the evaluation methods used are of greater importance than whether
the outcomes of these actual events were deemed successful or not. As long
as the evaluations were reliable and reproducible (i.e. authentic results), then
it is a matter of improving the performance – the significance of evaluation in
the first place!

Knowledge Retention: Rainier High School Drama Class
Ti Locke was making her living writing and producing K-12
science/math-based school assembly programs when she questioned what
concepts the audience and the performers would really remember
immediately after the performance and one month later. Locke chose to set
up an experiment on knowledge retention while student teaching with 20
high school students at Rainier High School, in Rainier, Washington in the
spring of 1992. The students researched, wrote and performed their own
science-based assembly for an audience of 150 elementary school students.
The student performers were divided into groups that each wrote and
performed a mini-script on one of six topics including Brownian Movement,
Bernoulli's Principle, territory/aggression of dogs, territory/aggression of
humans, mitosis, and recycling (Locke 1993).

35

Since she was most interested in knowledge retention she devised a
multiple-choice questionnaire with one question about each of the topics
presented, that the performers (high school students) and the audience
members (elementary school students) took immediately after the
performance and then again one month later. The second questionnaire
asked the same questions in the same order but the answer was in a different
place (Locke 1993).
Locke found that the lowest information retention of any group was at
73%. Not bad; however this was among the performers themselves – the
high school students! One reason for this may be that they were preoccupied
with their own skits and so did not retain some of the information presented
by the other student groups. And while retention did go down in some topic
areas for the second questionnaire, one month later, it actually increased in
other areas for both the performers and the students. This is due to the fact
that some teachers discussed the concepts before or after the initial survey.
Locke also points out for other educators interested in using theater that
repetition of the key take-home message, humor and relating topics to
everyday experiences are all important for retention (Locke 1993).

Attitude Change: Metro Washington Park Zoo
The Education Division of Metro Washington Park Zoo in Portland,
Oregon began presenting free shows with flying birds of prey in the summer
of 1986. By 1990, the zoo decided:

36

Providing factual information about the animals and making the
public aware of the environmental crisis were not enough. [A] new
script was written with the objectives of persuading people there is a
direct connection between their personal actions and threats to
wildlife and persuading them that the personal choices they make in
their daily lives can make a difference in the survival of wildlife
[Note: my italics] (Yerke and Burns 1991).
In 1991, Yerke and Burns created a more rigorous study design
where:
The objectives of the study were to assess favorable-unfavorable
reactions of viewers to the show (entertainment/attention value),
assess recall of specific information imparted in the show
(educational/attention value), and a comparison of pre and post show
attitudes towards environmental and conservation concerns
(educational/persuasive value) (Yerke and Burns 1991).
Using pre- and post-show questionnaires (see Appendix 1 for a
reproduction of those questionnaires), which enjoyed a high return rate due to
a reward of free tickets to a train ride, Yerke and Burns did indeed
demonstrate that the new show increased knowledge about birds of prey and
positively changed attitudes in the audience.

Behavior Change: DramAidE (Drama for AIDS Education)
DramAidE is an organization affiliated with the Universities of
Zululand and KwaZulu-Natal that began using drama and theater for social
change in 1992. Their first major project covered 800 schools in a regionwide effort. The major aim of this project was to organize students to create
performance pieces for their peers that addressed topics surrounding
HIV/AIDS prevention, such as the dangers of drug use and unsafe sex. Like
many other educational pieces, DramAidE used audience participation,

37

including interaction between audiences and the performers

(Dalrymple

2006).
Before proceeding to describe the methods of measuring impact, in
this case it is especially important to note that when performance pieces are
funded from outside sources, especially if they are grant-funded as is the case
for DramAidE, they will probably be required to submit reports on the
outcome and success of a project. This is a very common scenario with
many educational performance pieces, so observing how others have
measured impact, especially to satisfy reporting requirements, can be helpful.
The original funding for DramAidE was provided through South
Africa's Department of Health. Subsequent funding has come through other
sources, including the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) and international non-profit organizations. In order to measure the
success of the student productions DramAidE, under the direction of Lynn
Darlymple, developed a model they called KAPB – knowledge, attitude and
practice/behavior.

This model builds upon the previously described

knowledge and attitude measurement methods.

A questionnaire that

contained an attitude scale was distributed to students before the performance
and a sample of the participants completed follow-up questions. In addition,
focus group interviews with key groups, such as parents and teachers were
held.

The findings of the research "indicated a gain in knowledge about

prevention of infection with HIV and a significant change in attitude"
(Dalrymple 2006).

38

Another major DramAide project was Act Alive, which formed youth
clubs in schools to put on plays, again for their peers, promoting healthy
schools in response to the escalating AIDS epidemic. This time around,
DramAidE was keen on evaluating the impact of the project and used a
number of evaluation tools:
Qualitative techniques included an assessment of background
documentation, focus groups with youth and community
organizations, and semi-structured interviews with teachers. A
quantitative evaluation of the project's impact on schools with active
Health Clubs, in comparison to non-intervention schools in the area,
was also conducted (Dalrymple 2006).
Dalrymple is careful to distinguish between individual behavior change and
what she refers to as a major societal shift, which can only be measured at
provincial or national levels though surveys. Also, behavior changes usually
occur through a fairly comprehensive intervention system – something that is
bigger than one performance piece, so while it is a component of change, a
broader strategy is needed to make a social impact (Dalrymple 2006).

Limitations
Some limitations do exist concerning the measurement of impacts.
The most difficult obstacle to overcome when measuring an impact of a
performance art piece is other outside influences. For example, in Ti Locke's
science programs, she was measuring the retention of information. Some
teachers may have reviewed the material with students, or helped students
with answers, while other teachers did not. In addition, there was the followup survey one month later, where at least one teacher was doing a unit on

39

recycling, so the mantra of reduce, reuse, recycle was familiar to students at
that time and in fact raised the retention score in that subject area (Locke
1993).
In the case of DramAidE, there were ever-increasing levels of
awareness about the methods for preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.
However, prevalence rates of HIV among antenatal clinic attendees in South
Africa continued to rise between 1990 and 2004. This does not necessarily
mean that DramAidE's programs were not successful in changing the
attitudes and behaviors of students - they most likely were - but other factors,
such as cultural taboos against women being assertive and asking about
condom use or being forced into an arranged marriage could have
perpetuated the rise in HIV infection rates (Dalrymple 2006).

Also, even

though there may be attitudinal changes, behavioral changes may be
dependent on other factors, such as life skills development or access to the
resources necessary to make change.

Summary of impact measurement methods
The examples provided in this chapter present a number of
quantitative and qualitative methods that could be adapted to measure the
impact of performance art. Quantitative methods include pre- and postknowledge and attitude-based surveys given to performers and audience
members; or looking to surrogate data on, for example, the change in
membership levels of a zoo friends club after seeing a show promoting

40

conservation. Also, comparative measurements of knowledge or attitudes
can be given to samples of people who have and people who have not been
exposed to a performance piece. Qualitative methods include individual
interviews or focus group interviews with participants and audience members
and analysis of scripts or other background documentation.

Often a

combination of quantitative and qualitative methods will garner the most
feedback for an educator/performer to assess how much of the message was
understood by the audience, or to measure how much the performers
themselves know.
The next chapter focuses on performance projects located along the
West Coast of the United States. Each one incorporates some of the theater
practices detailed in Chapter 3 concerning the historical and theoretical
foundations of performance art for social change. They also have some
unique anecdotes about how they themselves measure success—different, but
no less worthy of analysis than those presented here. These case studies will
exemplify the use of theater to spread an environmental message, connecting
on a local level to address environmental concerns in their communities.

41

V. CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE PIECES FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

This chapter focuses on four case studies of current performances that
utilize environmental themes. They range from 1) an annual procession
(parade) honoring Earth Day; 2) an annual outdoor theatrical extravaganza
acknowledging the scientific and cultural associations of the Winter Solstice;
3) a touring theater piece addressing the life story of the Pacific Northwest's
salmon species and the concept of sustainability; and 4) a vaudevillian school
assembly and festival program that tours schools and fairs raising
environmental awareness. This chapter is not intended to argue that these
performances might be the best or the most representative of performances
addressing environmental issues, but they certainly cover a wide range of
topics and use a variety of performance methods. My main reasons for
selecting these performance pieces include their longevity and familiarity to
large numbers of audiences and/or participants, and to some extent their
location. The first three take place primarily in the Puget Sound Region of
Washington State and the fourth in Northern California. Focusing on this
region provides for regional cohesion and a good background for locally
specific issues. Of course, the themes and methods addressed in this region
could indeed be applied more broadly.
My intent is to document the historical development of each
performance to provide examples to others who might be interested in

42

creating performance pieces, and to describe the intentions and methods used
by various artists who create environmentally themed theatrical productions.
Also, performance measurement methods, whether actual or suggested by the
performers, are documented. The performances will be examined in Chapter
6 to see if and how closely they relate to the foundations of theater for social
change. Overall, each performance does incorporate methods of theater for
social change or combine these methods in a unique way, thus illustrating
that theater for social change can indeed be applied to environmental topics.
That said, there are some striking differences as well.
Four artists agreed to participate in this project, allowing me to
interview them during the winter and spring of 2007. The interviews, which
lasted between 45 minutes and 1 hour and 15 minutes, were all audio
recorded. I asked the same open-ended questions of all of the participants. A
copy of the interview questions is available as Appendix 2.

Before

conducting the interviews I attended three of the four productions (all but the
Winter Solstice Celebration) in 2006. And in the interest of full disclosure, I
want to make it known that I fully enjoyed the time I spent volunteering for
and participating in the Procession of the Species in April of 2006, as part of
one my electives for my graduate program. In fact, that course and my
experience with the Procession is what lead me to my ultimate interest in this
research topic.

In addition to witnessing and/or participating in the

productions, I have supplemented other information from written documents

43

including newspaper articles, outreach materials and websites to provide a
fuller picture of the performances.

Procession of the Species, Olympia, Washington
The Procession of the Species is an annual event commemorating Earth
Day in Olympia, Washington. The Procession experience lasts much longer,
however, most significantly for the seven weeks leading up to Procession
Day, when a sense of community is fostered through art. A Procession art
and dance studio is open during this time, and any member of the community
is welcome to participate in workshops and create art, music and dance
routines leading up to the culminating Procession through downtown
Olympia. Participants are asked to make a small donation (usually $5) to
reimburse for art supplies, but no one is ever turned away for lack of funds.
Businesses and individuals from Olympia also sponsor the Procession. In
some years, the Olympia Parks and Recreation Department has also provided
funding.
The very first Procession, in 1995, was the idea of Eli Sterling and a
small group of dedicated individuals who wanted to celebrate the 25th
anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. The Procession is now in its 13th
year. The Procession mission states:

Created by the community for the community the Procession of the
Species Celebration is a joyous, artistic pageant, embracing the
languages of art, music and dance to inspire learning, appreciation
and protection of the natural world. The intent of the Procession is to
elevate the dignity of the human spirit by enhancing the cultural
exchange that we have with each other and with the natural world . . .

44

and to do that through imagination, creation, and sharing (Procession
of the Species website 2007).
For the most part, people select an animal or plant they wish to
represent and create a costume from used and recycled materials and art
supplies. If they want to, they can join groups that
have

formed around a musical style or theme.

For example, one of the many groups that del
Caribe. Cuban salsa music played by musicians
dressed as seaweed and jellyfish accompany
dancers dressed as water and octopuses.

The

weeks leading up to the Procession I spent
Picture 1: Group work on
a float for the Procession of
the Species.

learning how to sew my water costume together

and attempting to remember the steps to our salsa dance routine. In addition,
I met a group of wonderful women who opened my eyes to other parts of
Olympia, challenged my perspective of the town, and introduced me to skills
I would otherwise not have so enthusiastically tackled.
The Procession is decidedly non-political in nature, which is illustrated
by the first of three rules posted conspicuously in the studio and on the
website: no words, no pets, and no motorized vehicles. Sterling explains:

Earlier on there was a whole women's group from the lesbian
community that wanted to participate, they wanted to wear their pink
triangles and we said "no, there's no written words, there's no
symbols" and they were just really angry, and they weren't going to
participate . . . it became this large discussion in front of this whole
group and I said, okay, I looked at everyone and said "how many
people have signed a petition for something that you wanted to

45

change?" So everyone raised their hand. And I said, "let's be modest,
how many of you have signed 20 petitions", so everyone raises their
hands. "Let’s just say this, you guys have all signed these petitions, it
could be from Exxon to abortion rights, doesn't matter what it is, say
all the petitions came true, you guys know what the world would look
like?" And people just stopped. And I said "who here can tell me
what the world would look like? I can tell you if you want me to. It
would look like Procession Day, not because it's a celebration, but
because no one needs to have any identifying characteristic because
they're all honoring something that is larger than themselves". They
were chastising me, because I don't let anyone sign petitions, we're all
lined up and the petition people want to come and I kick them out, I
say no, right now someone is in a goat head mask and the next person
next to him is some bat with zebra strips and they're talking about
whatever they're doing and then somebody comes up with a petition
and one person signs it and the other one doesn't, suddenly they're not
about the creature they have created they're about their political
identity (Sterling 2007).
It could be argued that taking out all the sub-groups of political activity is
itself a political statement.

Once one group, or a few groups become

identifiable, then it would become apparent who is in fact missing. Instead,
an open invitation of "leave your labels at the door" fosters a community that
in fact includes the whole community! This is a statement of dignity for all
humans and dignity for all life on the earth.
Another significant factor of the Procession is its longevity. The very
first year, Sterling and his small group of collaborators decided it would last
twenty years, with the express purpose of affecting one generation. They are
more than halfway to that goal. The most beneficial part though, is the
community that has been formed around this event. People participate or go
to watch the Procession year after year. Visitors fly in from all over the
country. The peak year was in 2004, during its tenth anniversary, when over
2,500 people participated and there were over 37,000 spectators (Sterling

46

2004). And, in fact, the idea of the Procession has spread to many other
cities around the United States, and to other countries including Romania and
Nicaragua. It was to the surprise and delight of Sterling and his associates
that every year new cities request information on how to create a procession
in their own town. The Olympia group has even created an entire section on
their website (www.procession.org) dedicated to educating others on how to
create a procession in their town.

Winter Solstice Celebration, Seattle, Washington
Manuel Cawaling produced the first Winter Solstice Celebration in
2001. The event took place on the Saturday closest to the actual solstice. At
the time, he was teaching at Youth Theater Northwest and wanted to have his
students create a piece that they could take outside of the theater and show
the general public. Cawaling suggested they use the International Fountain at
the Seattle Center, the geographical and symbolic "heart of Seattle." Though
he had wanted to perform at the International Fountain for years, for the very
reason that it is a well-known and well-liked public gathering place, the
Seattle Center Commission had turned him down, stating that it would be too
dangerous. However, a few months earlier, in the days following 9/11/01,
the Seattle Center finally became receptive to the idea of using the Fountain
as a space where people could build memorials and place flowers, which
was, once again, Cawaling's suggestion.

The 9/11 memorial experience

opened the door for Cawaling to request to use the Fountain one more time –

47

this time for a Winter Solstice Celebration to be written and performed by his
students from the youth theater.
The first Winter Solstice project was a new experience for the already
seasoned young actors, a collaborative project that would not be in a theater.
They picked the Winter Solstice as the performance date and created a show
about the turning of the seasons. The intent was to commemorate the winter
solstice and confront the fact that people are headed further out of step with
nature than ever before. Cawaling and his students discussed cutting forests,
removing hills, ocean dumping, global warming, and everything else they
viewed as a profound lack of respect for nature. In the end, Cawaling chose
not to focus on specific environmental topics, but rather to celebrate what the
solstice means culturally and scientifically. To be good stewards of the
environment means more than just active conservation, but also building
awareness—and this group aimed to do just that through theater.
Cawaling is now the managing director of the Langston Hughes
Performing Arts Center, a part of the Seattle Parks and Recreation
Department. His dedication to the Winter Solstice Celebration continues for
him as a personal project.

He and a small group of other volunteers

coordinate the Winter Solstice Celebration, which is now co-sponsored by
the Seattle Center itself and is greatly anticipated by the Seattle community.
It has turned into an annual event – five thus far, drawing over a thousand
people, and now incorporating professional performers as well.

48

The celebration has evolved into a daylong event, beginning with arts
and craft workshops for kids inside the Seattle Center House. The main craft
activity is making luminaries, which represent the sun. Kids write their
hopes for the new year inside the luminaries, which are to be set in the
fountain later. Everyone learns about the solstice in its most simple form,
how it is the shortest and darkest day of
the year, the tilt of the planet on its axis
and the earth's place in the solar system.
In

the

afternoon,

there

are

short

performances by storytellers, singers and
actors who create both dramatic and funny
skits, revealing the significance of the
winter solstice to different cultures.
Picture 2: A luminary-bearer at
the edge of the International
Fountain in the Seattle Center.

At

the

end

of

these

short

performances, four characters, Winter,

Spring, Summer and Fall are introduced. Kids pick up their luminaries and
the whole Center House empties as people follow the characters outside to
Fisher Lawn for a procession.

Outside, eleven other characters, each

representing either a planet, the Sun or the Moon, are spaced out across the
lawn, orbiting around the fountain. The audience is not told who these
characters are, but after a while they begin to figure it out. Each "planet"
performs in some way that is representative of its physical characteristics.
For example, Uranus, which spins on its axis differently from all the other

49

planets, is represented by a breakdancer. An opera singer laments her lonely
position as Pluto, and acknowledges that she is no longer an "official" planet.
Mercury, the smallest planet and the one closest to the sun, is played by a
little girl on roller-skates who whizzes around the fountain, orbiting the sun
faster than the other planets.
The remainder of the procession, the placing of the luminaries in the
fountain and the death of Winter and reawakening of Spring, is guided by a
couple of principles.

First, the audience is not solicited. Many of the

audience members were at the Seattle Center shopping or on their way to or
from watching the seasonal performance of the Nutcracker or a hockey game.
It is to their surprise and wonder that they have stumbled upon it. It is like
invisible theater for the reason that it is pre-rehearsed and takes place in a
public space, however, it is a little different because it is obviously a
performance. That said, however, it is up to the audience to figure out what
is going on and what it means. Another principle is the transformation of
space and architecture. Audiences find themselves among the performers,
surrounded by the planets, in order to witness the culmination of the
celebration. Much is left up to the interpretation of the audience members.
There is no literal story line, but rather a lot of imagery.
Cawaling weaves ritual and symbolism into the piece, but is very
conscious to make it art and performance. To make it pagan would make it
inaccessible. In fact, one year some people were furious about what they
viewed as pagan worship, threatening to call the mayor's office about it

50

despite Cawaling's insistence that the Winter Solstice Celebration is a
recognition and respect of nature, as well as a cultural event recognizing
different myths and legends about the winter solstice from around the world.
Also, a lot of the audience doesn't see the whole process; they see only parts,
and so a program has been created that people can take home afterwards.
The Winter Solstice Celebration can be viewed as a success for many
reasons. First of all, professional and amateur performers vie every year for
one of the volunteer performer spots in the Celebration. Secondly, people
have been returning year after year to the celebration since first stumbling
upon it. A review by Seattle's local cable channel 21 reads, "With growing
annual attendance, Seattle Winter Solstice has become a beloved holiday
tradition" (Seattle Channel 21 2006). In addition, over two hundred children
every year make luminaries and are taught about the science behind the
solstice. Finally, the popularity of the Winter Solstice has led to the
incorporation of the Celebration as part of the Seattle Center's five-week-long
Winterfest activities, and the program is now co-sponsored by the Center and
the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department.

Salmonpeople, Anywhere Pacific Salmon Swim, West Coast United States
and Canada

Peter Donaldson is the writer, producer, and actor of his one-man
play, Salmonpeople. He is also the facilitator of a sustainability movement

51

called "Salmon Nation" in the Pacific Northwest. Explaining the premise of
the show is best done in his own words:

Cyrus Jackson [the character played by Donaldson] is a modern day
everyman who finds himself employed up at the local dam driving a
salmon taxi to transport spawners up past where there is no fish
ladder. Cyrus has been scratching his head lately about this whole
endangered species thing. By nature a curious man, Cyrus' selftaught, wide-ranging lessons in economics are a triumph of the
vernacular, an arresting synthesis of complex patterns and changing
values in the name of common sense for the common good. He tries
to tell the truth as he is coming to know it. He's listening for the
things that make sense, common sense. He is trying to figure out
how to participate (Donaldson 2006).
The show is a proclamation of a shifting consciousness.

Cyrus

represents the curiosity and ingenuity of every person. Cyrus, like any one of
us, does not have all the answers; rather he explores unanswered questions.
As we grow to like and identify with this character, perhaps we can begin to
emulate his hope in humanity and strengthen our ability to create a better
legacy for future generations.
Donaldson's intention with Salmonpeople is not to provide all the
answers either, but rather to make us understand that we are all members of
what he calls "Salmon Nation." Salmon Nation encompasses all the home
territory of the Pacific Northwest salmon species. Salmon, in addition to
being one of the region's ecological keystone species, are culturally and
economically valuable for all the citizens of the region. By erasing the
political boundaries between the United States and Canada--and those
between the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California--Donaldson
demonstrates how the rivers and watersheds of the salmon bind people

52

together through a singular identity. Salmon Nation is the backbone of his
sustainability project, which reaches out to communities throughout this
region.
Every fall, Salmonpeople tours to different cities and towns in
Salmon Nation. Each municipality, in order to bring the play, must organize
a coalition of local entities in that community. This eclectic group will
involve various civic organizations, schools, government bodies, social
service organizations and environmental
groups willing to participate in workshops
after

the

sustainability.

performance

to

discuss

The community coalition

"can explore ways to develop indicators,
measure local progress, and link local
progress to academic excellence in schools"

Picture 3: Peter Donaldson as
Cyrus Jackson in Salmonpeople.

(Donaldson 2007a). Donaldson's ultimate
vision is movement from an industrial

economy to a sustainable economy. The performance is a catalyst for change
occurring in many of these communities. Salmonpeople, as art, not only
impacts the audience, but also motivates them to action leading up to and
following the performance.
Donaldson emphasizes the vitality of telling a good story, explaining
that good teaching is itself storytelling, whether in a classroom or through
filmmaking; even scientists organize their data around a story. Audiences

53

relate to stories, because they are real circumstances with which anyone can
identify.

The character Cyrus is ultimately just a good storyteller.

Donaldson views a good character as one that can take over and speak for
himself. And Donaldson also stresses to not forget to let theater be theater,
allowing for elements like spaces and surprises – events that occur in all our
lives.
A running theme in the play is Cyrus' repetition of the phrase
"everyone knows how the real world works." Every person indeed has his or
her own interpretation of how the world works but, by Cyrus saying it, we
begin to see that ultimately no one person knows how the real world works or
how it should. It is collectively that we can begin to address issues of a
sustainable economy.
Donaldson keeps track of the numbers of audience members and
youth, teachers and community leaders reached through Salmonpeople. A
quick summary of the numbers illustrates the far-reaching impact throughout
Salmon Nation. Over the past two years 2,980 people have seen one of 22
performances; 7,320 students have participated in workshops, assemblies and
conferences; 198 teachers have gained new curriculum material; and 527
community leaders have been reached through workshops and presentations
on sustainability indicators (Donaldson 2007a). More interesting than these
figures is what Donaldson identifies as his greatest indicator of success—the
fact that no one has ever left a Companion Reader behind after a
performance. The Companion Reader at first glance simply looks like a long

54

theater program, but it is really an innovative tool for extending
environmental education to the audience. The Companion Reader provides
additional local success stories from local groups and media about positive
steps toward sustainability that are already occurring in the community. In
addition, at the end of each Companion Reader is a "Sustainable Habits
Survey," which provides readers with a means of self-evaluating their own
behavior regarding things such as food purchasing, transportation, and
energy choices.

The Companion Reader and all of Salmon Nation's

principles are based on Donaldson's belief that the most effective means of
reaching an audience are presenting the good news and providing practical
steps you can take.

EarthCapades Environmental Vaudeville, Northern California

Lissin Lev Chaya has been a co-director and performer of
EarthCapades Environmental Vaudeville, based out of Northern California,
for ten years. Before that she was an environmental educator in Tennessee,
as well as an actor and singer. In 1997 she teamed up with her now-husband
David Heartlife, another environmental educator and circus artist, to create
EarthCapades. Today EarthCapades performs about 80% of the time for
school assemblies and 20% of the time at festivals.
What makes their show unique is the incorporation of circus props.
Lev Chaya explains that the juggling, unicycling and stiltwalking attracts a
lot of attention at the festivals, getting people to stop and listen to their

55

environmental message. These same skills she views as secondary agents in
school shows, where they are more visual aids to back up their stories. For
example, first they will write the script about the water cycle and then figure
out how to use the diabolo (a prop that looks like an oversized yo-yo) as a
visual aid to illustrate or mimic what the story is saying. Lev Chaya also
stresses that the songs and stories themselves are not preachy. One of their
exemplary stories is a true story that her husband and partner, Heartlife, tells.
One day, when he was in Hawaii, a
turtle swam out to him in the open
ocean, then dove down to the bottom.
Heartlife believed the turtle wanted

him to follow, so he did, and found a
soda can on the ocean floor, which he,
of course picked up.

Picture 4: Lissin Lev Chaya and
David Heartlife of EarthCapades with
a volunteer during a school assembly.

This story does not explicitly tell kids that they

themselves should go out and pick up trash. The sharing of a moving,
personal story instead develops trust with the kids, who can then figure out
the message of respect for the environment and the fact that each one of them
can make a difference, for themselves.
Festival shows and school assembly shows differ on another level as
well. At school shows, they integrate concrete information, such as what
specific recyclables are accepted by local recycling programs, where the
water comes from in the local watershed, and how students can best practice
water conservation. Festivals, on the other hand, are not as specific; they are

56

more broadly based, concerning resource conservation issues.

Festivals

perform to entire families and have to be more skill-based to grab adults'
attention as well. In both the festival shows and the school shows they use
volunteers from the audience, which also gets a great reaction from the kids.
Lev Chaya emphasized the benefits she gains as a performer because,
as she travels and performs in different areas, she needs to do research on
local issues. She is constantly learning in order to integrate new, local
information. For example, when traveling to new water districts she learns
about where the water comes from in that area and about local water issues.
In fact, most of the funding for EarthCapades environmental
programs comes from private and governmental water suppliers, and county
and city recycling programs, through their outreach and education budgets.
EarthCapades only performs for those whose message and environmental
practices they support.

This benefits the schools, which then get free

educational assemblies.
After an assembly, teachers fill out evaluations, which really serves
the purpose of letting Lev Chaya and Heartlife know if the performance went
well and met expectations. They consistently get rave reviews, but the best
feedback is from the kids themselves who send them e-mails about their
accomplishments, such as recycling at home or participating in litter pickups. Also, when schools or festivals invite them back year after year, it is a
good sign that they have at least been entertaining and are appreciated. Lev
Chaya thinks it would be a good idea to evaluate the impact they are making

57

on the kids especially after time has passed, perhaps a month or two later.
She and Heartlife have been looking into it recently, but are still uncertain
about how to quantify the impact.
Despite all their accomplishments, Lev Chaya is disappointed about
one thing.

EarthCapades used to provide curriculum to accompany the

assemblies, but the teachers did not have the time to use it. This increases
the need for assemblies such as this, but less than an hour of entertainment,
no matter how engaging, might lose some of its impact without the intended
follow-up to their performance. However, the material is still on the website
(www.EarthCapades.com), along with links to other resources, if teachers
decide they want to use it.
Lev Chaya's advice to other environmental educators is, first of all,
don't lecture. Just tell a story, and if you can use props or other visual aids to
keep it interesting then all the better. You want it to be entertaining and
attention grabbing. If environmental stewardship can be made fun, then kids
will want to become better stewards.

Second, the science behind

environmental topics can be very complicated and intimidating to
understand. With elementary school kids you don't want to talk about doom
and gloom, but for middle school kids, you do want to emphasize the science,
demystify it and bring it close to home. In the end, the message that Lev
Chaya wants to send home with adults and kids alike is that everything in
nature is interconnected and our actions have an effect on the world around
us.

58

Preliminary Analysis
All the performers confirmed that they were intentionally seeking to
raise the environmental ethic or consciousness of their audiences and to bring
about change. This intention and motivation is exactly what theater for
social change is all about. The methods of course were varied: two very
different processions, one with community-based performers and the other a
mix of amateur and professional performers; one play; and one variety show
using storytelling and props. Two of the performances are one-day events
(though it is fair to say that the events are, in actuality, the culmination of
weeks of preparation), and two are ongoing productions. The Procession of
the Species and The Winter Solstice Celebration promote hands-on creation
of visual art by community members. Salmonpeople, and EarthCapades'
school assemblies expand their performances past the show to incorporate
continued learning through further education campaigns.
Despite the different approaches, the underlying message is the same:
respect for humanity and the environment. All of the events begin and end
with a positive message and a celebration of the successes already in
progress.

Each performer also highlights the importance of storytelling

(excluding the Procession of the Species), and information sharing through
imagery, language and/or action. The story-sharing process is accessible to
an audience because it does not preach; it simply invites them to join the
journey with the characters.

Each individual in the audience is free to

interpret the message presented in the way that is most significant to them.

59

The artists stressed both the amount of forethought that goes into the
production and the reflection and subsequent adaptation that consistently
happens afterwards. In addition, each performance was consciously nonpolitical in nature. A discussion of the politicization of environmental issues
and the role of performance art in de-politicizing environmental concerns is
addressed in Chapter 6.

Overall, it appears that these environmentally

themed performances pieces share the intention behind, and at times
incorporate methods established in the canon of the theater for social change.
Another question addressed measuring the success of a performance.
This was probably the most difficult question for the participants to tackle.
They know that their projects are entertaining and that they sustain an
audience. Donaldson's play receives standing ovations; more people attend
the Procession events each year; and schools and community festivals invite
EarthCapades back to perform again and again. But how do they know that
their message was received? Most of the responses are anecdotal. Many of
the performers had indications of successfully transmitting their message,
such as the e-mails that Lev Chaya and Heartlife receive directly from
students who have adapted new eco-friendly behaviors or Donaldson's
Salmon Nation communities that are now working on sustainability plans.
Each performance has been spotlighted favorably in local media as well. In
Chapter 6, I conclude with an evaluation of the status of the performance art
for environmental change. A summary of suggestions for environmental
educators and advocates looking to incorporate performance art into their

60

practices for raising environmental awareness among the general public is
available in Appendix 3.

61

VI. ANALYSIS: ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE ART WITHIN
THE FRAMEWORK OF THEATER FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

In the course of my research, I found that there is great reason to
believe that some of the environmentally based performance pieces I had
witnessed along the West Coast might very well fit into the framework of
theater for social change. I was surprised to find, however, that this sort of
environmental performance art was conspicuously absent from the literature
on theater for social change. And so, I decided to make my own inquiries—
the fruit of which is this paper—and what I have found suggests that theater
for social change and environmentally-focused productions such as those I
studied are, at the very least, close kin. All of the performers agreed that they
were attempting to impact the awareness of their audiences and at times
affect their behavior. Their theater is not for entertainment only, but is
driven by a message.
My secondary research question - how to measure the success of
theater for social change, and specifically within the area of environmental
issues - yielded examples for knowledge retention and attitude and behavior
change. In summary, pre- and post- knowledge and attitude-based surveys
for both participants and audience members (see Appendix 1 for an
example), or comparative knowledge and attitude surveys for those that have
and those that have not seen a performance are both methods to gather
quantitative data.

Qualitative methods include interviews, individual

interviews, focus groups, and analysis of scripts or other background

62

documentation.

The performers that I interviewed did not utilize any of

these methods, however they did share some anecdotes about how they
measure success. Methods that the performers shared as to the success of
their performances include: being asked to return to a site to perform again;
increase in attendance over time; people vying for participant spots; e-mails
for audience members; and the example of how no SalmonPeople
Companion Reader (theater program) has ever been left behind in a seat.
These examples demonstrate strongly the popularity of the performances,
however not that knowledge, attitude or behavior change.

Recommendations for Future Research
Of course, my research on environmentally themed pieces is limited
by the fact that I only reviewed four performance pieces, all in one region of
the U.S. In order to establish whether all, or most, environmentally themed
performance pieces are part of theater for social change, it would be
advisable to explore other performance pieces around the country and around
the world to see how they compare with my preliminary analysis of
performances on the west coast of the U.S.
In addition, a question I raised but which was outside the scope of this
project is the evaluation of impact. To evaluate the impact, one would need
to look at the audience. While each artist views their piece as achieving its
intended purpose of affecting people, most acknowledge the difficulty in
ascertaining what can be viewed as "measurable'" results. Nonetheless, this

63

area harbors great potential for future research. There has been work done
with the psychology of theater, which I didn't go into in this paper, and that
could be a good starting place for future research into evaluation. I hope that
my presentation of some measurement strategies described by the artists
interviewed and in other case studies from Chapter 4 will be a springboard to
further work on this question.

Finally, theater reflecting environmental

justice would be the place where social justice and environmental issues
intersect. It would be profitable to explore theater promoting environmental
justice within the framework of theater for social change, as well.

Conclusion
Traditionally, theater for social change addresses just that: social
issues of race, class, gender, discrimination, equality, and the like. The
performances I have reviewed address environmental issues, rather than
social issues, so it would seem at first blush that these performances do not
belong in the same basket as those that are more commonly known as theater
for social change. However, the environment is a social issue, because the
health of the environment is, in most, if not all, cases a precondition to the
health and wellbeing of people. After all, environmental issues, such as
deforestation, depletion of water resources, and excessive fossil fuel
consumption are inextricably intertwined with issues such as poverty, race
and class.

Environmental degradation disproportionately affects some

groups. In this light, then, theater designed to raise environmental awareness

64

does seem in good company with theater for social change performances
such as those of El Teatro Campesino, for example, which addressed the
exploitation of workers. The subject matter, then, of pieces that seek to
increase environmental awareness can be said to be very much of the same
type of subject matter as other examples of theater for social change—we
might very well look at the former as a subcategory of the overall genre of
theater for social change, much as workers' rights or women's equality are
subcategories.
The examples of theater for social change examined are geared
towards one group or another, the intended audience for the environmental
pieces is broader, indeed universal. The environment as a whole is, after all,
a universal concern. While this would seem to set environmental pieces
apart from other subjects of theater for social change, we might actually
consider it a peculiarity that the producers of environmental performances
would not more closely focus their attentions on certain segments of the
population. After all, as previously mentioned, environmental degradation
tends to disproportionately impact certain other already disadvantaged
groups—not to mention other species which do not, of course, have their own
voice in the media or the political process. Whether, given the uneven
distribution of environmental ills, this is the best strategy is a question that
deserves further investigation.

This much is clear, however:

the "non-

exclusionary" nature of these performances is the result of a conscious
choice.

65

While hot-button environmental issues can be politically divisive, for
example, all four of the pieces I explored were explicitly non-political by
nature, while remaining environmentally conscious. In fact, I was surprised
by the decidedly non-political, non-activist role taken among the four
performers that I interviewed. They were not aligned with a political party;
they were not aiming to change policy per-se; and they were not protesting.
Some artists were meticulous in their response to my questioning about the
political nature of their performances.

Some chose to avoid the term

"political" at all costs. Perhaps it is because they want to be community
focused, non-alienating, and all-inclusive.

Instead they used the term

"celebration'' or explained the motivating force as providing information,
allowing audiences to decide for themselves the best actions they can take
toward protecting the environment.
On the surface, then, it is hard to see how these "celebrations" fit
under the umbrella of theater for social change. After all, isn't the intention
to bring about change the most basic characteristic of theater for social
change? A closer look, however, reveals that this intent is indeed present in
the environmentally-themed performances. The Procession of the Species,
for example, can well be characterized simply as a celebration.

It is,

however, a celebration commemorating the anniversary of the enactment of a
specific (sometimes politically divisive) environmental policy:

The

Endangered Species Act.

66

In this way, it can be said to be akin to 4th of July celebrations in the
United States.

While there may be no explicit political message, the

fireworks commemorate a specific event and the Independence Day
celebrations glorify the "American Way." The implicit message is clear: this
is a country deserving of love, respect, and protection. The pageantry of the
Procession of the Species functions in much the same way, glorifying nature
and reminding people that the environment is worthy of love, respect, and
protection.

In essence, to celebrate something is to deem it important and

worthwhile, and while the Procession and other environmental celebrations
deliberately eschew political activism, it is no large leap to say that they are
activist: they seek to change minds and influence people to encourage an
appreciation of, for example, the diversity of species (the Procession) or
humankind's dependence on, and cultural connections with, natural
phenomena (Winter Solstice Celebration).
All of the performances I studied also have an educative intent.
EarthCapades, Salmonpeople, and the Winter Solstice Celebration teach
about facts and encourage people to take a closer look, to notice, their
surroundings. The Procession of the Species and Salmonpeople take on the
role of facilitator in the communities, bringing people together to collaborate
and share ideas. The Procession of the Species, for example, provides the
space and the time for the celebration, and members of the community come
out to organize themselves into small groups, or as individuals, to join the
large group on Procession Day to recognize and acknowledge nature and the

67

diversity of species. Salmonpeople takes a more direct approach to education
as a catalyst for bringing communities together to participate in sustainability
planning for the town. While it can be argued that simply educating people
is not the same as advocating for change, these programs are clearly driven
by the motive to educate people to make "better" choices that will result, in
one way or another, in a healthier environment.

Thus they are indeed

pursuing social change, even though they seek this change largely through
influencing individuals' choices and empowering people to make choices,
rather than through direct political action.
The performers and performances not only bring awareness and
possible solutions to an audience: they provide a space for communities to
come together and recognize and address the issues together. These
performances, like many others described from theater for social change, are
not reserved for people with formal performance art degrees or for those
especially talented in performing in front of large groups of people. These
performances are for everyday people, and in many cases incorporate
community members.

Anyone can and is encouraged to participate. The

process often is just as important as the product: its purpose, of course, is to
influence people to think about a social or environmental issue. Along the
way, participation in performance art for change also fosters a sense of
community, frequently touching on issues of local sustainability. It is about
the learning process, individual growth, and community building that it can
stimulate. Both traditional theater for social change and two of the events I

68

reviewed, the Winter Solstice Celebration, and the Procession of the Species,
incorporate community participation. Performance art then is an immensely
powerful tool that can be utilized by environmental educators and advocates
to reach the masses.
Performances are not limited to theaters either. The Winter Solstice
deliberately sets out to attract a crowd of passers-by in the public space of the
Seattle Center. The Procession of the Species progresses through most of
downtown Olympia.

And EarthCapades travels to many festivals and

schools. The fact that they bring theater to the community reflects the idea of
the Theater for Development, in that these performances are reaching out to
the public. They want to bring theater to those that might not otherwise see
it, whether they be small communities that will see Salmonpeople
(Donaldson attempts to perform all around Salmon Nation) or the random
pedestrian in the Seattle Center who happens upon the Solstice Celebration,
or students who witness EarthCapades when it comes to their school.
Finally, many of the artists emphasized the need for really good
storytelling and accentuating the positive.

Storytelling, through various

performance methods, is the vehicle for presenting these choices.

Each

performance shared a unique story. People relate to stories. They are easier
to remember than a list of facts. Audiences are able to identify with a
character and can more easily understand the issues behind the story. For
example, water conservation is possible – look at how this character does it!
Also, visual representations, even when there is no dialogue, allow for

69

interpretation on the part of the audience. Thus, the viewer can relate what
they are witnessing to their own experiences.
A few of the artists also accentuated the power of storytelling for the
main reason that a good story will not preach. In many cultures, particularly
those that have historically placed great value on independence and the
importance of individual freedom and initiative, people don't want to be told
what to do. Through a story though, people can figure it out for themselves.
When people are not told exactly what something means or what something
is, then they can interpret it for themselves, in the way that is most
meaningful for them. A positive message instills hope, models what is right,
and motivates an individual to participate in the process.
We can conclude that these environmentally focused performances
are socially conscious. Many of the performers, knowingly or not, also draw
on distinct methodologies from theater for social change.

The artists'

intention of effecting change and of raising environmental consciousness
signifies that they are indeed following this path of theater for social change.
As such, these performances, and others that seek to raise environmental
awareness deserve their own place as a distinct and valid sub-section of
theater for social change.

70

References
Abab, Oga Steve. 1997. Performing Life: Case Studies in the Practice of
Theater for Development. Bright Printing Press, Zaria, Nigeria.
Acker, Alison and Betty Brightwell. 2004. Off our rockers and into trouble:
the Raging Grannies. Victoria, BC: TouchWood Editions.
Amkpa, Awam. 2004. Theatre and Postcolonial Desires. New York:
Routledge.
Boal, Augusto. 1979. Theater of the Oppressed. New York: Urizen Books.
Translated by Charles A. and Maria-Odilia Leal McBride.
Brightwell, Betty. 1988. I am a Raging Granny. Briarpatch, 17(9): 20-23.
Cawaling, Manuel (Director, Winter Solstice Celebration). Personal
Interview. 03.20.2007.
Coburn, Jason. 2007. Community knowledge in environmental health
science: co-producing policy expertise. Environmental Science and Policy
10(2007): 150-161.
Clover, Darlene E. 2000. Community Arts as Environmental Education and
Activism: A Labour and Environment Case Study. Convergence 33(4): 1931.
Dalrymple, Lynn. 2006. Has it made a difference? Understanding and
measuring the impact of applied theatre with young people in the South
African context. Research in Drama Education 11(2): 201-218.
Donaldson, Peter. 2006. SalmonPeople Companion Reader (Theater
Program).
Donaldson, Peter (Producer, SalmonPeople). Phone Interview. 03.22.2007.
Donaldson, Peter. 2007a. The SalmonPeople Tour: Building Salmon Nation
(Outreach packet)
El Teatro Campesino. 1970. New York: Nation Education Television.
Produced by Jac Venza, Jan Sternburg, Victoria Hochberg. Videocassette.
Epskamp, Kees P. 1989. Theater in Search of Social Change: The relative
significance of different theatrical approaches. The Hague: Center for the
Study of Education in Developing Countries.

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Freire, Paulo. 1970. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.
Translated by Myra Bergman Ramos.
Goldberg, Kim. 1993. "Don't Mess with the Grannies." The Progressive
57(3): 13.
Jackson, Tony. 1993. Learning Though Theater: New Perspectives on
Theater in Education 2nd Edition. Routledge, London.
Lev Chaya, Lissin (Co-director, EarthCapades). Telephone Interview.
04.24.2007.
Locke, Ti. 1993. Science/Math Education and Educational Theatre.
Master's in Teaching Thesis. The Evergreen State College. Olympia, WA.
Marian McDonald, Jennifer Sarchee, and Caroline C. Wang. 2005. Using
the Arts in Community Organizing and Community Building (Chapter 19) in
Community Organizing and Community Building for Health. Minkler,
Meredith, Editor.
McIntyre, Peter. 1998. Puppets with a Purpose: Using Puppetry for Social
Change. Written for United Nations Children's Fund, New York, New York.
Mitzell, Leslie. 2005. Pressing the Hot Button: How to Pull Off IssueOriented Plays in Your Community. Southern Theatre 46(4): 10-32.
Procession of the Species website. www.procession.org. Accessed
04.28.2007.
Ravi. 1979. Rural Community Development Association: Ordeals in
Organizing Harijans. How 2(9): 19-29.
Roy, Carol. 2000. Raging Grannies and Environmental Issues: Humor and
Creativity in Educative Protests. Convergence 33(4): 6-12.
Seattle Channel 21. Seattle Center Winterfest Celebrates Winter Solstice.
Released 11.17.2006. Accessed 4.27.2007
http://www.seattlechannel.org/news/detail.asp?ID=6740&Dept=14
Schutzman, Mady and Jan Cohen-Cruz, eds. 1994. Playing Boal: Theatre,
therapy, activism. Routledge, London.
Sterling, Eli (Director, Procession of the Species). Personal Interview.
04.06.2007.

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Sterling, Eli. 2004. Earthbound Productions Summary Report 2004.
Earthbound Productions: Olympia, WA. Accessed 04.16.07 at
www.procession.org/Report2004.php
Turner, Victor. 1987. The Anthropology of Performance. New York:
Performance Art Journal Publication.
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 2007. Nigeria Profile.
http://www.unfpa.org/profile/nigeria.cfm. Accessed 04.05.07.
Willet, John, Editor. 1992. Brecht on Theater: The development of an
aesthetic. Hill and Wang: New York.
Yerke, Roger and Alyson Burns, PhD. 1991. Measuring the impact of
Animal Shows on Visitor Attitudes. American Association of Zoological
Parks and Aquariums Annual Conference Proceedings: 532-539.

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Appendix 2 Interview Questions
(Start with background of course, who are you, what is your title and role, and
a little about the organization/the performance piece)
When did you first think of integrating performance arts and environmental
ed/awareness/ethics?
How long has this project(s) been shown in the community? Is it annual,
ongoing, or changing?
For you, what are the criteria for an environmental arts piece? (material
included, methods, a storyline?) Why use art to facilitate learning – or send a
message, what is it about art that makes an impact? And specifically
concerning environmental issues?
What types of environmental issues does your art performance address?
Do you intend to make an impact on your audience? What does this mean to
you?
Who is your target audience? Does the actual audience ever differ? Do you
think there are perhaps groups that may be left out? Who might they be and
how would you reach them? Why do you think they attend – is it just for fun
and then they end up learning something, or is it because of the environmental
theme – are they there to support an issue?
How do you attempt to relate the material to an audience? Do you have any
specific examples of how you can express your message so that people can
make a connection to their daily lives?
What have been the most effective means of reaching the "community" and
please also define who is the "community"?
What have been positive and negative responses/feedback to programs?
So are productions with environmental themes less controversial as those of
other social/political themes?
Do you have methods of assessing the success of a performance piece (if so,
what are they, if not, what would they be)?
What are the top two or three things that you want the audience to walk away
with? What is the major take home message?

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Appendix 3 Components of An Environmental Performance Art Piece

This final section aims to leave the environmental educator or activist
with some practical advice, or tools to create their own performance piece.
Performance in all of its forms – drama, storytelling, puppetry, dance, music
or anything else – first and foremost makes information about environmental
issues entertaining and therefore desirable for the general public. A great
performance will have the ability to spread knowledge, encourage critical
thinking and influence personal decisions. And while the end product is
educational and goal oriented, the creative process for a performance piece
builds communities, empowers individuals and motivates people for action.
Remember, the process may end up being more significant than the product
itself. Always begin with a vision and prepare your own best method for
measuring success and reflection at the end. If you are prepared for ultimately
reflecting on the process and the performance, then you can record your
successes and challenges along the way, and better plan for future
performances as well.

Setting The Stage – Performance as Social Change and Performance as
Protest
Two major themes arise when looking at performance art with
environmental themes. But first, I want to clearly preface that it is never wise
to draw a dichotomous line between these themes, because often a
performance can fall somewhere along the spectrum of creative endeavors.

77

Nonetheless, the first overarching theme is a focus on influencing the minds
and behaviors of an audience from the top down – such as teaching students
through an assembly about alternative forms of green energy or educating a
community about local water conservation efforts through performances at a
city festival. The second comes from the community, or bottom-up, which
commonly is directly and overtly political, such as in protests against an
unwanted new development displacing a neighborhood park.
The first category tends to resemble the discipline of environmental
education. The focus is on the performance and challenging the audience to
take a look at their own impact on the environment. The potential outcome of
this type of performance may be behavioral changes that people can make.
All of the performances that were presented in Chapter 5, the ones in which I
conducted interviews with the artists, fall under this category.
The second category falls under what can be viewed as environmental
political activism. The audience is usually a governmental body or corporate
entity of which the performers hope to change some policy or management
practice. Sometimes both methods can be utilized separately surrounding the
same issue to diversify the means of gaining attention. For example, a purely
theatrical performance can be a catalyst for a breakout community forum
afterwards, which may lead to other forms of grass-roots political action.

Performers
The

performers

may

be

professional

entertainers

or

whole

communities who organize an event to play out concerns that might be

78

affecting their town. Sometimes professional artists choose to write scripts
and/or produce a show that has an environmental message and then share their
creation with the general public.

On the other hand, much of the

environmental performance art work that is created is done by groups of
everyday citizens on issues of importance to their own communities. Keep in
mind that often while we may think about performers or artists as separate
members of the community than say environmentalists or laborers or social
workers, we are all artists in some way, in some capacity. This is why many
times the process of creating a sketch or song is as important as the product of
a performance. One great outcome of creating a performance piece using
community members is indeed the very diversity of people who will come
together to tell a story. Bringing together diverse individuals "can draw
[more] attention to an issue . . . pull communities together to create art, and
communicate across cultural and language barriers" (McDonald et al. 2005).
Individuals also gain a sense of self-worth and belonging to the group,
fostering continued involvement in community mobilization.

Audience
Knowing who the audience will be is one of the most critical questions
to answer at the initial stages. An elementary school teacher may have her
fifth grade class create a play about alternative forms of transportation, but
will the audience be other fifth grade classmates, a first grade class, or their
families? Say there is a toxic dump located in your neighborhood and you
want to organize a production. In this case does the audience consist of

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elected officials, the board of a privately owned landfill, residents of the
community, or perhaps all of these groups? And, thinking down the road, will
the performance piece be applicable to any audience or do you have the time
and freedom to adapt it, whether slightly or significantly, to multiple
audiences? If you feel your performance may, because of its subject matter,
have the potential of being alienating, there are ways to pull off a play in a
hesitant community.

Brenda Schleunes, founder and artistic director of the Touring
Theater Ensemble of North Carolina (TTENC), says many audience
members simply have a natural disinclination to buy tickets to plays
they view as more issue-oriented than entertaining. "Staging them
has to be done in a different kind of context – a low charge, or
making it available to other educational institutions, such as
performing it in libraries or touring it through schools," she says.
Theaters also can partner with museums, religious organizations
and universities as a way of staging plays with social consciousness
(Mitzell, 2005).
Sometimes controversial issues allow for more publicity and more people will
see the show, encouraging more discussion, more awareness and learning.
But also, an issue-oriented play cannot be expected to appeal to a large
audience.

That might be okay though.

Sheila Kerrigan, co-founder of

TOUCH Mime Theater said:
[I]t depends on what your mission is, what you want to say, who you
want to reach, how you want to change them. It's more important to
reach the audience you want to reach than that you reach a wide
audience. Once you know what your mission is, what your statement
is, who your audience is and how you want to change them, you also
will have the information about who your supporters might be
(Mitzell, 2005).

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Location
Let's return to the example of a leaking toxic landfill.

Will the

production take place as a dramatic play in a downtown theater; will it be a
demonstration at the landfill site; or will it take place outside of the city hall
building? Cawaling created a performance to acknowledge and celebrate the
winter solstice. He elected to leave the physical theater and to take it outside
where the solstice was taking place, providing the opportunity for learning for
members of the general public, who were milling about doing their holiday
shopping. The Winter Solstice Celebration was timed to end with the sunset,
celebrating the end of the shortest days of the year.

The Script: Topic, Research and Credibility
The more professional the product (which includes credibility in the
research of the topic) the more potential exists for impact with the
performance. While art may be viewed as something abstract, even opinion
based, when it comes to educating students or the public, it is imperative that
the information presented be accurate.

The performance may foster

components of interpretation, analogy, parody, or whatever, but all great
performances have one common thread – sharing a compelling story. In order
to be effective, this story in the context of raising environmental awareness
necessitates telling the "objective" truth. Of course you also want it to be
entertaining, because you want people to pay attention in order to learn
through the performance as well.

81

Environmental issues can make for especially difficult subject matter.
Darlene Clover (2000) writes, "environmental problems, which because of
their complexity are often linked to science, development, trade and
economics, can be overwhelming and confusing."

Theater as a tool of

communication helps makes the science more available and accessible to
audiences. Science can be intimidating and, because of its objectivity, it is by
nature

somewhat

impersonal

and

therefore

intangible.

Tackling

environmental problems in many communities can be a learning experience.
"The creative process, too, draws out people's own, often extensive, local
'ecological' knowledge before moving onto [sic] outside facts and information
which may be necessary to learning and future action strategies" (Clover,
2000).

More often researchers are looking towards local ecological

knowledge to help solve problems, whether it's the history of flooding in a
neighborhood or the health concerns of people living near a polluted water
supply. Theater is one creative way to get the community together to address
local issues.
Over all, current performance art pieces around the world demonstrate
one way that concerned citizens are taking positive steps to address
environmental issues.
environmental advocates.

Indeed this is an encouraging message for
Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the

environmental crises we are facing, theater provides an opportunity for action
and fosters hope. Performances empower individuals, build communities, and
get the message out. Most productions are celebrations of what we have, a

82

hoorah for all the steps we are and can be taking for the future and an outlet
for sharing these steps and positive suggestions with an audience. Raising
awareness through theater is a wonderful means of promoting change. I
conclude here with an insight from Victor Turner, who addresses the
anthropology of performance by stating that performances "are not simple
reflectors or expression of culture or even of changing culture but may
themselves be active agencies of change, representing the eye by which
culture sees itself and the drawing board on which creative actors sketch out
what they believe to be more apt or interesting designs for living" (Turner
1987). As such, stories, through performance, are agents for change and a
powerful tool available to environmental educators and advocates.

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Item sets

The Evergreen State College Masters Theses: Environmental Studies

Media

Smith_A MESThesis 2007.pdf